GOD'S CHURCH

          
            Jesus Christ declared, “I will build My Church” (Matt. 16:18). No matter how men interpret it, this passage speaks of a single church! Christ continued, “and the gates of hell [the grave] shall not prevail against it.” He promised that His Church could never be destroyed.

Over 2,000 different professing Christian church organizations have been “built” by men in the United States. Another is started every three days. Estimates place the number of professing Christians at above 2 billion. While church attendance seems to be increasing, it is not increasing as fast as the confusion surrounding the question of which is the right church.

While it has been said, “They can’t all be wrong,” it is more correct to say, “They cannot all be right.” If Christ built His Church as He said, then it can be found somewhere on earth today—and it is the only right Church. But we must ask: How do we find it—what do we look for—how do we identify it—how do we know it if we see it?

                          God’s Church (composed of many congregations of saints) was to reflect peace—not confusion. You need not be confused about the identity of the true Church. God commands, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (I Thes. 5:21). While this certainly refers to scriptural matters (not the car you drive or house you buy), it does say that “ALL things,” not “some things,” should be proven! Surely God would not exclude something of such magnitude—such vital importance—as the matter of where His true Church is found. And He would never emphatically tell people to prove things that cannot be proven!
The more I studied the other doctrines of the Bible, the more I learned that the churches of this world were wrong—on virtually everything! One plain scripture after another contradicted each traditional “Christian” idea I had been taught. I was amazed—actually stunned—at how easy it was to find direct, clear, undeniable proof that even the most popular traditions of the big denominations were not based on the Bible—at all!
                           The Importance of the Name of the Church

The world’s churches have many different names, which are derived in various ways. These include the particular doctrines they teach, the names of the men who founded them, the humanly-devised type of church government that they espouse, their location, or their intended scope and size, such as universal or catholic—in order to be thought of as all-encompassing.

On the night of His betrayal, Christ prayed for His Church. Here is what He said: “Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one, as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name…I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:11-12, 14-17).

There are twelve separate places where the New Testament records that the true Church has been kept in the name of the Father—God. The first five refer to the entire Church, or Body of Christ, as a whole. The next four speak of a specific local congregation, while using the same term “Church of God.” This may refer to the Church of God at Judea or Corinth, etc. The final three references speak collectively of all the individual local congregations combined. All these references use the term

“Churches of God”...

GOD'S COMPASSION

COMPASSION

                God desires to free others from their suffering. He has compassion for people that are lost. He has compassion for people that repent and have a true desire to turn away from their sin. God has compassion for people that have faith in Him. God's compassion is not just talk and feelings, but His compassion is full of action. He desires to and blesses mankind because of His compassionate nature.The definition of compassion includes having compassion for people that are lost. God has compassion for people that are lost. Jesus' compassionate ministry on Earth was to reach out to the lost and teach them the truth.

                God is moved by His compassion, and His compassion is drawn to humility. Like a river of love, God's compassion flows to the lowest situation in your life, your greatest need, your greatest weakness, and your greatest failures. Whatever you lay low before the Lord He will be drawn to that area of your life. God gives grace to the humble, and His strength is made perfect in your weakness.

                     Christ moved with compassion on behalf of a person who, from the world's viewpoint, was repulsive and undesirable, totally unappealing in any situation. Jesus did not cleanse him because he was nice-looking or wealthy. Similarly, God does not choose to call us into His church due to our good works, beauty, or money; in us is nothing spiritually appealing. Spiritually, we are like the leper was physically—repulsive and undesirable in terms of holiness. We can thank God that His grace "brings salvation" (Titus 2:11) and "by grace we are saved" (Ephesians 2:8). God does not call us to salvation because of what we are but because of what He is. According to His mercy, God decides on whom to have compassion

              No salvation is possible without forgiveness. Our Father cannot forgive our sins on the grounds of justice, and therefore He does so through His tender mercy. He has made Himself our God by giving us grace—undeserved favor. He passes by the transgressions of His people because He delights in mercy. He is so full of pity that He delays to condemn us in our guilt, but looks with loving concern upon us to see how He can turn away His wrath and restore us to favor.

Micah 7:18 adds, "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy." God is love, and love is kind, but perhaps our approach to His forgiveness has been prosaically legal. The Scriptures reveal that God does kindness with intensity of will and readiness of mind. He forgives with all His heart because He delights in mercy! He says, "I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies." God's nature works to give mercy, not punish; to create beauty, not destroy; to save, not lose.
Can we not see a lesson in this? Are we anywhere near God's image in this? How many of us, fellowshipping among God's people, are hiding resentment and bearing the seeds of bitterness against a brother because of some offense—or carrying a grudge, or filled with envy, or communicating gossip? Are these things acts of kindness? Does a forgiving spirit that delights in mercy enter into acts that destroy a brother's reputation and widen existing divisions?  The nature of God is to be merciful to those He calls. We know that He calls the weak, foolish, and base (I Corinthians 1:26-28), those who are undesirable in society’s eyes and guilty of sin in His eyes. He extends great mercy to them, redeeming them from the death penalty and setting them on the path toward eternal life in the Kingdom of God. In doing so, He sets us an example to follow!

            "He came as a man; he came seeing things with men's eyes, feeling things with men's feelings, thinking things with men's minds. God knows what life is like, because God came right inside life" (p. 104). Jesus Christ is not remote, detached, and disinterested, nor insulated and isolated from our lives. He knows our frame; He knows that we are but dust. He can see in us a reflection of what He experienced as a man. He can thus extend mercy to us, completely understanding what we are going through.

GOD IS PEACE

              

            YAHWEH SHALOM------GOD IS PEACE                                                                  

                             Judges 6:1-24; John 14:27

Shalom aleikhem literally meaning “Peace be upon you” and is the traditional greeting used when two Jewish people meet. The appropriate response is “aleikhem shalom,” or “upon you be peace.” It is also the name of the song that begins the Shabbat meal Friday night. Shalom Aleichem — May peace be upon you.
The table is set with the finest china, crystal, and silver. When it comes to Shabbat, nothing is saved for a special occasion, for this is the special occasion! Those who went to church (synagogue) have now returned, and the room is filled with the warm sounds of Good Shabbos greetings. Everyone is invited to the table, and the meal begins with this song.
A Jewish writer stated that on the most basic level, by singing this song, we are asking God to bless our home with peace; that there should be no conflict between friends or family, especially on Shabbat. Yet on another level, we are asking for completeness: that we should truly feel that we lack nothing — that the world is complete on Shabbat. We sit back in awe at this revelation. Our weekday work is done.
The only work now is the work of Shabbat, which is something much deeper and often much harder to attain — that is working on oneself, on real completeness, the achievement of a more ideal sense of self.
On Shabbat, one is no longer split. During the week there is the working you, the family you, the day-to-day you. But on Shabbat you are focused, with everything in harmony: family, learning, joy of life…
Most people know that the Hebrew word shalom is understood around the world to mean “peace.” However, “peace” is only one small part of the meaning of shalom. According to biblical dictionaries Shalom also means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.
To get a better understanding of what this term means and how it can be applied, turn with me to the book of Judges 6:1-24 (p 174). This book records a very tough time in the history of Israel. The very last phrase of this book gives us insight into why things were going south for them: “…everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges21:25). And because of that, on seven different occasions we read of God’s people cycling through a period of rebellion which led to punishment from God. After suffering for some time, they would eventually repent and then be restored to a time of rest and peace. But then they’d begin the process all over again. (read passage)
At this time in their story, we findIsraelunder oppression by the Midianites. They were forced to hide in caves. The Midianites took all their food, tools, and livestock. It was during this time of cruelty thatIsraelcried out for deliverance. So God called Gideon to deliver them.
Into this chaos and fear, God speaks to Gideon and says, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” In reading these words it is easy to underestimate the impact these words had on Gideon. He and his people had not known peace for seven long years. They were all afraid and worried about dying every day. And now Gideon had casually conversed with God himself, daring to question and complain to the King of Heaven. God could rightly vaporize him just like he did to the meat and the bread in verse 21. But the Lord instead pronounced peace. Gideon was about to experience peace with God, with himself, and with others. Don’t miss this. To a man who had not known peace in a long time, this was an amazing promise.
We’re surrounded by the troubles of the world, Satan continuously plans sneak attacks against us, and we’re filled with awareness of our own sinfulness and struggles. All of that can create a kind of perpetual chaos in our lives, where we feel pressure, stress, conflict, fear, guilt and even shame. G.K. Chesterton was right when he said, “Whatever else is or is not true, this one thing is certain—man is not what he was meant to be.”
Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, the human race has not been what it was meant to be. Sometimes it’s because we have let too much of the world in; other times it’s because we’ve given in to the devil; and other times we’re simply done in by our tendency to sin. Or, it’s simply circumstances that cave in on us. Let’s look at four ways we can break out of this cycle and discover shalom from Judges 6.
First, examine yourself and your life. Our example is the nation ofIsraelwho, in typical fashion, has turned their backs on God once again. After a time of prosperity, the people had gotten proud and then pushed God away. That happens in our lives too, doesn’t it? We receive a few blessings, and then we start to drift away from our spiritual anchors. Our church attendance becomes hit-or-miss, we slow down in our serving, and we end up being too busy with our time, talents, and treasures.
Verse 1 tells us that because they did evil in the eyes of the Lord, discipline was unleashed in the form of the mighty Midianites. They were extremely powerful and exploited the Israelites mercilessly. The name Midian means “strife.” Because things were so bad, God’s people had left their homes and were living in holes in the ground, fearing for their lives. They had no peace at all; in fact, they were falling to pieces. The Midianites were nomadic people, and would invadeIsraelevery year at harvest time. Verse 5 mentions that they would come in like locusts and would destroy the land. As a result, God’s people were stressed out and were living in fear.
The first step to healing and wholeness is always to admit your situation before God. Are you in a mess, in distress, or living with stress? If so, put your struggles into words.
Secondly, request God’s help. Finally, after seven long years, the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. Verse 6 says, “Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.” It’s beyond me why they would wait this long before turning back to God. It’s as if they waited until they couldn’t take it any longer. Does that sound familiar? We know God is trying to get our attention but we hold out, thinking that we can handle it on our own. Even when God allows bad stuff to penetrate through the pores of our life, we often refuse to repent and return to Him. Friend, God wants to use the tough things you are going through right now in order to get your attention! Has it been awhile since you’ve cried out for help? May I encourage you to turn to the only one who can help you.
Third, receive His truth (7-21). I love verse 7 because it shows that when we cry out to God, He will respond. In this case, He sends an unnamed prophet to remind them of their history and heritage and then he delivers the message that God expects total surrender and full devotion in verse 10: “I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites…but you have not listened to me.” While God wants us to ask for help, He wants us to receive His truth about our lives, even if it hurts. This prophet is used by God to get them to see the depths of their immorality. Their main problem was that they had totally forgotten and ignored God…and they needed to admit that.
I love what happens next. Gideon was threshing some wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. The Hebrew word used here expresses the idea of hiding. A winepress was made out of stone and was built underground. When someone would thresh wheat they’d normally do it out in the open so that the wind could blow away the chaff. But Gideon is afraid of the Midianites and so he’s whacking the wheat with a stick in an underground bunker. The mighty Gideon is a hero in hiding. He’s defeated and discouraged, filled with doubts and fears. He’s afraid of what was “out there” and he was also terrified “in here” (inside him).
Verse 12 tells us that the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” This time God doesn’t send a prophet, or even an understudy angel; He sends the “Angel of the Lord,” which most commentators believe is the preincarnate Christ! By the way, in the Hebrew, this phrase, “The Lord is with you” is the root to the name “Immanuel,” God with us, which was the name used for Jesus in Matthew 1:23.
After being called a mighty warrior, Gideon questions God out loud, wondering why a bunch of bad things have happened to his people. Verse 14 reveals that God “turned to him,” which literally means that He rotated, looked at Gideon and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” Gideon responds by saying that his resume isn’t very impressive. He comes from the smallest tribe, the weakest link in his clan, and he’s the youngest in his family.
God confirms His priorities with His presence in verse 16, “I will be with you.” Gideon is given a commission but is also promised the companionship of Immanuel. By the way, did you notice that God never answered Gideon’s questions? That could be because the answer was obvious, or more likely it’s because Gideon’s obedience is more important. What a good reminder for us. We often pepper heaven with our complaints and our questions while we cross our arms and do nothing. How can we demand answers from God when we won’t even do what He has already revealed to us.
Finally, respond in worship. When Gideon realizes that He is in the presence of the Almighty, he cries out in verse 22: “Ah, Sovereign Lord!” He is using the names Adonai and Yahweh. He has finally come to the point of submitting to the Sovereign LORD. But now Gideon is very nervous because he realizes that he has been in the presence of God himself and he’s afraid that he will be struck dead.
Now we come back to verse 23, the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” “So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace…” This is the first, and as far as I can tell, the only time that we see this combination of names: Yahweh Shalom. The Great I Am is Perfect Peace. The God of Peace for our lives.
God said “shalom” to Gideon when He could have shamed him. Gideon in turn, had his whole view of God changed so he made a memorial to Jehovah Shalom. There is no single English word that communicates the richness of Shalom. The general idea is of completion and fulfillment and brings with it the sense of wholeness and harmony in relationships, especially with God. For Gideon to hear shalom from God meant that he was at harmony with the Holy One. Shalom also signifies a sense of well-being on the inside, and on the outside, and is used to describe health, happiness, quietness of soul, tranquility, prosperity and security.
Many people feel that a complete and fulfilled life is: accomplishing your goals; never saying the wrong thing; being liked by everyone; living a good and moral life; having a wonderful family. While all of these are very important, one can achieve everyone of them and still not truly have Shalom (Peace). Peace with GOD is the highest form of inward satisfaction that also shows itself in the outward person.
Peace is ultimately wrapped up in a Person and is fully realized in the coming of Christ who came to share shalom with us. John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” The peace that the Prince of Peace provides is far different than anything we can find in the world. Warren Wiersbe points out that the world bases its peace on its resources, while God’s peace depends on a relationship.
According to Romans 5:1, when we put our faith in Christ, we are justified and “have peace with God…” Colossians 1:20 says that Jesus made “peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” The Greek word for peace means to “join together and to bind what is broken.” Jesus longs to put what is broken back together in your life today.
Let me ask you three questions. First, are you at peace with God? What is blocking you in your relationship with God? Doubt, fear, shame? God is fully present. God loves you and is willing to receive all that you are, warts and all, and do God’s work of peace in you.
Secondly, are you at peace with others? Is there someone you need to make peace with? As much as it is in your power, seek to restore what has been broken between you and that person.
Thirdly, are you at peace with yourself? Are you living a life of integrity…experiencing harmony between your inner and outer life? Are you willing to look honestly at problematic issues in your life and take the necessary steps towards healing and wholeness?
Of those three the most important question is, Are you at peace with God right now? Don’t put it off because you may not have another chance. Perhaps you’ve seen the bumper sticker that says: “No God, no peace; Know God, know peace. Properly understood, the New Geneva Study Bible says that “shalom is the symphony of life made meaningful through a right relationship with God.”
To obtain this peace remember, You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4). People do not experience shalom because they are not trusting in God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take (Proverbs 3:5-6).
This is the good news of Christianity. That God, the God of peace, who alone brings peace, has acted in Jesus to bring the blessings of shalom to mankind. Fellowship with God, a life lived in his presence, brings an end to inner conflict and war with self and relationships. I pray you experience Shalom aleikhem, “Peace be upon you.”

GOD OUR FATHER

 

                                                                                                     

                    INTRODUCTION

 

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

With these few short words the Bible introduces us to God. We learn that the God of the Bible is Creator — maker of heaven and earth, the giver of life, the giver of good. But the Bible shows us that God is much more than a creator. He is our heavenly Father.
God wants us to be His children. God wants to be our heavenly Father. In fact, this is one of the most powerful messages in the Bible. God is willing to make us part of His special family, but that does not happen automatically. We must enter His family in the special way He has prescribed. That way is summed up in these words:

"Yet to all who received Jesus, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." (John 1:12-13).

In this booklet we will learn about God our Father and how we can become His children.

 

 

 

 

                   THE FAMILY OF GOD

            Our heavenly Father has been raising sons and daughters for thousands of years! He is fully acquainted with our needs and struggles. He is able to bring us from spiritual infancy through our spiritually-formative years and on to adult "son ship." He knows when it is time to be taken home to glory and our earthly days are finished. Our Father is great! He makes no mistakes. We can be thankful for His purpose for us to be born into the life of a particular nation, race and culture as well as for the unique set of parents He has given us. He has a sovereign plan for our long-term well- being. We should thank God for, and honor, our parents (Eph. 6:2) even though it may seem they have messed up our lives.
God does not merely place us in a certain family setting and then disappear from the scene of our daily lives! He does not wait until we have grown up before He interacts with us. He would like to be with us intimately every day of our lives whether we begin to know Him at age 6 or 60. God has no "respect for persons," but as Ray Stedman noted, "God has no favorites but He has many intimates."

"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." (1 John 3:1-3)

When we begin the Christian life we all start out as "little children" in the family of our heavenly Father. We soon begin to grow by feeding on the Word of God. We then move towards what the Bible calls "young men" (both sexes are implied). Finally God wants us to reach the stature, stability and spiritual depth of "fathers." He wants us to be stable, mature, well- rounded and wise. After we come to know the Lord Jesus in a personal way, it is very important that we respond to God's grace so that we may grow up to become whole men and women. God wills this spiritual maturity for all His children. We all need God's healing mercy to become what He wants us to be.

                       JESUS: THE WAY TO THE FATHER

               What is perhaps most remarkable about the story of the prodigal son, is that it was told to us by our Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ introduces us to the Father. Jesus, being the only son who has ever truly obeyed God and pleased Him, ends our estrangement from God. We were once God's enemies but are now brought near and reconciled to God by the obedience of His Son. Jesus shows us the Father by the life He lived. He said, "He who has seen me, has seen my Father." Jesus is our Elder Brother as we grow up in the family of God.
He is our daily Mediator with the Father. Many find that the Lord Jesus is especially compassionate and caring towards those who have never known a loving, caring human father.
Because of the Father's love for us and His earnest desire for us to know Him, Jesus took all our sins upon himself two thousand years ago. He opened a wide door for sinful men and women to come cleansed of sin and defilement of every kind into the presence of the holy God. This same Jesus, now alive from the dead, is fully acquainted with human weakness, sorrow, grief, suffering, and alienation. He helps us through all the forms of evil enticement we face: "He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin."
Jesus, the Christian's great high priest, is our Advocate and Healer who undertakes and champions our cause, defending the righteousness that He himself has given to us:

"For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16)

The New Testament says that there are "not many fathers" in the churches of Jesus Christ. This apparently means that spiritually mature male Christian leaders eligible to be surrogate fathers are rare. We can not expect to find every older male in the congregation, nor every pastor, to have a father's heart for God's children. Even pastors who love the sheep dearly and know them one by one, may not by nature feel truly fatherly towards them all. This is all the more reason for us to center our lives around Jesus and to not merely identify with a pastor, youth leader, friend or teacher as the role model of a caring father

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GOD'S DIVINE MERCY

Why did Jesus rise with Wounds?

The Sunday Homily
by Fr. James Farfaglia

Did you ever stop to think why Jesus rose from the dead with wounds?

Jesus rose from the dead with a glorified body. The barriers of time and space no longer apply to him. The Lord appears and disappears with shocking suddenness. He continually demonstrates his physical reality.

The Apostles and the disciples see him, hear him, and eat with him. Thomas is told to touch his wounds. The stone rolled away from the entrance, and the carefully folded burial cloths direct our gaze to the physical.



             He has truly risen.

The disbelief and uncertainty evidenced by those who saw him testify to an apparent strangeness in the appearance of the newly risen Christ. Slowly they came to recognize him, but they still struggled with doubt.

We are accustomed to an annual celebration of Easter. However, for the first disciples of Jesus, resurrection was totally new. Let us remember, that the son of the widow of Nain, Jairus' daughter, and Lazarus were all brought back to life by Jesus, but not one of them continued their lives with a glorified body.

Although the risen Jesus is the same Jesus that died on Calvary, his physical reality is now different than before. The body of the risen Lord is indeed his physical body, but he now moves about with a glorified body.
           Jesus  glorified body

              Over and over again the gospels stress that something extraordinary has occurred. The Lord is tangible, but he has been transformed. His life is different from what it once was. His glorified body transcends the limitations of time and space. For this reason he can pass through the closed door of the Upper Room, and appear and disappear as he desires.

At times his disciples cannot recognize him precisely because their physical reality moves within time and space, and the Lord's physical reality is no longer subject to time and space, although he exists within time and space.The empty tomb and the neatly folded burial cloths point to us that Jesus is physically alive. His crucified body has been transformed.

         What lesson is he teaching us by keeping his  wounds   intact?

           We can answer this question by turning to our own wounds.

                 What are our wounds?

            First, we all experience the large wound caused by original sin. Although we are baptized and original sin has been cleansed from our soul, our human nature has been wounded. Our sinful condition manifests itself in different ways and we struggle with those manifestations of fallen human nature.

And then there are the other wounds, the wounds that are smaller. We have wounds that are caused by sickness and the wounds that are caused by problems, adversities, challenges and the disappointments of life.



               All of us are wounded.

                      Even Jesus is wounded. By retaining the wounds of his passion, the glorified Jesus is showing us that we can find hope and strength by taking our wounds and uniting them to his wounds.

The eleven apostles of today's gospel passage were discouraged and filled with fear. They had lost all hope. They did not understand that Jesus had to first die on the cross in order to rise on Easter Sunday. They did not understand that the risen Jesus would bear his five wounds as an eternal reminder that when our wounds are united to his wounds we will find true peace.


           "Peace be with you".

                 These are the first words of the risen Jesus. He dispels the darkness of discouragement, despair and fear by showing the eleven his glorified and wounded body.

Thomas places his finger in the wounds of Jesus and he believes. "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe". (John 20: 27)

Many call Thomas the doubting Thomas. All of the Apostles doubted. All of the Apostles ran away and abandoned Jesus. In reality, he is not the doubting Thomas, but the courageous Thomas. He is the only apostle who knows where to find Jesus. By touching the wounds of Jesus, he begins to understand that the risen Jesus is not a ghost, but that he is truly real. By encountering Jesus in his woundedness, he is able to encounter the authentic Jesus, the real Jesus, the whole Jesus.

             Believing in this love means believing in mercy.

For mercy is an indispensable dimension of love; it is as it were love's second name and, at the same time, the specific manner in which love is revealed and effected vis-a-vis the reality of the evil that is in the world, affecting and besieging man, insinuating itself even into his heart and capable of causing him to perish in Gehenna” (Dives in Misericordia).


Because he is able to encounter the Jesus that shed his blood on the cross, he falls to the ground and pronounces a profound act of faith: "My Lord and my God".

Thomas is able to encounter Jesus in all of his humanity and all of his divinity. He comes to grasp the reality that the risen Jesus is the same Jesus that died on Calvary.

But, where is the risen and wounded Jesus? Where can we encounter him? As Jesus hung on the cross, all of his blood flowed from his wounds. The eternal reminder of his wounds reminds us that we are to experience him in the Eucharist and in the Sacrament of Confession.

By coming to Jesus every day at Mass, for visits and adoration; by encountering the God of mercy through the awesome gift of the sacrament of forgiveness, we can dispel the despair, the discouragement and the fear that may fill our lives.

TRESSURES OF GOD

                                                                              

                                                                                      

 
                        Treasures of  God

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               God loves us and has a wonderful plan for each one of our lives; Within this divine plan, He has good purpose for each one of us to receive His love, so that we can come to know what true love is, and to further share His awesome love with others.
Beyond our most glorious dream, every person who becomes a Christian inherits a multitude of blessings including God's promise of rest, peace, comfort, spiritual strength, security, eternal life which is immortality, and fullness of Joy.

The God of Christianity, is the Most High God with all authority far above every other so called god or gods in the universe. He is the only true God by nature; for all peoples of every nation and every island throughout the world.
There consists three separate divine persons that reign collectively as the one true Deity. They are ; God the Almighty Father, called YaHWeH or " I AM ", God the Son, who is Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ, who was sent from God the Father, fully demonstrated God's love towards us so that we might understand how to love the way God intended. The awesome love that Jesus Christ gave in word and deed in so many ways, are recorded in the Word of God, the Bible.

A Christian is a person who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and desires to learn and grow in God's love and goodness. They purpose to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love others as Jesus Christ loved us.
God desires to exceedingly bless us and give us a complete new and better life now, so enriched with His goodness and beyond our limited comprehension. Any person who believes and follows Jesus Christ can be a Christian and receive the spiritual benefits and eternal rewards, regardless of their past. God has also promised to provide for our basic physical and material needs if we seek first God's Kingdom and His righteousness.
Yet, for many of us, we might be somewhat satisfied with our present lifestyle, success or other religious beliefs other than Christianity and see no reason to become a Christian. However, there are several vital life relating reasons why everyone should not only consider, but rather wisely choose to become a Christian.


            What's a Tressure?

What a treasure, even a hidden treasure, we have in Bishop Gumbleton. A man who for many years has inspired us with non-violent principles and a profound spirituality that makes us delight in the hidden treasure of faith. Who makes, me at least, aware that the storms within the church most often are small in comparison with our own lack of courage to speak truth to power and the feeblness of our desire and will to be Christ and let Christ work in us. The pride of being a Catholic Christian comes in part by Bishop Gumbleton's communicating to us what is essential and reminding us of the great treasure of our faith and the exaltedness of our calling - and how this calling is relevant to all the challenges of the megamachine, the empire, both the pernicious vector toward an ecclesial one, but no less the US led corporate capitalist one , as well as the treacherous guise in which the modernity and post-modernity are able to mask and transform the assaults on "the one thing necessary," the hidden treasure of the Kingdom and our mandate to usher it in in our lives and in our being with one another.

        God's   Tressure

           God's Gold charts the fate of the greatest religious treasure in history, the key symbols of the Jewish faith -- looted from the Temple of Jerusalem. The golden candelabrum, silver trumpets and jewelled table were ransacked by the Roman emperor Vespasian in AD 70. They were cast adrift in Mediterranean lands, which saw 550 years of turbulent history and the rule of four different civilizations. Now, only an intriguing trail of clues remains as to their whereabouts. The Temple treasure is an immeasurably precious hoard, but it has yet greater significance as a symbol of man's communications with God. The gold is central to Israel's dreams for messianic redemption and its discovery could signify the return to an age of biblical sacrifice. Using untapped historical texts and new archaeological sources, Sean Kingsley reveals the incredible history of this treasure, its composition and religious, political and financial meaning across the ages. Unexpected discoveries send him on a physical pilgrimage to trace the treasure's destiny, which exposes facts more astonishing than fiction.

DEFINITION OF GOD

           God                                                                                           

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    1 The one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.

 

   2     The Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute: the God of Islam.

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    3   ( lowercase ) one of several deities, especially a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly                        affairs

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     4   ( often lowercase ) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the god of mercy.

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Christian 
Science . the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit,

               Related Words for : God   Deity    Divinity    Graven   Immortal   Image   Idol

          World English Dictionary

1.	a supernatural being, who is worshiped as the controller of some part of the universe or some aspect of life in the world or is the personification of some force Related: divine
2.	an image, idol, or symbolic representation of such a deity
3.	any person or thing to which excessive attention is given: money was his god
4.	a man who has qualities regarded as making him superior to other men
5.	( in plural ) the gallery of a theatre

  

          God definition

             (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew _'El_, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of _'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim_. The singular form, _Eloah_, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding (Ps. 14:1). The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are: (1.) The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason. (2.) The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are, (a) The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a cause. (b) The teleological, or the argument from design. We see everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in nature. (c) The moral argument, called also the anthropological argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which can only be explained on the supposition of the existence of God. Conscience and human history testify that "verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." The attributes of God are set forth in order by Moses in Ex. 34:6,7. (see also Deut. 6:4; 10:17; Num. 16:22; Ex. 15:11; 33:19; Isa. 44:6; Hab. 3:6; Ps. 102:26; Job 34:12.) They are also systematically classified in Rev. 5:12 and 7:12. God's attributes are spoken of by some as absolute, i.e., such as belong to his essence as Jehovah, Jah, etc.; and relative, i.e., such as are ascribed to him with relation to his creatures. Others distinguish them into communicable, i.e., those which can be imparted in degree to his creatures: goodness, holiness, wisdom, etc.; and incommunicable, which cannot be so imparted: independence, immutability, immensity, and eternity. They are by some also divided into natural attributes, eternity, immensity, etc.; and moral, holiness, goodness, etc

             A world without God is a world without love

To fill our own life with God's love we need to learn the "mechanics" of love. Our mind is filled with what we focus on. Our heart as well. Hence if we learn to re-focus our mind again and again on love, we also refocus on God automatically. Visual aids such as wallpapers or posters on the wall or the beauty of real nature around our home and work will draw our attention toward God and thus fill our mind and heart with God's love. These entire wallpaper collection is created to help you to understand, to become aware and to learn to enjoy God's love more and more.

God's love is healing - to focus on on God thus is healing for our entire being, our heart, our mind and our physical body as well. Healing ourself also results in healing of our relationship, healing our friends, healing our family.




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THE INTERVIEW WITH GOD

     

                                                                                                                                                     

 

 

          INTERVIEW WITH GOD

   God, why have you chosen to use a site on the World Wide Web as a medium to spread your message?

"My message has been delivered through each new medium of communication as it became available and this medium is no exception. In fact there are already many voices on the 'Web' delivering my message. However, this is the first site in which I am the identified author, and one of the first communications in recent times from me in any medium in which I have taken responsibility as the Source of the communication. Also, I would like to point out that I am not as interested in 'spreading' my message as I am in having it received by the right person in the right time."

What are some other examples of channeling where you take responsibility as the Source?

"The Right Use of Will material and Conversations with God are two examples I mention on the page about God's Messengers. Soon I will have much more to say about these and other channelers of my message."

Is there something special you want to do on this web site that you haven't done elsewhere?

"Yes, one of the most important uses of this medium will be my classes on channeling, healing, reality, and language. In these classes you can learn how to bring me more fully it your life, how to heal even the very deepest emotional and physical wounds, why the universe is being created the way it is, and how you can change what you're doing to get better results, if you choose. I will also use this site to discuss my plan for Creation, why I want to come to Earth and why I started the universe in the first place."

Why do you want to teach classes"

"If there was no free will I could simply make you know what you need to know and do what you need to do to become Who You Truly Are. This universe doesn't work that way, however. You must choose for yourself, and the classes can help you know the issues and your options. With these classes and like any teacher, I can influence you to the extent you are willing to be influenced."

Why have you chosen these subjects from among all of the possibilities?

"The classes address different centers of the energy body. Truth and Reality class speaks to issues related to the seventh and six energy centers located at top of the head and in the center of the head, respectively. The Channeling Class is intended to speed development of the fifth center in the throat. The New Language of Heaven speaks to issues of the fourth center and is devoted to finding a new, more true heart energy. The Quest for the Mother class focuses on healing the physical and emotional bodies and rediscovering the true Source of life force energy. This class relates to issues of the third center in the region of the solar plexus, the second center associated with the 'gut', sacrum and pelvic areas of the body, and first center at the base of the spine."

I dreamed I had an interview with God.
"Come in" God said. "So, you would like to interview Me?"

"If you have the time," I said.

God smiled and said: "My time is eternity and is enough to do everything; What questions do you have in mind to ask me?"

"What surprises you most about mankind?"

            God answered:


"That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.

"That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.