Our brain has approximately one trillion neuron connections - 70,000 branches can grow on each neuron • Potential for three million years worth of memory.
Psalm 139:14 (NKJV) I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Showing posts with label discover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discover. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Selah for Today -08-20-2019-Wonderful
Our brain has approximately one trillion neuron connections - 70,000 branches can grow on each neuron • Potential for three million years worth of memory.
Psalm 139:14 (NKJV) I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Monday, August 5, 2019
Selah for Today 08-05-2019
When you cast off God's laws for freedom,
you will find yourself losing the freedoms you had.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
ALL IN
By Richard L. Spangler
Many in the
church are asking, praying, and believing for a
great global awakening. Many prophets
are hearing from God that he is indeed moving and a billion souls will be
coming to Christ in this awakening. How is this going to happen? Is God, by the
Holy Spirit going to move in a great massive move on people’s hearts, and
instantly be a billion conversions to Christ happen? God could do that, but he
wants to do it through you. His call to you is to be “All In.”
The phrase
“All in” means to be totally committed to
something. Prime examples of this are
found in 2 Chronicles 2 – 7:3. King Solomon and all Israel were totally committed to building the Temple. We
see the results of being “All in” in 2 Chronicles 5:11-14, “the glory and
brilliance of the Lord filled the house of God” This happens again after
Solomon’s prayer of dedication 2 Chronicles 7:1-3. A fire comes down from
heaven consumes the burnt offerings, and
the sacrifices. The Shekinah fill the
House of God and all the people see it and worship God.
Another example is found in Acts 1:12-Acts 2. There
were 120 disciples gathered in the upper room waiting for days for the promised
Holy Spirit. They were “all in.” Remember they were in Israel, to say the least, a very warm location at that time of year.
A room with a 120 people in it was hot,
cramped, and uncomfortable. They gave up
their normal lives. They knew Jesus and were committed to waiting for the
promise. We know the results of
their being “All in.” The Holy Spirit came, and the church was born, and 3000 were
added in one day.
God is
calling us to be “All in,” committed to having an intimate relationship with Him. Listen
to His voice and do what he says. Be a part of
this great global awakening that is coming. Billions of people are hanging in the balance.
The question is, “Are you willing to be, “All In?”
©COPYRIGHT 2017 RICHARD L SPANGLER
Join the Adventure at
Friday, October 9, 2015
Run Your Race with Compassion
By Richard L Spangler
Recently, I completed
the challenge of walking the Virginia Beach Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I had
never done anything like this before. It took two years of training and discipline,
and a lot of support from family and friends, as well as mountain of prayer. So
at sixty years old, this man who had a quadruple heart by-pass surgery seven
years ago started the race.
What started as a personal goal two years
ago, graduated to a 13.1-mile prayer walk for the seven cities of Hampton
Roads, the Commonwealth of Virginia and our nation. If that was enough, I found
myself saying thank you to the police officers, firemen and women and the
rescue personnel along the race route. Many of these men and women had a
surprised look on their faces and smiled and thanked me in return. Soon others, who were moving at the same pace
I was also began to do the same thing. This was showing thankfulness and
compassion to our first responders.
Somewhere, close to the half way point most
everyone including myself became very focused on the race. Going down this wooded
road with ditches on both sides a fellow race participant caught my attention.
She had moved off the road and was holding on to the speed limit sign. I passed
her but felt the urging of the Holy Spirit to go back. I asked, “Are you okay?”
she said, “Yes” I started to walk away and hear the Holy Spirit say, “She’s NOT
okay.” I went back and asked again. This time she said, “I am having problems
keeping my balance and walking straight. Can I use your arm to get me to the
center of the road and to steady me?” I said, “Yes. There is a water station just
down the road, I will you get there.”
We got to the water station and she thanked
me. Out of my mouth came “I Will walk with you some more to make sure your okay.”
As we walked she began holding my arm again.
I asked, a couple of times if she wanted medical help? She said, “No,
she wanted to complete the race.” After a short distance she said, I think I
need the paramedics. “As we came out of the wooded area there sat a rescue
unit. I yelled for their help and they came over to assist the lady.
I finished the race about 20 minutes later
than I would have but I still finished. As I thought about the day’s events, I
realized that many running their race were so focused on their finish they
missed an opportunity to show compassion to someone else.
We as believers are running our race for the prize
of the crown of glory (1 Corinthians 9:24 and Hebrews 12:1) but we are also to
run the race with compassion. Jesus was
moved with compassion, Matthew 9:35-37. Matthew 14:13-21 the feeding of the
5000 started with compassion. And again in Matthew 15:29-38 4000 fed. Luke
7:11-15 The raising of the Widow’s son and Matthew 20:30-34 the blinds eyes
opened, were done as Jesus was moved with compassion. Webster’s Dictionary
defines compassion:
sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to
alleviate it.
We as believers, we will finish our race but
we need to be moved with compassion as Christ was. I believe our planned works
for the Lord will earn us rewards. But, it is our unplanned acts of compassion,
prompted by the Holy Spirit that we hear “Will done my good and faithful servant…”
Run your race and run it well, by keeping
your eyes and ears open for acts of compassion along your course, so that you
will not only finish the race but will hear “Well Done...”
©COPYRIGHT 2015 RICHARD L. SPANGLER
Friday, July 5, 2013
A Psalm 91 Life
By Richard Spangler
Just one of these questions can lead you
down the road of fear and anxiety if you allow them. Put them all together and you have a mountain
of uncertainty. Many people are in fear
and panic because of these questions, including many Christians. They are
asking, “Is there hope? Can I survive? What, if anything can I do?”
Yes, there is hope in God! In the Bible God promises, “Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent”(Psalm 91:9-10 Amp).
God also states in Psalm 91 that He will cover you; He will give angels charge over you, no pestilence (no disease), no sudden death, nor any evil shall befall you. And the list goes on.
The key to these promises is found in verse 14, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never]”(Psalm 91:14 AMP).
As you determine with your mind to love God and set your heart to do so, you take the first turn of the key for the promises of God found in Psalm 91.
Many of you
have taken that first turn of the key by accepting Jesus Christ into your
heart. For those who have not, there is no better time than now.
The next turn of the key is equally as
important. It is getting to know God with a personal knowledge of His mercy,
love and kindness. It is discovering Who God is, and not just by reading the
Bible and praying.
This happens
two ways. First, meditate, don’t just reading the Bible, but think about what
you are reading. According to Webster’s Dictionary, Meditate is: to engage in contemplation or reflection:
to focus one's thoughts on: reflect on or ponder over. In other words, take
time to think about what you are reading. In our fast paced society we scan
more than we read.
We scan e-mails, texts, letters and
articles without reading them and thinking about what is being said. Take time
with the Bible, stop and ask, “What does this mean? How does this apply to my
life?” Ask the Lord to help you understand and to teach you. Don’t scan it and
walk away saying, “I’ve done my Bible reading for the day.” and check it off of
that never ending To Do List.
Secondly, it
happens by making time for God, spending time with Him. Remember, God created
man to spend time with Him. An example of this is in the Bible.
“And out
of the ground the Lord God formed every [wild] beast and living creature of the
field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would
call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name”
(Genesis 2:19 AMP).
God would
create an animal, and then bring it to Adam to name. God was interested to see
what name would be given. I imagine that was some discussion of the creature’s
design and purpose between God and Adam. This took time.
Also, in Genesis, “And they heard the sound of
the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…But the Lord God
called to Adam and said to him, Where are you” (Genesis 3:8-9 AMP)?
This shows
God coming to spend time with Adam and Eve. This was not unusual for Adam and
Eve. They even knew the sound of God walking and would go out to meet and spend
time with God. This is what God wants, for us to know Him. This is why Jesus
came to earth, so that a way would be open for man to be able to spend time
with God and know him again.
Set aside time, every day to get to know
Father God better. Sit and listen for
His voice. Get to know His presence. Have personal knowledge and relationship
with God.
This will unlock all the promises in Psalm
91, and much more, will become yours. It will not matter what happens, good or
bad, for you will be hidden in God’s presence and protection.
©COPYRIGHT
2012 RICHARD SPANGLER
Available at Amazon.com
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Who is Obed-Edom?
By Richard Spangler
Who is Obed-Edom? Why be like him? His choices and his life led to blessings for himself and his family. Let us, together, learn who Obed-Edom was and about his life.
Who is Obed-Edom? Why be like him? His choices and his life led to blessings for himself and his family. Let us, together, learn who Obed-Edom was and about his life.
Obed-Edom is first mentioned in the Bible, just after the
death of Uzzah for touching the Ark of God. This happened during King David’s
first attempt to move the Ark to Jerusalem. The Ark of God was placed in the
home of Obed-Edom. He must have been a man of faith to allow something in his
home; just after God had killed someone for touching it (this broke one of the
commands of the Lord concerning the Ark). The ark of God remained with
Obed-Edom for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything
he owned.
When it came time to move the Ark to Jerusalem, (this time correctly) Obed-Edom had a choice. He could have stayed where he was and lived off of his past relationship with God or move with the Ark of God, staying in God’s presence and in relationship with God.
Obed-Edom had a desire for the Lord and moved with God. His desire for the Lord caused him to do whatever it took to be close to the Lord. He became a gatekeeper, a musician, and a doorkeeper for the Ark. Due to Obed-Edom’s desire and love for the Lord and his faithfulness, God begins again to bless him and promote him.
Obed-Edom becomes a worship leader and is mentioned along
with Aspah the Chief Musician. Obed-Edom and his 68 associates minister
regularly before the Lord in worship. Yet, he still continues to keep the
gates. When it came time to move the Ark to Jerusalem, (this time correctly) Obed-Edom had a choice. He could have stayed where he was and lived off of his past relationship with God or move with the Ark of God, staying in God’s presence and in relationship with God.
Obed-Edom had a desire for the Lord and moved with God. His desire for the Lord caused him to do whatever it took to be close to the Lord. He became a gatekeeper, a musician, and a doorkeeper for the Ark. Due to Obed-Edom’s desire and love for the Lord and his faithfulness, God begins again to bless him and promote him.
Obed-Edom is not only blessed in ministry and relationship
with the Lord, his family is also blessed. God gives him eight sons, his poor
wife raising a football team. His sons and grandsons also worshiped the Lord
and were blessed by the Lord. They were all leaders, capable men, with strength
to do the work. There were 62 men in all. Obed-Edom along with his other duties
was put in charge of the Southgate and his sons were keepers of the storehouse.
Obed-Edom by his faith, attitude, and actions created a
legacy of faith, and relationship with the Lord. The Lord was faithful back to
Obed-Edom establishing a legacy of generational blessings.
Obed-Edom had to pack up and physically move to stay in the
presence of God. His desire for a relationship with God established a
relationship not only for himself but also for his children and grandchildren.
This relationship also established generational blessings from God for his
family.
Today, we don’t have to travel to a specific place to know
the presence of the Lord or to have a relationship with the Lord. We, as
believers all have the Holy Spirit within us. But, it is up to each of us to
stir up the desire to seek out our own relationship with God, Our Father. The
Father desires for us to have a relationship with him. He waits patiently for
His sons and daughters to seek him out and have an individual relationship with
Him.
We can have this relationship with the Father by first,
hungering and thirsting after righteousness, we will be filled (Mt. 5:6). We
must work to keep our hearts pure and we will see God. We must seek first the
Kingdom of God and Its righteousness (Mt. 6:37).
Our Father is crying out by His Spirit within us, for each
of us to stir up our desire for Him. He wants us to be passionate for Him, to
get hungry and thirsty for Him. When you are hungry and thirsty for something,
you do what it takes to be satisfied.
The first step is to keep a pure heart… Unconfessed sin is a
relationship and a blessing stopper with God. Keep short accounts with the Lord
by following 1 John 1:9 and by keeping short accounts with others. No
choice here. If you have done wrong, go to the person, confess it, ask for
forgiveness and make it right. If you know some one has something against you,
go to them, and don’t wait for them to come to you. Make it right. Be careful
what you watch on T.V., listen to the radio, and what comes in over the
Internet, enough said.
Second, study the Word of God, and mediate on it daily.
Mediation is not mystical or hard. If you can worry, you can mediate. We all do
a great job worrying. We take an issue and keep thinking the worst that can
happen over and over again. Mediation is thinking about a particular scripture
or the goodness of God, over and over again.
This is simple but it works, and the more you do it the
easier it gets. Putting on worship music helps with mediation and will bring
the Presence of God.
A third step is just relax and rest in the Presence of God.
We think that we must be doing something all the time for God. Relaxing and
resting in God’s Presence is extremely important. It is in these times that we
can clearly hear from the Lord. A Web site that can help with this www.soaking.net.
Finally, get up and get moving. Get involved in your church
and/or your community. Obed-Edom did not wait for the Lord to tell him to do
something, he just did it. He waited on the Lord by doing. You will find as you
are doing the work of the ministry, God will give you direction in what to do.
So be an Obed-Edom, have a desire for God. Keep your heart
pure. Study and mediate on the Lord, and relax and rest in God’s presence. Get
up and get involved. By doing these things, you will have a relationship with
God, and He will bless you and your family and create blessings for you and
generational blessings for your family.
Scripture References for Obed-Edom: 1 Chronicles Chapters
13:12-14, 15:18, 21, 24, 16:38, 26:4-6, 12-15.
©COPYRIGHT
2009 RICHARD SPANGLER
Friday, June 28, 2013
Who Are You Part 4
By Richard L Spangler
Galatians 4:5-7Amplified Bible (AMP) 5To purchase the freedom of (to ransom, to redeem, to atone for) those who were subject to the Law, that we might be adopted and have sonship conferred upon us [and be recognized as God's sons].6And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father! 7Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, through Christ.
These verses plus many more show us that we are God’s Family. We are His sons and daughters. This is who we are. We have full and unrestricted access to the Father. This is a powerful relationship. We can enter God’s presence any time we want and just the Throne Room (a place of petitions) but we have the run of the house.
We can go into all the rooms of
the house. The great thing is there will always be more and more rooms to
explore, for our Father has a big house, bigger than we can imagine. We can
roam the gardens; play in the Pools of Life created by the River of Life. We
roam the various mountain ranges of the kingdom and eat of the never ending
supply of food, which is there for us to enjoy.
Best of all is spending time with the
Father. God desires us to spend time with him and He smiles when we come
through the door and ask to be with Him. This was the purpose of creation, that
God would have a family and that we, by our own free will would choose to love
him and to spend time with him. This above all else is why mankind was created.
He created us in his image for this purpose so we could enjoy each other
forever. One of the great and wonderful mysteries of this is, it is always one
on one, just you and the Father and it can be the same for every person in the
universe at the same time, if they desire it. We must also remember that our Father, is the LORD GOD, THE CREATOR, THE ALL POWERFUL KING OF ALL, who is from everlasting to everlasting. We must honor and worship Him as such.
As we realize this relationship of being a
child of God, everything we do, being a servant, a king, a priest, and friend
all flow out of this relationship. We operate in the various positions in the
kingdom with the proper attitude of love. We don’t do things because we have to;
we do them because we want to, out of our love for our Father. This loving
relationship between us, as children with God our Father opens the door for a
revelations and experiences beyond what we can ever imagine.
So begin to think of yourself and see yourself
as God our Father sees you, as His child whom He loves and wants to spend time
with. Who He wants to share with all that has with you. He wants to reveal
himself to you. Then you will have a life to full and overflowing and you can
answer the question, “Who are You?”
©COPYRIGHT 2012 RICHARD L SPANGLER
An excerpt from my book, ADVENTURES IN THE
SPIRIT A Series of Prophetic Visions….I am sitting on the river bank, still wearing the Armor of
God, rejoicing and praising God for the day’s victory. Suddenly, the Glory of
God falls on me and lifts me up higher and higher until I find myself standing
at the entrance to the Throne Room of God. The massive doors are open and
looking up, the entrance appears to be several miles high and glow with the
Glory of God. I hear the voices of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
calling me to enter….
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Who Are You Part 3
By
Richard L Spangler
In part 1 of Who Are You, we looked at the servant. In part 2 we looked at the kings and priest. All of these have varying degrees of relationship with God.
The next level of relationship is that of
friend. A friend as defined by Webster’s
Dictionary is: 1a: one attached to another by affection
or esteem b: acquaintance
2 a: one that is
not hostile b: one that
is of the same nation, party, or group 3: one that favors
or promotes something (as a charity) 4: a favored companion
Enoch was
one such person in Genesis 5:22-24Amplified Bible (AMP) 22Enoch
walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300
years and had other sons and daughters.23So all the days of Enoch
were 365 years.24And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God;
and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].This is an amazing friendship
with God. This same type of relationship is mentioned of Noah in Genesis 6:8-9.
In
Genesis 18:3 Abraham
refers to himself as a servant but God calls Abraham his friend in Genesis
18:17. This shown by the discussion that follows a friend is allowed debate a
decision and servant is not.
Jesus speaks of friendship and the difference
between friends and servants in John 15:15 I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know
what his master is doing (working out). But I have called you My friends,
because I have made known to you
everything that I have heard from My Father. [I have revealed to you everything that I have
learned from Him.]
A friend has
a closer relationship than a servant, a priest or king, but a friend can be any
of these as well. But there are limits in the relationship of a friend and
access to the house. There are parts of a house that are for the family and for
the family only. The good news is we are in family of God.
We will look at Family of God in the 4th
and final part of this series coming soon.
©COPYRIGHT 2012 RICHARD L SPANGLER
Saturday, June 22, 2013
WHO ARE YOU? PART 1
By Richard Spangler
A servant is one who goes and does what the master tells him to do. A
servant does things whether they want to or not. They do what they are told.
Their relationship with the master is to do or be punished. There may develop a love
for their master (if he is a good person), but the relationship is overshadowed
by having to please the master or be punished. If
the servant wants something from the master, he must beg for it and may have to
extras for the master, who may or may not grant their request.
This is true of many Christians, we see ourselves
only as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. We go and do as the Holy Spirit
tells us. Many believers never get beyond the servant level of relationship
with God. We limit ourselves to the servant, as did Abram. We try to please God
into granting us His blessings. The servant attitude prevails: I have to pray
more, fast more, read more, memorize more and do more to get God’s favor so He
will bless us with finances, health, healing, deliverance and anything else we
might ask.
This can lead us down the road of legalism, of having to do to get.
Unfortunately, this attitude and relationship with God has been taught, by many
church leaders as “The Relationship with God” and in order to serve God we must
serve them without question, as a good servant.
I am not saying that a servant of the Lord does not love God because he
or she does. But, the mentality of the servant position colors everything about
our relationship with God. Notice that I said, “Servant position” for it is not
who we are in Christ. It is what we do out of our love for God. God stated
later in Genesis 18 that He saw Abram as more than a servant, and He sees us as
much more than a servant, but more about that later.
©COPYRIGHT 2012 RICHARD SPANGLER
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