The Lord as Our Shelter

Our conflict is within ourselves and our battle surrounds our every move. The only way to overcome is by placing confidence in the Holy Spirit.

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Psalms 91:5,6

5

"Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flieth by day;"

6

"Of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the destruction that wasteth at noonday."

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The terror by night, and the pestilence that walketh in the darkness, are symbolic of the times of weakness and doubt we all have. Our mind and heart are the target of that which directly attacks us, and is specific about its direction. We have no defense against this because we do not see where it comes from, nor do we have control over what develops from it. Our minds and our hearts are the focus of these attacks, because they are the foundation of our consciences.

The arrows that fly in the day, and the destruction that wasteth at noonday; are symbolic of the trial and the struggles that we have placed in front of us in our path in life. These attacks are different, as they are circumstances that come upon us. These attacks are challenging our motives, and piercing our reasoning. Our reactions to these attacks are the desired outcome. By how we choose to react, judgement is sown.

By our conscience and in our acts, we are defined in heavenly realms. This understanding is one of the keys to why we needed the ministry of salvation. Only through the truth, are we shown mercy, and only by acting on the truth, are we capable of bringing holiness through us. Without belief in Jesus as the Christ, and acting on that faith, we are unable to overcome ourselves, and that which is set before us. We are slaves to sin, as everything that is not done in faith, is sin.

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Psalms 91:2-4

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

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It is important to remember that the challenges we face in ourselves and the circumstances that come upon us are set in motion by God. They are like a river that flows, the current is always in the same direction, and nothing we do changes it. We are bound by this law of creation, it is wisdom to realize we can only find dry land in spirit.

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Psalms 92:14-16

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

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We are not here to overcome the river, we are here to realize the darkness, and learn to rely on the light that faith provides.

Our conflict is within ourselves and our battle surrounds our every move. The only way to overcome is by placing confidence in the Holy Spirit, this Spirit of Truth, that is the mercy of God for those who seek it. Deliverance is found by seeking the authority which is the light in the darkness, and the healing balm, the shield and only defense. This process of overcoming what is set within us and upon us, is the wisdom of spiritual living.

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Psalms 92:9-14

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

and you make the Most High your dwelling,

10 no harm will overtake you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

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Life is spiritual, and existence is meaningless. We all must learn to rely on the light, the truth of our spiritual attachment to God. Everything else is a distraction, and destructive. The night always comes, and the battle is always present for us. But instead of fighting the current, or fighting the battle, let your faith in the Lord and his authority set you on dry land, and shield you from making consequence in your circumstance. Faith is all we are responsible for when our trust is in the Holy Authority of Christ our Lord.-

Pure Integrity

A friend of mine lost his job yesterday.

Like most things, what happened was not rooted in a single action, but a development. Small circumstances that build into an ultimatum, where a man has to make a decision that will come with a consequence.

This letter is about what it means to separate ourselves from the world. I can say that after thirty-one years of work, I am aware that nothing comes easy, and everything we fight for, comes at a cost to others, or ourselves. There is no right or wrong, only our perception based on our knowledge of good and evil. There is no victory that is real, as every victory has built its foundation on creating loss. For mankind continues to rely on its own judgement, and this because we are bound by our preconceptions, and limited by our personal knowledge. Solution? Separate the worldliness from the holiness of God in our day.

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Matthew 6:24

24

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

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In terms that we can relate to, it is better to devote our heart and mind into serving the will of God by being loving in our day. That may include being forgiving, showing mercy, being thankful, having compassion, or bearing holiness through our denial of our own will. And in the work world, the more responsibility and authority you have, the harder it becomes to do these things. We have a term: 'The corporate machine has no conscience'. That term identifies how difficult it is to honor God, when you are paid to protect and honor the workings of profit and development. As believers then, how much harder is it to put God first in a work day.

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1 Corinthians 15:58

58

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

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Nothing in this world should be relied upon. That is a good summary that is reliable. Just think of Job, who had everything stripped from him. The reason was to see if he would still be thankful to God, to fear the Lord and love Him the same. Our existence is meaningless, and so any worldly value we create during it, distracts us from what is really important, putting the Father first. Yes, we are in a day and time when a man has to work in order to maintain himself. But beyond that, is it not worldly ambition that drives him to define his worth? Yes. When we try to define ourselves by our worldly acts, we are no longer putting God first.

Returning now to the consequences we create. While we strive for gain, whether it be wealth, or survival, whether it be identity or authority, whatever is our ambition, it is selfish. And we know from Christ Jesus, without setting ourselves aside, we cannot serve holiness. Yet man has a way of trying to find a balance between the two masters. We have a tendency to convince ourselves that what we are doing is good: good for ourselves, or for the greater good in general. But this is all a lie, for there are none that are good, not one. And with all lies comes consequence, either for ourselves, or for others, or for both.

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Matthew 5:43-48

43

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor i and hate your enemy.’

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But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

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that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

46

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

47

And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

48

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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I shared this from Matthew 5 for a reason. The wisdom herein, explains what it means to put God first, even when it is not what the world describes. Firstly, none are perfect here, but those who deny themselves because they are confident that holiness/perfection can come through them. Perfection has perfect understanding, love does not choose sides, love is actually what brings peace. When we put God first in the present moment, what comes through us is born of selfless service. It is not recognized in the ways the world recognizes. The worldly preconceptions and perceptions we carry forward are the reason we have enemies, division, and create cost in all we do. But if we set that all aside to have what is righteous come through us, our conscience is clear, because we know what has been done is perfect.

My friend lost his job. He will find another. Tomorrow someone else will fill his position. He will also grow in knowledge, build consequences, and come to a circumstance where he will create cost; either for himself or others, or both. The ways of the world are set. What we have to do is choose to put God first, and then with a clear conscience, serve righteousness, no matter the consequences. Because in the end, our integrity should not be based on what we do in the world, but what we bring into the world that honors God.

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The following is a gentle wake up call

The following is a gentle wake up call. This letter is to bring about your sincerity, by clarifying your duty as a believer.

Jesus summarized the commandments, bringing light to what honors the Father. The commandments set out through Moses only served to identify sin, so that it could be recognized and then no longer done. In either case, mankind still remains murderous, in covets, thefts, and in adultery.

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Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

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Psalms 89:19-37

19

Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said:

“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;

I have raised up a young man from among the people.

20

I have found David my servant;

with my sacred oil I have anointed him.

21

My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.

22

The enemy will not get the better of him; the wicked will not oppress him.

23

I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries.

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My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted.

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I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.

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He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’

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And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,

the most exalted of the kings of the earth.

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I will maintain my love to him forever,

and my covenant with him will never fail.

29

I will establish his line forever,

his throne as long as the heavens endure.

30

“If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes,

31

if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands,

32

I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;

33

but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.

34

I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.

35

Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—

and I will not lie to David—

36

that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun;

37

it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.”

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Jesus was born through Mary, who was of David's lineage. Jesus was born to bring righteousness into the world and to defeat the bonds of death. Jesus was born of woman but was not of man. He is the first and last sacrifice that atoned for the sins of all mankind. He is the living Savior, the Holy Authority of God.

Jesus explained to us that the purpose of commandments was so that we could grow to love the Father, and seek His mercies. As well, to love one another, treating each other as we would have ourselves be treated. For love is the foundation of all that is holy, as God is Love. If we can learn to love one another, because we love the Father, we are honoring what the Son provided us to glorify Him with.

Having said this, after nearly two thousand years after the ascension, these two commandments have been set aside by a great number of those who claim to believe in Christ's authority. That is like saying you believe it is raining, but walk outside expecting to not get wet. When you say you believe in something, your action confirms it.

Bible study and biblical education that is not Spirit led created misconceptions that have been taught for generations. Religions and churches became political and social climates instead of gatherings to serve God's will.

The one misconception that stands out most is that we can kill and consider it God's will. You cannot say you love someone and kill to defend them. You cannot take life to defend life, that is a work of misconception. If you put God first in all things, you realize that all life is equal in His eyes. If anything, one can lay down his own life for another. But today we have nations that have soldiers and army pastors, that claim they are the righteous hand of God. And they kill, in belief they are the good. And their enemies kill in belief they are the good.

The Sabbath for those under the mediation of Christ is called 'Today'. Everyday, we put God first, deny ourselves, and what acts we do are done in love of Him, then in love for others. This is the day that the Lord has made, we then rejoice and are glad in it.

Then there is the covetous misconceptions. The sin of covetous is placing value on what you desire, instead of desiring to have value to God. We covet our relationships, putting them above our relationship with God. We covet what we gain in the world, instead of gathering treasures and glory for our eternal dwelling. We covet power and influence, instead of denying ourselves to have what is holy come through us in our humbled state. Covetous is an issue for all Christians to consider. Yet there is false teachers that reach back into the old testament and set themselves up as those who walked a path of righteousness. They claim there is worldly favor for those who abide in the commandments and ordinance set out under the mediation of Moses. This is false, and creates dissension, inequality, bitterness, envy, and hatred in a group of believers who are meant to love one another. Covetous has become acceptable, even glorified.

North America was founded on theft, but claimed in the name of Jesus. Thieves that overcame and destroyed native people and their ways. Instead of setting an example, and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them, they claimed righteousness as they plundered continents, and they claimed righteousness as they claimed land and set up their authorities and religions. Great human atrocities, all in the name of God. Again, because the bible was used to defend their will, instead of the understanding of Christ, leading them to do the Father's will.

In our day, adultery is found festering in Christians. Very rare is it that a man stays with his childhood love. Very rare is it that a woman stays with the first man she was bound to. Instead, human liberty, and expressions of freedom in modern society, find people have expectations of love. Instead of placing God first, and basing their relationship of their unity in Him, people are raised with expectations, desiring what their perceive, and limiting themselves to what they are comfortable doing. Adultery has all but destroyed the purity of a united flesh in God.

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Psalms 89:29-33

29

I will establish his line forever,

his throne as long as the heavens endure.

30

“If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes,

31

if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands,

32

I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;

33

but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.

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The Father said that He will never take His love from His Son, nor will He betray the faith He placed in His Son. We know this is as it is said.

But as children of the living Son, we are still accountable for our actions, during our lives. Even though those who carry the Holy Spirit into death are no longer held by the consequence of our sin, while we are still here, our actions still find punishment if they do not subscribe to our faith.

The rod of punishment is the balance of cost for our transgression. And the flogging is the depth of that cost being returned onto us. Both the rod and the flogging are conditions that develop from our acts that do not align with the two commandments of Christ's Authority. This is not to discourage us from faith, but to bring our faith into obedience.

We are loved. We can love. But what love requires is denial of self, as an act of faith. You do not claim to love God then deny Him. You do not claim to love some then kill others, or steal from others or covet what others have, or tempt them with your desires. Love is for the Father first, then, you define everything you do by that love, and this foundation is the good that follows you into eternity.

This letter was to bring about your sincerity, by clarifying your duty as a believer.

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John 6:29

29

Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

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Reliance on the Holy Spirit

I pray for you to grow in reliance on the Holy Spirit upon you, if you indeed have that Spirit in you.

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Romans 12:1,2

1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

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Either your mind is on that which you were born to survive in, or your mind has been renewed; seeking instead that in which you put your faith in. Either your mind is set on what is placed in front of you, or your mind puts confidence in what is the unseen qualities of holiness.

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Romans 8:20-22

20

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope

21

that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

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Life itself is not defined by this existence. This existence, this cyclical process of death, is a challenge set forth with a purpose. That purpose is to bring life beyond this existence, and do so by a reliance on the unseen qualities of the Spirit of God. That same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, is the same Spirit that will free creation from the bonds of decay. Life is of this Holy Spirit.

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Mark 4:26-29

26

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.

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Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

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All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.

29

As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

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Life manifests through the physical, the physical does not manifest life. Through a reliance on the Holy Spirit, faith gives purpose that is beyond what our minds have knowledge of. This is what is means to renew our minds. Our reliance on our own understanding of what is placed in front of us to react to, is what we are here to overcome. We are raised to think our actions are what manifest in the physical. But what the truth is, we are to act on a reliance of the unseen qualities of God. We are the vessels in which these unseen qualities enter creation.

How do we know if we are acting by the Spirit of God? We know we act on God's will if what we are doing is selfless, and that what we do is done either for our love of God or our love for one another. It is foreign to worldly ways. Those around us who remain of themselves will not understand our actions. They will see it as weakness, or they will mistrust us, or they will persecute and hate us for it. This is because selflessness goes against their fundamental understanding of survival and gain.

It is a progress for us. We must unlearn what we grew up to be. We replace our need to react with our knowledge we gained as worldly beings, and separate ourselves from it. Our decisions become simple, we no longer make strategies to prosper. Instead, we strive to remain reliant on the guidance that comes in the moment, as life is in the present moment.

This is a sacrifice worthy of God. It is a sacrifice to deny ourselves, in order to conform to the Father's will. This goes beyond the commandments of Law, it is how we should walk in our day. Not just aware of sin, and refraining from it. But denial of our reactions, in reliance on the Spirit, that through our faithfulness, holiness manifests.

The Kingdom is the conscience of holiness. The power of creation and all the unseen qualities of God are near us, ready to manifest through us. The Kingdom is what the children of God were made to rejoice. It is the Love of God, the heart of God which we celebrate. The Holy Spirit is our eternal companion, it is the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Life, it is the Spirit of the Holy Authority.

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Colossians 3:1-4

1

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

3

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

4

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

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I pray for you to grow in reliance on the Holy Spirit upon you, if you indeed have that Spirit in you.

The Conscience

In our conscience, we either rely on our knowledge or we rely on the unseen qualities of God.

The world is separated in this way. We all begin life relying on our own knowledge to define the action of conscience we make. But as time sees generations pass, we notice that the children seem more willing to seek out better ways to treat one another. This is due to their parents having been willing to act on faith.

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Romans 5:17

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For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

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Christ Jesus brought the Kingdom of Heaven close to us. What is the Kingdom? It is much like the conscience of God. Within the Kingdom are the valued holy fruits that are available to mankind. And now through Jesus, the Kingdom is known as our path to having righteousness come through us as a service to God's will. Without Christ Jesus and his gospel, mankind assumed, (or were led to assume), that the fruits of the Kingdom, that righteousness, was of their making. But we understand now that righteousness is of God alone. So the Kingdom is where this righteousness is, and it is full and overflowing.

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Matthew 13:10-15

10

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

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Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

13

This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

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In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15

For this people’s heart has become calloused;they hardly hear with their ears,and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

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When righteousness is claimed and has been claimed by an individual, it is considered bad fruit. Why? Because it does not honor the Father. No harvest that does not honor the land owner is considered good, it is considered stolen.

This is why it is important to acknowledge that what is holy only comes through the efforts of the servant, not of the servant. See? And the reason this is important, is the unseen factor. For goodness in an act claimed by a man, ends there. But goodness that honors the unseen qualities of God, flourishes, spreading out and multiplying. Just like the loaves and fishes.

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Luke 9:16

16

Taking the five loaves and the two fish. And looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people

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If Jesus broke a loaf in two, and separated a fish in pieces, and did these things by his own hands, the pieces would have remained as they were, and would have fed only few. But he did not do this by his own hands. Instead he raised up with faith the full loaf and fishes, so to show the Father honor in his faithfulness. And by doing so, the Father recognized his faithfulness, and with overflowing regard, overflowed His power through Jesus by the Kingdom. The purpose of service is to serve selflessly.

The holy conscience is not physical it is spiritual. But the physical reacts to what it relies upon. We have the capacity to rely on faith. In that confidence, and in the sincerity of service, holiness manifest through us. Like an empty vessel that is filled over and over again.

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2 Corinthians 4:17

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But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

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So seek first the Kingdom of God, and in His righteousness, all these things will be added unto you. The Kingdom is near, and only through Christ Jesus does the glory go to the Father.

This is the Truth.

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Grains and Your Storehouse

A storehouse in real terms where a farmer takes his grain to keep it sheltered from the environment for the sake of future days to come. When he needs the storehouse has supply.

Grains are considered the bounty of harvest. When a farmer harvests, he separates the weeds from the harvest wheat, then the chaff from the grains. Everything that is not grain, is then burned away.

A storehouse is spiritual terms is what a soul stores up. Whether is be evil or good, what it stores up is what the soul takes out of its supply when it needs it.

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Matthew 12:35

35

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

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Matthew 6:19-21

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“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

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But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

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So what grains are there? There are grains of worldliness and there are grains of holiness. The two are separate, but both are acted upon.

When grain is ground down to become flour, this is symbolic of using our little bit of wisdom in an action. That flour can then be rolled in dough, which is symbolic of our intent. When we add yeast to flour, we set it aside, and allow the yeast to work. The yeast is the unseen quality of faith. Faith makes our intent grow, flourish.

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Matthew 13:33

33

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

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What is holy, that is kept as wisdom, are the times we are witness to what is good, that either came through us or others. When we supply ourselves that wisdom, our intention is to use that wisdom to build off of. So we put our faith in what good we have witnessed, and watch it grow into something that can provide more than what we ourselves are capable of supplying alone.

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Matthew 16:11,12

11

How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

12

Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

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The Law and its teachings are not of holy wisdom but of the knowledge of sinful works. Their purpose was to bring about awareness to promote repent, and as this wine matures, lead souls into an understanding of faith. But the Pharisees and Sadducess promoted this knowledge and their religion as the way to remain in God's favor while living in worldliness. Therefore placing faith in this, was using their yeast. And using their yeast, left the soul without true nourishment, as it lacked holiness. Amen.

What is not holy, that is kept as human wisdom, is the knowledge of the workings of this world that we have witnessed from our own acts or the acts of others. When we rely on this knowledge, our intention is to build off of it. So we put our faith in what we have witnessed, and we watch it grow into something that can provide more than what we ourselves are capable of supplying alone.

The lesson here is to recognize what good can come through you. Our intentions should be focussed on storing up that wisdom. For when we are in need, we have a choice; to either supply ourselves with what we desire, or, supply what good can come from denying ourselves and acting on faith. One satisfies ourselves, the other satisfies the Lord. One fills our flesh, yet we go hungry again, and the other denies our desires, but serves the will of God.

When we store up what is good, we recognize that we have overtime, stored up holiness at the cost of denying ourselves. This sacrifice was done in faith. It is this perseverance that matures our reliance on the unseen qualities of God, our recognition of the fruits of our labour in service, as well as our capacity to discern in the moment what is holy and true.

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Matthew 13:12

12

Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

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Righteousness is of God alone. His righteousness comes through us in our acts of faith. Grains of righteousness are holy. The more we gather these acts of holiness through our faith, the more confident we are a capable servant in our humility of service. But for those who believe themselves as what is righteous, what they do, even if the acts are good, will fall away from them, as these acts serve themselves instead of the will of God.

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John 6:29

29

Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

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Gather and retain righteous grains in your storehouse. Suffer the denial of your own desire, in confidence that more righteousness can come through you to serve the will of God. Supply what you have gathered, by first applying the wisdom you have been witness to, then work it with faith. Your intent is to serve the will of God, by allowing faith to act in unseen ways to manifest holiness.

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