....thought seed 27

you're a torch..

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.Matthew 5:16

....thought seed 26

we are only a reflector....

Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." Luke 11:36

....thought seed 25
is your bulb dirty?

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. Luke 11:34

Spurgeon quote - 'If I have dirt in my heart I will have dust in my eyes '

....thought seed 24


Go on, be a big lamp!

"Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light." - Luke 8:16 NASB

....thought seed 23

Read this today and thought it was simple + fresh truth, if you're in His refuge feel 'safe' and 'protected'

'because God's your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can't get close to you,harm can't get through the door. He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they'll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.' - Psalm 91:9-12

....thought seed 22


Fragrance 4 of 3 (summary - go scent someplace or someone)

2 Corinthians 2: 14-17

........through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God..........

Defining quote:

“A sweet savour of Christ! It does not consist so much in what we do, but in our manner of doing it; not so much in our words or deeds, as in an indefinable sweetness, tenderness, courtesy, unselfishness, and desire to please others to their edification. It is the breath and fragrance of a life hidden with Christ in God, and deriving its aroma from fellowship with Him. Wrap the habits of your soul in the sweet lavender of your Lord’s character.” (Meyer)

....thought seed 21


Fragrance Part 3 of 3



Song of Solomon 4:16
Awake, O north wind, And come, wind of the south; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, Let its spices be wafted abroad .May my beloved come into his garden and eat its choice fruits!"




(our friend 'agalilly' provided me with this brilliant insight into fragrance, thanks)

A couple of interesting points on how flowers release their fragrance and why!.....

1) The underlying biological purpose of flower fragrances is to advertise to insects that food is available - Wow! To me that means that if we are the flowers and the insects are the lost then the deposit of our 'fragrance of Christ' on the lost is saying "there is a source of food available to satisfy your hunger"! Insects who accidentally land on these flowers even if not looking for food can often be inticed by the aroma.

John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

2) Flower fragrances tend to be a their highs when they have sufficient nutrition! That means our fragrance can be intensified by getting fed from our relationship with God. That's not working and working and working, doing, doing, doing, striving, striving, striving...but by just abiding, receiving and letting the 'sap' of God's amazing life blood flow through us unabated and letting those rich, power-packed nutrients intensify that Christ fragrance - no Eau de Toilette please....only do Eau de Parfum...... the real deal!

....thought seed 20

Fragrance Part 2 of 3

2 Corinthians 2: 14-17 NASB

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life And who is adequate for these things?

For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God,we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

The term in verse 14 for fragrance (osme) is used of both pleasant and unpleasant odors. In verse 15, however, Paul shifts to euedia, which refers only to agreeable smells, and further defines this odor as an aroma of Christ to God. A number of backgrounds that Paul may be drawing on have been proposed. For the Jew, Paul's language would immediately bring to mind the scent of burnt offerings, which in the Old Testament are described as a "pleasing aroma to the Lord" (for example, Lev 23:18; Num 28:2-6), while to the Gentile euedia would recall the smell of incense being burnt as a fragrant offering to the gods. (words from a commentary)

Think on these meanings for a while, it starts to place the meaning and reality of it as Paul intended:

osmē
1) a smell, odour

euōdia
1) a sweet smell, fragrance
2) a fragrant or sweet smelling thing, incense, on odour or something sweet smelling
a) an odour of acquiescence, satisfaction
b) a sweet odour, spoken of the smell of sacrifices and obligations, agreeably to the ancient notion that God smells and is pleased with the odour of sacrifices
3) metaph. a thing well pleasing to God

Both words come from the word – ozō
1) to give out an odour (either good or bad), to smell, emit a smell
a) of a decaying corpse

....thought seed 19

Fragrance Part 1 of 3
Following on from thought seed 10.

Our instruction

2 Corinthians 2: 14-17 NASB

..........,and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those.......

2 quotes to think on.......

i. No sense remains in the memory like scent. There is nothing we remember more strongly than pleasant smells, except perhaps unpleasant smells. “Thus the apostle wished that his life might be a sweet perfume, floating on the air, reminding me, and above all reminding God, of Christ.” (Meyer)

ii. “A sweet savour of Christ! It does not consist so much in what we do, but in our manner of doing it; not so much in our words or deeds, as in an indefinable sweetness, tenderness, courtesy, unselfishness, and desire to please others to their edification. It is the breath and fragrance of a life hidden with Christ in God, and deriving its aroma from fellowship with Him. Wrap the habits of your soul in the sweet lavender of your Lord’s character.” (Meyer)

....thought seed 18

Read this thought it was worth posting.

'Coming together is a

BEGINNING,

Keeping together is

PROGRESS,

Working together is

SUCCESS' - Henry Ford

....thought seed 17

Philippians 3: 13b NIV ‘..forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.’











Straining

–verb (used with object)
· to draw tight or taut, esp. to the utmost tension; stretch to the full: to strain a rope.
· to exert to the utmost: to strain one's ears to catch a sound.

· to pass (gravy, for example) through a filtering agent such as a strainer.
· to draw off or remove by filtration: strained the pulp from the juice.
[ not totally sure of exact relevance of these 2 meanings to the context given in scripture
here, but felt it was another real aspect in life of ‘straining forward’.]

–noun
· great or excessive effort or striving after some goal, object, or effect.
· a task, goal, or effect accomplished only with great effort

....thought seed 16



Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by how many times it takes your breath away.......

....thought seed 15



"Praise be to the Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city." Psalm 31:20




I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene
And wonder how he could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean

For me it was in the garden He prayed 'Not my will, but thine'
He had no tears for His own griefs, but sweat drops of blood for mine

In pity angels beheld Him and came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows He bore for my soul that night

When, with the ransomed in glory, His face I at last shall see
Twill be my joy through the ages to sing of His love for me

How marvelous! How wonderful!And my song shall ever be
How marvelous! How wonderful!Is my Savior's love for me

....thought seed 14

Isaiah 43:19
"Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert"

....thought seed 13


Plans + Steps











Proverbs 16:9 (New American Standard Bible)
The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. – we have our part and God has His

Proverbs 20:5
A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of understanding draws it out. – it is man who draws out the plan from within himself, but it is God who planted it there

Proverbs 16:1
The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. – let the plans of our heart be ours but seek God about them so that they are His when we speak them out.

Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand. – our plans without Gods council will fall and fail but plans, planted, advised, refined and stepped out with and by God will stand.

Psalm 37:23
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way. – as we plan and as we speak it out God takes control and places each step in the right place and order.

Proverbs 20:24
Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, how then can man understand his way? – if we can understand the steps we are taking, are they from God? And why should we question steps we are to take if they seem alien to us, we cannot understand His ways.

Jeremiah 10:23
I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. – don’t let us do anything without His direction

....thought seed 12

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 1 John 5:4

....thought seed 11

Whats is your smell?

(A scripture pointed to by Pastor Bill, speaking at KLCC, Lisburn)

2 Corinthian 2:14-17 MSG

14-16 In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.

16-17 This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No— but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.

....thought seed 10


Can we help?

2(nasb)"Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here."

3But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, "You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us."

4 (msg)So these people started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built. They even hired propagandists to sap their resolve. They kept this up for about fifteen years,

See Ezra 4: 1-5

Can we finish it?

6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.
7 'What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"
[Msg-'You can't force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,' says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. 'So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you're nothing but a molehill. He'll proceed to set the Cornerstone in place, accompanied by cheers: Yes! Yes! Do it!']
8 Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
9 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
10 "For who has despised the day of small things?

See Zechariah 4: 1-10

....thought seed 9



In Hebrew, chutzpah is used indignantly, to describe someone who has over-stepped the boundaries of accepted behavior with no shame.

Background
Boldness is an opposite of being shy. A bold person may be willing to risk shame or rejection in social situations, and willing to bend rules of etiquette. Boldness does not necessarily mean obnoxious; it is possible for one to be bold, while staying silent. Excessive boldness may thus be regarded as impertinence or arrogance. Outside a social context, "boldness" can also refer to a willingness to get things done, even despite risks, and is therefore broadly synonymous with bravery.

[Etiquette is a code that influences the expectations and behaviour of social behaviour, according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group.]

‘Etiquette is the code of religion; Boldness is the mark Grace in Jesus and Power in the Spirit’ -WMcC

Dictionary meaning
Boldness =

courage, recklessness, adventurousness, bravery, daring, dauntlessness, fearlessness, nerve, determination, confidence.

Greek Meaning

Boldness - parrhsiða - freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech
· openly, frankly, i.e without concealment
· without ambiguity
· without the use of figures and comparisons

The Bible Context

Psalm 119:46 – Ashamed?
I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed.

I John 4:18 – Under Grace there is no fear or boldness
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

Proverbs 28:1
But the righteous are bold as a Lion

Hebrews 10:35 - Rewards
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Ephesians 3:11b – 12 - Access
……the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

2 Corinthians 3:12 & 17 – Speak it with Liberty
Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Luke 11: 7-9 – Just ask and get answers
"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.

5-6Then he said, "Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend travelling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.'
7"The friend answers from his bed, 'Don't bother me. The door's locked; my children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.'
8"But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbours, he'll finally get up and get you whatever you need.
9"Here's what I'm saying:

Ask and you'll get;
Seek and you'll find;

Knock and the door will open.

Hebrews 4:16 - just do it
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

....thought seed 8



On this day.........
extracts from one speech to make another great speech






On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas………

…………..but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things…………

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten……….. what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

....thought seed 7

Titus 3:5 'By the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit'

.........nothing more needed said.....

....thought seed 6




speechless

sometimes we are before God, chill, God's got it covered.........this will make you speechless

Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)

26In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

27and He (that is God) who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (or God, who knows our hearts, knows the mind of the Spirit. The Spirit prays on behalf of God’s people, even as God wants him to pray.

The Spirit knows about our pain and he knows about the pain in the world. He knows what God wants. So the Spirit prays on behalf of us. God knows our thoughts and the mind of the Spirit. So God will answer the prayer of the Spirit on behalf of us

....thought seed 5





I, you, whatever........






Mark 11:24
24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 11:22
22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

John 14:13
13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

John 15:16
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

....thought seed 4

Waiting

for the 'pie in the sky when you die' - bono

....thought seed 3

GO

Isaiah 60:5
5Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall tremble and grow wide, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

Revelation 21:24
24By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,

....thought seed 2

LIGHT WALKIN
Background text - Eph 4:17 > 5:21

STEP 1 Eph 5:13,14 (awakening)
13But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
[Gods call to those who call Him saviour]

STEP 2 John 3:20,21 (Gods Filter)
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light,lest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."
[Many may not come 'Light Walkin' as many things being done are not called by God in many lives, its just works]

STEP 3 Romans 13:11-13a (Get dressed and get going)
11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime...
[Its now, the day is at hand, what works of darkness! do we need to cast off...busyness....and get dressed properly...then walk properly]

STEP 4 Isaiah 60:1,2 (Big Spotlight on you)
1Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
[Its you God wants you to shine, He wants you to be his Shine Runner]

STEP 5 Psalm 36:9 (Never ending power source, keep on keeping on)
9For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
[Burn out isn't in Gods plan]

STEP 6 Psalm 27:1 (With God, I'll laugh in the face of fear!)
1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
[Q: What is stopping you today? what is your fear?]

....thought seed 1



The man with a measuring stick
Ezekiel 40:1-4

v1 This is what happened at the beginning of the 25th year during our *exile. And it was in the 14th year after the defeat of the city. On the 10th day of the month, I felt the power of the *LORD upon me. He took me there. v2 In a *vision, God brought me to the country called *Israel. He put me on a very high mountain. On the south of the mountain, there were some buildings. They seemed to be a city. v3 God took me there. And I saw a man who was standing in the gate. He looked as if he were *bronze. In his hands, he had a string and a measuring stick. v4 The man spoke to me. ‘*Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears. Pay attention to all that I will show you. God brought you here for that purpose. Tell the *Israelites all that you see.’

Verse 1
Usually people say that a *vision is ‘like a dream’. But what happened to Ezekiel was much more powerful than a dream. Ezekiel emphasises this. He reports that the power of the *Lord came upon him. And then he seemed to be in the city. Or perhaps he was actually there. Certainly, it seemed to be reality to him.
Verse 2
At first sight, Ezekiel thought that he saw a city. But actually, this was just the *temple and the *holy buildings that surrounded it. The old *temple was in a city, that is, Jerusalem. But Ezekiel saw a *temple which was not in a city. All the area round the *temple was very *holy (43:12). And the capital city was separate from it (45:1-6). This was for a reason. It was necessary to separate this land from other land. Something that belongs especially to God deserves the greatest honour. One must never confuse *holy things with things that are not *holy. God protested about the wicked behaviour of the *Israelites when their doors were next to the door of his *temple (43:8). So in Ezekiel’s *vision, the *temple and the city were separate.
Verse 3
The man was like *bronze. Clearly, this was not an ordinary man. Ezekiel’s guide to this *temple would be an *angel. The *angel moved and walked like a man. But his skin seemed like metal. So the *angel was very impressive. And like metal, he was very strong and powerful. Too many people imagine that *angels are like the pictures on Christmas cards. Such people are wrong. The Bible describes *angels as strong soldiers, who fight battles against evil forces. They fight a war on God’s behalf, in order to rescue his people.
This *angel carried an architect’s tools. He would measure the *temple. In the Bible, ‘to measure’ is often a picture in words. It does not merely mean to work out the size of something. It also means to examine the quality of something. So Ezekiel does not merely report on the size of the *temple. Also, he records how well the people were *worshipping God.
Verse 4
This *vision was God’s message to the *Israelites. God did not merely show Ezekiel these things for Ezekiel’s own pleasure. God had an important message and the people needed to know that message.