#oh no :( the people i made are worshipping ‘false idols’ because i made them suffer and i flooded the earth and killed babies :(

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

On Holy Ground

a Prayer by Charles Spurgeon

“Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We fear that we often begin our prayer with petitions for ourselves and put our daily bread before Thy kingdom and the pardoning of our sins before the hallowing of Thy name. We would not do so today, but guided by our Lord’s model of prayer, we would first pray for Thy glory and here, great God, we would adore Thee. Thou hast made us and not we ourselves. We are Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture. All glory be unto Thee, Jehovah, the only living and true God.

With heart and mind, and memory and fear, and hope and joy, we worship the Most High. It well becomes us to put our shoes from off our feet when we draw near to God, for the place whereon we stand is holy ground. If God in the bush demanded the unsandalled foot of the prophet, how much more shall God in Christ Jesus?

With lowliest reverence, with truest love, we worship God in Christ Jesus, uniting therein with all the redeemed host above, with angels and principalities and powers. We cannot cast crowns at His feet, for we have none as yet, but if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, if there be about us anything of grace and good repute, we ascribe it all to God. We cannot veil our faces with our wings, for we have none, but we veil them with something better than angelic wings, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. With these we cover our faces, with these we cover our feet, and with these we fly up to God in holiest fellowship of God. Glory, and honor, and power, and dominion be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and forever.

Great God, we long that Thou mayest be known unto the ends of the earth, that the idols may be utterly abolished. We long that false doctrine may fly like birds of darkness before the light and Thy coming. Reign Thou in the hearts of our fellow-men. Lord, subdue sin and under Thy feet let drunkenness, and unchastity, and oppression, and every form of wickedness be put away by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit.

Oh! that today, even today, many hearts might be won to God. Convince men of the wrong of being alienated from God. Put into their hearts sorrow for sin and dread of wrath to come, and lead and drive men to Christ. Oh! how we pray for this, the salvation of our fellow-men, not so much for their sakes as for the sake of the glory of God and the rewarding of Christ for His pain.

We do with all our hearts pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Lord, help us to do Thy will. Take the crippled kingdom of our manhood and reign Thou over it. Let spirit and body be consecrated to God. May there be no reserves. May everything be given up to Thee. Reign forever! Pierced King, despised and nailed to a tree, sit Thou on the glorious high throne in our hearts and may our lives prove that Thou art Lord over us by our every thought and desire, and imagination, and word, and act, in every respect being under Thy divine control.

Thy people breathe to Thee out of their very hearts the prayer that Thou mayest reign over us without a rival. O Savior, use for Thyself what Thou hast bought with blood, and drive out the enemy, and let no power have any dominion over us except the power of Thy good Spirit which worketh righteousness and peace.

We pray today also that Thy truth may prevail against the many anti-Christs that have gone forth against it. Our Father, restore a pure language to Thy Zion once again. Take away, we pray Thee, the itching for new doctrine, the longing for that which is thought to be scientific and wise above what is written, and may Thy Church come to her moorings, may she cast anchor in the truth of God and there abide. And if it be Thy will, may we live to see brighter and better times.

If it might be so, we would pray for the coming of our Lord very speedily to end these sluggish years, these long delaying days. But if He come not, yet put power into Thy truth and quicken Thy Church that she may become energetic for the spread of it, that so Thy kingdom may come. This do we seek first and above everything, the glory of God. We ask for grace that we may live with this end in view. May we lay ourselves out to it. May this be our morning thought, the thought that we have in our minds when we lay awake at nights. What shall I do, my Savior, to praise? How can I make Him illustrious and win another heart to His throne? Now bless us. Forgive us our trespasses wherein we have sinned against Thee. Seal our pardon upon our consciences and make us feel that as we truly forgive them that trespass against us, so hast Thou forgiven us all our iniquities. We pray Thee, lead us not into temptation. Do not try us, Lord, nor suffer the devil to try us. If we must be tried then deliver us from evil, and especially from the evil one, that he may get no dominion over us.

Oh! keep us, Lord. This life is full of trial. There are many that are perplexed about temporary things. Let not the enemy lead them to do or think aught that is amiss, because of the straitness of supply. Others are blessed with prosperity. Lord, let it not be a curse to them. Let them know how to abound as well as to suffer loss. In all things may they be instructed to glorify God, not only with all they are, but with all they have, and even with all they have not, by a holy contentment to do without that which it doth not please Thee to bestow.

And then, Lord, give us day by day our daily bread. Provide for Thy poor people. Let them not think that the provision for themselves rests fully on themselves, but may they cry to Thee, for Thou hast said, “Thy bread shall be given thee, thy waters shall be sure.” If we follow Thee, if Thou lead us into a desert, Thou wilt strew our path with manna. May Thy people believe this and let them have no care, but like the birds of the air which neither sow nor gather into barns and yet are fed, so may Thy people be.

But above all, give us spiritual help. Give us wisdom, which is profitable to get. Give us the absence of all self-seeking and a complete yielding up of our desires to the will of God. Help us to be as Christ was, who was not His own, but gave Himself to His Father for our sins. So may we for His sake give ourselves up to do or suffer the will of our Father who is in heaven.

Remember Thy people in their families and convert their children. Give us help and strength. Spare precious lives that are in danger. Be gracious to any that are dying. May the life of God swallow up the death of the body. Prepare us all for Thy glorious advent. Keep us waiting and watching and do Thou come quickly to our heart’s desire, for we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever.” Amen.

#Charles H. Spurgeon #On Holy Ground #prayer

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): Before His Birth, His Birth and His Childhood

The Prophet is Under the Care of Abdulmuttalib, his Grandfather

When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) lost his mother at the age of six, his elderly grandfather took him under his care.

Abdulmuttalib, the leader of the Quraysh, had his share of the light of Ahmad. That light (noor) caused him to earn high merits and attributes.  Excellent traits like a bright face, kind words, shyness, gentleness, and a superior code of conduct were added to his height, large head, and grandiose appearance.  He was patient, clever, thoughtful, chivalrous and generous. Even animals were not exempted from his charity and generosity. He would even think about the hungry animals and birds on the mountains.

That light (noor) caused him to earn high merits and attributes.  Excellent traits like a bright face, kind words, shyness, gentleness, and a superior code of conduct were added to his height, large head, and grandiose appearance. Even animals were not exempted from his charity and generosity. He always thought and was concerned about the ones that roamed with hunger and thirst on the mountain tops.

He was one of the fortunate people who had not separated from the path of light that was in between the vast darkness of the age of ignorance. He was very devoted to Allah and believed in the hereafter. Thus, he did not hesitate to place his most beloved son underneath a knife so that he could fulfill the promise that he had made to Allah. He would have sacrificed his son if the Qurayshis had not intervened. He would distance himself from the ugly rituals of the Age of Ignorance and would also prevent others from participating. At the same time, he would prevent others from the horrible practice of burying infant girls alive. He would always abstain from alcohol and adultery and would try to avert the occurring torture and injustice in Mecca with all his might.

He deeply enjoyed entertaining guests. He would pay close attention to his relatives and would show them compassion and loving kindness. Because of this wonderful quality, the Qurayshis would refer to him as “Ibrahim the Second”.

When Ramadan entered, he would retreat to the cave of Hira and would be preoccupied with worshipping; he was the first to have started this practice.

At the same time, this elderly grandfather knew what loving a child and grandchild was like. It was a great pleasure to love a grandchild as sweet and immaculate as the Master of the Universe (PBUH).

Abdulmuttalib truly loved his grandson who disseminated light everywhere. He sheltered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) like a delicate nestling in between his affectionate wings. He did not want to go anywhere without him. Even at this age, our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) behavior was no different than that of an enlightened person. Immediately, everyone would notice this extraordinary circumstance wherever he went. In fact, from time to time, Abdulmuttalib would first consult with his grandson before he provided any answers to the questions asked during meetings and conversations.

At that age, the Prophet was like a sincere friend of his old grandfather, a sympathetic ear and a trustable consultant. However, he always acted respectfully toward his grandfather.

Only he was allowed to sit on the seat of his grandfather!

A mat would almost always be laid out for Abdulmuttalib upon the shadow of the Kaaba’s wall. None of the children would get on top of this mat. Instead, they would sit around it and wait until their fathers came.

Abdulmuttalib would not take any of his children on this mat except for his grandson whom he would hug and place alongside himself. Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) uncles would always want to separate him from this mat; however, their father would hinder them and say:

“Release my son. By Allah, in the future, his reputation and glory are going to be great”.

He would then indicate his everlasting love for his venerable grandson by placing him alongside himself once more while gently rubbing his back. Nobody other than our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) had the courage to wake Abdulmuttalib up while he was sleeping. And nobody was able to enter Abdulmuttalib’s personal room without permission except for our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The elderly grandfather would have his radiant-faced grandson sit next to him or on his lap at the dining table. He would feed him the most delicious portion of the meal and would not allow the meal to begin until he came.

When the Prophet was a bit late!

One day, the Master of the Universe’s grandfather sent him to go look for his missing camel. When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was running slightly late, his grandfather was overcome with worry that he was lost. His sadness could easily be read on his face. He immediately ran to the Kaaba and opened his hands to pray to the Supreme Creator. He begged, “My Lord, please return my Muhammad back to me!”

A little while later, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) suddenly appeared with the camel right next to him. His grandfather happily hugged him and said “my unique grandson, dear, I was so sad and worried about you. I bawled so much that I will never have you leave my side and send you somewhere on your own from now on”. Indeed, Abdulmuttalib did not refrain from following his grandson like a shadow until his death.

What did the Yemeni ruler, Saif bin dhi Yazan, say to Abdulmuttalib

Abdulmuttalib, who loved our Holy Prophet (PBUH) wholeheartedly, was away from him for a short period of time only once during his life.

The Yemeni monarch, Saif bin Dhiyazan, recaptured his father’s country from the Habashis and occupied the throne in the city of Gumdan. Tribal chieftains were coming from all four sides of Arabia to congratulate him.

A committee representing Mecca that was headed by Abdulmuttalib was supposed to go to Gundam. For this reason, by leaving Mecca, Abdulmuttalib was going to be far away from our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Following their long journey, Saif bin Dhiyazan accepted the Meccan committee upon their arrival to Gundam. Abdulmuttalib received permission from the Emperor to mention his high merits and his father who had been an auspicious ruler. He made the following connection to specify and distinguish his committee:

“We are the people of this nation that Allah has made inviolable. We are the ministrants of the Baytullah (the Kaaba)”.

This statement grabbed the monarch’s attention, therefore he asked, “Oh smooth-spoken person, who are you?”

Abdulmuttalib answered, “I am Hashim’s son, Abdulmuttalib”.

Saif was interested in more. He said joyfully and excitedly, “So, you are my sister’s son”.

Abdulmuttalib said, “Yes.”

Upon hearing this, Saif took a greater interest in Abdulmuttalib and wanted him to come closer. He then said, “I learned that we are related. I am very happy with your visit. You are worthy of being treated very hospitably and of being conversed with day and night. You are a very honorable and esteemed people”.

Saif did not settle on those complimentary words. He proved that what he was sincere by entertaining Abdulmuttalib as a guest in his palace for a month.

The days in the palace were always spent by conversing. Saif had learned about the attributes of the forthcoming Prophet from the Holy Books and was finding some clues from his conversations. One day, he discreetly called Abdulmuttalib during a break so that no one would notice. He wanted to speak with him. When Abdulmuttalib arrived next to him, he said, “Oh Abdulmuttalib, “I am going to entrust a secret to you and I believe that this secret is related to you. We have been hiding this very great and important news that I have found in a book”.

Abdulmuttalib asked, “What is it?”

Saif then unveiled his secret: “It is probable that he is a living child. He is going to be or has been born in the region of Tihama, which is on your side of the country. He has a mole in between his shoulder blades. His grandfather and uncle will take him under their care when both of his parents die. He will show hospitality to both his friends and helpers and will cause his enemies to suffer from contempt. He is going to conquer the most prosperous places and be the people’s guide and leader until Armageddon. He will remove false religions, eliminate idol worship, and worship the Compassionate Lord. His words will solve impasses and his work will be based upon foresight and justice. He will always order for goodness to be done, will do good deeds, and will prevent others from committing misdeeds”.

Abdulmuttalib was overcome with curiosity and excitement and wanted the Ruler to further explain and to further open this secret. He said, “Oh, Emperor! May your life be long, your reign continuous, and your glory be great. Could you further describe this child?”

After the Emperor listed the other signs and proofs he said, “Oh, Abdulmuttalib. It means that when all these signs are considered, that you are probably the grandfather”. Abdulmuttalib immediately prostrated from happiness.

This time, it was the Emperor’s turn to be curious and puzzled. He asked, “Oh Abdulmuttalib! Did you sense anything from what I have told you?”

Saif was happy that he had not been mistaken and said, “Protect your grandchild very carefully. The Jews are enemy to him. Protect him so that they will not harm him. Nevertheless, Allah is not going to give his enemies the chance or the possibility to do so. According to what I have found and learned in the ancient books, Yathrib (Medina) is going to be his place of emigration and he is going to receive much help there”.

Both the Emperor and Abdulmuttalib were relieved for having solved a great impasse.

Saif bin Dhiyazan was heralding our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) advent as a Prophet.

A while later, the Emperor saw off the Qurayshi committee to Mecca by treating them with immense respect and honor and giving them generous gifts. Abdulmuttalib’s gifts were far more in number than everyone else’s. After he bid them farewell, the Emperor said, “I would like to you inform me of the changes that are seen in the child’s condition every year”.

However, in less than one year after this conversation, Saif bin Dhiyazan passed away without being able to receive any further news from the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) grandfather.

On their journey back, Abdulmuttalib’s companions asked him why the Emperor had given him more gifts and showed him more respect and kindness. He comforted them by saying, “Do not be jealous. There is a certain reason for this”.

When Abdulmuttalib arrived in Mecca after a month of separation, he hugged his radiant grandson with longing and tried to rid his pain of separation with the sweetness of having been reunited.

The Prophet, a means of “Mercy”

Our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) was still under his grandfather, Abdulmuttalib’s care.

Mecca and its surroundings were suffering from terrible hardship and famine due to the drought.

Abdulmuttalib, who understood his grandson’s degree of importance, took him and his son, Abu Talib, to the Abu Qubays Mountain. The Qurayshis were coming right behind them.

Abdulmuttalib turned his face towards the Kaaba and lifted our Holy Prophet (PBUH) towards the sky three times and begged, “My Lord! Gladden us by sending rain for the sake of this child”.

The supplication that was done out of respect for the Master of the Universe (PBUH) was accepted. Raindrops instantly mixed with the people’s and the gentry’s teardrops of happiness.

All of these occurrences further increased the love and attachment the grandfather had towards his grandson and strengthened his conviction that his grandson would become an exalted person in the future. And it was for this reason that he showed the utmost care to this radiant grandchild.

DEATH OF ABDULMUTTALİB

Abdulmuttalib, who had become considerably old, fell ill one day. And his illness was gradually increasing its level of intensity.

He understood that his emigration to the afterlife was near. However, he had one necessary duty left to fulfill: To choose a dependable person that he could entrust our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) to.

For this reason, he called all of his sons. Abu Lahab came into his mind. However Abu Lahab was a coldhearted and merciless individual, therefore Abdulmuttalib said “no” to himself.

How about Abbas? No, he could not be, either. He had so many children and could only find time for them.

How about Hamza? He could not accept him either. Hamza was young and interested in hunting. He would not be able to to show due attention and care to our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Very well. Then how about Abu Talib? He had found his radiant grandson’s guardian! Although Abu Talib’s assets were little, his compassion and mercy were ample. Only he deserved taking our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under his care.

Abdulmuttalib did not neglect asking our Holy Prophet (PBUH) for his opinion. He asked, “Which of your uncles’ custody would you like to be under?” Upon hearing his grandfather’s question, our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) got up from his spot and went to embrace his Uncle Abu Talib. And it was in this manner that he expressed whom he would like as his guardian.

Abdulmuttalib was happy that he had preferred the best candidate. Afterwards, he turned to Abu Talib and said, “I am entrusting him to you. He is a Divine trust. Promise me that you will protect him inspite of everything, even if it is at the cost of your own life so that I will not have to worry and my heart can be content”.

Abu Talib, who was deeply touched that our Master (PBUH) had favored him, responded to his father with teary eyes:

“Do not worry, my dear father. You can be assured that I will prefer him over my own children and my life. I promise that I will not allow anyone to harm him as long as I live”.

Abdulmuttalib was pleased a lot by his son’s statement and his eyes were filled with tears of happiness.

...And Muhammad (pbuh) was delivered by Abdulmuttalib to Abu Talib, his uncle.

Abdulmuttalib, who was unable to be saved from his afflicted illness, passed away from this world as an elderly man having exceeded 80 years and who was not yet full of his grandson’s happiness, love, and affection 

The date was 578 AD, eight years after the Year of the Elephant (Elephant Year).

The Meccan market was closed for days on account of Abdulmuttalib’s death. The Qurayshis and all those who loved and respected him mourned for days. His corpse was passed from one hand to the next in the highest esteem upon its burial. They then buried him in the Hajun cemetery next to his grandfather, Qusai. 

Tears of the Prophet

Beloved Prophet (PBUH) felt deep sorrow for having lost his grandfather. This incident reminded him of his parents’ emigration to the hereafter.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) could not contain his teardrops during his grandfather’s funeral and burial; sometimes he would sob and other times he would cry silently without making a single sound.

Many years later, they asked our Holy Prophet (PBUH) whether or not he remembered his grandfather’s death. He responded by saying, “Yes, I remember. I was eight years old at that time”.

The first eight years of Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) blissful life were filled with pain, sadness, and sorrow. From that age onwards, his great soul and compassionate heart were molded with anguish and tribulations so that he could endure the hardships and catastrophes that he would have to face in his future.

#allah #god #help #islam #religion #love #muslim #revert #convert #pray #salah #prayer #dua #hadith #quran #muslimrevert #muslimconvert #reverttoislam #converttoislam #reverthelp #reverthelpteam #howtoconverttoislam #welcometoislam

[gay-ghost-girl]

Ah, what do I fear?

I fear humanity being wiped out.

I fear the apocalypse in any sense of the word.

I fear all these viruses are turning us into zombies. Here we are, the walking undead, cold and numb and mindless but at least now we still have the choice. But once it gets us? Once we’re dead? Oh God please don’t let our bodies, our empty corpses that used to house our souls, oh please don’t let them hurt the ones who still have their own.

Pain is inevitable. Death is inevitable. But please God don’t let me cause them in the worst possible way, don’t let me… i don’t know.

God, I do not know your plan. I do not know what life you want for me but I’m terrified that I’m going to pick the wrong one. If I follow my heart then aren’t I being selfish? If I follow my head then aren’t I sinning with the knowledge of forbidden fruit? If I follow the world then won’t I not be making the best use of the person I am today? If I hide then aren’t I perpetuating a lack of forgiveness? If I kneel before fear and let it choose my path then aren’t I worshiping a false idol?

How to I follow you yet love humanity and not loose myself in the process. What is there left of me if I’m doing it all for you? For them? For the greed of wanting to go to heaven when I know, I KNOW how much I do not deserve it.

God please allow me to lay my sins down before you. Please don’t turn me away just because you sense my fear. Because don’t you see, I’m always scared. And when I’m not then the things around me just seem to fall apart.

God help me find the safe path. Help me find the path that will ultimately cause everyone the least suffering. Is it preaching a book I don’t entirely agree with? That doesn’t seem like it’s appropriate for me. I’m just a girl. A woman who has sinned countless times over. I’ve lied, I’ve cheated, I’ve taken advantage, I’ve mistreated my body and permitted others to do the same, I’ve encouraged harmful behaviours and I’ve perpetuated them myself.

My tattoos were meant for me. An art piece on the canvas of my skin. I find the concept beautiful. Are they hurting you? Are they hurting my soul? That was never my intention, God please, my intention has never truly been to cause anyone harm. So why do I still do it? Why can’t I think ahead without it ruining me?

You gifted me with my intuition, my empathy, my ability to think of all the possibilities, made me smart enough to use it to help. But I no longer know what’s actually helpful or not.

I like things to have a balance, not necessarily symmetry but a balance nonetheless, and no one else seems to be looking for the same future as me. Or the ones that are may be the worst ones for me to even go get help from because they’re just as closed off and selfish as I am.

In this world, money keeps you alive and comfortable enough to contribute back to the world. So is it wrong for me to desire vast wealth so that I can contribute back in a vast way? Or have I just manipulated that statement to make myself feel comfortable in my greed…

Your own book tells me that as a woman my job is for the care of the house. To please a husband. To have a child.

But I never wanted to be a housewife. I never wanted to rely on the financial support of a husband. I may have wanted to raise kids at one point, but I’ve never wanted them to genetically be my own. I don’t want to put my body through that. I don’t want to put my mind through that. Parenthood isn’t my goal.

Is it ok if my home is in my connections with other people? I can take care of that, or at least I’d like to try.

Is it ok for me to be financially independent so that I can find love based on mutual respect rather than necessity? I think it would help me trust peoples intentions more.

Is it ok if I never have a child? If I don’t want to be with the “perfect” image of a “Godly man”? If I want to be with a woman? If I want the love and protection and teamwork of multiple partners? Is it ok if our “children” are a broader concept than just who I give birth to? If it’s the generations younger than us who need our help more than any of us need to bring yet another kid into this worlds suffering and anguish. Is it ok if someday (if parenthood does sound appealing for the right reasons) if I adopt? If I take care of some kid who was left to figure it all out on their own like I feel I have been?

Is it ok if I have tattoos that help me feel my own individuality again? Is it ok if I have addictions that make the suffering of continuing to live every day incrementally less painful? Moderation, moderation, moderation I know. But I’ve kept this body alive so far and it doesn’t appear to be ready to stop working yet, despite all I’ve done to it. I’ve kept this mind running for so long and it still craves more knowledge and understanding, despite all the things I’ve let poison it.

Is it ok if I don’t condemn the non believers? The witches, the spiritualists, the believers of different ideas than my own or your own? Aren’t they valid for simply trying to find paths that make their lives more bearable too? Aren’t they beautiful because unlike me, they’ve been able to choose one?

Is it ok to lecture the ones who do condemn them?

Is it ok for us to be imperfect? Sometimes your book says it is, and sometimes it says it’s not. Is it ok for me to try and try and try to help stop the perpetuation of the pain we’re causing each other? Or is that too much? If we keep turning our attention completely on each other, who’s left to advocate for and defend and fix the earth?

How do we build interpersonal relationships again when we’re all being hidden away from each other for fear of getting ourselves sick? Why have we come to the point where human interaction could kill us? Especially when the lack of human interaction is killing us too?

Why have we been trapped in these boxes? These bubbles? Why do the surfaces of two different bodies cells never actually touch? Why do our minds not connect to share our thoughts and feelings when our words and actions aren’t enough? Why do we keep digging up diamonds when they’re the most colourless and over used gem of them all?

God, oh please don’t leave me for even asking… but are you imperfect too? You’re a jealous god. Your creations are causing harm. Why did you create us? Were you bored? Lonely? In love with the idea too much to be willing to stop despite the anticipated pitfalls?

God, I love you, but you’re a really bad project manager. Your project is failing. We are your project, and we are failing because we haven’t been given clear direction. I get you think you’ve been clear, but we’re oh so stupid and can’t read your mind.

Will you forgive me? Will you guide me? Will you fix me? Will you humble me? Will you give me enough clarity to find the path YOU want for me? Not the world, not evil, you.

I want to be directed by you.

I want to protect people.

I want to show love to everything that is spewing hate.

and i really don’t want to be miserable and ending the world while I do it.

seriously, is that ok???

#prayer #lgbt+ christian #please help #i’m so tired #i’m so lost #i’m so lonely #I’m so directionless #i dont trust my intentions #i don’t trust anyone elses #i trust gods but his directions are unclear #im breaking

[dailyaudiobible]

11/26/2017 DAB Transcript

Daniel 2:24-3:30, 1 Peter 4:7-5:14, Psalms 119:81-96, Proverbs 28:15-16

Today is the 26th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today at the threshold of a shiny, sparkly, new week. And we’ve got some territory to cover. We began the book of Daniel yesterday, which we’ll be spending some time in. Today we will finish Peter's first letter. So, first Peter. And then work our way through second Peter and get ourselves into first John before this week is out. And, of course, we’ll be in a new month before this week is out. We will enter the 12th month of the year. So, buckle up. Here we go. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Daniel chapter 2 verse 24 through 3 verse 30.

Commentary 

Okay. So, we finished first Peter today. And Peter carries the theme of suffering and endurance all the way through this letter and he applies it to all kinds of situations because a lot of situations apply. Peter was writing this to a lot of people who had been dispersed from their homeland for various reasons over a long period of time. And as they’ve come to faith in Jesus, they’ve begun to be marginalized and even persecuted and blamed for all kinds of things that they hadn’t done. And all kinds of assumptions were made about these Christians. And there were reasons for this. And all of these reasons go back to why Peter is writing a letter of endurance in spite of injustice and suffering. So, in the Roman Empire it was not illegal to be a Christian at this time, but it was expected that, like, the gods of the Empire would be worshiped. And most Romans were polytheistic. So, in other words, they believed in many, many gods. God was everywhere in all kinds of things. There were many gods. So, you could worship whatever God you wanted to but you were expected that the gods of the Empire, you know, the ones making the Empire great, they were to be worshiped. And Christians wouldn't do this. And, so, that immediately made them stand out. Now Hebrew people, Jewish people didn't do this either, but this was permitted because the Jewish people were coming out of a very, very ancient tradition, a very ancient religion. So, this was acknowledged for the Jewish people who were definitely disassociating themselves from the Christians. And, so, the Christians were singled out. And there’s all kinds of weird thought about them. So, to round out this context that we’ve been looking at, because as we understand this context, every time we pass through the territory of the New Testament, and we see people suffering and we see endurance being spoken of, and we see instructions about behaviors to avoid and behaviors to embrace, we begin to understand that there's a back story. Yes, we should live a certain way. Yes, we should avoid certain things, no matter what time we live in, but in this particular time, the formation of the church, a lot of these instructions and behaviors were two combat the stereotype that was being formed around them, to resist by rising up and simply being better and being nothing like what was being said. Which begs the question, what exactly was being said about these early believers by people who did not understand the faith at all, who had no reference point for Jesus in a faraway land, who had no grid at all for this singular God and his son, and the saving…of the…like…who had no idea? Right? So, who were just living in a world with many gods going about their lives in their culture and looking at these strange people. What, exactly, were they saying? Well, thankfully there are many, many writings from many, many cultures that are very, very ancient and some of this thought is captured, which gives us the opportunity for a very interesting exercise. I am going to read you a passage. And this is from the late second century. So, the late 100s. So, maybe about 80 years after the gospel of John was composed. And in the thick of the development of the Christian faith. And this description was captured by a man named Minucius Felix in a book he wrote called Octavius. So, Minucius Felix was a believer. And he attributes this description of Christians to a person named Fronto. And I’m going to read this. And the exercise is to imagine that this is what is being said about you and your faith. What would your response be? What would your reaction be? Because this puts us squarely in the shoes of the people that are being written to, not only in first Peter, but in much of the New Testament. So, when you think of Paul being dragged out and stoned outside of the city or, you know, an idol maker causing a riot against Paul, like, all of this swirling tension going around that we find in the New Testament. So, imagine this is being said about you.

And now as wickeder things advance more fruitfully and abandoned manners creep on day by day, those abominable shrines of an impious assembly are maturing themselves throughout the whole world. Assuredly, this confederacy ought to be rooted out and execrated they know one another by secret marks and insignia and they love one another almost before they know one another everywhere. Also, there is mingled among them a certain religion of lust and to call one another, promiscuously, brothers and sisters that even a not unusual debauchery made by the intervention of that sacred name become incestuous. It is thus that there vain and senseless superstition glories in crimes. Nor, concerning these things, would intelligent reports speak of things so great in various and requiring to be prefaced by an apology unless truth were at the bottom of it. I hear that they adore the head of an ass, that basest of creatures, consecrated by I know not what silly persuasion. A worthy and appropriate religion for such manners. Some say that they worship the virilia of their pontiff and priest and adore the nature, as it were, of their common parent. I know not whether these things are false. Certainly, suspicion is applicable to secret and nocturnal rights. And he explains their ceremonies by reference to a man punished by extreme suffering for his wickedness and to the deadly wood of the cross appropriates fitting altars for reprobate and wicked men, that they may worship what they deserve. Now, the story about the initiation of young novices is as much to be detested as it is well-known. An infant covered over with a meal, that it may deceive the unwary, is placed before him who is to be stained with their rights. This infant is slain by the young pupil who has been urged on as if to harmless blows on the surface of the meal with dark and secret wounds. Thirstily, oh horror, they lick up its blood. Eagerly, they divide its limbs. By this victim they are pledged together. With this consciousness of wickedness they are covenanted to mutual silence. Such sacred rights as those are more foul than any sacrileges. And of their banqueting, it is well-known. All men speak of it everywhere. Even the speech of our Cirtensian testifies to it. On a solemn day they assemble at the feast with all their children, sisters, mothers, people of every sex and of every age. There, after much feasting, when the fellowship has grown warm, and the fervor of incestuous lust has grown hot with drunkenness, a dog that has been tied to the chandelier is provoked by throwing a small piece of offal beyond the length of the line by which he is bound to rush in spring. And thus, the conscious light being overturned and extinguished in the shameless darkness, the connections of abominable lust involve them in the uncertainty of fate. Although not all, in fact, yet in consciousness all are alike incestuous. Since by the desire of all of them everything is sought for which can happen in the act of each individual.

Okay, so how you feel about that? If these are the kinds of things your culture was saying about a group of people, would you be racing to sign up? And if you had put your faith in Christ and you heard these things and you knew they were absolutely not true at all but rather gross distortions and mischaracterizations and flat out fabrications, how do you respond? How do you respond when your entire culture is set against you? So, it makes a whole lot of sense then when you read this letter from Peter and most of the New Testament, for that matter. But since were in first Peter specifically, like when Peter says, for you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do, living in debauchery, lost drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. Right? The very things they are being accused of. Peter is saying, that was the old days. That stuff is not what we do. That is not who we are. And those who are accusing you of it will stand before the judge one day - the one who judges the living and the dead. Or when Peter says something like, who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats. Do not be frightened, but in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do it with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. So, now we have a pretty good picture of what is really going on here and what is being, like, what these people are going through. These are our spiritual ancestors. Were it not for their faith and steadfastness and endurance in this time, we wouldn't be here today. This is what they were going through. And it's a lot more challenging than what most of us are going through. Although, I know, many of you live in countries that are not Western or Christian, and you feel this kind of assumption and degradation going on around you toward faith in Jesus. But for most of us, this is more challenging than anything we've ever faced. And, so, the council in the New Testament in all of these letters, the postures of ways in which we are to live that we still struggle with every day. We begin to realize that we have that much of an excuse. Those early to the faith faced all kinds of oppositions that we…we can't even imagine. And yet they stayed true to the death. If we really want to embrace this new life, if we really want to believe that we can be made new creatures and renewed every single day then we’re going to have to follow the advice that we find in the Scriptures. Like James said, you can't just hear this stuff, you have to do with this, you have to live into this, it has to become you. And we’ll have to find the resolve of those who went before us, the conviction of those who went before us, and faced injustice by simply aiming higher, being better, being nothing like the stereotype. And there are plenty of stereotypes about people who have put their faith in Jesus all over the world still in existence today. For example, in our own lifetimes, we’ve watched things go from, like, if you said you were a Christian then you were thought to be trustworthy. I mean, people would say they were Christian at their businesses even if they weren't to get the trust of their patrons. It’s gone from that to the stereotype of hypocrisy, that Christians aren’t really what they're presenting. And unfortunately, there's truth in that. And we find ourselves in the Scriptures every day being counseled forward into a life and a set of ethics and behaviors that will lead us into new life and all truth and we have to listen because we have to rise above it all. We can and we must aim higher. We are better than that and the name of Jesus that we carry around is more valuable than that.

Prayer:

Father, this is a moment of repentance. We’re seeing what the faith that was handed down to us so freely cost our brothers and sisters earlier on in the story. We see the ways that we've trivialized our faith. We see the ways that we've used You in this relationship. We see all kinds of things and we invite Your Holy Spirit to continue to bring these things up in us because this is a moment of change. We invite Your Holy Spirit to indwell us and be within us and change us from the inside out. We see that this is an all or nothing proposition and we’ve been trying to make it work in all kinds of other ways besides that. And in so many ways it's allowed us to become a stereotype of ourselves. And yet, Your love, your love propels us forward. We come running to You because, in spite of our failings and shortcomings and flat out rebellions, You have been unwilling to surrender us. And we see so clearly now. You have been holding onto us when we were unwilling to hold onto You. And what can we do will but fall down before You in repentance and apology and lament. But even then, You scoop us into Your arms and Father us. You tell us we’re better than this. And so often we don't believe that and just move back into the old patterns, but we believe You. We’re better than this. We must rise above this and show the world why we are compelled to serve You, why we have fallen in love with You, and given our lives to You, and given our lives for You. Come Holy Spirit, we pray, as we reach with all of our hearts toward You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Song: Reckless Love Bethel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJJYKOpFnkA

Before I spoke a word

You were singing over me

You have been so, so

Good to me

Before I took a breath

You breathed Your life in me

You have been so, so

Kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it

Still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

 When I was your foe, still Your love fought for me

You have been so, so

Good to me

When I felt no worth

You paid it all for me

You have been so, so

Kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it

Still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

 There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

No lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

 Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it

Still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

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[focusontheeasternlightning-blog]

How to Pray in Line With God’s Will

Prayer is a channel through which Christians can call on God and interact with God, and it is the most crucial link through which Christians may establish a normal relationship with God. 

Prayer that is in line with God’s will can enable us to obtain God’s enlightenment and guidance, understand God’s will, and have a path of practice. In life, however, many brothers and sisters feel that, when we pray, all we need to think about is asking God for the things we want. We have no idea whether God listens to our prayers or not, and we feel dull and uninspired when we pray. If our prayers do not earn God’s praise, then we are unable to feel His presence, our spirits sink into darkness, we lose our normal relationship with God, and we are unable to obtain His enlightenment and guidance. So how then can we pray in line with God’s will and so that God will listen? Here below we share the three principles of practice of how to pray in line with God’s will.

1. Have a Sense of Reason Before God, and Pray to God With a Seeking and Obedient Heart

First, let’s take a look at how the Lord Jesus prayed. Back then, the Lord Jesus knew that He was to be crucified and that His flesh would soon suffer great pain. He felt very distressed, and He prayed to God, saying, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). The Lord Jesus prayed this way three times in the Garden of Gethsemane and He was able to grasp what God intended for Him; no matter how much pain He would suffer upon the cross, He was willing to obey completely. Afterward, in order to fulfill the will of the heavenly Father, He endured pain, mockery and verbal abuse until, finally, He was crucified upon the cross, thus accomplishing the work of redemption of the Age of Grace. We can see from the Lord Jesus’ prayer that He prayed to God with a wholly obedient heart and a seeking manner, and He grasped what God intended for Him. He made no demands in His prayer to God, nor did He make His own choices; He merely prayed to be able to do His heavenly Father’s will and to do as God willed. The Lord Jesus was Christ, He was God Himself, and yet He prayed to God the Father and sought the will of God the Father from the standpoint of a created being. From this we can see that the Lord was so humble and that He possessed a sense of reason.

Now, let’s take a look at how we pray to God. We often pray like this: “O Lord! My family has encountered some difficulties. Please bring peace back to my family.” “O Lord! I’ve become sick and I believe that You will surely make me well again.” “O Lord! My business is not going well, and I believe that You will surely protect me and bless me….” “O Lord! My son cannot find a good woman. Please aid him and bless him….” When we pray to God, we always use the words “ask,” “make,” and “surely”; this is the tone we use when we pray, asking God to bless us, to arrange this or prepare that for us. So, are our prayers in line with God’s will? What does God think of our praying in this way? God words say, “You seldom have a true prayer, and some of you even don’t know how to pray; in fact, prayer is mainly about speaking what is in your heart, just like a normal conversation. However, some people take the wrong position when they pray, and regardless of whether it conforms with God’s will or not, they demand God to bestow what they ask for upon them. As a result, the more they pray the duller it becomes. When praying, whatever your heart asks for and desires, or when you wish to take care of some matters that you don’t fully understand you ask God for wisdom, strength, or enlightenment, you must be reasonable in the way you speak. If you are unreasonable, and you kneel and say: ‘God, give me power and let me see my nature; I ask You to do it. I ask You to give me this or that, I ask You to let me be like this or like that….’ this word ‘ask’ carries an element of force, and is like exerting pressure on God to make Him do it. … What will be the outcome of this kind of prayer?” (“The Significance and Practice of Prayer”). We can see from God’s words that, from the outside, our prayers appear to be us worshiping God and beseeching Him, but in truth our constant “asking” for things is impure and it is making demands of God. By praying in this way, we are also constantly asking God for things in return, asking God to satisfy our extravagant desires, strong-arming God into doing as we desire—this is not how a created being worships God. We can see that we have no sense of reason, much less a seeking, obedient heart, and so this kind of unreasonable praying is not in line with God’s will.

God says, “You should seek and submit in your prayers; for example, if a matter came upon you that you didn’t know how to handle, then you say: ‘Oh God! I don’t know how to handle this matter. I am willing to satisfy You in this matter, I am willing to seek Your will, I desire for Your will to come to pass. You know that the intentions of man are in violation of Your will; they resist You and do not conform with truth. I only desire to do according to Your intentions. I ask You to enlighten me and guide me in this matter, so that I won’t offend You….’ This kind of tone of voice in prayer is appropriate” (“The Significance and Practice of Prayer”). God is the Creator and we human beings are merely His creations; we are unqualified to make any demands of Him or to lay conditions on Him. When we pray to God, therefore, we must possess a sense of reason and we should take our proper place as created beings. We should magnify God, not make our own choices, demands or plans. We should pray to God in a seeking, obedient manner, wait for God’s will to be revealed to us and act as God desires—only praying in this way is in line with God’s will. For example, when we get sick, we should not constantly pray to God asking Him to heal us or asking Him to take our sickness away. Instead, we should pray to God with a seeking, obedient heart, and say, “O God! I know all things are in Your hands and that my getting sick now has Your good will behind it. I know that I am a sinner and that there are lessons I should learn in this sickness that has now befallen me. It’s just that I am ignorant, and I do not understand Your will. But I wish to seek the truth within Your words, submit to this situation, await Your enlightenment and guidance, and be able to act as You will….” By praying and seeking in such a reasonable way, God will listen, and He will enlighten and guide us with regard to the difficulties, confusion and problems that beset us, thus enabling us to understand His will and have a path of practice, and our relationship with God will also draw closer.

2. Be Pure and Open With God and Pray With an Honest Heart

Let’s now read a parable spoken by the Lord Jesus in the Bible: The parable of the Pharisee and the publican. The Lord Jesus said, “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you, that I am not as other men are, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote on his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10–14). We can see from the Lord’s parable that He detested the Pharisee’s prayer and that He extolled the publican’s prayer. This was because, when the Pharisee prayed to God, he just flaunted all the good things he had done and all the rules he had followed. He did not, however, acknowledge any sin he had committed at all and neither did he truly repent to God, but instead he always wanted to conceal his own sins and show a false front to others. The Pharisee always spoke words that were pleasant and disguised in order to fawn on God and to take credit, to get God’s blessings in return, and to exalt himself whilst belittling others. He wanted others to see that he loved God more than anyone else, and thereby made others look up to him and idolize him, when in fact he was nothing but a hypocrite. It is evident, therefore, that the Pharisee simply did not possess a God-fearing heart, and that his heart was filled with deceit and not honest at all. Therefore, no matter how pleasant his words sounded when he prayed, God did not commend his prayer, much less listen to it. As for the publican, although he took money from the common people unlawfully, he was aware of his sins and so was able to come before God to sincerely repent and confess. With a pious heart, he spoke openly to God about what was in his heart and he spoke truthfully. He regretted his past evil deeds, and he asked God to take mercy on him and forgive him. The publican’s prayer was sincere and earnest, and therefore God commended him.

If we compare the Pharisee’s prayer with the publican’s prayer, which way of praying better represents how we ourselves pray? We often come before God and say, “O Lord! You were crucified to redeem us, and You suffered so much pain for us. I will do my best to love You and satisfy You…. In order to preach Your gospel, I have been arrested and imprisoned, I have done so much and suffered much pain, and I have supported and helped many brothers and sisters….” “O Lord! I wish to dedicate my all to You. I wish to spend my life expending myself for You and serving You faithfully….” and so on. This kind of praying seems to be filled with resolution, so that others can see how much we love God and how faithful we are to God. In life, however, our love of status, our love of fame and fortune and our love of vanity eclipse our love of God, and we can often tell lies and cheat others for the sake of personal profit. We are unable to put God’s words into practice and, even if we give things up and expend ourselves for God, it is just done to gain blessings and to gain a glorious crown—it is not done to sincerely pay a price for God’s sake. We just talk about our best side to God and hide our sins; this is clearly us trying to cheat God by using pleasant-sounding words and it is really us trying to make God aware of how much we love Him so that we can gain rewards and blessings from Him. And so, there is no difference at all between praying in this way and the way the Pharisee prayed. In essence, this way of praying is to speak falsely, boastfully and emptily in order to flatter and fool God, therefore how can praying in this way be in line with God’s will and be heard by God? The Lord Jesus said, “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24). And God’s word says, “The lowest standard that God requires of people is that they be able to open their hearts to Him. If man gives his true heart to God and says what is really within his heart to God, then God is willing to work in man; God does not want the twisted heart of man, but his pure and honest heart. If man does not truly speak his heart to God, then God does not touch man’s heart, or work within him. Thus, the most crucial thing about praying is to speak the words of your true heart to God, telling God of your flaws or rebellious disposition and completely opening yourself up to God. Only then will God be interested in your prayers; if not, then God will hide His face from you” (“Concerning the Practice of Prayer”). God requires that we pray to Him with an honest heart, that we tell Him what is in our hearts and that we speak truthfully. He wants us to be able to confide in Him about our practical difficulties and problems, and He wants us to not hold back and be completely open with Him about the things we have done that are at odds with His teachings and which He loathes. He wants us to be able to truly reflect on ourselves, repent to Him and practice in accordance with His teachings. When God sees that we pray to Him and seek with an honest heart, He will listen to our prayers and will enlighten and guide us with regard to the issues we encounter so that we may come to understand His will and have a path to follow. When our work bears fruit, for example, we can’t help but engage in boastful talk before our brothers and sisters about how much work we have done, how busy we have been, and how great the results are, and so on. We do this so as to make our brothers and sisters hold us in high esteem and look to us; we do not do it to lead our brothers and sisters before God, but to lead them before ourselves, and this is something God most detests. At times like these, we have to come before God and emulate the publican to pray and repent to God, and say, “O God! In my sermons lately, all I ever talk about is how I suffer and expend myself for You and, without me being aware of it, my brothers and sisters have all begun to look up to me. O God! I am wrong to do this, and I wish to repent to You. I ask only that You guide me so that, in my future sermons and work, I may deliberately exalt You and lead my brothers and sisters before You….” When we are pure and open about our own corruption in this way and we seek God’s guidance, God will then lead us, and He will enable us to know our own shortcomings, understand His will, minister to our brothers and sisters in accordance with His requirements, and lead them before God. Just as the Bible says, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God gives: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11). When we understand what God requires of us, we can then repent sincerely to Him, and focus on exalting God and bearing testimony to Him in the future. By doing this, our work and sermons become more and more in line with God’s will, and this is the effect achieved by praying to God with a true heart.

3. Pray Out of Consideration for God’s Will and to Satisfy God, and Pray to Pursue the Truth and to Gain Life

Let’s now take a look at Solomon’s prayer. Just after Solomon became king, he prayed to Jehovah God: “And now, O Jehovah my God, You have made Your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the middle of Your people which You have chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this Your so great a people?” (1 Kings 3:7–9). The Lord was well pleased with Solomon for making such a request, and God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life; neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies; but have asked for yourself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to your words: see, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like to you. And I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like to you all your days” (1 Kings 3:11–13). From Solomon’s prayer and the promise made by Jehovah God, we can see that God shows incredible kindness to and bestows blessings upon those who show consideration to His will. When Solomon prayed to God, he did not make any request for the sake of his own fleshly interests, asking God to bestow on him greater wealth, or to grant him long life or good health. Instead, he asked God to bestow wisdom upon him, so that he could rule well over God’s people so that the Israelites may better be able to worship God and obey God, and this kind of prayer made God well pleased. God therefore blessed Solomon, and not only did Solomon obtain wisdom and intelligence, but God even bestowed on him the riches and honor which he had not prayed for.

When we compare the way Solomon prayed and beseeched God with what we pray to God every day, we see that most of the time we pray to God saying, “O Lord! Please make my business go well and flourish.” “O Lord! Please let my son do well in his exams and get into a good college, and my daughter marry a good man.” “O Lord! Please may You protect my family from sickness and disaster, and bless us with peace and happiness.” “O Lord! Please heal me of my sickness.” We see that we only pray for the sake of our own fleshly interests, and we beseech God for things to eat, things to wear, and so that we may enjoy many blessings. Very rarely do we pray out of consideration for God’s wishes or to do His will, nor do we desire to satisfy God or love God, but instead we just pray to use God to fulfill our needs, constantly asking God for grace and blessings in return. We never understand God’s heart, much less can we treat as urgent that which God treats as urgent or think as God thinks. When God does bless us, we give Him our thanks and our praise, but when God does not assent to what we ask of Him, we then complain and blame God.

The Lord Jesus said, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:31–33). From these verses we can see what to pray for from God that He will accept. God does not want us to always be praying for physical things like food and clothing, for God prepared these things for us long ago and we do not need to worry about them. All we have to do is submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements; it is totally meaningless to pray to God asking for these physical things, and it is of no benefit at all to our life progression. God hopes that we will pray for the sake of pursuing the truth and gaining life, for God’s gospel to spread throughout the world, that God’s will may be carried out on earth, and for us to be able to do our church work well so as to satisfy God’s will. We may also pray to God asking Him to give us the responsibility of ministering to the Lord and that we may be granted God’s guidance when we are supporting and helping our brothers and sisters, and we may also pray to understand more truths within God’s words. When we encounter persecution and adversity in the course of preaching the gospel, we should pray to God to give us faith and strength to spread the gospel of the heavenly kingdom, to not be constrained by the forces of darkness, and to not capitulate no matter how painful or difficult things get. When we are working and giving sermons, we should be considerate of God’s will and pray to God asking Him to enlighten and guide us to understand His words, pray that we may be able to fellowship about His will and His requirements, to enable our brothers and sisters to be able to put God’s words into practice and experience His words, and to lead them before God to magnify God. When we reveal our arrogant and self-righteous corrupt disposition in our interactions with other people, we should pray not to live by our corrupt dispositions. When our wild ambitions and desires creep into our speech and actions, we should pray to forsake our flesh, to practice the truth and to be honest people. When we are slipshod in our service to the Lord, we should pray to accomplish God’s commissions with all our heart and mind. When disaster strikes, whether natural or man-made, we can pray to God to give us faith and strength, to not blame or misunderstand God, but to be able to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and to stand witness for God…. By praying often to God and beseeching Him in these ways, God will hear our prayers and will lead us to understand the truth and to understand His will, He will give us the path of practice, and our lives will mature. This is an important principle of practice for Christians to pray to God in line with His will.

The above are the three principles of practice of how Christians can pray in line with God’s will. As long as we frequently train ourselves and practice these three principles, I trust that we will be able to obtain the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to understand and gain more truths, we will be able to establish a normal relationship with God, and God will hear our prayers!

#Devotionals #Spiritual Life #Prayer #True Prayer

[dramoor]

St. Paisios on Divine Justice

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)

“I always wondered how someone could become a saint and what was the distinctive trait which made the saints receptive to God’s grace. One day, I went to Father Paisios and asked him:

   ‘Elder, what do saints have that makes them different from the rest of us and thus they receive the grace of God?’   ‘Our saints had divine justice instead of human justice,’ he replied.   ‘What is divine justice?’ I asked him once again.

He answered by telling me some charming stories:    ‘Suppose, two men are sitting at the table to eat. In front of them, there is a plate with ten peaches. If one of them greedily eats seven peaches leaving three for his friend, he is being unfair to him. This is injustice.  Instead, if he says: Well, we are two and the peaches are ten. So, each one of us is entitled to eat five peaches.’ If he eats the five peaches and leaves the other five for his friend, then he applies human justice. That is why, many times, we go to court to find human justice.

However, if he understands that his friend likes peaches very much, he can pretend that he is not very fond of them and eat only one, and then says to him: ‘Please eat the rest of the peaches, as I don’t really like them; besides, my stomach aches and I should not eat any more.’ This person has divine justice; he prefers to be unfair to himself by human standards and be rewarded for his sacrifice by God’s grace, which he will abundantly receive.    

I will tell you another story, so you can have a better understanding. If someone tells me: ‘Father, you must leave your cell because it belongs to me.  Go down and stay by the cypress tree (which is located in the garden of the cell).’  If I have divine justice, I will gladly accept it, thank him for his offer and be satisfied, because he allowed me to have my cypress tree back.  However, if I acted according to human justice, because this is what I wish to apply to my life, I would reject his offer and start arguing with him, and eventually end up in court.

The true Christian must never condemn, or press charges against his fellow men, even if someone takes by force his clothes. There is a difference between those people who believe in Christ and those who do not. Christians abide by the law of divine justice whereas the unfaithful ones by the law of human justice.

Human justice is zero compared to divine justice. Our Lord was the first one to apply divine justice. Neither did He find excuses for Himself when He was being accused, nor protested when people spat on Him, or threatened when He was suffering. He patiently and silently endured everything, without reacting in the least. He even let them tear His clothes off; thus God was ridiculed for standing naked in the presence of His own creations. The most important thing was that He did not only seek help from human justice, but instead, He justified His persecutors and prayed to His Father to forgive them. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34).

Unfortunately, we do not follow the example of God and never cease to condemn others in order, for example, to take back the money they owe us, sometimes demanding also its interest. Consequently, what appears at first like justice turns out to be the beginning of an injustice.

Some people say that we should not let others, especially Christians, usurp our property, for it is our forebearance that makes them act unjustly. This is a wiseless excuse indicating that we love our material belongings more than our souls. When we neglect our prayer and spiritual work, and instead take to court the people who treat us unjustly, we obviously consider our material possessions more valuable than the salvation of our soul, as the command of the Gospel that says “And of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again,” (Lk 6:30) if, according to Apostle Paul, we cannot gladly tolerate the looting or stealing of our possessions, bearing in mind that the pressing of charges and return of our belongings will not erase the sin off the greedy robber.

Hence, it is good for us to endure the rudeness of those who wrong us, and pray for them to be released from greediness through repentance. We shouldn’t be asking to get back whatever has been taken away from us. God’s justice aims at man himself and hopes that the greedy person will return to Christ, free from sin. God’s justice has no interest in material possessions themselves.

When someone wavers between human and divine justice, he resembles the one who sometimes worships God and other times the idols.

Divine justice is against human law. Human law is inflexibly equal to all, for it never deviates, but attributes justice to everyone, by putting more emphasis on its regulations than on each individual person. However, divine justice at times deviates and is sympathetically granted to all; it doesn’t mistreat people who deserve punishment, while it plentifully rewards the praiseworthy ones.

So, divine justice and charity is an expression of God’s sympathy towards humanity, whereas human justice and fair judgment tend to be an expression of ill-will. Human justice exists to bar the evildoings of malicious people.  Just as dry weed cannot grow where there is a fire burning, divine justice cannot co-exist with impartial judgment. The person who has trust in divine justice is neither upset when treated unfairly, nor seeks his justice; on the contrary, he accepts the false accusations as if they were true, and does not try to convince others that he has been slandered; instead he asks to be forgiven.

Some of our saints called themselves intemperate, without of course being so,because they hoped and trusted in divine justice. Others endured the accusation of adultery, a sin they detested, and undertook the task of bearing its consequences. They tolerated it because they firmly believed in divine justice; that is, even if they were treated unjustly from a human point of view, they hoped divine justice, which neither makes mistakes, nor forgets, would divinely act at the right time.  

Justice is like a cork; no matter how hard we press it to the bottom of the sea, it will always come back to the surface. Therefore, we should endure with pleasure any kind of injustice done to us for the sake of Christ. He urged us to always seek God’s justice and “all these things shall be yours as well” (Mt 6:33). When we apply divine justice to our lives, we will always be justified.

I will tell you an incident, which is indicative of how God rewards those who love, apply and seek divine justice, and therefore prefer to be treated unfairly by human standards.

One day, one of the pilgrims said to me: ‘Elder, I constantly read the Book of Psalms and have noticed that the psalms of David refer to two categories of people; the righteous people whom God will reward: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like the cedar in Lebanon” (Ps 92:12), “For the Lord is righteous, he loves righteous deeds…”(Ps 11:7), “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous…”(Ps 1:6), “Rejoice in the Lord, oh righteous! Praise befits the upright” (Ps 33:1), “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of their troubles” (Ps 34:17), “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered for ever. He is not afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord” (Ps 112; 6-7), “…Lord loves the righteous…the way of the wicked he brings to ruin” (Ps 146: 8-9); and the unjust ones for whom He foresees evil in their lives: “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Ps 1:6), “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates him that loves violence” (Ps 11:6), “As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before fire, let the wicked perish before God! But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God!” (Ps 68:2-3).

I had a personal experience of this myself, the pilgrim went on, and I would like to tell you the story:

I come from a poor family; my father owned 5-6 pieces of land, which he cultivated to earn our daily living. One day, my father suddenly passed away and we were left with our mother. My five brothers decided we should sit down and discuss what will become of my father’s inheritance, as he did not have the time to write a will. They started arguing about who was going to inherit the most fertile piece of land.  

I, being the youngest one and more withdraw to myself, was just sitting in a corner waiting to see which piece of land they would end up giving me. After each one took his own share, they gave me a piece of land which was sandy, and thus could not be cultivated and was located in a deserted and uninhabitable area.

After some years, I got married and due to financial difficulties, I left for Germany with my wife. With the help of God, I managed to find a job and my family and I lived quite comfortably. We stayed in Germany for twenty years. During these years, I worked hard and was able to expand my business.  At one point, we decided to move back to Greece and transfer our business there as well. We had completely forgotten about the piece of land I had inherited from my father, but apparently God hadn’t. While we were away in Germany, many hotels and tourist complexes had been built on this ‘deserted and uninhabitable’ area resulting in a tremendous increase of its value. My piece of land was greatly sought after and the offers from the interested parties were highly rated. I decided to have an auction for it and its price amounted to several million drachmas. Finally, I sold it to the one who gave me the best offer. Since I earn enough money to live a comfortable life, my family and I wish to give a portion of this money to a charitable cause and I came to seek your advice.

  ‘What are your brothers doing?’ I asked him.    ‘They cultivate their lands for a living.’    ‘First, you should financially assist your brothers, so they will not have any complaints against you and the rest you can give wherever you think is best.’

The justice of God always reigns, Father Paisios went on. It might delay for awhile, but will eventually appear in our lives. The Lord says that our justice must exceed the one of the Pharisees, because they were only aiming at human justice. That is why they were involved in punishments, trials, imprisonments, quarrels, and tried to protect their own rights and could not    tolerate the looting of their belongings or any injustice done to them.  Christ, however, assured each one of us that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  You have heard that it was said to the men of old (in the old days, the Old Testament law was trying to free man from injustice through human justice, and thus prepare him to accept the divine one)…Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (this is human justice). But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you… For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?…You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:20-48).

Concluding the subject on divine justice, Father Paisios added with a charming discretion:    ‘A monk must apply divine justice to his life. He can let others take his cell and everything else he owns, if they wish to do so. On the contrary, I don’t believe a family man should apply divine justice and become the reason for the rest of his family members to be upset. They can live according to divine justice, provided they all agree to do so. If you are a monk, you can give your cell to others and wander around by yourself with just your cassock on; in general, it is easier for a monk to endure any kind of injustice or deprivation. When others depend on you, you must always take them into consideration, so they will not end up suffering or being dissatisfied.’

In June 19…, on St. Paisios day, the Elder asked me to join him at 1:30 a.m. and serve the Divine Liturgy. (We were only the two of us; the Elder did not    let anyone else come because he did not wish to give a special meaning to    his name day.) When the service was over, we sat to have a sweet. As he was    treating me to sweets, he began talking about divine justice.  He said that God does not listen to our prayers, because we are not righteous people and treat our fellow men unjustly; our all night prayers are in vain and God will not listen to us, unless we correct ourselves. Each one of us looks after himself and ignores the others. So, God cannot look after us. If we acquire divine justice, ignore ourselves, and love God and our fellow men, then God will take care of us and will see that we have everything.

When I was in the army fighting the war and the enemies were attacking us with no mercy, I sought protection inside a basin. Some minutes later, one of the soldiers asked me:    ‘Arsenios, can I also get in the basin with you as I am also in danger.’    I told him to get in. However, the basin was too small and could not fit both of us. When he got in, he took up all the space in order to avoid the bullets and pushed me aside. Then, another soldier came and asked if he could also get inside. I said yes, and went out being totally exposed to the flying bullets. Suddenly, a bullet passed so close by me that it stripped off some of my hair; fortunately, it did not injure my skull at all. You see, when you cannot protect yourself, God does.”

~Priestmonk Christodoulos (1998) “Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain”

(Icon of Archangel Jeremiel via centroangeldeluz.com.ar)

#Wisdom #divine justice #IMPORTANT #icons #art #human justice #Christian #Orthodox #Elder Paisios #saints #St. Paisios #Scriptures #righteousness #grace #mercy #God #law #judgment #condemnation

[bldgrelationshipwgod]

A person who has been participating in this area, it’s the hardest thing for them to shake off the effects. Simon got out for a little while, started preaching after being baptised, but satan still regarded Simon as his personal property.

And this I will tell you again, if you have fooled with these things: satan tonight regards you as his legitimate property; & he bitterly resents any attempt to get you out from under his clutches. I’ve proven this time & time again.

It’s extraordinarily hard for this person to genuinely repent. And without repentance, there is no permanent deliverance…

2 Timothy 3:1-5 lovers of self & lovers of money & lovers of pleasure Servants of satan withstand the truth [v.8], but they will be defeated [v.9]

But evil men & seducers [v.13] shall wax worse & worse, deceiving & being deceived. Now the word seducers is the Greek word for magicians.

So we are explicitly warned that side by side with the breakdown of human standards with conduct & morality, at the close of this age, there will be a grave increase in the satanic supernatural manifestations.

Revelations 9:20-21 | Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons & idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, & wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, & theft.

Word sorcery is directly from the Greek word for drugs! From which we get the English word pharmacy, & the man accused of the Sharon Tate murder in California in court actually quoted this verse & said this is it.

This is the situation, murder/drugs/fornication & theft. And it’s the work of the satanic supernatural. It’s a pretty deadly thing.

So now what are we going to do about it?

1st: If you have been involved in any of these things, at any time in your life, you better make sure you’re absolutely clear that nothing is hanging on & nothing is following up, & there’s no dark shadow over you that’s going to spoil your life/future/home/family. You might shrug it off & say, “It was a joke.”

It may have been in your eyes, but it wasn’t in God’s eyes & it wasn’t in the devil’s. When you go to a fortune teller or play with the Ouija board, any of these things. What you’re doing in effect is going to a servant of satan for help.

And in that way you’re putting yourself in a legal obligation to satan. satan will not cancel that obligation until you make him do so.

To make him do so, the best procedure is to renounce that thing out loud in the presence of witnesses. Profess it as a sin, & loose yourself in the Name of Jesus.

It’s almost unbelievable how these things affect people’s lives. For instance, someone will say to me: “Every time I’m feeling really close to God & I’m really beginning to sense the Spirit of God, there’s something that comes down & shuts me off & I just never can get through to God.”

1st Q I always ask them: have you ever been to a fortune teller? 8/10 times the answer is yes.

“Oh but I only did it when I was a little girl.” “Oh it was years ago,…or I didn’t mean anything by it, it was just a joke.”

But you went & you put yourself under an obligation to satan you never cancelled.

I can tell you case after case, where this kind of darkness & heaviness over a life has been lifted by the canceling of that obligation.

Whatever it be, you have an obligation to yourself to cancel it.

Let me illustrate this: What you see & what you do is important, even if you don’t mean it. Under the pressure of the trial of Jesus, Peter 3x publicly denied that he knew Jesus. When the angel of the resurrection gave the message, the message was from Jesus: “Go & tell my disciples & Peter.” [Mark 16:7]

He was no longer a disciple; he had cancelled his discipleship; he didn’t mean it. But he had done it by what he said; & Jesus in His infinite grace & wisdom took Peter aside, then 3x made him profess out loud his love for the Lord. He had to revoke what he had said before, by the right confession.

THIS is exactly true. Getting rid of these things is almost like a divorce. It’s got to be done in a certain sense legally. You’ve got to break the connection.

I’ll just give you an example:

Lord, I confess as a sin that I went to the at fortune teller, I played with that oujia board, or I had my palm read, I studied the horoscope, & a whole dozen of things, I confess it as a sin. Lord I acknowledge that I went to a servant of satan for help. Forgive me Lord, I renounce it, I will never do it again. And I loose myself in Jesus Name every dark influence that came upon me through it.

That will do it, but if you don’t take it seriously, you’ll go on suffering. The curse is revoked in Christ, but you’ve got to enter into that revocation of it.

2nd if you have any literature or other objects, that speak of any satanic cults or worship burn them. Preferably tonight, don’t give them away. Burn them.

This is Scriptural, Exodus 19, the believers brought the books they had & burned them, $20K worth of books.

If you have idols, Buddhas, anything that was made to worship or an honour to some satanic being break it, burn it, throw it out. Get

Things will change because satan was brought out into the open.

>> This is your responsibility to pray for your nation. Pray everyday for your government, & for those in authority. Most Christians haven’t even begun to do it; the Bible places on Christians the obligation to intercede for the gov’t; & you are given power: “Whatsoever you will bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever you loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.”

You do not need to tolerate the satanic conditions & satanic invasion, to which your country is subjected. You have the means, at your disposal to change the situation. It is a spiritual condition & it is resolved by spiritual means.

And the spiritual means are at the hands of the Christians. Not the unbeliever. If we do not use it, my conviction is your country will perish. I do not say that idly.

I’m firmly convinced that this decade will solve the destiny of America, one way of the other. And even papers like TIME & LIFE that certainly are not slanted in the spiritual direction, have come up with virtually the same conclusion.

How many of you tonight would say, “Brother Prince, I’ll accept my responsibility from tonight onwards as I’m taught in the Bible & as the Holy Spirit guides me to pray for my gov’t & my nation.” God bless you.

You do not need to let the devil parade up & down your streets. It is not necessary, he is a defeated foe!

>> But Jesus has left it to us to administer the DEFEAT!

When Jesus left to be seated on the THRONE, He said all power has been given unto Me in heaven & on earth, go ye therefore & go do something about it!

And He’s been waiting 19 centuries for people to realize what He meant.

Here’s the final question:

Those of you, who know you’ve given the devil some area of your life, some time in your life: You’ve crossed the border into the wrong spiritual realm, you’ve fooled around with cults & things, I’ve specified them long enough!

And tonight you want to know as you go out of here that you’re totally clear & free of all that.                   _____________________________________________________

You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters below.

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the 3rd & 4th generations of those who hate Me, [Exodus 20:3-26]

Matthew Henry Commentary | Exodus 20:3-11

The 1st four of the 10 commandments, commonly called the FIRST table, tell our duty to God.

It was fit that those should be put first, because man had a Maker to love, before he had a neighbour to love.

It cannot be expected that you should be true to your brother, who is false to his God.

1st commandment concerns the object of worship, JEHOVAH, & Him only.

The worship of creatures is here forbidden. Whatever comes short of perfect love, gratitude, reverence, or worship, breaks this commandment.

Whatsoever you do, do all the glory of God.

2nd law refers to the worship we are to render to the Lord our God.

It is forbidden to make any image or picture of the Deity, in any form, or for any purpose; or to worship any creature, image, or picture.

But the spiritual import of this command extends much further. All kinds of superstition are here forbidden, & the using of mere human inventions in the worship of God.

3rd law concerns the manner of worship, that it be with all possible reverence & seriousness. All false oaths are forbidden

All light appealing to God, all profane cursing, is a horrid breach of this command.

It matters not whether the word of God, or sacred things, all such-like things break this commandment, & there is no profit, honour, or pleasure in them.

The Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

4th commandment, Remember, shows that it was not now first given, but was known by the people before.

One day in seven is to be kept holy. Six days are allotted to worldly business, but not so as to neglect the service of God, & the care of our souls.

On those days we must do all our work, & leave none to be done on the sabbath day. Christ allowed works of necessity, charity, & piety; for the sabbath was made for man, & not man for the sabbath,

Mark 2:27; but all works of luxury, vanity, or self-indulgence in any form, are forbidden.

Trading, paying wages, settling accounts, writing letters of business, worldly studies, trifling visits, journeys, or light conversation, are not keeping this day holy to the Lord.

Sloth & indolence may be a carnal, but not a holy rest. The sabbath of the Lord should be a day of rest from worldly labour, & a rest in the service of God.

The advantages from the due keeping of this holy day, were it only to the health & happiness of mankind, with the time it affords for taking care of the soul, show the excellency of this commandment.

The day is blessed; men are blessed by it, & in it. The blessing & direction to keep holy are not limited to the seventh day, but are spoken of the sabbath day.

Colossians 3:2 | Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [This pairs nicely with keeping the Sabbath Holy]

(Source: youtube.com, via john8-32)

#curses #https://tmblr.co/Z4OMrV2lrj47h

#curses #https://tmblr.co/z4omrv2lrj47h

[johnchiarello]

Day Kennedy died [Bocce ball]

WEDNESDAY 2-22-17

Matthew 27:51

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

https://youtu.be/sk7f2aHYjS8  Day Kennedy died [2nd Sam. 22]

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/2-22-17-day-kennedy-died-2nd-sam-22.zip

https://youtu.be/mhhg5c3D6LY  Bocce ball challenge

ON VIDEO [Day Kennedy died -2nd Samuel 22]

.Nick Sacco called my mom!

.The car story came up again

.Boulevard east- NYC view

.See the kid

.Others raised at time of Christ

.Historical narrative or symbol?

.Don’t discount the supernatural elements of the kingdom

.Moses- David’s tabernacle

.Veil done away in Christ

.Where were you when Kennedy died?

.See where I was

.My promise to senator Nick Sacco

NEW- On the first video I did some teaching- Talked about David [king] and how he is a symbol of Christ- he functioned as a prophet- Priest and King. He established the ‘Tabernacle of David’ which was a beautiful picture of the New Covenant. All stuff I taught before- I’ll add some past teaching below.

On the 2nd video I challenged the Guatemalans to a game of Bocce ball.

I never played the game in my life- guess who won?

Yes- you’ll have to watch.

Ok- that’s it for today- hope you enjoy.

PAST LINKS [my past teaching that relates to today’s talk]

https://ccoutreach87.com/samuel-links/

https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/

I wrote these little books years ago and mentioned the ark and tabernacle- they might give some insight into what I mentioned today.

https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/

https://ccoutreach87.com/the-great-building-of-god/

Here’s the section about the ark in the book of Samuel- I wrote this many years ago-

(887)SAMUEL 4 CONTINUED- Okay, let’s finish it up. In this chapter we see an important historical event, the capture of the Ark of the Covenant [the box that held the 10 commandments, not Noah’s Ark!] The children of Israel fight with the Philistines and take a loss of 4 thousand men. They go back to camp and regroup. They decide to take the Ark of God and involve it with human warfare. A big mistake! This speaks of the sad history of the crusades and other mistaken ideas of ‘holy war’. God does not involve himself in mans efforts of domination thru power. So the Philistines hear that the Ark is in the battle and they fear. ‘Oh my God, this is the God of Israel who defeated the Egyptians’. They knew the history of Israel and how the God of Israel was great. The battle rages and Israel takes a greater loss of 30 thousand men. Plus the Ark is captured and the two sons of Eli are killed. The runner runs back to Shiloh [the headquarters of the Ark, where the tabernacle of Moses still stood] and brings the terrible news to Eli [the high priest]. Eli hears about the Arks capture and falls back and breaks his neck and dies. One of the daughters in law to Eli goes into labor and delivers a boy. She names him Ichabod, which means God's glory has departed. She did this because the Ark was taken. The Ark represented Gods glory and presence among the people. It seems as if Israel began to treat it in an idolatrous way. Sort of like what happened with the brass serpent that Moses made in the wilderness. God has to step in and rebuke his people when they mistake the true worship of God with religious objects. The history of the Christian church has been divided over this for centuries. You can have religious art, it should not become a thing of worship. The iconoclast controversy of the Catholic and Orthodox churches have gone to extremes on both sides. At times believers would go into the ‘churches’ and destroy all the religious art they found. Others would hold to a view of icons [religious paintings] and statues that would seem to cross the line in areas of worship. I remember hearing a story about a prophet who stood up in a church meeting and said ‘thus saith the Lord, I have judged this church and people. My glory is no longer here. I have written ‘Michelob’ on your door posts’. Well, after he sat down he realized he mistook the word ‘Michelob [beer]’ for 'Ichabod’. He then stood up again and said ‘Thus saith the Lord, I meant to say Ichabod’.

 (888)SAMUEL 5- The Philistines take the Ark back to their cities and every city the Ark is taken to experiences judgment. They get ‘tumors’ [hemorrhoids!] and rats. At one point they put the Ark in the ‘house of Dagon’ [a false idol. A fish head type thing with a human body] and the next morning their idol is found lying at the feet of the Ark. They set him up again and low and behold, the next morning the fish god is found at the foot of the Ark with his head and hands chopped off! Hey, if your god started as a fish and turned into a stump, then it’s time for a new god! Eventually they decide to send the Ark back to Israel. Let’s do a little history at this point. The Ark of God is the box that contained the 10 commandments. God had Moses make a box to put the tablets in [the 2 tablets that the commandments were written on]. The reason destruction will happen to those who ‘peak in the Ark’ is because the cover of the Ark was called ‘the Mercy seat’. This was the place where the high priest would make a yearly atonement [the Day of Atonement] for the sins of the people. The sacrificial blood was placed on the cover to be for a covering of sin. The Ten Commandments represented Gods Holy character, and the only way he could dwell with the people was on the basis of this atoning blood [a type of Christ]. When you remove the cover [the mercy seat] in essence you are causing the absolute righteousness of God to come into contact with the absolute sinfulness of man. That’s why those who peak in it are destroyed. Now the Ark was originally carried around with the tabernacle system in the wilderness. A sort of movable tent that was set up and taken down as God willed. A mobile piece of furniture. When the children of Israel came into the Promised Land it was placed in Shiloh. After it’s capture and return [which we will read about in the coming chapters] it will eventually be placed in the city of Jerusalem under King David’s rule. This tent that David puts it in is referred to as ‘David’s tabernacle/tent’. It will be a type of the new covenant ministry of Jesus. The tent of David will have no tabernacle structure like Moses tabernacle in Shiloh. There will be no veil or holy of holies or any other impediment to God’s presence. All you have is the Ark and the mercy seat. This showing us that in Jesus priesthood [typified by David’s kingly/priestly ministry] all you need is Jesus atonement and Gods glory. All have equal access to God, not just the priestly class [or another way to put it is all are priests!]. So as we progress thru these books keep your eyes open to the prophetic pictures that are being painted by the Spirit. All scripture testifies of Christ. He is the underlying figure that the Spirit is continually pointing to.

 (889)SAMUEL 6- The Philistines are reeling under the judgment of God. They call a meeting of their priests and diviners, and they ask what they should do. Their ‘religious’ leaders advise them to send the Ark back to Israel and make an offering. They were to make gold images of their judgments, rats and tumors, and place them in a box with the Ark and send it on a cart being pulled by two cows. They would take the cows calves and bring them home, but place the cows and cart on a road to Beth Shemesh. If the cows go down the road, they took it as a sign from God. Sure enough the cows take the Ark to Beth Shemesh and dump the cart in a field belonging to Joshua. Israel rejoices that the Ark is back and sacrifices the cattle with the wood from the cart. Their joy is short lived. They peek in the Ark and are destroyed. They removed the ‘Mercy seat’ [see last chapter-#888]. Over fifty thousand men from Beth Shemesh are killed. They decide to send it to the men of Kirjath Jearim. Over the years I have seen this story used in various ways to justify different ‘ways of doing church’. Some taught how God judged Israel because they didn’t follow the prescribed methods of Ark handling. We will see this happen with David and his men later on. Then the teacher would relate how important it is for us to follow Gods prescribed method, but then teach ‘Gods method’ is their various slant on how ‘we should do church’. I see some good stuff from this story, but I don’t see it in that light. The Philistines were advised by their own pagan priests ‘don’t harden your hearts like Pharaoh’. The story of Gods miraculous intervention in Egypt became lore of the day. All the surrounding nations knew that you don’t mess with the God of Israel. God didn’t destroy the men of Beth Shemesh because they didn’t fully follow prescribed law [though later on this will be part of the problem with David’s men] but they died because they took themselves out from under the covering of Gods mercy as represented in the Mercy seat [the lid on the Ark]. A few years back a famous believer, Reggie White [former football pro.] was known for his Christian faith. He was later influenced by Muslim teaching and made the statement ‘I am going directly to God, without a ‘go between’ [meaning Christ]’. He obviously was influenced by Muslim teaching and was coming out from the ‘covering of Christ’ [mercy seat]. Sadly, Reggie tragically died not too long after this from a sickness. He died in the prime of his life. I do not want to judge Reggie. I simply want to show you the danger of sinful men [all of us!] trying to approach a Holy God without the ‘mercy seat’ [Cross]. The men of Beth Shemesh removed the covering, and they suffered for it.

 (890)SAMUEL 7- The Ark arrives at Abinadab's house in Kirjath Jearim, it will remain there until David retrieves it [it was there for around 100 years in total-1100 BC- 1004 BC]. Samuel calls the people to repentance and makes intercession for them at the same time. This leads to great victory over the enemy. Jesus ‘lives forever to make continual intercession for us’. We need to combine repentance and dependence upon Christ’s mediation in order to gain victory. This chapter also has the famous name ‘Ebenezer’ that makes it into the history of the church. Both songs and churches will use it in their names. Martin Luther King preached at Ebenezer Baptist church. This stone was simply a rock of remembrance for the victory of God. It spoke of Gods help for man. Jesus is the ultimate ‘stone/rock of defense’ for man. Scripture says ‘there is no rock like the Lord’ ‘Jesus is the precious stone, all who believe will be delivered’. The imagery of Jesus/God as a rock of defense is all throughout scripture. We see Samuel as the key leader of Israel and scripture says he judged them at this time. He lived in Ramah and ‘rode a circuit’ between the various cities on a rotating basis. He was the first ‘circuit rider’! The circuit riders were the famous American evangelists during the 19th century. As the Puritan east coast churches were becoming well established in the original colonies, there was a need to reach out to the West [and south] with the gospel. The circuit riders were the evangelists who traveled to various areas preaching the gospel and establishing churches [The great Methodist Frances Asbury became famous for his circuit riding and church planting]. During this time you had the famous ‘camp meetings’ where many believers from all over would gather at these outdoor ‘brush arbors’ and hear the gospel preached and commit their lives to the Lord. Over time the more staid Reformed churches of the east coast would view the ‘camp meeting’ brothers as a little ‘un hinged’. You would also have some of the ‘Spirit led’ groups condemn the old time reformed brothers as ‘unconverted’. There was a tendency to lean towards one side or the other. The various Quaker [shaker] type groups would emphasize the Spirit being premiere in all Christian understanding. While this is of course true, this in no way means believers do not learn thru the normal means of study and reading. Some of the more ‘Spirit minded’ believers would come to view the more ‘head knowledge’ brothers as ‘unconverted’. One of the worst cases was the Ann Hutchison controversy. She was a believer who began teaching under the ‘Spirits guidance’ and would give the impression that the more refined ministers were not of God. She would ultimately pay with her life for her beliefs.  NOTE- The terminology of ‘New lights’ versus ‘Old lights’ was often used to describe the different emphasis between these 2 camps. There was a brother by the name of Davenport who would travel around and accuse all of the old time preachers as being unconverted. While it is possible for a minister to have never truly made a strong commitment to Christ, to paint them all with this broad brush was very unbalanced.

   VERSES-

Matthew 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Matthew 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Matthew 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

2Samuel 22:1 And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:

2Samuel 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

2Samuel 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

2Samuel 22:4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

2Samuel 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;

2Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

2Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

2Samuel 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.

2Samuel 22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

2Samuel 22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

2Samuel 22:11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

2Samuel 22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

2Samuel 22:13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

2Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

2Samuel 22:15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.

2Samuel 22:16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

2Samuel 22:17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;

2Samuel 22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

2Samuel 22:19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

2Samuel 22:20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

2Samuel 22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

2Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

2Samuel 22:23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

2Samuel 22:24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.

2Samuel 22:25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.

2Samuel 22:26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.

2Samuel 22:27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.

2Samuel 22:28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

2Samuel 22:29 For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

2Samuel 22:30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.

2Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

2Samuel 22:32 For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?

2Samuel 22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

2Samuel 22:34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

2Samuel 22:35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

2Samuel 22:36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.

2Samuel 22:37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.

2Samuel 22:38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.

2Samuel 22:39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.

2Samuel 22:40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.

2Samuel 22:41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.

2Samuel 22:42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

2Samuel 22:43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.

2Samuel 22:44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me.

2Samuel 22:45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.

2Samuel 22:46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places.

2Samuel 22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

2Samuel 22:48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me.

2Samuel 22:49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

2Samuel 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.

2Samuel 22:51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Psalm 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

Psalm 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Exodus 15King James Version (KJV)

 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

2 The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Rev. 15

Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Hebrews 13:2

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

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#bible #religion

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad: Before His Birth, His Birth and His Childhood

The Prophet is Under the Care of Abdulmuttalib, his Grandfather

When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) lost his mother at the age of six, his elderly grandfather took him under his care.

Abdulmuttalib, the leader of the Quraysh, had his share of the light of Ahmad. That light (noor) caused him to earn high merits and attributes.  Excellent traits like a bright face, kind words, shyness, gentleness, and a superior code of conduct were added to his height, large head, and grandiose appearance.  He was patient, clever, thoughtful, chivalrous and generous. Even animals were not exempted from his charity and generosity. He would even think about the hungry animals and birds in the mountains.

That light (noor) caused him to earn high merits and attributes.  Excellent traits like a bright face, kind words, shyness, gentleness, and a superior code of conduct were added to his height, large head, and grandiose appearance. Even animals were not exempted from his charity and generosity. He always thought and was concerned about the ones that roamed with hunger and thirst on the mountain tops.

He was one of the fortunate people who had not separated from the path of light that was in between the vast darkness of the age of ignorance. He was very devoted to Allah and believed in the hereafter. Thus, he did not hesitate to place his most beloved son underneath a knife so that he could fulfill the promise that he had made to Allah. He would have sacrificed his son if the Qurayshis had not intervened. He would distance himself from the ugly rituals of the Age of Ignorance and would also prevent others from participating. At the same time, he would prevent others from the horrible practice of burying infant girls alive. He would always abstain from alcohol and adultery and would try to avert the occurring torture and injustice in Mecca with all his might.

He deeply enjoyed entertaining guests. He would pay close attention to his relatives and would show them compassion and loving-kindness. Because of this wonderful quality, the Qurayshis would refer to him as “Ibrahim the Second”.

When Ramadan entered, he would retreat to the cave of Hira and would be preoccupied with worshipping; he was the first to have started this practice.

At the same time, this elderly grandfather knew what loving a child and grandchild was like. It was a great pleasure to love a grandchild as sweet and immaculate as the Master of the Universe (PBUH).

Abdulmuttalib truly loved his grandson who disseminated light everywhere. He sheltered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) like a delicate nestling in between his affectionate wings. He did not want to go anywhere without him. Even at this age, our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) behavior was no different than that of an enlightened person. Immediately, everyone would notice this extraordinary circumstance wherever he went. In fact, from time to time, Abdulmuttalib would first consult with his grandson before he provided any answers to the questions asked during meetings and conversations.

At that age, the Prophet was like a sincere friend of his old grandfather, a sympathetic ear and a trustable consultant. However, he always acted respectfully toward his grandfather.

Only he was allowed to sit on the seat of his grandfather!

A mat would almost always be laid out for Abdulmuttalib upon the shadow of the Kaaba’s wall. None of the children would get on top of this mat. Instead, they would sit around it and wait until their fathers came.

Abdulmuttalib would not take any of his children on this mat except for his grandson whom he would hug and place alongside himself. Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) uncles would always want to separate him from this mat; however, their father would hinder them and say:

“Release my son. By Allah, in the future, his reputation and glory are going to be great”.

He would then indicate his everlasting love for his venerable grandson by placing him alongside himself once more while gently rubbing his back. Nobody other than our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) had the courage to wake Abdulmuttalib up while he was sleeping. And nobody was able to enter Abdulmuttalib’s personal room without permission except for our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The elderly grandfather would have his radiant-faced grandson sit next to him or on his lap at the dining table. He would feed him the most delicious portion of the meal and would not allow the meal to begin until he came.

When the Prophet was a bit late!

One day, the Master of the Universe’s grandfather sent him to go look for his missing camel. When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was running slightly late, his grandfather was overcome with worry that he was lost. His sadness could easily be read on his face. He immediately ran to the Kaaba and opened his hands to pray to the Supreme Creator. He begged, “My Lord, please return my Muhammad back to me!”

A little while later, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) suddenly appeared with the camel right next to him. His grandfather happily hugged him and said “my unique grandson, dear, I was so sad and worried about you. I bawled so much that I will never have you leave my side and send you somewhere on your own from now on”. Indeed, Abdulmuttalib did not refrain from following his grandson like a shadow until his death.

What did the Yemeni ruler, Saif bin dhi Yazan, say to Abdulmuttalib

Abdulmuttalib, who loved our Holy Prophet (PBUH) wholeheartedly, was away from him for a short period of time only once during his life.

The Yemeni monarch, Saif bin Dhiyazan, recaptured his father’s country from the Habashis and occupied the throne in the city of Gumdan. Tribal chieftains were coming from all four sides of Arabia to congratulate him.

A committee representing Mecca that was headed by Abdulmuttalib was supposed to go to Gundam. For this reason, by leaving Mecca, Abdulmuttalib was going to be far away from our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Following their long journey, Saif bin Dhiyazan accepted the Meccan committee upon their arrival to Gundam. Abdulmuttalib received permission from the Emperor to mention his high merits and his father who had been an auspicious ruler. He made the following connection to specify and distinguish his committee:

“We are the people of this nation that Allah has made inviolable. We are the ministrants of the Baitullah (the Kaaba)”.

This statement grabbed the monarch’s attention, therefore he asked, “Oh smooth-spoken person, who are you?”

Abdulmuttalib answered, “I am Hashim’s son, Abdulmuttalib”.

Saif was interested in more. He said joyfully and excitedly, “So, you are my sister’s son”.

Abdulmuttalib said, “Yes.”

Upon hearing this, Saif took a greater interest in Abdulmuttalib and wanted him to come closer. He then said, “I learned that we are related. I am very happy with your visit. You are worthy of being treated very hospitably and of being conversed with day and night. You are a very honorable and esteemed person”.

Saif did not settle on those complimentary words. He proved that he was sincere by entertaining Abdulmuttalib as a guest in his palace for a month.

The days in the palace were always spent by conversing. Saif had learned about the attributes of the forthcoming Prophet from the Holy Books and was finding some clues from his conversations. One day, he discreetly called Abdulmuttalib during a break so that no one would notice. He wanted to speak to him. When Abdulmuttalib arrived next to him, he said, “Oh Abdulmuttalib, “I am going to entrust a secret to you and I believe that this secret is related to you. We have been hiding this very great and important news that I have found in a book”.

Abdulmuttalib asked, “What is it?”

Saif then unveiled his secret: “It is probable that he is a living child. He is going to be or has been born in the region of Tihama, which is on your side of the country. He has a mole in between his shoulder blades. His grandfather and uncle will take him under their care when both of his parents die. He will show hospitality to both his friends and helpers and will cause his enemies to suffer from contempt. He is going to conquer the most prosperous places and be the people’s guide and leader until Armageddon. He will remove false religions, eliminate idol worship, and worship the Compassionate Lord. His words will solve impasses and his work will be based upon foresight and justice. He will always order for goodness to be done, will do good deeds, and will prevent others from committing misdeeds”.

Abdulmuttalib was overcome with curiosity and excitement and wanted the Ruler to further explain and to further open this secret. He said, “Oh, Emperor! May your life be long, your reign continuous, and your glory is great. Could you further describe this child?”

After the Emperor listed the other signs and proofs he said, “Oh, Abdulmuttalib. It means that when all these signs are considered, that you are probably the grandfather”. Abdulmuttalib immediately prostrated from happiness.

This time, it was the Emperor’s turn to be curious and puzzled. He asked, “Oh Abdulmuttalib! Did you sense anything from what I have told you?”

Saif was happy that he had not been mistaken and said, “Protect your grandchild very carefully. The Jews are enemies to him. Protect him so that they will not harm him. Nevertheless, Allah is not going to give his enemies the chance or the possibility to do so. According to what I have found and learned in the ancient books, Yathrib (Medina) is going to be his place of emigration and he is going to receive much help there”.

Both the Emperor and Abdulmuttalib were relieved for having solved a great impasse.

Saif bin Dhiyazan was heralding our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) advent as a Prophet.

A while later, the Emperor saw off the Qurayshi committee to Mecca by treating them with immense respect and honor and giving them generous gifts. Abdulmuttalib’s gifts were far more in number than everyone else’s. After he bid them farewell, the Emperor said, “I would like to you inform me of the changes that are seen in the child’s condition every year”.

However, in less than one year after this conversation, Saif bin Dhiyazan passed away without being able to receive any further news from the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) grandfather.

On their journey back, Abdulmuttalib’s companions asked him why the Emperor had given him more gifts and showed him more respect and kindness. He comforted them by saying, “Do not be jealous. There is a certain reason for this”.

When Abdulmuttalib arrived in Mecca after a month of separation, he hugged his radiant grandson with longing and tried to rid his pain of separation with the sweetness of having been reunited.

The Prophet, a means of “Mercy”

Our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) was still under his grandfather, Abdulmuttalib’s care.

Mecca and its surroundings were suffering from terrible hardship and famine due to the drought.

Abdulmuttalib, who understood his grandson’s degree of importance, took him and his son, Abu Talib, to the Abu Qubays Mountain. The Qurayshis were coming right behind them.

Abdulmuttalib turned his face towards the Kaaba and lifted our Holy Prophet (PBUH) towards the sky three times and begged, “My Lord! Gladden us by sending rain for the sake of this child”.

The supplication that was done out of respect for the Master of the Universe (PBUH) was accepted. Raindrops instantly mixed with the people’s and the gentry’s teardrops of happiness.

All of these occurrences further increased the love and attachment the grandfather had towards his grandson and strengthened his conviction that his grandson would become an exalted person in the future. And it was for this reason that he showed the utmost care to this radiant grandchild.

DEATH OF ABDULMUTTALİB

Abdulmuttalib, who had become considerably old, fell ill one day. And his illness was gradually increasing its level of intensity.

He understood that his emigration to the afterlife was near. However, he had one necessary duty left to fulfill: To choose a dependable person that he could entrust our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) to.

For this reason, he called all of his sons. Abu Lahab came into his mind. However Abu Lahab was a coldhearted and merciless individual, therefore Abdulmuttalib said “no” to himself.

How about Abbas? No, he could not be, either. He had so many children and could only find time for them.

How about Hamza? He could not accept him either. Hamza was young and interested in hunting. He would not be able to show due attention and care to our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Very well. Then how about Abu Talib? He had found his radiant grandson’s guardian! Although Abu Talib’s assets were little, his compassion and mercy were ample. Only he deserved taking our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under his care.

Abdulmuttalib did not neglect to ask our Holy Prophet (PBUH) for his opinion. He asked, “Which of your uncles’ custody would you like to be under?” Upon hearing his grandfather’s question, our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) got up from his spot and went to embrace his Uncle Abu Talib. And it was in this manner that he expressed who he would like as his guardian.

Abdulmuttalib was happy that he had preferred the best candidate. Afterward, he turned to Abu Talib and said, “I am entrusting him to you. He is a Divine trust. Promise me that you will protect him in spite of everything, even if it is at the cost of your own life so that I will not have to worry and my heart can be content”.

Abu Talib, who was deeply touched that our Master (PBUH) had favored him, responded to his father with teary eyes:

“Do not worry, my dear father. You can be assured that I will prefer him over my own children and my life. I promise that I will not allow anyone to harm him as long as I live”.

Abdulmuttalib was pleased a lot by his son’s statement and his eyes were filled with tears of happiness.

...And Muhammad (pbuh) was delivered by Abdulmuttalib to Abu Talib, his uncle.

Abdulmuttalib, who was unable to be saved from his afflicted illness, passed away from this world as an elderly man having exceeded 80 years and who was not yet full of his grandson’s happiness, love, and affection

The date was 578 AD, eight years after the Year of the Elephant (Elephant Year).

The Meccan market was closed for days on account of Abdulmuttalib’s death. The Qurayshis and all those who loved and respected him mourned for days. His corpse was passed from one hand to the next in the highest esteem upon its burial. They then buried him in the Hajun cemetery next to his grandfather, Qusai.

Tears of the Prophet

Beloved Prophet (PBUH) felt deep sorrow for having lost his grandfather. This incident reminded him of his parents’ emigration to the hereafter.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) could not contain his teardrops during his grandfather’s funeral and burial; sometimes he would sob and other times he would cry silently without making a single sound.

Many years later, they asked our Holy Prophet (PBUH) whether or not he remembered his grandfather’s death. He responded by saying, “Yes, I remember. I was eight years old at that time”.

The first eight years of Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) blissful life were filled with pain, sadness, and sorrow. From that age onwards, his great soul and compassionate heart were molded with anguish and tribulations so that he could endure the hardships and catastrophes that he would have to face in his future.

#allah #god #islam #muslim #revert #reverthelp #reverthelp team #convert #new revert #new convert #new muslim #muslim revert #muslim convert #welcome to islam #revert to islam #convert to islam #how to convert to islam #prophet #muhammad #quran #sunnah #hadith #dua #pray #prayer #salah #help #reliigon #muslimah #hijab

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad: Before His Birth, His Birth and His Childhood

The Prophet is Under the Care of Abdulmuttalib, his Grandfather

When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) lost his mother at the age of six, his elderly grandfather took him under his care.

Abdulmuttalib, the leader of the Quraysh, had his share of the light of Ahmad. That light (noor) caused him to earn high merits and attributes.  Excellent traits like a bright face, kind words, shyness, gentleness, and a superior code of conduct were added to his height, large head, and grandiose appearance. He was patient, clever, thoughtful, chivalrous and generous. Even animals were not exempted from his charity and generosity. He would even think about hungry animals and birds in the mountains.

That light (noor) caused him to earn high merits and attributes. Excellent traits like a bright face, kind words, shyness, gentleness, and a superior code of conduct were added to his height, large head, and grandiose appearance. Even animals were not exempted from his charity and generosity. He always thought and was concerned about the ones that roamed with hunger and thirst on the mountain tops.

He was one of the fortunate people who had not separated from the path of light that was in between the vast darkness of the age of ignorance. He was very devoted to Allah and believed in the hereafter. Thus, he did not hesitate to place his most beloved son underneath a knife so that he could fulfill the promise that he had made to Allah. He would have sacrificed his son if the Qurayshis had not intervened. He would distance himself from the ugly rituals of the Age of Ignorance and would also prevent others from participating. At the same time, he would prevent others from the horrible practice of burying infant girls alive. He would always abstain from alcohol and adultery and would try to avert the occurring torture and injustice in Mecca with all his might.

He deeply enjoyed entertaining guests. He would pay close attention to his relatives and would show them compassion and loving-kindness. Because of this wonderful quality, the Qurayshis would refer to him as “Ibrahim the Second”.

When Ramadan entered, he would retreat to the cave of Hira and would be preoccupied with worshipping; he was the first to have started this practice.

At the same time, this elderly grandfather knew what loving a child and grandchild was like. It was a great pleasure to love a grandchild as sweet and immaculate as the Master of the Universe (PBUH).

Abdulmuttalib truly loved his grandson who disseminated light everywhere. He sheltered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) like a delicate nestling in between his affectionate wings. He did not want to go anywhere without him. Even at this age, our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) behavior was no different than that of an enlightened person. Immediately, everyone would notice this extraordinary circumstance wherever he went. In fact, from time to time, Abdulmuttalib would first consult with his grandson before he provided any answers to the questions asked during meetings and conversations.

At that age, the Prophet was like a sincere friend of his old grandfather, a sympathetic ear and a trustable consultant. However, he always acted respectfully toward his grandfather.

Only he was allowed to sit on the seat of his grandfather!

A mat would almost always be laid out for Abdulmuttalib upon the shadow of the Kaaba’s wall. None of the children would get on top of this mat. Instead, they would sit around it and wait until their fathers came.

Abdulmuttalib would not take any of his children on this mat except for his grandson whom he would hug and place alongside himself. Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) uncles would always want to separate him from this mat; however, their father would hinder them and say:

“Release my son. By Allah, in the future, his reputation and glory are going to be great”.

He would then indicate his everlasting love for his venerable grandson by placing him alongside himself once more while gently rubbing his back.  Nobody other than our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) had the courage to wake Abdulmuttalib up while he was sleeping. And nobody was able to enter Abdulmuttalib’s personal room without permission except for our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The elderly grandfather would have his radiant-faced grandson sit next to him or on his lap at the dining table. He would feed him the most delicious portion of the meal and would not allow the meal to begin until he came.

When the Prophet was a bit late!

One day, the Master of the Universe’s grandfather sent him to go look for his missing camel. When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was running slightly late, his grandfather was overcome with worry that he was lost. His sadness could easily be read on his face. He immediately ran to the Kaaba and opened his hands to pray to the Supreme Creator. He begged, “My Lord, please return my Muhammad back to me!”

A little while later, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) suddenly appeared with the camel right next to him. His grandfather happily hugged him and said “my unique grandson, dear, I was so sad and worried about you. I bawled so much that I will never have you leave my side and send you somewhere on your own from now on”.  Indeed, Abdulmuttalib did not refrain from following his grandson like a shadow until his death.

What did the Yemeni ruler, Saif bin dhi Yazan, say to Abdulmuttalib

Abdulmuttalib, who loved our Holy Prophet (PBUH) wholeheartedly, was away from him for a short period of time only once during his life.

The Yemeni monarch, Saif bin Dhiyazan, recaptured his father’s country from the Habashis and occupied the throne in the city of Gumdan. Tribal chieftains were coming from all four sides of Arabia to congratulate him.

A committee representing Mecca that was headed by Abdulmuttalib was supposed to go to Gundam. For this reason, by leaving Mecca, Abdulmuttalib was going to be far away from our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Following their long journey, Saif bin Dhiyazan accepted the Meccan committee upon their arrival to Gundam. Abdulmuttalib received permission from the Emperor to mention his high merits and his father who had been an auspicious ruler. He made the following connection to specify and distinguish his committee:

“We are the people of this nation that Allah has made inviolable. We are the ministrants of the Baytullah (the Kaaba)”.

This statement grabbed the monarch’s attention, therefore he asked, “Oh smooth-spoken person, who are you?”

Abdulmuttalib answered, “I am Hashim’s son, Abdulmuttalib”.

Saif was interested in more. He said joyfully and excitedly, “So, you are my sister’s son”.

Abdulmuttalib said, “Yes.”

Upon hearing this, Saif took a greater interest in Abdulmuttalib and wanted him to come closer. He then said, “I learned that we are related. I am very happy with your visit. You are worthy of being treated very hospitably and of being conversed with day and night. You are a very honorable and esteemed people”.

Saif did not settle on those complimentary words. He proved that what he was sincere by entertaining Abdulmuttalib as a guest in his palace for a month.

The days in the palace were always spent by conversing. Saif had learned about the attributes of the forthcoming Prophet from the Holy Books and was finding some clues from his conversations. One day, he discreetly called Abdulmuttalib during a break so that no one would notice. He wanted to speak to him. When Abdulmuttalib arrived next to him, he said, “Oh Abdulmuttalib, “I am going to entrust a secret to you and I believe that this secret is related to you. We have been hiding this very great and important news that I have found in a book”.

Abdulmuttalib asked, “What is it?”

Saif then unveiled his secret: “It is probable that he is a living child. He is going to be or has been born in the region of Tihama, which is on your side of the country. He has a mole in between his shoulder blades. His grandfather and uncle will take him under their care when both of his parents die. He will show hospitality to both his friends and helpers and will cause his enemies to suffer from contempt. He is going to conquer the most prosperous places and be the people’s guide and leader until Armageddon. He will remove false religions, eliminate idol worship, and worship the Compassionate Lord. His words will solve impasses and his work will be based upon foresight and justice. He will always order for goodness to be done, will do good deeds, and will prevent others from committing misdeeds”.

Abdulmuttalib was overcome with curiosity and excitement and wanted the Ruler to further explain and to further open this secret. He said, “Oh, Emperor! May your life be long, your reign continuous, and your glory is great. Could you further describe this child?”

After the Emperor listed the other signs and proofs he said, “Oh, Abdulmuttalib. It means that when all these signs are considered, that you are probably the grandfather”. Abdulmuttalib immediately prostrated from happiness.

This time, it was the Emperor’s turn to be curious and puzzled. He asked, “Oh Abdulmuttalib! Did you sense anything from what I have told you?”

Saif was happy that he had not been mistaken and said, “Protect your grandchild very carefully. The Jews are enemy to him. Protect him so that they will not harm him. Nevertheless, Allah is not going to give his enemies the chance or the possibility to do so. According to what I have found and learned in the ancient books, Yathrib (Medina) is going to be his place of emigration and he is going to receive much help there”.

Both the Emperor and Abdulmuttalib were relieved for having solved a great impasse.

Saif bin Dhiyazan was heralding our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) advent as a Prophet.

A while later, the Emperor saw off the Qurayshi committee to Mecca by treating them with immense respect and honor and giving them generous gifts. Abdulmuttalib’s gifts were far more in number than everyone else’s. After he bid them farewell, the Emperor said, “I would like to you inform me of the changes that are seen in the child’s condition every year”.

However, in less than one year after this conversation, Saif bin Dhiyazan passed away without being able to receive any further news from the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) grandfather. 

On their journey back, Abdulmuttalib’s companions asked him why the Emperor had given him more gifts and showed him more respect and kindness. He comforted them by saying, “Do not be jealous. There is a certain reason for this”.

When Abdulmuttalib arrived in Mecca after a month of separation, he hugged his radiant grandson with longing and tried to rid his pain of separation with the sweetness of having been reunited.

The Prophet, a means of “Mercy”

Our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) was still under his grandfather, Abdulmuttalib’s care.

Mecca and its surroundings were suffering from terrible hardship and famine due to the drought.

Abdulmuttalib, who understood his grandson’s degree of importance, took him and his son, Abu Talib, to the Abu Qubays Mountain. The Qurayshis were coming right behind them.

Abdulmuttalib turned his face towards the Kaaba and lifted our Holy Prophet (PBUH) towards the sky three times and begged, “My Lord! Gladden us by sending rain for the sake of this child”.

The supplication that was done out of respect for the Master of the Universe (PBUH) was accepted. Raindrops instantly mixed with the people’s and the gentry’s teardrops of happiness.

All of these occurrences further increased the love and attachment the grandfather had towards his grandson and strengthened his conviction that his grandson would become an exalted person in the future. And it was for this reason that he showed the utmost care to this radiant grandchild.

DEATH OF ABDULMUTTALIB

Abdulmuttalib, who had become considerably old, fell ill one day. And his illness was gradually increasing its level of intensity.

He understood that his emigration to the afterlife was near. However, he had one necessary duty left to fulfill: To choose a dependable person that he could entrust our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) to.

For this reason, he called all of his sons. Abu Lahab came into his mind. However Abu Lahab was a coldhearted and merciless individual, therefore Abdulmuttalib said “no” to himself.

How about Abbas? No, he could not be, either. He had so many children and could only find time for them.

How about Hamza? He could not accept him either. Hamza was young and interested in hunting. He would not be able to show due attention and care to our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Very well. Then how about Abu Talib? He had found his radiant grandson’s guardian! Although Abu Talib’s assets were little, his compassion and mercy were ample. Only he deserved taking our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under his care.

Abdulmuttalib did not neglect to ask our Holy Prophet (PBUH) for his opinion. He asked, “Which of your uncles’ custody would you like to be under?” Upon hearing his grandfather’s question, our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) got up from his spot and went to embrace his Uncle Abu Talib. And it was in this manner that he expressed who he would like as his guardian.

Abdulmuttalib was happy that he had preferred the best candidate. Afterward, he turned to Abu Talib and said, “I am entrusting him to you. He is a Divine trust. Promise me that you will protect him in spite of everything, even if it is at the cost of your own life so that I will not have to worry and my heart can be content”.

Abu Talib, who was deeply touched that our Master (PBUH) had favored him, responded to his father with teary eyes:

“Do not worry, my dear father. You can be assured that I will prefer him over my own children and my life. I promise that I will not allow anyone to harm him as long as I live”.

Abdulmuttalib was pleased a lot by his son’s statement and his eyes were filled with tears of happiness.

...And Muhammad (pbuh) was delivered by Abdulmuttalib to Abu Talib, his uncle.

Abdulmuttalib, who was unable to be saved from his afflicted illness, passed away from this world as an elderly man having exceeded 80 years and who was not yet full of his grandson’s happiness, love, and affection 

The date was 578 AD, eight years after the Year of the Elephant (Elephant Year).

The Meccan market was closed for days on account of Abdulmuttalib’s death. The Qurayshis and all those who loved and respected him mourned for days. His corpse was passed from one hand to the next in the highest esteem upon its burial. They then buried him in the Hajun cemetery next to his grandfather, Qusai. 

Tears of the Prophet

Beloved Prophet (PBUH) felt deep sorrow for having lost his grandfather. This incident reminded him of his parents’ emigration to the hereafter.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) could not contain his teardrops during his grandfather’s funeral and burial; sometimes he would sob and other times he would cry silently without making a single sound.

Many years later, they asked our Holy Prophet (PBUH) whether or not he remembered his grandfather’s death. He responded by saying, “Yes, I remember. I was eight years old at that time”.

The first eight years of Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) blissful life were filled with pain, sadness, and sorrow. From that age onwards, his great soul and compassionate heart were molded with anguish and tribulations so that he could endure the hardships and catastrophes that he would have to face in his future.

#allah #god #islam #muslim #revert #reverthelp #reverthelp team #convert #new revert #new convert #new muslim #muslim revert #muslim convert #welcome to islam #revert to islam #convert to islam #how to convert to islam #prophet #muhammad #quran #sunnah #hadith #Help #Religion #muslimah #hijab #dua #pray #prayer #salah