SIN IS LAWLESSNESS (BIBLE SCRIPTURES)

For the wages of SIN is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 NKJ)

 

I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of SIN. 

(Romans 7:25 NKJ)

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of SIN and death. 

(Romans 8:2 NKJ)

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of SIN, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 
(Romans 8:10 NKJ)

But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of SIN? Certainly not! (Galatians 2:17 NKJ)

Therefore, Since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from SIN, 
(1 Peter 4:1 NKJ)
 

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all SIN. 

(1 John 1:7 NKJ)
 

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not SIN. And if anyone SINs, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 

(1 John 2:1 NKJ)
 

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, Since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, OUR PASSOVER, was sacrificed for us. 

(1 Corinthians 5:7 NKJ)
 

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the SIN of the world! 

(John 1:29 NKJ)
 

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. SIN no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."
(John 5:14 NKJ)

Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits SIN is a slave of SIN.
(John 8:34 NKJ)
 

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice LAWLESSNESS, 

(Matthew 13:41 NKJ)
 

And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice LAWLESSNESS!'
(Matthew 7:23 NKJ)
 

Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and LAWLESSNESS. 

(Matthew 23:28 NKJ)
 

And because LAWLESSNESS will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

(Matthew 24:12 NKJ)
 

I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of LAWLESSNESS leading to more LAWLESSNESS, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 

(Romans 6:19 NKJ)
 

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with LAWLESSNESS? And what communion has light with darkness?

(2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJ)

 
For already this separating from Torah is at work secretly, but it will be secretly only until he who is restraining is out of the way. 
(2 Thessalonians 2:7 CJB)

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:7 NIV)

 

You have loved righteousness and hated LAWLESSNESS; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions." 

(Hebrews 1:9 NKJ)

 

Whoever commits SIN also commits LAWLESSNESS, and SIN is LAWLESSNESS. (1 John 3:4 NKJ)

 

Whosoever committeth SIN transgresseth also the law: for SIN is the transgression of the law. 

(1 John 3:4 KJV)

SHARICE SHAR'S (PART II.)

Again, as always...it's a blessing to share God's word. With His people, those called by His name, those who fear His name small and great. For we are all God's children, born to someday be apart of the Elohim (God) Family. We are commanded to love one another and to share with one another, this includes encouraging, inspiring and strengthening one another, through our Father's Spirit, according to His will.

When we start to see the truth, we see the "flood" of lies that Satan has spewed out of his mouth (deceiving the whole world) and sad to say, the world (overall) loves his lies.

The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end? (Jeremiah 5:31 NKJ)

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.  And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. 

(2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NKJ)

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

(Revelation 12:9 NKJ)

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2 NKJ)

When you begin to walk in the Lord's ways you are "beheaded" spiritually "cut-off" from the world, but you soon realize it is okay because the world is cut off from God. Satan becomes enraged with you and you fight spiritual battles (constantly, daily--within yourself and with others in the world), but you know that the battle is not yours alone and that the Lord, who is eternal, wins in the end.

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:17 NKJ)

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4 NKJ)

For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. (Isaiah 54:5 NKJ)

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4 NKJ)

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 

(1 John 3:1 NKJ)

I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. (John 17:9 NKJ)

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. (John 17:15 NKJ)

It is such a blessing to come out of this world and to overcome through the word, testimonies, Spirit of God Almighty. This world will try to force feed you it's paganism, from childhood onward. And if you don't submit to the beast and his markings then you are made to feel as if you are an outcast (a grinch or a Scrooge, esp. during the season when his spirit "the Christmas" spirit is rampid). You almost can't escape it, his ways, his idols, even the decorations and traditions all come from Satan for his purpose of mocking God, His Holy Days and our Savior-- and showing God that His people love him and his ways and despise the things ("ways & days") of God.

No matter how beautiful it may appear, if it comes from Satan (who spent millions of years as one of God's top angels in Heaven) it is evil.....meaning it goes against the will of God. For no lie is of the truth, and God is the truth, His ways are truth and Satan is the father/founder of all lies. It may look wonderful to us, but it could be an abomination unto God; for the heart is most deceitful among all things and Satan plays on that. This is way some people can see the evil in say Halloween while not seeing the evil in Christmas (the Roman "Mass of Christ"), while others don't see the evil in either. Is it a trivial thing, to exchange the truth of God for a lie, to do away with the commandments of God for tradition? Most would not believe that God looks down and sees idols this time of the year, while the world sees the "Christmas spirit", the decorations are idols, the trees and lights, the pastors and ministers are idols "for their word is put over that of God", the days that Satan marked for his purpose are idols.

And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 

(Luke 16:15 NKJ)

And He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. 

(Ezekiel 8:17 NKJ)

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.  And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. 

(2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NKJ)

"The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

(Jeremiah 17:9 NKJ) 

I can remember h.s. (Madonna "the virgin Mary" Catholic "all girl" High School), we were like some of the worst children, worst than most of the Chicago High School kids at that time; yet we thought we were "special" or "justified" because the "nuns" and the "Archdioceses" had our backs; now today looking back, thinking back (esp. knowing the identity of the "harlot" church) I realize that was a lie, mire deception. We had one of the #1 haunted houses in Chicago (and I worked there all 4 yrs). They would get us that first year by offering extra credit to those who participated and then after that you were hooked, from the thrill (working side by side with nuns in our school--next to the convent-- which we had turned into a "house of horrors", "lil witches indeed). I think it was a year after we graduated, maybe two, that they tore down ever brick of that building and the nuns convent. And now the only time my job offers any additional paid time off  during the yr--(extra pto time) is during the "Halloween season" for the best " Halloween decorator". I'm force feed Christmas and other holidays at work even now to this day (decorations, events, parties), because if it is not biblically based it's allowed ("accepted and loved") by the world, the jobs, the schools. It's everywhere, and when you know the "truth" you realize that Satan is "loved" by many [not judging for you once were fooled by him], for people truly love "what he has gave", that which is as sweet as honey in the mouth but bitter to the soul. That which was meant for our "the human family's" death, destruction and separation from our Eternal Father and Creator, the One who loves us like no other. It seems as if no wants the truth, though God is the truth....therefore the truth does not hurt but gives life, it heals and sets one free. What better thing could one share, for God is truly love, there is nothing better to share but His love, truth, ways, & word. Even my second grader is beginning to understand that no truth comes from a lie, yet he has to also go through mental and spiritual battles in this world because the world loves the ways of Satan. It's in the schools, both public and private. So even though we teach our child the truth, he is still exposed to the lie and even has to complete assignment after assignment, packet after  packet on "Christmas and Holidays around the world" for a grade (in addition to the school's decorations and "art" projects).....this is injust, but our cries have reached the Lord of Sabaoth and He shall be our Help.....'delivering His people, "spiritual" Israel as He has promised from this "spiritual" Egypt and it's "spiritual" king, Pharaoh, "Satan" and the "bondage of this world.

So TRUTH fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. (Isaiah 59:15 NKJ)


You are near, O Lord, And all Your commandments are TRUTH. (Psalms 119:151 NKJ)

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NKJ)

For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in TRUTH. (Psalms 33:4 NKJ)

The entirety of Your word is TRUTH, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. (Psalms 119:160 NKJ)

Sanctify them by Your TRUTH. Your word is TRUTH. (John 17:17 NKJ)

And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of TRUTH will be blasphemed. (2 Peter 2:2 NKJ)


"Enter by the NARROW GATE; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 NKJ)


They have dealt treacherously with the Lord, For they have begottena PAGAN CHILDREN. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage. (Hosea 5:7 NKJ)

"But come here, You sons of the sorceress, You offspring of the adulterer and the HARLOT! (Isaiah 57:3 NKJ)

And as Isaiah said before: "Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah." (Romans 9:29 NKJ)


Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.  (James 5:4 NKJ)


Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of TRUTH. (Psalms 31:5 NKJ)


So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of TRUTH; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of TRUTH; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes. (Isaiah 65:16 NKJ)


For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the TRUTH in unrighteousness, (Romans 1:18 NKJ)


But we know that the judgment of God is according to TRUTH against those who practice such things. (Romans 2:2 NKJ)


but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the TRUTH.                         (1 Timothy 3:15 NKJ)


We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of TRUTH and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:6 NKJ)


For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His TRUTH endures to all generations. (Psalms 100:5 NKJ)


In mercy and TRUTH Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. (Proverbs 16:6 NKJ)


For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in TRUTH, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJ)


because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the TRUTH of the gospel, (Colossians1:5 NKJ)


Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of TRUTH, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. (James 1:18 NKJ)

THANKSGIVING TOO???

We often think of Thanksgiving as an American holiday, begun by the Pilgrims in Plymouth in 1621. At that time, so the story runs, the survivors of the Mayflower passengers celebrated their first harvest in the New World with a feast to which Governor Bradford invited the Indian Chief Massasoit and ninety of his braves.

'That was the first Thanksgiving Day in the New World. But actually a thanksgiving for the annual harvest is one of the oldest holidays known to mankind, though celebrated on different dates. In Chaldea, in ancient Egypt and in Greece, the harvest festival was celebrated with great rejoicing. The Hindus and the Chinese observe the gathered harvest with a holiday. And the Jews celebrate the ingathering of the crops as enjoined upon them in Torah.

" 'The Romans celebrated their Thanksgiving early in October. The holiday was dedicated to the goddess of harvest, Ceres, and the holiday was called Cerelia.

" 'The Christians took over the Roman holiday and it became well established in England, where some of the Roman customs and rituals for this day were observed long after the Roman Empire had disappeared.

" 'In England the 'Harvest Home' has been observed continuously for centuries. The custom was to select a harvest queen for this holiday. She was decorated with the grain of their fields and the fruit of their trees. On Thanksgiving Day she was paraded through the streets in a carriage drawn by white horses. This was a remnant of the Roman ceremonies in honor of Ceres...the Pilgrims brought the "Harvest in" to Massachusetts.' (Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1953. Pps. 159- 160)." [The harvest queen represented the Queen of Heaven, mentioned in the Bible as idolatrous and Semiramis.]

Marian Schibsly and Hanny Cohrsen in their book, Foreign Festival Customs and Dishes:

" 'Giving thanks for the bounty of Providence is a practice as old as mankind and widespread as the human race. Long before the Christian era, harvest gods were worshipped with curious and varied rites. Customs now in use at harvest festivals have their counterparts in pagan countries; in many cases their origin and their significance is shrouded in mists of antiquity. The American Thanksgiving Day is usually ascribed to the Massachusetts colony of pilgrims, who, in gratitude for their first harvest on American soil, devoted the day of December 13, 1621 to praise and rejoicing. [Actually ran 3 days]

'The idea underlying such a celebration did, however, not originate with them. Thanksgiving day -- by that or some other name -- was known to virtually all the people who have come to America since 1492 and is known to those now coming...it becomes apparent that a day of thanksgiving is a custom in almost all the countries of Europe. It usually has to do with the harvests -- with the planting of crops or their gathering -- and therefore is observed in rural districts rather than in cities. (American Council For Nationalities Service, N.Y. 1974. P.46).' "

Diana Appelbaum's book, Thanksgiving: An American Holiday, An American History:

'Neither created intentionally nor copied from a paradigmatic 'first Thanksgiving,' the new celebration was a synthesis of four distinct and ancient traditions, elements of which united in the unique cultural milieu of Puritan New England to give birth to Thanksgiving. The newborn Thanksgiving holiday had a Puritan "mother" from Connecticut, a Pilgrim "father" from Plymouth and, for "grandparents," four traditions from the old world.

'New Englanders came from Old England, where the Harvest Home -- one of the 'grandparents' of Thanksgiving -- was celebrated. The Harvest Home was a holiday on which the villagers joined together to bring the last loads of grain from the fields and share a merry feast when the work was done. English villages followed local harvest customs; some dressed a maiden in white to ride atop a loaded cart as "queen of the harvest". Others fashioned a figure from the grain itself to be robed in a white gown and set in the center of a circle of rejoicing farmers.

'There was sufficient taint of idol worship and evidence of licentious behavior in the old English Harvest Home for Puritans to reject the custom summarily. They recoiled from these remnants of the pagan customs that predated Christianity in England, but memories of the harvest feast lingered all the same.

'The Puritans' shunning of the ancient Harvest Home left a void in the New England year that might not have been problematic had a similar attitude not been extended to other holidays. But the Puritans had disapproved of so many causes for celebration that a holiday vacuum existed in the young colonies.

'All Saint's Day had been swept off the calendar along with Christmas and Easter, on the grounds that these were mixed "popish" ritual with pagan custom....Remaining to New England were three holidays -- Muster Day, Election Day and the day of the Harvard Commencement.' (Facts On File Publications, N.Y. 1984. Pps. 18-20)."

Notice that the Puritans trying to obey God (though not fully) were left with only 3 holidays to observe and a holiday vacuum. They were, of course, ignorant of YHWH's Holy Days which should be observed exclusively.

'Like the Harvest Home, Christmas -- another of the old-world "grandparents" of Thanksgiving -- was remembered but not celebrated by the Puritans. The practice of designating the day of 'Jesus' birth, and especially of making merry on that day, were viewed as one of the grave errors of the churches of both Rome and England and as a departure from the purity of the early church. Celebration of Christmas was so disparaged in the seventeenth-century Bay Colony that the General Court forbade laborers taking off from work on that day under penalty of a five-shilling fine. Not until the nineteenth century did New England relent in this attitude and the Congregational churches began to observe Christmas -- but Massachusetts was two centuries old before that happened. In the early years, everything associated with Christmas was rejected out of hand; even the lowly mince pie, eaten in every household at Christmas, was banished from the Puritan kitchen as being unholy food at any time of the year.

'The spirit of Christmas, however, was sorely missed, and during the 1600s, when Thanksgiving was becoming a popular festival, small pieces of the English Christmas crept into the celebration of the Yankee Thanksgiving. Those quintessential English Christmas dishes, plum pudding and mince pie became as indispensable a part of the Thanksgiving menu as turkey and pumpkin pie itself. (Page 24).

'Thanksgiving Day, our unique American holiday, ought not to be confused with still a third 'grandparent,' the special days of Thanksgiving proclaimed by civil authorities in Europe and throughout the American colonies. When some stroke of extraordinary good fortune befell a nation, the civil authorities often declared a day of thanksgiving and prayer, marked by special services in every church...declarations of this sort were familiar to the first settlers on these shores. Coronado, Popsham and the settlers at Jamestown, Plymouth and Boston acted in this tradition when they held their "first Thanksgiving."

'Settlers in both New Amsterdam and Plymouth were familiar with the Dutch custom of celebrating October 3 as a day of thanksgiving commemorating the independence of Holland from Spain. English settlers recalled that the Anglican church marked November 5, the anniversary of the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, as a day on which thanks were given that the scheme to blow up Parliament had failed. Puritan New England undoubtedly drew upon the tradition of civic thanksgivings in creating the new holiday.' (Page 25).

'Fourth "grandparent" to the American Thanksgiving Day was the tradition of individual Puritan congregations declaring days of thanksgiving and prayer. The Puritans rejected all ecclesiastical hierarchy in favor of the sovereignty of the congregation. Authority equivalent to that belonging to Catholic or Anglican bishops was vested in Puritan congregations, which has sole power to ordain clergymen, admit or excommunicate members and declare days of fasting and of thanksgiving. Like the proclamations of civil authorities, congregational thanksgiving days were declared for special causes.' (Page 25).

'The Thanksgiving holiday born in Puritan New England in the 1630s and 1640s was shaped by four traditions -- the Harvest Home, Christmas, proclamations of civic thanksgiving and congregational days of thanksgiving and prayer....other features of the holiday developed in Connecticut. The Connecticut River valley towns of Wethersfield, Windsor and Hartford were settled in 1635 and 1636 by families from Massachusetts Bay who shared with their sister colony a thoroughgoing dedication to Puritanism. The church in each town followed the established, Puritan custom of holding days of public thanks or of prayer and fasting as the occasion warranted, but the leaders of the colony departed from tradition by proclaiming a day of public thanksgiving each autumn in gratitude for general well-being and for the harvest just gathered. Although records from the early years are incomplete, a proclamation of thanksgiving for September 18, 1639, survives, as do proclamations for 1644 and for every year from 1649 onward.

'This was the crucial innovation. The entire Western world shares the custom of special thanksgivings for special causes, and as we have seen, individual Plymouth Colony congregations sometimes held harvest thanksgivings followed by a festive meal. When Connecticut made Thanksgiving Day an annual festival for general causes, however, a new holiday was born. Thanksgiving in Connecticut was held every autumn, not for special reasons, but in gratitude for the ordinary blessings of the "year past"and for the "fruits of the earth".' (Thanksgiving: An American Holiday, An American History, by Diana Karter Appelbaum. Pps. 28-29)."

As mentioned in earlier articles, Thanksgiving Day is intertwined with Christmas, beginning the Christmas sales season and countdown of shopping days left. The Christmas parade with Santa Claus, an imitation of Christ, and many floats depicting toys is presented then. Mrs. Josepha Hale, who pushed the acceptance of Thanksgiving Day as a holiday, also promoted the merry celebration of Christmas with frivolity, which before in the USA was observed more as a holy day only. Again, a day to worship God as Thanksgiving Day is not necessarily acceptable with God since the same claim could be made for Christmas and Easter which are clearly pagan.

PAGAN SYMBOLS OF THANKSGIVING DAY

A goose used to be the main course for harvest festivals and was replaced by the more common turkey in America with the Indians first. These birds representing the sun god or the Son of god, an imitation of the Son of God slain for others. Actually the symbols derived all the way back to Nimrod and Semiramis. Words from Wilkinson, an Egyptologist:

'The goose,' says Wilkinson, 'signified in hieroglyphics A CHILD OR SON;' and Horapollo says (i.53, p.276), 'It was chosen TO DENOTE A SON, from its love to its young, being always ready to give itself up to the chasseur[hunter], in order that they might be preserved; for which reason the Egyptians thought it right to revere this animal.' (Wilkinson's Egyptians, vol. v., p. 227)."

Pumpkin is used as a symbol for the sun and is also prominent in Halloween, replacements in the Western Hemisphere. The sacred goose of Europe was used if available, but turkeys were more prevalent so were substituted for them with the same idea derived from pagan harvest festivals.

"Chopped Up Meat & the Death of Osiris!

"According to Diana Appelbaum, 'Of the infinite variety of pies, two, the pumpkin and the mince, are intimately associated with Thanksgiving dinner.... There is no more quintessential Thanksgiving dish than mince meat pie, and yet, unlike the native pumpkin pie, mince meat was a tradition borrowed from the Christmas feasts of merry old England. Puritans in both England and America banned Christmas; the "high-shoe lords of Cromwell's making" frowned on all of the ancient Yuletide customs: "Plum broth was Popish, and mince pie--that was flat idolatry!"

'But by the early 1700s, mince pie was enshrined in the New England Thanksgiving menu.' (Thanksgiving: An American Holiday, An American History, pps. 270-27l)."

"The chopping of the meat was an ANNUAL RITUAL and REPRESENTED THE CHOPPING UP OF OSIRIS' BODY by Shem!"

"John Brand Bourne thinks the origin of both these customs [the harvest feast and the revelry that followed] is Jewish, and cites Hospinian, who tells us that the heathens copied after this custom of the Jews, and at the end of the harvest offered up their first fruits to the gods. For the Jews rejoiced and feasted at the getting in of the harvest. (Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain, George Bell & Sons, 1908. P. 16.)."

"Marian Schibsby and Hanny Cohrsen also noticed the Thanksgiving-

Tabernacles connection--'Many centuries before a day for nationwide thanksgiving and prayer was established in this country, the Jewish people observed such a custom. One of the most important Jewish festivals is that of the "Feast of Tabernacles," also called the "Feast of Ingathering" or "Succoth," which begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the month of Tishri -- that is sometime between the last week of September and the middle of October. It marks the end of the harvest "after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing floor and from thy wine press" (Deut. xvi, 13,16, RV) and is a season of joyousness and gratitude for the bounty of nature in the year that has passed.' (Foreign Festival Customs and Dishes, American Council for Nationalities Service, N.Y. 1974, P.53).

"Let me repeat what author Robert Schauffler said about the Grecian THESMOPHORIA: 'The harvest festival of ancient Greece, called the Thesmophoria, was akin to the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.. It was the feast of Demeter...' In Rome, the same feast occurred in October and began with a fast day -- the pagan equivalent of the Day of Atonement!

'On their return a festival occurred for three days in Athens, sad at first but gradually growing into an orgy of mirth and dancing. Here a cow and a sow were offered to Demeter, besides fruit and honeycombs. The symbols of the goddess were poppies and ears of corn, a basket of fruit and a little pig. The Romans worshipped this harvest deity under the name of Ceres. Her festival, which occurred yearly on October 4th, was called the Cerelia. It began with a fast [Day of Atonement?] among the common people who offered her a sow and the first cuttings of the harvest. There were processions in the fields with music and rustic sports and ceremonies ended with the inevitable feast of thanksgiving.' (Thanksgiving, Dodd-Mead, 1957. Pages 12-13).

"Why am I stressing this THREE-DAY FESTIVAL TO CERES in Rome and Athens? Because the Pilgrim Fathers OBSERVED A THREE-DAY THANKSGIVING during the fall in 1621!!"

"Diana Karter Appelbaum CLEARLY brings this out in Thanksgiving, An American Holiday, an American History:

'The first autumn, an ample harvest insured that the colony would have food for the winter months. Governor Bradford, with one eye on the divine Providence, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to God, and with the other eye on the local political situation extended an invitation to neighboring Indians to share in the harvest feast in order to guarantee that the feast served to cement a peaceful relationship; the three-day long meal was punctuated by displays of the power of English muskets for the benefit of suitably impressed Indian guests.' (Pages 7-8).

"It is interesting to realize that Edward Winslow, an 'historian' among the Pilgrim Fathers, would have written about the religious services held in those fall days if it was a day of thanksgiving to God, but HE MENTIONED NO SUCH THING! Instead, Diana Appelbaum states that 'Oysters, clams and fish rounded out the abundant, but far from epicurean feast that the celebrators would have been more likely to call "harvest home" than a "thanksgiving" celebration.' "

'A day of Thanksgiving was not an idea unique to the early settlers in America. The Pilgrims were well acquainted while in England with annual Thanksgiving celebrations, which had been known throughout history as an ancient and universal custom.

'In fact, the first Thanksgiving was more like a harvest festival, with none of the accounts mentioning any giving of thanks in solemn, religious piety as it is usually imagined. In keeping with long-standing English custom, Thanksgiving was filled with "revelry, sports, and feasts." ' (Myth information Extraordinary Collection of 590 Popular Misconceptions, Fallacies and Misbeliefs. J. Allen Varasdi)"

Is the eating of pumpkin pie, turkey or other food items used as pagan symbols in Thanksgiving necessarily wrong? No, only if utilized as part of the holiday or associated with it. There is the distinct difference between eating these foods as ordinary ones and partaking of a pagan rite, even though in the guise of a godly holiday whether in its season or not.

Though mincemeat pie is another matter derived strictly from pagan worship. I've seen the filler at the grocery store already mixed, available any time of the year. Eating meat and vegetable pies is normally all right. Though we should avoid anything which reminds us of association with customs of the heathen, as singing of Christmas carols of which a few sound rather godly. The song, Jingle Bells, is usually sung around Christmas time, and though not having anything to do with Christmas, might in the minds of some be part of the holiday. God recommended, actually ordered Israelites to destroy the accouterments of pagan practice. Which would help keep them from handling the objects and bring back the customs to mind.

De. 12:30 Take heed to yourself that you do not be snared by following them, after they are destroyed from before you; and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

Is Thanksgiving Day Pagan!?

Before getting into the actual history of Thanksgiving, which may shock and surprise, let us look at two arguments for keeping it:

    'I don't keep Thanksgiving Day as a holy day. It's a national day of giving thanks for what God has provided. It's not a holy day.'

  'Thanksgiving Day is an American holiday and therefore is not pagan. We are at free to keep it, and surely YHWH will appreciate it.'

    Is this the response people also use for justifying Christmas and Easter? Many who observe those pagan days do not even think of them as pagan holy days. Is it right to keep them? The Catholic Church expects all good Catholics to be in church those days and Thanksgiving Day also. Most of the Protestant churches keep the day as holy days also. (Holy meaning 'set apart' and in this case, for religious observance, by attending church.)
 

    We are warned to not be like the pagans and heathens, to not worship Him like they do (Deuteronomy 12:28-32).

    Pagan people set up their own or have their own 'holy days.' Never forget that fact.

        Let's pretend this holiday did not hearken back to pagan times. First consideration here is have pagan times ended? Once these pagan 'holy days' were only a few years old. Did that make them anymore right because they were new?

        Thanksgiving Day is not one of YHWH's ordained or authorized Feasts. A great many people believe this day is a 'holy day'. Do we make a good witness when we uplift this day as 'set apart'?

        For those of us who keep YHWH's (The Eternal One God's) set apart days, found in Leviticus 23, consider : 'The Church' (read Catholic here} proclaims thanksgiving a holiday (holy day), for the purpose of giving thanks for the many blessings we have received.

        For those whom He has called out of Babylon ('spiritual Egypt' a.k.a. this world), this ought to be cause for concern.

        Is this truly a religious day? Where does the Holy Scriptures (Tanakh) tell us to celebrate it?

        Although the U.S. have nationalized Thanksgiving, celebrations were held in ancient times to give thanks for the bountiful harvest. The Greeks honored Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, with a 9 day celebration; the Romans honored Ceres, Anglo-Saxons rejoiced with a feast to celebrate the reaping of the harvest

        Churches of all denominations are open for services on this 'holiday' every year...(over 38,000 Christian denominations alone)

        Long before biblical times the ancient people of the Mediterranean Basin held festivals at harvest time in honor of the earth mother. The goddess of the corn ('corn' being the European term for any grain; , was always one of the most important deities in the hierarchy of the gods, and her child was the young god of vegetation.'

        The ancient Semites called the earth mother Astarte...The Phrygians called her Semele. These deities were absorbed by the Greeks into the one great goddess, Demeter.' 'The Roman also had a harvest festival which they called the Cerelia, after Ceres, the Roman goddess of the corn.'

        The benevolent earth mother ... blended with the equally benevolent mother of 'Christ'. Local deities were blended with the Christian tales of saints to patrons for villages.

        In Peru, the ancient Indians worshiped the 'Mother of Maize' and tried every year to persuade her to bring in another good harvest. In Europe, the Austrians also had a 'Corn Mother' doll, fashioned from the last sheaf of grain cut in the field and then brought home to the village in the last wagon.'

        In Upper Burma, the friends of the household are invited to the barn for a feast when the rice has been piled in the husks on the threshing floor. After a prayer to the 'father and mother' for a good harvest next year they hold a feast of celebration.

        Most of the pagan customs that gathered round the harvest season have either disappeared or have been obscured so the celebrants have no notion of what they are celebrating.

        The Feasts depict a panorama of the many gods and goddesses and those who worshipped them.

        The star in this drama is Ceres, the Roman Corn Goddess. The Britains changed her name, in fact names: the Maiden, the Harvest Queen, the Kern or Corn Baby, the Kern Doll, the Ivy Girl, the Neck and the Mare. Sometimes the stalks of corn and sometimes she was represented by a sheaf dressed in many colored clothes which were decorated with flowing ribbons and the finest lace.

        The Kern Baby' an image, 'was made either from the last of the corn left standing ... or from the biggest and ripest ears to be found in the fields. The spirit herself dwelt in the corn, and mere mortals wanted no part in cutting her down. This responsibility was avoided by each throwing their sickles at this last sheaf from a distance and therefore it was impossible to determine exactly who cut down the final sheaf. Some where in their memory, they still held the awareness of a death and resurrection cycle therefore vegetation deity needed to be propitiated by a human sacrifice.'

        To fulfill this propitiation , this new Kern Baby was taken to the farm house and kept there until the next harvest supper. Last years kern baby was ceremoniously burned in the farm yard.

        We are quite well aware that most Americans do not follow the rituals we have discussed but does that make Thanksgiving Day acceptable for us to observe? May I celebrate Christmas as long as I don't have a tree or yule log?

        In the book of 1st Kings 12:26-13:5 we read:

    'And Jeroboam said in his heart, 'Now shall the kingdom return to the House of David: If this people go there to do sacrifice in the House of YHWH at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to Rehoboam, King of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam, King of Judah.'

    'Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said to them, 'It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, Oh Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.'

    'And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one in Dan.'

    'And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the Sons of Levi.'

    'And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. He did so in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the Children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.'

    'And, behold, there came a man of Elohiym (God) out of Judah by the Word of Yahveh (Yahweh "The Eternal") unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the Word of Yahveh, and said, 'Oh altar, altar, thus says YHWH; Behold, a child shall be born unto the House of David, Josiah by name; and upon you shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon you, and men's bones shall be burnt upon you.'

    'And he gave a sign the same day, saying, 'This is the sign which Yahveh has spoken; 'Behold, the altar shall be torn, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of Elohiym, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, 'Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.'

    'The altar also was torn, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of Elohiym had given by the word of YHWH.'

        Jeroboam set up golden calves to be worshiped in place of YHWH, and non-Levites to the priesthood since the Levites wanted no part of idol worship. The NIV states Jereboam set up, 'a month of his own choosing.' He instituted a feast 'like the festival held in Judah' (1st Kings 12:32).

     If our own 'set apart days' were not acceptable to 3,000 years ago, how can they be so today?

        Could this be what YHWH is trying to tell us when we read:

Amos 5:21-22

21 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.

22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.


        Must we not separate ourselves from all pagan days and walk in the Way of the God (Elohiym) of Israel? For He has called us out of darkness. He is our Elohiym and we must follow Him. When we celebrate His Holy Days, we reflect to the world the One and Only True Elohiym. Do we dishonor Him when we celebrate any but His Set Apart Days?

When we come to see the truth, we realize that this world is full of lies and we realize that most people like (love) it that way.

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." 

(Genesis 4:7 NKJ)

Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the Lord, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed.

(Amos 2:4 NKJ)

"What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, The molded image, a teacher of lies, That the maker of its mold should trust in it, To make mute idols? 

(Habakkuk 2:18 NKJ)

For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd. 

(Zechariah 10:2 NKJ)

My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God. 

(Ezekiel 13:9 NKJ)

And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?"

(Ezekiel 13:19 NKJ)

Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life.

(Ezekiel 13:22 NKJ)

"I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!' 

(Jeremiah 23:25 NKJ)

Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord God,' when the Lord had not spoken. 

(Ezekiel 22:28 NKJ)

Both these kings' hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. 

(Daniel 11:27 NKJ)

They make a king glad with their wickedness, And princes with their lies. 

(Hosea 7:3 NKJ)

"Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction to them, Because they have transgressed against Me! Though I redeemed them, Yet they have spoken lies against Me. 

(Hosea 7:13 NKJ)

You have plowed wickedness; You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, Because you trusted in your own way, In the multitude of your mighty men. 

(Hosea 10:13 NKJ)

And the Lord said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. 

(Jeremiah 14:14 NKJ)

O Lord, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things." 

(Jeremiah 16:19 NKJ)

Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

(Jeremiah 23:14 NKJ)

How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 

(Jeremiah 23:26 NKJ)

Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," says the Lord, "and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all," says the Lord. 

(Jeremiah 23:32 NKJ)

He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. 

(Psalm 101:7 NKJ)


Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you," says the Lord God. 

(Ezekiel 13:8 NKJ)


Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches-- Feed me with the food allotted to me; 

(Proverbs 30:8 NKJ)


Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves." (Isaiah 28:15 NKJ)

Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place. 

(Isaiah 28:17 NKJ)

For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity. 

(Isaiah 59:3 NKJ)

No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. 

(Isaiah 59:4 NKJ)

"And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me," says the Lord.

(Jeremiah 9:3 NKJ)

Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity. 

(Jeremiah 9:5 NKJ)


But the king shall rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him shall glory; But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped. 

(Psalm 63:11 NKJ)

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6 NKJ)

For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. (Luke 8:29 NKJ)

"Yet the children of your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' But it is their way which is not fair! (Ezekiel 33:17 NKJ)

"I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, Who are among you, To whom its reproach is a burden. (Zephaniah 3:18 NKJ)

ENDURE TO THE END...THE RACE IS NOT TO THE 'SWIFT' BUT TO HE WHO ENDURES (BIBLE SCRIPTURES)

HOLD FAST, ENDURE TO THE END; OUR HOPE IS IN THE LORD NOT THIS WORLD--THANKS BE TO GOD!


You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and YOU SHALL SERVE HIM AND HOLD FAST TO HIM. (Deuteronomy 13:4 NKJ)


Test all things; HOLD FAST WHAT IS GOOD. (1 Thessalonians 5:21 NKJ)


but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are IF WE HOLD FAST THE CONFIDENCE AND THE REJOICING OF THE HOPE FIRM TO THE END.  (Hebrews 3:6 NKJ)


Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, LET US HOLD FAST OUR CONFESSION. (Hebrews 4:14 NKJ)


LET US HOLD FAST THE CONFESSION OF OUR HOPE WITHOUT WAVERING, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23 NKJ)


But HOLD FAST WHAT YOU HAVE TILL I COME. (Revelation 2:25 NKJ)


Remember therefore how you have received and heard; HOLD FAST AND REPENT. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. (Revelation 3:3 NKJ)


Behold, I am coming quickly! HOLD FAST WHAT YOU HAVE, that no one may take your crown. (Revelation 3:11 NKJ)


These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may HAVE PEACE. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD." (John 16:33 NKJ)


Do not be overcome by evil, but OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD. (Romans 12:21 NKJ)

I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because YOU HAVE OVERCOME THE WICKED ONE. I write to you, LITTLE CHILDREN, Because YOU HAVE KNOWN THE FATHER. I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and THE WORD OF GOD ABIDES IN YOU, And YOU HAVE OVERCOME THE WICKED ONE. (1 John 2:13-14 NKJ)


You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, BECAUSE HE WHO IS IN YOU IS GREATER than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4 NKJ)


For WHATEVER IS BORN OF GOD OVERCOMES THE WORLD. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. (1 John 5:4 NKJ)


For you have need of endurance, so that after YOU HAVE DONE THE WILL OF GOD, you may receive the promise: (Hebrews 10:36 NKJ)


Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and LET US RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE RACE that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1 NKJ)

I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And HIS DOMINION SHALL ENDURE TO THE END. (Daniel 6:26 NKJ)

And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; BEING PERSECUTED, WE ENDURE; (1 Corinthians 4:12 NKJ)

so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith IN ALL YOUR PERSECUTIONS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT YOU ENDURE, (2 Thessalonians 1:4 NKJ)


You therefore must ENDURE HARDSHIP AS A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST. (2 Timothy 2:3 NKJ)


Therefore I ENDURE ALL THINGS FOR THE SAKE OF THE ELECT, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10 NKJ)


IF WE ENDURE, WE SHALL ALSO REIGN WITH HIM. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. (2 Timothy 2:12 NKJ)


FOR THE TIME WILL COME WHEN THEY WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; (2 Timothy 4:3 NKJ)


The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?          (Jeremiah 5:31 NKJ)

BUT YOU BE WATCHFUL IN ALL THINGS, ENDURE AFFLICTIONS, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5 NKJ)


IF YOU ENDURE CHASTENING, GOD DEALS WITH YOU AS WITH SONS; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? (Hebrews 12:7 NKJ)


INDEED WE COUNT THEM BLESSED WHO ENDURE. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11 NKJ)


But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to GIVE A DEFENSE TO EVERYONE WHO ASKS YOU A REASON FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU, WITH MEEKNESS AND FEAR; (1 Peter 3:15 NKJ)


And EVERYONE WHO HAS THIS HOPE in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:3 NKJ)


that having been justified by His grace WE SHOULD BECOME HEIRS ACCORDING TO THE HOPE of eternal life. (Titus 3:7 NKJ)


And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of HOPE UNTIL THE END, (Hebrews 6:11 NKJ)


THIS HOPE WE HAVE AS AN ANCHOR OF THE SOUL, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, (Hebrews 6:19 NKJ)


Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy HAS BEGOTTEN US AGAIN TO A LIVING HOPE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD, (1 Peter 1:3 NKJ)


Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and REST YOUR HOPE FULLY UPON THE GRACE THAT IS TO BE BROUGHT TO YOU AT THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST; (1 Peter 1:13 NKJ)


who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, SO THAT YOUR FAITH AND HOPE ARE IN GOD. (1 Peter 1:21 NKJ)


FOR WHAT IS OUR HOPE, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? (1 Thessalonians 2:19 NKJ)


in HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, (Titus 1:2 NKJ)


There is one body and one Spirit, just as YOU WERE CALLED IN ONE HOPE of your calling; (Ephesians 4:4 NKJ)


because of THE HOPE WHICH IS LAID UP FOR YOU IN HEAVEN, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, (Colossians 1:5 NKJ)


The enemy who sowed them is the devil, THE HARVEST IS THE END OF THE AGE, and the reapers are the angels. (Matthew 13:39 NKJ)

But now having been SET FREE FROM SIN, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and THE END, EVERLASTING LIFE. (Romans 6:22 NKJ)

REJOICING IN HOPE, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; (Romans 12:12 NKJ)


For whatever things were written before WERE WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might HAVE HOPE. (Romans 15:4 NKJ)

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, THAT YOU MAY ABOUND IN HOPE BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (Romans 15:13 NKJ)


AND NOW ABIDE FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, THESE THREE; BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJ)

Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom WHICH HE PROMISED TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM? (James 2:5 NKJ)

But WHOEVER KEEPS HIS WORD, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. (1 John 2:5 NKJ)

Behold WHAT MANNER OF LOVE THE FATHER HAS BESTOWED ON US, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (1 John 3:1 NKJ)

By this we know that we love the children of God, WHEN WE LOVE GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. (1 John 5:2 NKJ)

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS is not of God, nor is he who does not LOVE HIS BROTHER.                          (1 John 3:10 NKJ)

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that GOD HAS SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON INTO THE WORLD, THAT WE MIGHT LIVE THROUGH HIM. (1 John 4:9 NKJ)

FOR THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD, THAT WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3 NKJ)

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, IN TRUTH AND LOVE.                (2 John 1:3 NKJ)

KEEP YOURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ UNTO ETERNAL LIFE. (Jude 1:21 NKJ)

But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. THESE YOU OUGHT TO HAVE DONE, WITHOUT LEAVING THE OTHERS UNDONE. (Luke 11:42 NKJ)

For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. PEOPLE KNOW NEITHER LOVE NOR HATRED BY ANYTHING THEY SEE BEFORE THEM. (Ecclesiastes 9:1 NKJ)

But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." (1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJ)

Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, BE OF ONE MIND, live in peace; and The God Of Love And Peace Will Be With You. (2 Corinthians 13:11 NKJ)

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, HAVING LOVED HIS OWN WHO WERE IN THE WORLD, HE LOVED THEM TO THE END.                  (John 13:1 NKJ)

And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. BUT HE WHO ENDURES TO THE END SHALL BE SAVED. (Mark 13:13 NKJ)

"And after the sixty-two weeks MESSIAH SHALL BE CUT OFF, BUT NOT FOR HIMSELF; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:26 NKJ)

And HE WILL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER, and OF HIS KINGDOM THERE WILL BE NO END." (Luke 1:33 NKJ)

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE." Amen.  (Matthew 28:20 NKJ)

And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; FOR AT THE APPOINTED TIME THE END SHALL BE. (Daniel 8:19 NKJ)

And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and MAKE THEM WHITE, UNTIL THE TIME OF THE END; because it is still for the appointed time. (Daniel 11:35 NKJ)

"But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book UNTIL THE TIME OF THE END; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." (Daniel 12:4 NKJ)

And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed TILL THE TIME OF THE END. (Daniel 12:9 NKJ)


But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and WILL ARISE TO YOUR INHERITANCE AT THE END OF THE DAYS."                 (Daniel 12:13 NKJ)


So it will be AT THE END OF THE AGE. The angels will come forth, SEPARATE THE WICKED FROM AMONG THE JUST, (Matthew 13:49 NKJ)


This is the genealogy of Noah. NOAH WAS A JUST MAN, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9 NKJ)


But IF A MAN IS JUST And DOES WHAT IS LAWFUL AND RIGHT; (Ezekiel 18:5 NKJ)


IF HE HAS WALKED IN MY STATUTES AND KEPT MY JUDGMENTS FAITHFULLY-- HE IS JUST; He shall surely live!" Says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 18:9 NKJ)

(for NOT THE HEARERS OF THE LAW are just in the sight of God, BUT THE DOERS OF THE LAW will be justified; (Romans 2:13 NKJ)

Therefore THE LAW IS HOLY, and THE COMMANDMENT HOLY and JUST AND GOOD. (Romans 7:12 NKJ)

But HE WHO ENDURES TO THE END SHALL BE SAVED. (Matthew 24:13 NKJ)

There is a way that SEEMS RIGHT TO A MAN, But its end is THE WAY OF DEATH. (Proverbs 14:12 NKJ)

I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, TO THE VERY END. (Psalms 119:112 NKJ)

TEACH ME, O LORD, THE WAY OF YOUR STATUTES, AND I SHALL KEEP IT TO THE END. (Psalms 119:33 NKJ)

"SHARICE" SHAR'S (PART I.)

I'm so blessed to be able to share with God's people. God, through His word (which is inspired by His Holy Spirit), explains that we can not possibly love Him if we don't love one another (1. we 'actually' see one another  2). we're all made in the 'physical' image of God). And loving one another goes way past the "physical" love we may have for another, we are to love one another "spiritually" and with an "eternal" love, for that is "the love of God".

People have to understand that there is a grave difference between sharing God's truths and judging God's people. We are here to judge no man, for we are to let no man judge us. For all have sinned and come short from God's glory (missed the mark--either too 'high' {as the Pharisees} or too 'low' {as with traditional Christianity}.....we have all missed the "mark", transgressed against our Father which art in Heaven). So therefore all needed the Sacrifice of the Passover Lamb of God and all must continuously battle and fight against sin daily (Satan, this world and our own "human" nature). Thankful and blessed that when we fall we can get back up again through Christ our Lord; our Mediator and High Priest in Heaven. 

God lies not, and He is holy, the Holy One, and He will not dwell in sin. This is why we first must know that sin is "the transgression of/breaking of God's Law--The Ten Commandments" if we are to ever over come it; for sin is not what 'the world' says it is, but it is what God tells us it is through His word. For the race is not to the "swift" but to he who "endures" til the "end". 

But we are commanded to "share" God's truths, His word, to share the Gospel, the coming of God's Kingdom. We are not to be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are to proclaim it and let our light shine. For there is but One Judge, God Almighty and He has given all authority of judging His people to His True &  Faithful Witness (Y'shua-Jesus, the Christ "the Messiah").

The fact is, the "world" has been deceived and we were once apart of "the world". When God opens your eyes and you begin to see, you are literally being set free, spiritually, and you want to set as many other captives free, who are willing, seeking, desiring, wanting to flee (this world, and the lies of Satan). Follows of Christ, people of God, we are one big family, God the Father looks down and sees "the human" race, mankind, His children.

God's plan is eternal and it's shown through His weekly and annual Sabbaths--God reveals the steps in His plan for the salvation of man (mankind). 

God's wisdom, His knowledge, there is nothing like it, what better thing could be shared, for God's word is love, God's truth is love. For God is love and God is truth. Satan would love for us to think that "truth" hurts, but "truth" heals, for our Lord and His word are "truth".

We can only worship God, in "truth" and "spirit", for God's law is "truth" and God's law is "spiritual", God is "truth" and God is "Spirit".

"real truth, really sets us free....from the bondage of the Pharaoh (god) of this world" 

And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. (Revelation 9:11 NKJ)


For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. (1 John 5:4 NKJ)

 

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And YOUR LAW IS TRUTH. (Psalms 119:142 NKJ)


For we know that THE LAW IS SPIRITUAL, but I am carnal, sold under sin. (Romans 7:14 NKJ)


THE LAW OF TRUTH was in his mouth, And injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, And turned many away from iniquity. (Malachi 2:6 NKJ)


What shall we say then? Is the law sin? CERTAINLY NOT! ON THE CONTRARY, I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN SIN EXCEPT THROUGH THE LAW. For I would not have known covetousness (lust) unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." (the 10th Commandment) (Romans 7:7 NKJ)


but if you show PARTIALITY, YOU COMMIT SIN, and are convicted by the law AS TRANSGRESSORS. (James 2:9 NKJ)


Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: FOR SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW.  (1 John 3:4 KJV)


For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet STUMBLE IN ONE POINT, he is GUILTY OF ALL. (James 2:10 NKJ)


Lead me IN YOUR TRUTH and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. (Psalms 25:5 NKJ)


JESUS said to him, "I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NKJ)


He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and HIS NAME IS CALLED THE WORD OF GOD. (Revelation 19:13 NKJ)

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "IN TRUTH I PERCEIVE THAT GOD SHOWS NO PARTIALITY. (Acts 10:34 NKJ)


Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD GOD OF TRUTH. (Psalms 31:5 NKJ)


Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that THE WORD OF THE LORD in your mouth IS THE TRUTH." (1 Kings 17:24 NKJ)


"So you shall say to them, 'THIS IS A NATION THAT DOES NOT OBEY THE VOICE OF THE LORD THEIR GOD NOR RECEIVE CORRECTION. TRUTH HAS PERISHED and has been cut off from their mouth. (Jeremiah 7:28 NKJ)


Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel, For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "THERE IS NO TRUTH OR MERCY OR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IN THE LAND. (Hosea 4:1 NKJ)


I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people And I WILL BE THEIR GOD, IN TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.' (Zechariah 8:8 NKJ)


He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A GOD OF TRUTH and without injustice; RIGHTEOUS AND UPRIGHT is He. (Deuteronomy 32:4 NKJ)


My tongue shall speak of Your word, For ALL YOUR COMMANDMENTS ARE RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Psalms 119:172 NKJ)

Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and YOU DO NOT SHOW PERSONAL FAVORITISM, but TEACH THE WAY OF GOD IN TRUTH: (Luke 20:21 NKJ)


I said in my heart, "GOD SHALL JUDGE THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED, For there is a time there for every purpose and FOR EVERY WORK." (Ecclesiastes 3:17 NKJ)

But he WHO DOES THE TRUTH COMES TO THE LIGHT, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." (John 3:21 NKJ)


GOD IS SPIRIT, AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH." (John 4:24 NKJ)


WHO EXCHANGED THE TRUTH OF GOD FOR THE LIE, and worshiped and served the creature RATHER THAN THE CREATOR, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:25 NKJ)


For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness OF MEN, WHO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH in unrighteousness, (Romans 1:18 NKJ)


by THE WORD OF TRUTH, by THE POWER OF GOD, by THE ARMOR OF RIGHTEOUSNESS on the right hand and on the left, (2 Corinthians 6:7 NKJ)


For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as IT IS IN TRUTH, THE WORD OF GOD, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJ)

"to believe" is "to obey"...."if we believe God's word, we will obey God's word".

But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:21 NKJ)

(for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; (Romans 2:13 NKJ)

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22 NKJ)

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because GOD FROM THE BEGINNING CHOSE YOU FOR SALVATION THROUGH SANCTIFICATION BY THE SPIRIT AND BELIEF IN THE TRUTH, (2 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJ)


in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, SO THAT THEY MAY KNOW THE TRUTH, (2 Timothy 2:25 NKJ)


WE ARE OF GOD. HE WHO KNOWS GOD HEARS US; HE WHO IS NOT OF GOD DOES NOT HEAR US. BY THIS WE KNOW THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH AND THE SPIRIT OF ERROR. (1 John 4:6 NKJ)


Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, IN TRUTH AND LOVE. (2 John 1:3 NKJ)


I REJOICED GREATLY THAT I HAVE FOUND SOME OF YOUR CHILDREN WALKING IN TRUTH, AS WE RECEIVED COMMANDMENT FROM THE FATHER. (2 John 1:4 NKJ)


Now THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMANDMENT IS LOVE FROM A PURE HEART, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, (1 Timothy 1:5 NKJ)


And this commandment we have from Him: that HE WHO LOVES GOD MUST LOVE HIS BROTHER ALSO. (1 John 4:21 NKJ)


THIS IS LOVE, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that AS YOU HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING, you should walk in it. (2 John 1:6 NKJ)


By this we know that WE LOVE THE CHILDREN OF GOD, WHEN WE LOVE GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. For THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:2-3 NKJ)

WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US. (1 John 4:19 NKJ)

IN THIS IS LOVE, NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD, BUT THAT HE LOVED US and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:10-11 NKJ)


But SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NKJ)


"HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE! (Deuteronomy 6:4 NKJ)


Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. (Mark 12:29 NKJ)

WHAT ABOUT LUKE 14:26?

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:26

Hate in Luke 14:26 means "love less by comparison." If our love for our parents interferes with worshipping and obeying God properly, we do not genuinely love Him. Matthew 10:37 shows that Christ refers to those who place their father or mother above God in obedience and reverence; this is idolatry. The time may come when it is no longer necessary or right for us to obey our parents. Even so, we should never cease to honor them. Honor indicates a high respect for their worth, high esteem, and reverence. Without this, we cannot properly revere God. Just as our parents corrected us, so also God corrects us. As a result we honor and respect our parents, which is a shadow of our subjection to the Father.

The word "hate" is not an absolute term but a relative one. He is establishing a comparison: "You have to love Me more than mother, father, wife, children, brother, sister." We have to put Christ first; we have to love Him more than the others.

 But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are THESE WHO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND DO IT." (Luke 8:21 NKJ)

ONE BODY; MANY MEMBERS (BIBLE SCRIPTURES)

THE BODY OF CHRIST

.....THE "CHURCH OF GOD"

Has THIS HOUSE, WHICH IS CALLED BY MY NAME, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," says the Lord. (Jeremiah 7:11 NKJ)

While I was with them in the world, I KEPT THEM IN YOUR NAME. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12 NKJ)

Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, KEEP THROUGH YOUR NAME THOSE WHOM YOU HAVE GIVEN ME, that they may be one as We are. (John 17:11 NKJ)

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH HE PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. (Acts 20:28 NKJ) 

And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take THE WATER OF LIFE freely. (Revelation 22:17 NKJ)

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and ALL THE MEMBERS OF THAT ONE BODY, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12 KJV)


But now hath GOD SET THE MEMBERS EVERY ONE OF THEM IN THE BODY, as it hath pleased Him . (1 Corinthians 12:18 KJV)


But now are they MANY MEMBERS, yet but ONE BODY. (1 Corinthians 12:20 KJV)


Nay, much more those MEMBERS OF THE BODY, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:  (1 Corinthians 12:22 KJV)


That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same CARE ONE FOR ANOTHER.  (1 Corinthians 12:25 KJV)

MANY WILL SAY to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS!' (Matthew 7:22-23 NKJ)

Now ye are THE BODY OF CHRIST, and members in particular. (1 Corinthians 12:27 KJV)

For WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY, of His flesh, and of His bones. (Ephesians 5:30 KJV)

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that IT DEFILETH THE WHOLE BODY, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.  (James 3:6 KJV)

On the last day, that great day of the feast, JESUS stood and cried out, saying, "IF ANYONE THIRSTS, let him come to Me and drink. (John 7:37 NKJ)

You did not choose Me, but I CHOSE YOU AND APPOINTED YOU that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. (John 15:16 NKJ)

"A son honors his father, And a servant his master. IF THEN I AM THE FATHER, WHERE IS MY HONOR? AND IF I AM A MASTER, WHERE IS MY REVERENCE? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, 'In what way have we despised Your name?' (Malachi 1:6 NKJ)

For as we have MANY MEMBERS IN ONE BODY, and all members have not the same office: (Romans 12:4 KJV)


So we , being many, are ONE BODY IN CHRIST, and every one members one of another. (Romans 12:5 KJV)


MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR GOD, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalms 42:2 NKJ)


"Ho! EVERYONE WHO THIRSTS, COME TO THE WATERS; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1 NKJ)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH IS AT CORINTH, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: (2 Corinthians 1:1 NKJ)


TO THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH IS AT CORINTH, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:2 NKJ)


Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks OR TO THE CHURCH OF GOD, (1 Corinthians 10:32 NKJ)


to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God MIGHT BE MADE KNOWN BY THE CHURCH to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 3:10 NKJ)



 
'If disaster comes upon us--sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine--we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (FOR YOUR NAME IS IN THIS TEMPLE), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.' (2 Chronicles 20:9 NKJ)

Now when they had come and GATHERED THE CHURCH TOGETHER, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. (Acts 14:27 NKJ)


For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I PERSECUTED THE CHURCH OF GOD BEYOND MEASURE AND TRIED TO DESTROY IT. (Galatians 1:13 NKJ)


For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, BECAUSE I PERSECUTED THE CHURCH OF GOD. (1 Corinthians 15:9 NKJ)


Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, TO THE CHURCH OF THE THESSALONIANS IN GOD THE FATHER AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  (1 Thessalonians 1:1 NKJ)


(for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, HOW WILL HE TAKE CARE OF THE CHURCH OF GOD?); (1 Timothy 3:5 NKJ)

Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk IN YOUR TRUTH; Unite my heart to fear Your name. (Psalms 86:11 NKJ)

For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies TAKE YOUR NAME IN VAIN.  (Psalms 139:20 NKJ)

I remember Your name in the night, O Lord, And I KEEP YOUR LAW. (Psalms 119:55 NKJ)
but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in THE HOUSE OF GOD, WHICH IS THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD, THE PILLAR and GROUND OF THE TRUTH. (1 Timothy 3:15 NKJ)


to THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN WHO ARE REGISTERED IN HEAVEN, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, (Hebrews 12:23 NKJ)


I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION, HE HAS COVERED ME WITH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10 NKJ)


the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, THE VOICE OF THOSE WHO WILL SAY: "PRAISE THE LORD OF HOSTS, FOR THE LORD IS GOOD, FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER"-- and of THOSE WHO WILL BRING THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,' says the Lord. (Jeremiah 33:11 NKJ)


GATHER THE PEOPLE, SANCTIFY THE CONGREGATION, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. (Joel 2:16 NKJ)


BRING CHARGES AGAINST YOUR MOTHER, bring charges; For SHE IS NOT MY WIFE, nor am I her Husband! Let her put away HER HARLOTRIES from her sight, And HER ADULTERIES from between her breasts; (Hosea 2:2 NKJ)


THE LIGHT OF A LAMP SHALL NOT SHINE IN YOU ANYMORE, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for BY YOUR SORCERY ALL THE NATIONS WERE DECEIVED. (Revelation 18:23 NKJ)


Then I, John, saw THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM, COMING DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD, PREPARED AS A BRIDE ADORNED FOR HER HUSBAND. (Revelation 21:2 NKJ)


But I want you to know that THE HEAD OF EVERY MAN IS CHRIST, the head of woman is man, and THE HEAD OF CHRIST IS GOD. (1 Corinthians 11:3 NKJ)


Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you THE BRIDE, THE LAMB'S WIFE." (Revelation 21:9 NKJ)


And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let HIM WHO HEARS SAY, "COME!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17 NKJ)

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, LEST YOU SHARE IN HER SINS, and lest you receive of her plagues. (Revelation 18:4 NKJ)
 
  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are THESE WHO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND DO IT." (Luke 8:21 NKJ)