Let There Be Light

Let's begin by reading Genesis 1. The true beginning. God spoke. Now, you understand that there was nothing before the heavens were created. God is the only one who can create something from literally nothing. God created the heavens and placed our earth within it. The earth was without form, empty and dark. That's how life is if you don't know God. It has no form, no meaning. It is empty. Someone may say, "But I have lots of friends". I'm not talking about friends. I'm talking about an emptiness inside that no thing or person can fill. Life is dark without God, as well. In darkness, you have no direction. You feel your way around, but you are never sure of where you are going. Notice in Genesis 1:2, that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Even in the formless, empty darkness of life, God is there. He's hovering. Awaiting the next move. That move is your move. In verse 3, God says, "Let there be light, and there was light". Now, the sun and the moon and the stars weren't created yet. They aren't created until verse 14! So what was the light? The light was God's glory filling the earth. There is so much in these first three verses, we could sit here for weeks, marveling at these words. Do you have a friend to talk to about the Word? I do. My friend, Angela, and I have spend hours and hours over the years discussing God's Word together. It's such fun! We marveled at these first few scriptures today. We talked of the glory of the Lord. His glory is discussed and noted throughout the Bible. Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of the Lord and the skies proclaim the works of His hands." Psalm 148: 5 says, "Praise Him all you heavens and all you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord. For He commanded and they were created". In the book of Isaiah, Isaiah had a vision in chapter 6. He saw the Lord seated on His throne and, "the train of His robe filled the temple." There were angels all around and they were calling to one another. They were saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of His glory." The whole earth is full of God's glory!!!!! What a wonderful sight. Isaiah saw the earth in the spirit and it was glorious - literally! Guess what. When you become born again, His very Spirit comes to live inside of you. The glory of the Lord surrounds you. I was at an airport with a friend. We went to a restaurant at the airport for breakfast before the plane left. The man serving us food saw light on us. It was the glory of the Lord. Can you find a few scriptures on God's glory? How about one on creation? Dig around this treasure of God's Word and share what you find below in Comments. Walk in His glory today! Know that it surrounds you. Let your light shine!

Is There a God?

Your first leap of faith in believing in God is believing the mere fact there is a God. Is there a master architect? Is there a mastermind behind all of this beauty? How does the body work? How did all of your parts and pieces form into an intelligent human being? Why is there one planet in our universe that is habitable? What about animal instincts? How do the birds know when to build a nest, how high it needs to be, how to build it in such a way that the wind can't knock it down? What about vegetation? The plants we have create within them the seeds needed to "recreate" themselves. Certain vegetation comes with fruit that is contained in some sort of skin (apples, oranges, bananas) that a human can peel and eat. Not only does it taste good, it has all the nutrients needed to sustain human life. Now if all these things were evolved independently, they somehow and at some point must have decided to work together to help each other. Plants said, "I'll produce things needed for oxygen and food", water changed so animals and man can drink it and rehydrate, the atmosphere decided on just the right amount of gravity. It said, "I'll make light in the day and cool things down at night". Some animals decided that they would be food supply. As a matter of fact, somebody decided the food chain. Some animals missed that vote. Yes, it all sort of worked itself out. Now believing all that takes faith!!!! OR....there is a God who is so big and powerful and wise who did all of this. You can't see Him, so how do we know he exists? You see Him in His creation for one thing. Have you ever looked at a beautiful painting or sculpture? Was the artist there for you to meet? Probably not. Someone told you there was an artist who created that piece. Maybe his name was Michelangelo. Did they show you a picture of him? No. Did you believe he existed many years ago? Sure, why not? There is his artwork, it didn't create itself!!! Hmmmmm. You believe that? A master artist did that creation? Hmmmmm. Well, only simple people believe that. After all, we can't see this artist. You know where I'm going. There always is a master artist, architect, musician because things don't create themselves. This universe (and that includes you) were created by God. Let me show you His art. Take a look at the Hubble Photo Gallery on my links. Look at the photos of the universe beyond. Think about who did all this. Don't ask why, just take a minute to enjoy the beauty. Does an artist need a reason to create beauty? No.

Beginnings

Everyone wants a new beginning. Somehow we think if we do something somewhere else or with someone else, things will change. Not always the case. New beginnings are sometimes excuses to stop (through boredom, etc.) and find something new and exciting. But unfortunately, unless God leads you to that new place, the same problems will arise. I'm not sure there are "new beginnings". Not sure who came up with the term. It sounds exciting. But there was really only one real beginning. It was in the creation of the universe. The vast universe that scientists says is still being created as it continues to expand is God's handiwork. After all, He never said stop, did He? You are one of His "really good" creations. Your life began at birth. From that time on, your life is a series of journeys. Depending on your perspective, the journeys can be pretty fun! God has a plan. His plan worked really well until He took the big risk and created man. I wonder if He thought twice. Oh well, He did it and His perfect world got a little upside down when we came along. Do you have a child? Remember life before a child? Don't think about it. It was calm, controlled and peaceful. Are you glad you completely changed your life with a child? Sometimes yes and sometimes no, right? I know, though, you would be heartbroken without them. God's the same (after all, you are created in His image). He had second thoughts, too. Remember the flood? At least Noah made it! He does love His children. He let you share all this beauty with Him. This blog on creation will be fun. Please feel free to comment. Would love to hear what you know about creation. Join the discussion and let's learn all we can about this cosmic reality we live in.

Now It's Clear!

Okay, I get it now. It all is making sense. Paul saves the best for last. Read Galatians 6:11-18. The big question was why? Ever have someone do something and you ask why? Was it something that doesn't make sense? The Jewish Galatians had it made. Their Messiah had come. Their world was fulfilled. The prophesy of the coming King was accomplished. Why go back to the law? Why pull others out with them? Why cause division? Paul tells us why right here. In this letter, we see Paul being very pointed to these Galatians. They persecuted Paul. Why? To undermine his influence in the churches. They challenge his authority and call. They charge that living in grace would cause "lawless living". Paul defends himself and his message in this letter. He is an apostle of Jesus Christ (Chapters 1-2), he defends salvation by grace (Chapters3-4), he defends the new freedom from the law and legalism as well as freedom from sin (Chapters5-6). He's pretty frank with his words describing these Jews. He says they are disturbers, perverters, hinderers, false brothers, people pleasers, manipulators. Come on Paul, tell us what you really think! Not sure that he had many friends here in Galatia. Let's get back to chapter 6. The question remains....why? The first reason is found in verse 12. "Those who are trying to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised". Why? Verse 13, "The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ". He points to their own hypocrisy in verse 13, "they don't obey the law themselves". The world and , unfortunately, wayward believers are going to try to pull you off track of your freedom in Christ and your call. Why? They are people pleasers. What really counts to Paul and should count to us? It's found in verse 15, "......a new creation". 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!". The only price "the new" has is the price you pay from the world and worldly believers. Are you willing to pay the price to follow Christ? Paul made that choice. He said in verse 14 that "the world has been crucified to me and I to the world." Crucified means death. All gone. Bye bye. Live this new life of yours through and for Christ. It's an adventure for sure. In closing I quote our brother Paul. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers."

Amen.

Gentle!

WOW! Galatians 5:26. Conceited, provoking and envying each other. Now in Galatians 6 a caution to be gentle and reaping what you sow. Why is Christianity so complex? Why are Christians so complex? Gee! Verse 3 says, fulfilling the law of Christ is done by carrying each other's burdens. I thought it was being the best Christian out there! Oh yes, that would be the law. Law being - you must perform to be accepted by God. Grace being - you are accepted by God. Period. It's everyone else who may or may not accept you. At least the Galatians had that problem. Must have been a fun group to be around. Verse 4 says they shouldn't compare themselves with one another. Fortunately that doesn't happen these days :) . Verse 9. Ever get tired of doing good? You only get tired of that if you need others to affirm you. As believers, affirmation comes from God. Your acts of doing good come with a wonderful plus. They make you feel good! Don't let your right hand know what you left hand is doing. A great old saying. Just enjoy the random acts of kindness and service you are blessed to perform. I remember hearing a story of a rich man who yearly gave thousands of dollars away at Christmastime to random people. Why? Because he wanted to. I'll bet it was his favorite time of year. He didn't tell on himself for years. I think someone ratted him out! Read verse 10. If you have an opportunity today, or tomorrow, do good to someone - especially another believer. Reward in heaven is much better than here. It will make you feel good that someone's day is better because of you. It's our secret! I won't tell anyone!

Works Verses Fruit

I hope you had a great weekend. I know I did. Let's continue with Galatians 5:16 - 26. Just the title of this post tells it all. You can have two ways of living. You can live by works or have fruit appear from your life. I prefer fruit appearing, don't you? The sinful nature and the Spirit are contrary to each other. There is a conflict here. Living in a sinful world there will be conflict. The key here is to be led by the Spirit (verse18). How do you get in the mode of being "led by the Spirit"? Well, first you must know what the acts of the sinful nature are. These are listed in verses 19-21. Keep reading the list, you'll hit one that applies to you. I promise. So, now you know what that nature does, so if you do one of those, it's not from the Spirit. Okay, now look at the fruit of the Spirit. The word "fruit" is singular. It means all of these manifestations of the Spirit led life are all one fruit. Fruit really means what is produced in your life by the life you lead. Verse 24 says you who belong to Christ have "crucified your sinful nature with it's passions and desires". So, we are to "keep in step" with the Spirit. I picture the Holy Spirit walking with me wherever I go. When I feel one of the works of the flesh rising within me, I have the Holy Spirit to lead me away from the temptation and not only that, but the Holy Spirit empowers me to make the right choice. Then the fruit shows up instead. I teach art at a local school. It's a Christian school. When the children begin to act up, I remind them them have the Holy Spirit in them, therefore they have self control. So, if you begin to act up, remind yourself, you are in step with and empowered by the Holy Spirit at all times. Let the fruit appear in your life. Verse 26 - let humility rule! Remember, it's not you doing the work, it's God.

• "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
• For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Philippines2:12,13

What is Freedom For?

Freedom!!!!! Sounds good! Yell "FREEDOM" now! Doesn't that sound good!! Your flesh hears that and says, "YIPEEE! I can do anything I want!!! I can bite and devour others!!! Get even!!!" Your Spirit hears that and says, "YIPEEE! (Your name here) is now free to love unconditionally, serve others, experience true freedom!!!". Listen saint. The battle is over. It's over, it's over. The flesh loses. Do you really feel better when you operate in Galatians 5:13 and 15 by taking your freedom and sin and bite and devour others? You really are miserable if your are operating this way. I encourage you to try another tact. Do something wild like....serve someone - with no expectation of getting anything in return. That's real service. Just do it for the sake of doing it. Let your reward be one that make you feel good inside. The Bible says things done in secret will be rewarded openly. God sees. He's a really good rewarder. Isn't that all that matters? If you want the joy that comes with helping others, joy will have to be the only thing you need for thanks. How about that crazy and wild verse 14? Love thy neighbor as thyself. Your neighbor will not be nice sometimes. Your neighbor will have a bad day - maybe many bad days. Can you love him through it? Like you love yourself? Verse 15 says if you,"bite and devour others" you will be consumed and the "others" may be devoured also. Do you really want to do that? I heard someone say once that their goal in life was to destroy a former friend's business and ship them home. The hate eventually got to point of physical threats. WOW! What a sad person. Does that sound like a God plan? Not according to Galatians 5:13-15. The flesh takes you to places you don't want to go. How do you fight these thoughts and feelings? Serve and love - unconditionally. Then you can't be hurt and you can't hurt others. Jesus says for us to be perfect as He is perfect. How? James 2:8. Operate one law - the "royal" law of love.

A Little Leaven

Hi there! Hope you are blessed this Friday! Let's begin by reading Galatians 5:1-12. The warning continues from Brother Paul. It's funny how people think that if you dabble in things that are opposed to the gospel it's okay. We are confident it won't affect us. How deceived is man. The Bible says "bad company corrupts good morals". Notice it doesn't say, "good company helps and corrects bad morals". So, guess what. It's not good to dabble in things not of God. Especially "religious" things. I knew a Christian once who went to a New Age gathering once a year. Now this person was a Christian. This friend said she was loved there. The devil will use anything and any "feeling" to draw you away from God. New Age isn't love. God is love. Sadly this person hadn't developed her relationship with Christ to the point of not needing anything else but Him. But Julie!!!! That's so narrow! Yes. "narrow is the road that leads to life". That's the Bible - not me - so stop throwing stones. Paul's example is leaven. From Smith's Bible Dictionary, we learn that every Passover, the Jews had to clean every particle of leaven out of their house. Why? Because leaven's very particles are corruptive. It's an Old Testament type and shadow of this very corruption the Galatians were experiencing. They were dabbling in the law. Not a good move. Jesus speaks in Matthew 16:6,12 - verse 6, "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."; verse 12, "Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees". So, even Jesus warns about teaching that is not His teaching. In this passage the disciples's faith is waining. Jesus has to remind them of past miracles. Why? Someone had been listening to someone they shouldn't! Naughty, naughty! Deadly, deadly. Let's look again at the effects of leaven. Smith's Bible Dictionary tells us that leaven is secret in it's operation (can't see the effects until the dough begins to rise and there is nothing you can do about it), it spreads easily - particle by particle, and it changes what it comes in contact with and causes it's nature to become the nature of leaven. I'm convinced, are you? What does leaven effect in you? Jesus points to your faith. Is your faith low? Don't blame everyone else. Listen to what you are listening to. become a pure believer and see what God can do in your life if you let Him.

Abraham Had Two Sons

It always helps me when someone can "paint a picture" by using an illustration to make the point. Does that help you too? Paul is using everything he can think of to redirect these Galatians back to the freedom they have in Christ. This is obviously no small task. When someone is redirected in the wrong direction, turning the ship around is a little difficult. The illustration Paul uses in Galatians 4:21-31 hits home. His illustration uses everyone's father - father Abraham. It's not just a good example, it is the example of examples when it come to understanding freedom. Abraham had two sons. He was supposed to have one - the promised son Issac. But Abraham and Sarah got impatient. OHHHHH! Patience is truly a virtue! Nothing ever works in our timing when it comes to God's plan, does it? We have obstacles....... like our own stupidity and the devil's snares to contend with. Much less God's time frame. Can you imagine how long it takes for His plans for us to work? Poor God! I often wonder how many of His perfect plans actually work the way He planned! He must be in constant Plan B,C,D.... mode. Anyway, Abraham struggled just like we do. So God will use the mess ups as examples for us to learn from. So, two women had Abraham's babies. Sarah had Issac - the promised child and Hagar had Ishmael. Read the scriptures in Galatians again. One woman, Hagar, was a bondwoman - a slave in the house of Abraham. The other woman was a free woman - Abraham's wife, Sarah. The bondwoman's child was "by the flesh" (referring to the law) and the free woman's child was "by the promise" (referring to the freedom we have in Christ). In allegory, these are like the two covenants. One covenant came from Mt Sinai (the 10 Commandments - the law which brings bondage) and the other covenant is from Jerusalem above - which is free. This is referring to the spiritual Jerusalem. It is a covenant written on our hearts. One covenant brings bondage, the other covenant brings freedom. Thus, the covenant of freedom writes the law on our hearts which causes us to "do the right thing". Our hearts are knit together with God and because we love Him we have a desire to please Him. That happens when a person gets saved. The Galatians (and you, if you are saved) have this freedom. The challenge was (and is) in walking it out. We also are the children of promise (verse 28). Cast out that bondwoman (verse 30). She does not produce promise. The two can't live in the same house! Your house is free! It's FULL of promise. Keep it that way.

Telling the Truth

Let's look at Galatians 4:12-20. You know that the truth will set you free? Well, for some people, it sets them on edge. Paul talks of being received by the Galatians initially. They loved him so much and received his teaching of Christ so fully, verse 15 says they would have plucked out their eyes and given them to him. Now, however, the people that were veering them from the truth had so convinced them, Paul was now considered an enemy for telling them the truth. Verse 17 should be a warning to believers today. It says, "They zealously affect you, but not well." Do you have people who affect you "not well"? How can you tell? Well, symptoms include...gossip. Are they gossiping about someone who has made a great impact on your life? Another is....strife. Is the person complaining and stirring up strife about that person among you and other believers? How about.... false teaching? Is someone around you feeding you "truth" that is not God's truth? It's always sad when someone pulls another believer away from individuals making a great spiritual impact on their life. How does that happen? Gossip is addictive. Tearing someone down is addictive. You should really analyze people's motives. I've learned that if someone gossips to you about someone else, they are gossiping about you, too!

Turn away from those who want to trip you up. Sadly people get out there on their own and have lost the support they actually were sent by God. Stand up. Let truth prevail. It's hard to do, but it keeps those God given relationships strong.

Two More Thoughts About Your Freedom

Okay. One more thing about sin and how important it is that we understand how free we are from it. Well, two things. First, it is important how you think. The Bible tells us to change the way we think. It tells us to meditate on His Word day and night. We are to talk about it at the table and discuss it before we go to bed. We are to think on things that are pure and holy and of good report. Where your mind goes, you go. Fill up that empty space formerly held by sin with God's Word. Life will change for you. The other point is that sickness and sin are related. Sin brought sickness into this world. You are going to come up against some things in life brought about by sickness, etc. in this world. You can take great care of yourself and still fall victim. So, your freedom from sin and it's effects causes you to tap in to God's supernatural ability to heal. But before the hit comes, you must renew your mind to God's truth in this area. Develop your "faith muscles" so you are ready for the fight when it comes. Read Galatians 4:1-11. You are God's adopted child. With adoption comes all the benefits a natural child has. Again, you are God's child. Wouldn't you do everything you can to protect and help your child? Well, God's the same way and even better! Verse seven says, you are no longer a servant (of the law) but a son and therefore an heir to all God has for you. It's time to dip into the inheritance! There is plenty to go around!

Another Left Turn

Okay. Turn left in your Bible to the book of Romans again. Go to chapter 6 again. Can't seem to leave this. Verse 11 says "...you are DEAD to sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ". Can you get a dead man to sin? No. Sin does not have power over you. You are dead to sin. Get it? How does sin, then, reign? You obey it's lusts! (verse 12). That's it. Yes, it's your fault. Obedience is key! Teach your children to obey you so they can then turn into adults that obey God! Don't obey the sin temptation. Verse 13 says your members (your body) should be instruments (playing for all to hear) of righteousness, not sin. How? Yield yourself to God. If you can yield yourself to sin, you can yield yourself to God. Verse 14 says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you". Why? Because you are under grace, not the law. Verse 15 says, whoever you yield yourself to, you become a servant to. Again, in this verse, it's all about who you chose to obey. The key is verse 17. It is the heart. Obeying from the heart. Are you protecting your heart? Are you careful what you see and what you hear? Do you listen to gossip and wonder why your life is falling apart? Do you look at inappropriate things and wonder why you lust? I'm just sayin'...... Your answer is verse 19. Yield your members to righteousness and holiness. You can do it! Do a word study on righteousness and holiness. "Have your fruit unto holiness..." (verse 22). There will be an end. What do you want to present to the Lord someday........

Free From Sin!

HUH? Free from sin? I don't think so! Well, as my husband says to dumb statements..."there you go thinking again". Thinking can get in the way of faith. If Peter was thinking when he asked Jesus if he could walk on the water, he would have never tried. There was a storm you know. Oh yeah, it was water he was walking on. You can't do that. But you can if Jesus says you can. Now that makes logical sense. Not really. It makes faith sense. Jesus did a lot of faith stuff. Healed the sick, fed 5000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves. yep, Jesus did a lot of faith stuff. Now, look at Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ". Put on Christ. Hmmmm. Interesting. Let's go back to Romans 6:6, 7. it says, "...our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed. that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is free from sin." Says it right there. You no longer serve sin. it is no longer Lord over you. So, why let it rule? Jesus Himself resisted sin when He was in the wilderness. How did He do it? He did it by quoting God's Word back to the devil (the temptor). Jesus had to get the words out of His mouth. He is our example. next time the devil tempts you to sin, say God's Word back - outloud. Loud enough for you and the devil to hear. It will empower you. You will feel the sense of victory as the devil flees and the resistance overcomes the temptation. Not to mention the good feeling you have when that same temptation isn't controlling you. Put on Christ today. it fits just fine!

Spiritual Life

The law. Just sounds kind of scary, doesn't it? I took Tony Jr to school today. We love to sing to music in the car. I had the top down on the car, we had the Newsboys blasting loud and this car we have demands a fast speed. I, fortunately, had the speed down when we passed our first policeman. I suddenly looked at my speedometer, foot on brake only to find I was fine - not speeding. I was not worried until I passed the cop. Why? The law. The law carries with it a constant feeling of guilt. Freedom from the law sets you free from that feeling. Is guilt a bad thing? Actually, in training up a child, for instance, it is a good thing. A child learns right and wrong from guilt and then correction then forgiveness. It's a process that trains. God tells us to" train up a child". There is a point, though, when the parent has to let the child "go" and pray the training guides their decisions. The problem is that the child and subsequent adult then has a constant struggle with the flesh. We find it is hard to stay consistent doing what we know is the right thing to do. Paul understood this in Romans 8. You should read this entire chapter. How do you stay consistent? The answer is to follow the Spirit. To "mind' the things of the Spirit. Stop fighting the flesh and follow the Spirit. What are the benefits? They are listed in Romans 8 and include life and peace (vs.6), being pleasing to God (verse7), life to the body (vs. 10, 13), a Spirit of adoption (vs.15,16), power and effectiveness in prayer (vs.26, 27), things working out for the good (vs.28), justification and glorification (vs.30), a true sense of God's love (vs. 31-36), being a conqueror (vs. 37). Okay, that's just the list in Romans 8. How do you get all this good stuff???? Go back to verse nine. "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you." There you go. Are you Born Again? If so, you have the Spirit in you. Now begin the "mind" the things of the spirit. Go after the Spirit, which means pray in the Spirit, read God's Word, study it, talk with others about Him. You will begin to see spiritual things happen in your life. Big time!!!! My favorite scripture is Matthew 6:33 - "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you." Everything God has given me came from time spent seeking Him first. Things have come to me that I didn't even know I needed until I looked back. The Holy Spirit knows these things. Seek Him today. His things He has for you will begin to appear.

The Law Abolished

We are now in Galatians 3:19-29. Paul continues to talk about the law. This subject was a HUGE issue with the Jews. Can you imagine living under the law and then in one swing of a hammer on a nail pierced through Christ, the law is abolished. The Bible says that at Jesus' death the veil of the temple was ripped in two. Supernaturally. Literally. This meant that anyone - and God meant anyone - now has access to God. This wasn't good news to the people who took the law and controlled others with it. This is what the majority of the Jewish priests were doing. Controlling people hate to lose control. If they only knew that relying on God everyday is so much easier than trying to control every person's move in their life. Ever see a Mom control every step of their child's life? You notice the child can't move without permission. Yuck! Poor kids! Some people thrive on control. When the person being controlled gets free, the relationship many times ends. It's too bad! Back to Galatians. So, what does the law refer to? Well, it includes the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible), the Ten Commandments, and all of the laws set up in the Jewish system. Now, in verse 22, we see that all (people) are under sin. In other words we are born into sin. Everyone. But in order to repent from sin, we needed a definition of sin. That's where the law came in. You could look, say, at the Ten Commandments and know you have broken at least one of those that day. You quickly then realize you don't measure up. You break the law - often. Sacrifices were constantly being made to release man temporarily from sin, but man needed a final sacrifice to finally free him from the grip of sin. Verse 24 says that the law was our "schoolmaster" or our tutor to eventually bring us to Christ. Salvation for man is now found in Jesus Christ. We are now children of God by faith in Christ (see verses 25,26). The Galatians were challenged with this new concept. Any revelation of this magnitude must be revealed by the Spirit and received by faith. This is a lot to digest for me! So, we will continue tomorrow!