The Presence is everything in the Christian life. Maybe that seems like an overstatement. Surely obedience is important, along with bearing fruit, being loving and compassionate, praying, growing in faith, overcoming obstacles, dealing with relationship issues, and so much more. that's why so many books are published and so many sermons preached about these things. Christian living is a vast array of disciplines, attitudes, and activities, and we have to know how to approach them. Right?

But think about it. What happens to your attitude when you have a palpable sense of God's Presence around you? How fruitful does your prayer life become? How strong does your faith grow? What obstacle seems large when you're aware that God is in the room? How hard is it to obey when He is present to empower you? How hard do you have to try to bear fruit if He is spilling out from within you? What relationship issues remain unyielding when His power overwhelms? The truth is that His Presence working within us is the key to everything, and without Him we can do nothing.

That's why cultivating both an awareness and an ongoing experience of His Presence is vital. When God shows up, miracles happen. Life comes out of death, beauty comes out of ashes, dancing takes the place of mourning, futility gives way to fruitfulness, confusion is replaced by order, and obstacles bow to His will. Even the hard side of His Presence--the convicting and correcting truth we don't want to hear -- eventually gives life. When God is at work in and around us, everything changes.

Zealously, relentlessly, passionately pursue God's Presence. Every endeavor in the Christian life is futile without that. But with it, everything is possible.

Jesus, I need You -- Your Spirit, Your life -- in me and around me. I'm not content just to know about You or to believe the right things. I want to experience Your Presence. I know You want that too. Please, Lord, let me sense You always.

(from: One Year Experiencing God's Presence Devotional/Chris Tiegreen)

Jesus on John 15:5 "Apart from me you can do nothing."

Let's be inspired in knowing that God is on our side. He has given us His Grace in the person of Jesus Christ so we can know His true nature through His Son. God has offered the best plan for us here in this world; and when we leave earth. Through accepting Jesus Christ as our only Savior and Lord that bridged our way to the most powerful Creator of earth, we will discover the joy and peace of knowing God's Presence in our lives! 

Question: "What is spiritual manipulation?"

Answer: To  manipulate is to negotiate, control or influence for one’s own advantage.  Spiritual manipulation is a technique used by some abusive churches and cults to  control individuals and acquire gain, all the while giving the impression that  their teachings are based on the Bible.

Some religious groups take  Scriptures out of context in order to support their beliefs. They isolate “proof  texts” and “cherry pick” verses to persuade the uninformed that their  interpretation is right, even to the extent of claiming they alone have “the  truth” and everybody else is wrong. Some have even altered the Bible and  produced their own translation to support their religious bias.

Some  denominations use scholastic dishonesty to manipulate. They will use partial  quotations from first-century Christians and eminent Bible scholars in  suggesting that they agree with their views. Take, as an example, the booklet  “Should You Believe in the Trinity?,” published by the Watchtower  Society. Page 7 includes a partial quote from Justin Martyr: “Justin Martyr,  who died about 165 C.E., called the prehuman Jesus a created angel who is ‘other  than the God who made all things.’ He said that Jesus was inferior to God and  ‘never did anything except what the Creator . . . willed him to do and say.’”  What’s missing from this partial quotation is significant.  Justin Martyr said  that the “Son, who also, being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God.”  Nowhere did Justin Martyr say the pre-human Jesus was a created angel.

Some individuals manipulate Scripture for their own personal benefit. An  authoritarian husband might demand that his wife submit to him as the head of  the house and quote Ephesians  5:22 (“Wives, submit to your husbands”). But that same man might  purposefully overlook verse 26, which says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as  Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Instead of taking the bits  of Scripture he approves of and using them to lord it over his family, he would  do well to read 1 Corinthians 13 and practice the type of love that is patient,  kind, protects, trust and perseveres, etc.

During a conversation between  Christians, someone might say, "The Lord has told me that. . . ." This phrase  essentially shuts down the conversation because it implies that, since God has  spoken a word, there can't be any further discussion. Don't be fooled by this  trick; it is a form of spiritual manipulation. Or a preacher says, "Sow into my  ministry, and God will repay you. Sow, and you will reap! God is no man's  debtor." Could such preaching simply be an exploitive appeal for money? Is the  preacher trying to influence people for his own financial advantage? If so, it  is spiritual manipulation.

Another form of spiritual manipulation occurs  when abusive churches and cults twist Scripture to give more authority to the  leadership and keep the members under their control. One example is the use of  Hebrews  13:17 as a basis for demanding unquestioning loyalty and obedience to the  leaders. Some religious groups view questioning the leaders as tantamount to  questioning God. Some leaders claim to have divine authority and approval; thus,  to disobey them is to disobey God. This is perhaps the most pernicious form of  spiritual manipulation, and it has no place in a true church.

Victims of  spiritual manipulation seldom realize what’s happening to them. Here are some  indicators of a spiritually manipulative church:

Legalism
Demands  for obedience
Unquestioning submission
Punishment (loss of privileges,  shunning or expulsion)
Misplaced loyalty
Emphasis on performance
Exclusivism (“we alone are right, and everybody else is wrong”)
Isolation  (refusal to associate with anyone but spiritual brothers and sisters)
Humiliation of the "disobedient"

Abusive churches train members to  block out any information that is critical of the group. With enough thought and  information control, the leaders can get those under their control to defend  their new identity against their former identity. The first line of defense is  denial – “What you say isn’t happening at all.” Next comes rationalization –  “This is happening for a good reason.” After that, justification – “This is  happening because it ought to.” Finally, wishful thinking – “I’d like it to be  true, so maybe it really is.”

A characteristic of spiritually abusive  systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. This  is not about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to an organization, church or  leader. Because authority is assumed or legislated, following that authority  must also be legislated. This is accomplished is by setting up a system where  disloyalty or disagreement with the leadership is construed as disobeying God.  Questioning leaders is not allowed. After all, the leader is the authority, and  authority is always right. Such spiritual manipulation denies the truth of Ephesians 1:22, which  says that Christ is the Head of the church. Our loyalty is due Him.

All  Christians need to be alert to spiritual manipulation and follow this example  from Acts 17:11:  “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they  received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day  to see if what Paul said was true.” Did the apostle Paul take offense when the  Bereans researched to ensure that his preaching  was based on Scripture? Of course not, because Paul knew his preaching would  stand up under exhaustive scrutiny. Likewise with all teaching and preaching –  we must hold it up to the light of God’s Word before we accept it. Any religious  group that prevents its members from doing independent research, or from  challenging what the leadership says, must have something to fear.

Jesus  told His disciples they would be like sheep among wolves and instructed them to  be “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew  10:16). The Master’s yoke is easy, and His burden is light. He gives us rest  and is gentle and humble in heart (Matthew  11:28-29). That is the Christlike example all who shepherd Jesus’ flock must  exemplify.

Read more:  http://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-manipulation.html#ixzz2QfZRIE9p

This week, there were about 3 earthquakes that happened in 3 different countries. Then, there was the bombings in Boston's popular, annual marathon. Last night, there was a big explosion near the town of Waco. Could God allow these calamities to befall?  In the Bible, God used people and nature to make people realize that they are treading dangerous paths to their destruction. God loves people that He warns them way ahead of time of destruction. Because of peoples' rebellion against God, He cannot protect them from the evil one. God has given us all free will to choose: Life or Death; good or evil.

Romans 1

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,  19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools  23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.  25They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.  27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.  29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,  30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;  31they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.  32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral (The Message)

^18-23 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

^24-25 So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!

^26-27 Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human either—women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.

^28-32 Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!

Why does God Keep His children here on earth?

When two people get married, they usually leave the wedding festivities and head off on a honeymoon. When a person takes a new job, a change of office or work location is usually in order. When students progress from high school to college, they leave one campus and begin their studies on another. However, when people become God's children, they do not leave earth and move on immediately to heaven. Why not? Why does God keep His kids here on earth?

All people play a part in God's plan for this world. Every person has had a job to do from the time of the first man, Adam. Genesis says God "placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it" (Genesis 2:15, GNT). Although God wanted Adam to enjoy a personal relationship with Him, Adam's existence has a purpose beyond companionship. Adam was to be God's gardener in Eden. And Adam continued working the land outside the Garden of Eden until he died.

Jesus' life reflects this concept, too. In the Gospel of John, Jesus told His disciples that He found nourishment in doing God's will and in finishing God's work. When Jesus prayed for His disciples, He declared He had brought God glory by finishing the work God had given Him to do. And when Jesus groaned His final words, "It is finished," only then did He depart this life because He had completed the work of redemption. His death was a vital part of the work God had given Him to do.

The same essential principle applies today. It does not matter whether you are healthy, wealthy, in a good social position, or not. God's children remain on earth to fulfill the job God has given each one to do. What is that job? To be Christ's ambassadors -- a position each child will hold until God calls each one to heaven.

Worth thinking about

*What kind of a world would it be if God took His children immediately to heaven? Without anyone to exhibit God's righteousness, the world would be bound by hopelessness and fear.

*According to Ephesians, God leaves His children on earth to bring glory and honor to Him by the way they live.

*The apostle Peter reminded readers that God's children are here on earth to "show others the goodness of God" (1 Peter 29:9, NLT).

"God has a purpose for the rest of our time on Planet Earth -- and it isn't to make money. God leaves us here because He wants others to come to know His love and mercy through our witness." Eddie Rasnake

Excerpts from: 100 answers to 100 questions about God/Lila Empson/S.M. Hupp

God sent His Son to earth to pay for your wrongs. "If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won't be punished" (Romans 8:1, CEV). This is good news! There is no condemnation, just forgiveness for those who stand with Jesus. When God looks at you, He does not see your wrongdoing. He just sees Jesus' goodness instead of your past. Your wrongs are wiped away, and your life is cleared of all those times you displeased God by breaking His laws. You can begin again. God's forgiveness is a gift of grace -- something you cannot earn. It is not a result of anything you do.

When God forgives, the Bible says that "he has removed our sins so far from us as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12, NLT). If you try to bring up a past mistake, God does not know what you are talking about. If God says you're okay, then forgive yourself. His love is powerful. Leave your past mistakes with Him. Do not keep dragging around your regrets.

God may point out that you need to change in some area of your life, but He will do it in an encouraging way, guiding your heart and mind by His Spirit. Satan, the evil one will nag at you with doubts and use accusations to make you feel unworthy. As long as you feel like pond scum, you will not be able to tell others about God.

*The First four books of the New Testament -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -- are called Gospels. Gospel means "good news." These books are filled with the promises of good news: Jesus took your punishment and freed you from your failures.

*God does not keep reminding you of past mistakes. He promises to forgive and forget. God tells you how to follow His laws and live a better life.

Accepting God's forgiveness and putting your past behind you is saying yes to His gift of grace and showing that you believe He really did die in your place.

"It's urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father (God), who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider."  Jesus on John 5:24, The Message

Excerpts from:100 answers to 100 questions about God's PROMISES for you - Lila Empson/Janet Teitsort

Most people cannot understand this saying unless they are familiar of what the Bible says about life after death.

Revelation 21:8 says that these people:

"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

The Judgment of the Dead on Revelation 20:11-15

"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

Those who have rejected God and His Son, Jesus, are judged by God based on the laws of God - the laws He gave to Moses known as the Ten Commandments and God's laws He gave on the Book of Leviticus

It's saying that when the unbelievers die, God's judgment are unto them to go to the pits of hell. They will not be able to plead their case when they die. Suffering in hell is just like death the second time after dying and their souls leave this world. The people who did not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and did not turn away from their sins or did not repent; those that rejected God and Jesus Christ will experience two deaths. 

On the other hand, this is what Jesus said on John 3:3-21

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ”

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

 For those who are born again believers:  http://www.biblestudy.org/apostlepaul/what-did-paul-teach-about-the-law-of-god.html

There are times when the glory of God's Presence fills us with energy and a clear plan of action. We spend time with Him, experience His touch, and go into the world with purpose. But when God chooses to overwhelm us -- and may those times always increase -- His glory immobilizes us. There can be no busyness or distractions when we are in utter awe. The fullness of His Presence commands complete attention -- not as an obligation but because there is no other choice. When He manifests Himself, we are silent and still.

Even Moses, who had encountered God in so many dramatic ways, was unable to enter the Tabernacle when the cloud of glory filled it. Moses had entered the cloud of glory on Sinai before; apparently this time it was thicker, fuller, and more awesome than ever. God was making a statement: "I'm making a home among you, and I want your full attention."

God's desire remains the same. The prescribed place of meeting is different--it's richer and more personal now-- but the zeal to dwell with us hasn't changed. That's why we can't be content with a few God-moments here and there or an occasional verse that gives us a lift or an insight. We need more. We need depth and intensity and passion. We need intimate encounters everyday. We need the experience of God in us, overflowing and obvious. We need to be immobilized in awe.

If your spiritual life is stagnant, ask for this. Even if it's thriving, ask for this. God shows His glory to those who seek Him.

John 17:1-26 New International Version

Jesus Prays to Be Glorified

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: