good and evil

For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For in this tent we groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly habitation if indeed, when we have taken it off, we shall not be found naked. For while we are in this tent we groan and are weighed down, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a first installment.

So we are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.

Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we are clearly apparent to God, and I hope we are also apparent to your consciousness. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you an opportunity to boast of us, so that you may have something to say to those who boast of external appearance rather than of the heart. For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are rational, it is for you. For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 

2 corinthians 5 


We walk by faith - YouTube


The ugliness of sin and the hope through Christ | Juneau Empire - Alaska's Capital City Online Newspaper

image by Tito & Eva Marie Balangue

42: Daily Inspirational Bible Verse | 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 --… | Flickr 

1 corinthians 1: 18-25, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the learning of the learned I will set aside.” 

Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 

1 corinthians 1: 18-25

image by Tito & Eva Marie Balangue

1 Corinthians 1:18 | For the message of the cross is foolish… | Flickr

Beautiful Praise & Worship Playlist - With Lyrics - Hillsong - Shout To The Lord - YouTube

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psalm 34: "Taste and see that the LORD is good"

I 

I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall be always in my mouth.

My soul will glory in the LORD;

let the poor hear and be glad.

Magnify the LORD with me;

and let us exalt his name together.

II

I sought the LORD, and he answered me,

delivered me from all my fears.

Look to him and be radiant,

and your faces may not blush for shame.

This poor one cried out and the LORD heard,

and from all his distress he saved him.

The angel of the LORD encamps

around those who fear him, and he saves them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the stalwart one who takes refuge in him.

Fear the LORD, you his holy ones;

nothing is lacking to those who fear him.

The rich grow poor and go hungry,

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

III

Come, children, listen to me;

I will teach you fear of the LORD.

Who is the man who delights in life,

who loves to see the good days?

Keep your tongue from evil,

your lips from speaking lies.

Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the LORD are directed toward the righteous

and his ears toward their cry.

The LORD’s face is against evildoers

to wipe out their memory from the earth.

The righteous cry out, the LORD hears

and he rescues them from all their afflictions.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted,

saves those whose spirit is crushed.

Many are the troubles of the righteous,

but the LORD delivers him from them all.

He watches over all his bones;

not one of them shall be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked;

those who hate the righteous are condemned.

The LORD is the redeemer of the souls of his servants;

and none are condemned who take refuge in him.
Psalm 34  

One Bread One Body - with lyrics.wmv - YouTube 

Psalm 34:8-10 | ║Charlotte's Photography ║ My Twitter ║ | Charlotte Tai | Flickr

image by Sapphire Dream Photography

Psalms 34:18-19 | I decided to put my very first pictures wi… | Flickr

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."

And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. 

Ephesians 4:30 - 5:2

Spread love everywhere you go Let no one... Picture Quotes 3050 - AllAuthor

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“For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Matthew 19: 16-30

Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” 

He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 

He asked him, “Which ones?” 

And Jesus replied, “‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” 

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” 

Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” 

Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” 

Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." 

Matthew 19: 16-30

image by Church Iglesia

Matthew 19:26 "But with God all things are possible." | Flickr

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I received the living God - YouTube

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Truth in Scripture: Duty to Live in the Light, Ephesians 5

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. So do not be associated with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says:

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will give you light.”  

Ephesians 5: 1-14

image by Scripture As Art

Ephesians 5:14 | Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepes… | Flickr

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psalm 100: "Know that the LORD is God, he made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the flock he shepherds."

A psalm of thanksgiving.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.

Know that the LORD is God,
he made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the flock he shepherds.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name;

good indeed is the LORD,
His mercy endures forever,
his faithfulness lasts through every generation.

psalm 100 


Glory and Praise to Our God by John Michael Talbot - YouTube

🎤 Psalm 100 Song with Lyrics - For the Lord is Good - Jason Silver - YouTube

Psalm 100 | Sapphire Dream Photography | Flickr

hope, jeremiah 29: 4-14: "For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope."

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their fruits. Take wives and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters. Increase there; do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you; pray for it to the LORD, for upon its welfare your own depends. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners who are among you; do not listen to those among you who dream dreams, for they prophesy lies to you in my name; I did not send them—oracle of the LORD.

For thus says the LORD: Only after seventy years have elapsed for Babylon will I deal with you and fulfill for you my promise to bring you back to this place. For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me—oracle of the LORD—and I will change your lot; I will gather you together from all the nations and all the places to which I have banished you—oracle of the LORD—and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you. 

jeremiah 29: 4-12

image by Tito & Eva Marie Balangue

18: Daily Inspirational Bible Verse | Jeremiah 29:11 -------… | Flickr

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john 1: 1-18, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;

the light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

John 1: 1-18


John 1:14 - KJV - The Power of God's Word - Scripture Song - YouTube

image by Tito & Eva Marie Balangue

40: Daily Inspirational Bible Verse | John 1:1 -------------… | Flickr

Colossians 2: 12-4

Brothers and sisters:
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
And even when you were dead
in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.

https://flickr.com/photos/worshipbackgrounds/9351912647

attribution: Sapphire Dream Photography and flickr

Psalm 138

1 Of David.


I

1 I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;a

in the presence of the angels* to you I sing.


2 I bow low toward your holy temple;



3 I praise your name for your mercy and faithfulness.

For you have exalted over all

your name and your promise.


3 On the day I cried out, you answered;

you strengthened my spirit.

II


4 All the kings of earth will praise you, LORD,

when they hear the words of your mouth.


5 They will sing of the ways of the LORD:

“How great is the glory of the LORD!”


6 The LORD is on high, but cares for the lowly b

and knows the proud from afar.


7 Though I walk in the midst of dangers,

you guard my life when my enemies rage.

You stretch out your hand;

your right hand saves me.


8 The LORD is with me to the end.

LORD, your mercy endures forever.

Never forsake the work of your hands!

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/138

https://www.flickr.com/photos/titobalangue/5133094596/

attribution: Tito & Eva Marie Balangue and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Revelation 22

1 the then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water,* sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamba 

2 down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life* that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.

3 Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

4 They will look upon his face,* and his name will be on their foreheads.

5 Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.b

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/22

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/5533955601/

attribution: Jim Forest  and flickr

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psalm 90: Lord, you have been our refuge through all generations. Before the mountains were born, the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God.

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

I

Lord, you have been our refuge
through all generations.
Before the mountains were born,
the earth and the world brought forth,
from eternity to eternity you are God.

You turn humanity back into dust,

saying, “Return, you children of Adam!”

A thousand years in your eyes
are merely a day gone by,

Before a watch passes in the night,

you wash them away; They sleep,
and in the morning they sprout again like an herb.
In the morning it blooms only to pass away;
in the evening it is wilted and withered.

II

Truly we are consumed by your anger,
filled with terror by your wrath.
You have kept our faults before you,
our hidden sins in the light of your face.

Our life ebbs away under your wrath;

our years end like a sigh.

Seventy is the sum of our years,
or eighty, if we are strong;
Most of them are toil and sorrow;
they pass quickly, and we are gone.

Who comprehends the strength of your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear it inspires.
Teach us to count our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.

III

Relent, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Fill us at daybreak with your mercy,

that all our days we may sing for joy.

Make us glad as many days as you humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.

Show your deeds to your servants,
your glory to their children.

May the favor of the Lord our God be ours.

Prosper the work of our hands!
Prosper the work of our hands!

psalm 90

* [Psalm 90] A communal lament that describes only in general terms the cause of the community’s distress. After confidently invoking God (Ps 90:1), the Psalm turns to a complaint contrasting God’s eternity with the brevity of human life (Ps 90:2–6) and sees in human suffering the punishment for sin (Ps 90:7–12). The Psalm concludes with a plea for God’s intervention (Ps 90:13–17).


In Every Age by Janet Sullivan Whitaker - YouTube 


Long before the mountains came to be
and the land and sea and stars of the night,
through the endless seasons of all time,
you have always been,
you will always be.
In ev'ry age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In ev'ry age, O God, you have been our hope.
Destiny is cast, and at your silent word
we return to dust and scatter to the wind.
A thousand years are like a single moment gone,
as the light that fades
at the end of day.
Teach us to make use of the time we have.
Teach us to be patient even as we wait.
Teach us to embrace our ev'ry joy and pain.
To sleep peacefully,
and to rise up strong.
You have been our refuge
You have been our hope.

Psalm 90:2 - Mike Evans | Before the mountains were born or … | Flickr

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Holy Spirit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit

https://biblehub.com/topical/ttt/t/the_scriptures--the_holy_spirit_enable_us_to_understand.htm 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spiritus_Sanctus.jpg

attribution: Dnalor 01, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/at/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons

psalm 150: Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy sanctuary; give praise in the mighty dome of heaven. Give praise for his mighty deeds, praise him for his great majesty. Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

Praise God in his holy sanctuary;

give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.

Give praise for his mighty deeds,

praise him for his great majesty.

Give praise with blasts upon the horn,

praise him with harp and lyre.

Give praise with tambourines and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.

Give praise with crashing cymbals,
praise him with sounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath
give praise to the LORD!

Hallelujah!

psalm 150

Glory and Praise to Our God by John Michael Talbot - YouTube 

image by Tito & Eva Marie Balangue

Psalm 150:2 | Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him acc… | Flickr

purpose

facebook post from Pamela A. Smith, SSCM, PhD

 

Pamela A. Smith

October 31 at 1:22 PM  · 

On Saturday, October 30, the Fellowship of South Carolina Bishops and the University of South Carolina’s Center for Civil Rights History and Research hosted a presentation by Bishop Michael Curry. The title of his riveting presentation was “Love Is the Way: The Cost of Beloved Community.” Bishop Curry is the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US. He became widely known when he preached at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meaghan Markle.

Bishop Curry’s message focused on the urgency of healing our world by attending to the needs of the poor, the demands of justice, confronting hatred and prejudice, and healing the planet. As Bishop Andrew Waldo introduced Bishop Curry, he spoke of a time they were together in Ghana at the site of the buildings which held people before they were transported to America to be sold into slavery. Bishop Waldo said that he confessed to Bishop Curry his distress over the fact that his ancestors had made their livelihood by having slaves. Bishop Curry responded to this truth of his family history, “Don’t wallow in it. Redeem it.”

Bishop Curry challenged all of us to widen our circles of friendship and collaboration to build on our shared values. That exhibits the redemptive power of love. Among those present were people representing many faith traditions and academia, including our Bishop Guglielmone, and, from the state, the new Lutheran bishop, 2 Episcopalian bishops, the United Methodist bishop, and also the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) bishop (who had traveled from Connecticut), representatives of the African Methodist Episopal church, along with other pastors and devoted laity. It was good to see so many faith leaders together.

We also heard presentations by Dr. Linda Bell (known for her health care updates during COVID), along with the principal of a public school In Richland 1 (a district with a high population of racial minority students) Dr. Robin Coltrain, and Mr. Aulize Fields, who dedicates himself, through a group called Turning Leaf, to providing support and transformational counseling to former convicts when they return home.

They spoke of human needs and statewide possibilities.

On the drive home, on back roads, I reflected that building on our shared values and working together on projects for the common good was something we did at the registration desk. I was positioned there between Rev. Mary Finklea, the Lutheran minister who oversees a camp and a retreat center that our Catholic diocese often uses, and Rev. Dr. Doris Hicks, a CME minister noted for her work for racial justice. I see Rev. Hicks often with the board of the South Carolina Christian Action Council. Every step, even the smallest, matters when we widen our circles.

And then I passed fields of cotton on US 21. We need to remember our history and redeem it—in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Redemption is "paying it forward". Jesus redeemed us. "Pay it forward" in His holy name.

Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Matthew 28: 18-20

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