HEAVENLY INCLINED...: SUNDAY'S SACRED SCRIPTURES...

Thanksgiving for the LORD's Favor

Psalms 138 (A Psalm of David)
1/ I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2/ I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
3/ In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
4/ All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
5/ Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
6/ Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
7/ Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8/ The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me:
thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands... AMEN!!!

One CANNOT earn GRACE, it is HIS own ESSENCE; a gift, still, IF one claims to be IN HIS GRACE, we ARE to, or, OUGHT to, be reflections of that GRACE! 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1, tells us not to take HIS GRACE in vain! This means, living in LOVE, morality, ethics, virtue, righteousness, and, spiritual improvement, TOWARDS, spiritual maturity, WHILE, visibly BEING as LIGHTS, beaming OF *GOD*, beckoning the world, TO THE LIGHT! Righteousness MEANS, conduct in conformity with *GOD'S* WILL, and, "Be HOLY because I AM HOLY!", therefore, indicating that knowledge, wisdom, and, effort, DO, apply TO the righteous!!! NEVER forget, we were grafted in, and, if we do not bear fruit, as a dead branch, we will be pruned out, just as were, the natural branches!!!

We are not saved by works, instead, works PROVE HIM in us: they identify HIS own...

IF I claim ONENESS with *GOD*, through CHRIST JESUS, I am DEAD TO THE WORLD, THUS, LIVING as HIM, which is, hopefully, witnessed IN, and, THROUGH, my every thought, action, and, reaction; MEANING, I am, THROUGH CONSCIOUS application OF THE WORD, HIS COMMANDS, HIS WILL, REFLECTING righteousness, not, merely, FAITH! I become, the TRULY FRUITFUL branch, of THE VINE, the TRUE member of THE BODY/THE CHURCH, CHRIST JESUS, and, TESTIFY, then, GLORIFY, BOLDLY, BY my thoughts, actions, and, reactions, HIS name, because, HE IS WORTHY, and, IN HIS LOVE, has SHOWN me, how I OUGHT to exist, to which, I eagerly, adapt, and, comply!!!

MATTHEW 5:48...
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect

1 PETER 1:14-16...
14/ Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance
15/ but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
16/ for it is written, "Be holy because I (am) holy."

ROMANS 12:2...
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Conduct, in conformity to *GOD'S* WILL, marks the righteous; it is NOT because of guilt, or, ancient Laws, but, because of LOVE; LOVE for *GOD*, self, then, others! CHRIST JESUS gave us Commandments to live by, of which, the first is to LOVE *GOD*, with all of your mind, heart, and, soul; the second is, to LOVE one another!

LOVE COMPELS us to LIVE IN HIM, through conduct which conforms to *GOD*; in other words, morality, ethics, doing good, and, being good, and, ever striving to improve the spirit! It is about REFLECTING THE TRUTH, for ALL to bear witness to, FOR, and, TO HIS GLORY, RADIANTLY SHINING OF HIS POWER, GRACE, and, MERCIES!!!

It IS ALL ABOUT LOVE, baby, all about LOVE!!!

MATTHEW 4: 17...From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

JOHN 14:15..."If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

NOTE: I do not intend to preach, rather to reach; to stir up, awaken, to inspire, and, bring forth, in discussion, that which is, perhaps, dormantly existing in the heart of hearts, thus, little, or, no, sugar coatings, just THE WORD of *GOD*, the TRUTH, along with some of my thoughts. And truth is, I am reminding myself always, as I practice these reminders, in the best of my abilities, and capacities, while RELYING on THE LORD to lead me on that narrow PATH---> MATTHEW 7: 14: "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it... TO *GOD* BE ALL GLORY...

SUNDAY'S SACRED SCRIPTURES...

MATTHEW 24...

1/ Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings.
2/ He said to them in reply, "You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."
3/ As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, "Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4/ Jesus said to them in reply, "See that no one deceives you.
5/ For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many.
6/ You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.
7/ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place.
8/ All these are the beginning of the labor pains.
9/ Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.

10/ And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another.
11/ Many false prophets will arise and deceive many;
12/ and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold.
13/ But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

14/ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.
15/ "When you see the desolating abomination spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16/ then those in Judea must flee to the mountains,
17/ a person on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house,
18/ a person in the field must not return to get his cloak.
19/ Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days.
20/ Pray that your flight not be in winter or on the sabbath,
21/ for at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be.
22/ And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened.

23/ If anyone says to you then, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it.
24/ False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect.
25/ Behold, I have told it to you beforehand.
26/ So if they say to you, 'He is in the desert,' do not go out there; if they say, 'He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
27/ For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28/ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

29/ "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30/ And then the sign of the Son of Manwill appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31/ And he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32/ Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.
33/ In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the gates.
34/ Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
35/ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

36/ "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37/ For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38/ In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
39/ They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man.
40/ Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.
41/ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.

42/ Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
43/ Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
44/ So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

45/ "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
46/ Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
47/ Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
48/ But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,'
49/ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards,
50/ the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
51/ and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.