I Corinthians 10 (Amplified)

10 For I do not want you to be unaware, believers, that our fathers were all under the cloud [in which God’s presence went before them] and they all passed [miraculously and safely] through the [Red] Sea; ² And all [of them] were baptized into Moses [into his safekeeping as their leader] in the cloud and in the sea; ³ and all [of them] ate the same ^[a]spiritual food; ⁴ and all [of them] drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, God was not well-pleased with most of them, for they were scattered along the ground in the wilderness [because their lack of self-control led to disobedience which led to death].⁶ Now these things [the warnings and admonitions] took place as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did. ⁷ Do not be worshipers of handmade gods, as some of them were; just as it is written [in Scripture], “The people sat down to eat and drink [after sacrificing to the golden calf at Horeb], and stood up to play [indulging in immoral activities].” ⁸ We must not indulge in [nor tolerate] sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand [suddenly] fell [dead] in a single day! ⁹ We must not tempt the Lord [that is, test His patience, question His purpose or exploit His goodness], as some of them did—and they were killed by serpents. ¹⁰ And do not murmur [in unwarranted discontent], as some of them did—and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come. ¹² Therefore let the one who thinks he stands firm [immune to temptation, being overconfident and self-righteous], take care that he does not fall [into sin and condemnation]. ¹³ No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].¹⁴ Therefore, my beloved, run [keep far, far away] from [any sort of] idolatry [and that includes loving anything more than God, or participating in anything that leads to sin and enslaves the soul]. ¹⁵ I am speaking as to wise and sensible people; judge [carefully and thoughtfully consider] for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ Is the cup of blessing which we bless [at the Lord’s Supper] not a sharing in the blood of Christ? [Indeed it is.] Is the bread which we break not a sharing in the body of Christ? [Indeed it is.] ¹⁷ Since there is one bread, we [believers] who are many are [united into] one body; for we all partake of the one bread [which represents the body of Christ]. ¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel; are those who eat the sacrifices not partners of the altar [united in their worship of the same God]? [Indeed they are.] ¹⁹ What do I mean then? That a thing offered to idols is anything [special or changed simply because it is offered], or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ On the contrary, the things which the Gentiles (pagans) sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons [in effect], and not to God; and I do not want you to become partners with demons [by eating at feasts in pagan temples]. ²¹ You cannot drink [both] the Lord’s cup and the cup of demons. You cannot share in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons [thereby becoming partners with them]. ²² Do we [really] provoke the Lord to jealousy [when we eat food sacrificed to handmade “gods” at pagan feasts]? Are we [spiritually] stronger than He? [Certainly not! He knows that the idols are nothing. But we deeply offend Him.]²³ All things are lawful [that is, morally legitimate, permissible], but not all things are beneficial or advantageous. All things are lawful, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life]. ²⁴ Let no one seek [only] his own good, but [also] that of the other person. ²⁵ [Regarding meat offered to idols:] Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking any questions for the sake of your conscience, ²⁶ For the [whole] earth is the Lord’s, and everything that is in it. ²⁷ If one of the unbelievers invites you [to a meal at his home] and you want to go, eat whatever is served to you without asking questions [about its source] for the sake of your conscience. ²⁸ But if anyone says to you, “This meat has been offered in sacrifice to an idol,” do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who told you, and for conscience’s sake— ²⁹ and by conscience I mean for the sake of the other man’s, not yours. For why is my freedom [of choice] judged by another’s conscience [another’s ethics—another’s sense of right and wrong]? ³⁰ If I take my share [of food] with thankfulness, why am I accused because of something for which I give thanks?³¹ So then, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of [our great] God. ³² Do not offend Jews or Greeks or even the church of God [but live to honor Him]; ³³ just as I please everyone in all things [as much as possible adapting myself to the interests of others], not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, so that they [will be open to the message of salvation and] may be saved.

May we be the people

who are the ones who

glorify, praise and please

our glorious Triune God.

May we not be known

as the complaining, cynical,

jaded, un-thankful types!

Promise land or wilderness?

May we all wisely choose.

Joyously dwelling on the undeserved, profuse

mercy, love, faithfulness, grace, blood-bought,

and Cross procured salvation of our Triune God

gives one an extraordinary, eternally focused,

victorious day erupting with effusive praise!

With eyes full of Christ-given faith,

With Cross-procured hearts full of surrender,

and with new creature hearts ablaze with the

words of our God, watch expectantly and see what

mighty deeds our Triune God can do through the Saints

of God who delight in doing the will of our Triune God!

Rejoice in open doors.

Rejoice in closed doors.

Rejoice for our Sovereign

God is in full control of

all the doors in our lives.

Rejoice in open doors.

Rejoice in closed doors.

For God is Lord of all!!

In my humble attempts at poetry,

may in each word, phrase, and intent

be found a ceaseless symphony of praise

to the beauty, holiness, salvation and

divine splendor that only can be found in

our precious Father, Savior, and gentle dove .

When a society refuses to acknowledge Jesus Christ as

King of Kings and Lord of Lords as the only beauty-filled

source of all truth and the only remedy for the sins of the

individual. Those precious souls, that society, that nation will

implode upon itself. For their tragic chosen source is a blackened

demonic,secular, humanistic, evolutionary,  destructive, devious

demonic lie. Precious Triune God, turn our nation back to thee.

Because of your ceaseless mercy, heal our land, save souls and

bring a much needed revival to our land. Return us back to souls

that know how to repent of sins. Return us back to souls who are truly,

authentically born again so that we can be once again, one nation under God.

And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.

Romans 8:28 (Amplified)

Thunder storms occurs.

Flashes of lightning strikes.

Rain falls then flowers bloom.

Leaves fall then winter comes.

The earth freezes in beauty and then

divinely blooms again at God’s appointed

time. And through it all our magnificent

Triune God is faithful and holds all things

together in His sovereign hands. Praise

our always faithful Triune God for His

perfect timing and orchestration

in all of our lives. For our God can

always, always always, always be

trusted and can always be praised.

For all things, all things, all things

all things work together for our good.

The whole Christ-created world is

filled with so many wonders created

by our precious Savior and Lord.

Suddenly a cardinal appears from

the trees with a sprig of  holly pointing

to the soon to be joyous Christmas season.

Or a black and orange winged monarch

suddenly  floats by you with such a gentle

ease that it is indeed a divine and Heavenly

reminder of our Heavenly monarch who

delights in every detail of our lives including

bringing to His royal children glimpses and

metaphors of  earthly and eternal beauty.

And when we intentionally slow down and

truly look with eyes of faith, there will always be

all around us moment by moment reminders of our

Triune God’s  majestic, sovereign pen of beauty, love and grace.

The mercies of humanity are oftentimes fleeting

and tragically fickle in this ever-darkening world

and often times, rarely even seen. But ah the riches of

God’s mercies, this is what our Triune God wants us to

focus upon. The lavish undeserved mercies of our God

are new every morning like a billion fragrant flowers blooming

at once in all their Christ-created glory and splendid beauty.

May we all , as delighted and adored children of the King of Kings,

constantly think upon His lavish life-giving mercies. May we focus

not upon the earthly distorted human perspective. But on the

Heavenly glory filled Biblical perspective that forever calms,

soothes, and always gives the Saints of our Triune God

ceaseless hope, courage, strength, endurance, love and grace.

May we in every moment focus upon the lavish riches of God’s

mercies. For this is truly what  our Triune God wants us

to focus upon that His mercies are new every morning.

And when we focus on this doctrinal flowering beauty,

we can be, we are being totally transformed into a symphony

of our Triune’s God’s redeeming moment by moment tender

mercies and graces like a billion fragrant flowers blooming

at once in their Christ-created glory and splendid beauty.

May this be all of us.

As passionate followers of  Jesus Christ,

we can indeed  rejoice when the world hands

us a crown of thorns. For this is when our

Triune God says that every single crown of

thorns will be forever changed into majestic,

eternal gemstone filled diadems of righteousness.

For the believer, there is always, always a reason and

an eternal hope, joy, and home that is beyond compare.