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![Created by the talented [Link To User poulynoe]](https://www.writing.com/main/images/action/display/ver/1595184782/item_id/2227275.gif "Take up your Cross Image 4 [#2227275]
Created by the talented [Link To User poulynoe]")  }   "Prompt:Proverbs 3:3-4 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. How do you bind mercy and truth around your neck and write them on the table of thine heart?" The Bible is filled with metaphorical language and this expression is one of those metaphors. It means that we should always act in ways that are merciful, loving, and forgiving. This can be hard to do and it takes practice. The first thing we have to do to accomplish it is be saved. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the foundation upon which love and mercy are built. Once we have this relationship we must also determine that we are going to live a life characterized by forgiveness, love, and mercy. We must allow Holy Spirit to lead us. God blesses such a life, and His blessing provoke others to want such a life. This is living a missional life.  "Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Buck Rogers and found this planet: (136) Read this item:
Write about this item in your Blog entry today." I found riches at the end of God's rainbow. His rainbow as shining from a cross and the riches I found were on that cross.  |
| } Announcement: I want to extend a very special thank you to those who nominated Take up Your Cross for a Quill and to all those who voted for us. We are finalists! We will know next week whether we won, but just being a finalist is a real honor. God is blessing this forum with good prompts and lots of activity.  "Prompt:Proverbs 3:1-2 3 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. What are these verses saying to you personally?" In my professional opinion, these verses are God saying that if we do His will in all things He will bless the efforts of our hands. What is God's will? Jesus summed that up in Matthew 22:34-40 when He said the greatest commandment is love. Love does not think of its own good. Love seeks the well being of others. It wants others to succeed and to have their needs met. Love does not pass the homeless person on the street. Love buys them a meal and sees to it that they have clothes and shelter. Love does not horde money but shares it liberally. God is not against being rich or comfortable. He is against being greedy and cruel. He isn't against a person owning a big factory. He is against that factory owner exploiting the poor to get ahead. He isn't against investing in the stock market. He is against doing so if it means making somebody else do without. God wants us to get ahead. He just does not want us to do so at the expense of others. Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy and found this planet: (1336) Read this item:
I've had dreams about the future that later became fulfilled. I tend to believe that when we have such dreams it is God giving us a glimpse into the future. I love this form. I am a big fan of any metered poem. I feel meter challenges the poet's creativity. Anybody can write free verse and prose because that is just regurgitating words onto paper. Meter and rhyme on the other hand require discipline and talent. Write about this item in your Blog entry today.        |
| } "Prompt: Deuteronomy 23:12-14 12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: 13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: 14 For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee. God cares about cleanliness and sanitation. Write about a time you experienced an unsanitary situation and what you did about it. What are your thoughts on verse 14? How can we apply it to our lives today? The thing to remember about the Bible is that it is filled with metaphorical language. Some scholars, in fact most scholars, think that when the Bible talks about the fires of Hell that it is talking metaphorically. The passage in question today is no exception. While people were expected to go outside the camp to relieve themselves, the usually dug a pit and built a building around it out of available materials. The waste God is talking to is of course physical. I mean nobody wants to step in that. However, God is telling Israel that if they do something foul, they should clean it up. This is metaphorical as well. If we make a mistake, straighten it up. Make amends. Don't just say "I'm sorry." Correct the wrong. I think this is what God is metaphorically referring to here. He means that if we make a mess we are to clean it up. There is no such thing as being sorry unless we are willing to correct the mistake. This is repentance. Prompt: Chewbecca and I were cruising the galaxy and found this planet: (882) Read this item:
Write about the poet tree in your Blog entry today. I guess we all have a quiet place where we go to write. This poet's quiet place is beneath and elder tree. Mine is secluded in my room. I have spent the past two weeks writing discussion board entries, term papers, etc for graduate school. I still have a discussion board post and a three page book review to write. First I have to read 400 pages of material. |
| } "Prompt: Proverbs 5:21-22 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings. 22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." I think it means that sin has consequences. God will punish sin, but sin mostly punishes on its own. I have heard a lot of people say they want nothing to do with a God that would send anybody to hell. I like this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvDoYuTZ7T8 I will be returning and commenting again by the first of the week. I just got word today that three of the assignments I had were nixed. So I have one one page paper to write and a book review. Then I am done for this eight weeks!During my victory celebration tonight I saw the beautiful (user:bray2015} out my port viewer. She was shining bright with ** Image ID #2140456 Unavailable ** , a tribute to veterans. I don't know about you, but my hat is off to anybody who defends their country. What do you think? I believe anybody who fights for what they believe in, whether I agree with it or not, deserves my respect. They are not waves blown here and there by the wind. They are adults. Image #2164523 over display limit. -?- Image #2191828 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- } Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249884 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: Matthew 8:28-34 28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. How would you react if you saw something like this occur?" I have seen things like this occur. I have the spiritual gift of discernment. When I encounter something demonic I cast it out in the name of Jesus. I don't mess with them. They are spooky. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- I was returning today after a quick stop at another star, and found [user:hollymerry} shining on the horizon. She writes Image #2238593 over display limit. -?- a poem about loss. How do you deal with loss? Some things in life just do not seem fair. Death is one of them. On the other hand, if we did not have death we would have a population problem. The best way to deal with death is just to be present. You don't have to say a thing. In fact, it is often best not to say a thing. Just be present. Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- Image #2118746 over display limit. -?- Image #2147967 over display limit. -?- Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- Image #2159373 over display limit. -?- Image #2164523 over display limit. -?- Image #2191828 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- } Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249884 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: Acts 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. Long preaching can be deadly. 🤔 Have you ever fallen asleep in church? What happened? How can we avoid going to sleep during long preaching? Oh, and according to this verse, it is best to avoid a window seat." As a preacher I try to bear that in mind! Long-winded preaching can put anybody asleep because we're human. We only have a certain amount of attention span. This young man fell asleep because Paul was long-winded. I'll bet Paul took that under advisement from then on. Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Yoda and found this planet:
Write about this item in your Blog entry today. I always loved cherry blossoms. They are one of the most beautiful flowers one can find on a tree. They are beautiful not only because they look and smell nice, but for what they represent. They represent a cherry that will grow on the tree later in the year. I have picked cherries and pitted them using a cherry pitter. It is a lot of hard work but in the end it is well worth it. I can still taste that first big slice of homemade cherry pie with homemade whipped topping. The cherries were fresh, the cream was fresh from a cow, and it was all beyond delicious! Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- Image #2118746 over display limit. -?- Image #2147967 over display limit. -?- Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- Image #2159373 over display limit. -?- Image #2164523 over display limit. -?- Image #2191828 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- } Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "Yesterday was Mother's Day. In John 2:1-5, Jesus and his mother are talking. What do you think about what Jesus said to his mother and in what tone do you think it was said in? How would your mother responded if you talked to her like that?" I believe Jesus spoke to His mother with a tone of respect. He was also a little perturbed. He knew that she knew that He was the son of God. She was expecting as miracle out of Him. Perhaps He had done miracles in the past to solve problems. We don't know because we only know a little about His childhood. Still she expected a miracle from Him. I think He was very respectful. My mother probably would have backhanded me though, just to be sure. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Buck Rogers and found this planet:
Write about this in your Blog entry today. The author is correct. This world needs hope. Hope is only found in Christ Jesus. Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- Image #2118746 over display limit. -?- Image #2147967 over display limit. -?- Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- Image #2159373 over display limit. -?- Image #2164523 over display limit. -?- Image #2191828 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- } Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249234 over display limit. -?- Prompt: Describe Hell. I really cannot do that definitively and I will never experience it so I will never be able to describe it. I can tell you that hell is a dark, lonely and scary place. Hell itself is not what we need to fear. What we need to fear is the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14 tells us that both death and hell are thrown into the Lake of Fire. If that is the case, what is hell? Hell is the waiting place of the dead. Some await eternal life and other await eternal judgment in the Lake of Fire. Imagine your whole body being on fire and that fire never going out. You never die. You just burn. That is the Lake of Fire. Hell could be the grave itself. In fact, some translations use the word "grave" in place of Hell in Revelation 20:14. The Greek word in question is "ᾅδης" and is usually translated "hades" or the abode of the dead. Paul uses the same word in 1 Corinthians to refer to the grave. Strong's says the word means "hades" roughly translated "the abode of the dead." The fact of the matter is that we all die. We all go to the abode off the dead to await judgment. The abode of the dead will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and destroyed. Those who do not receive eternal life and pardon from God will go into the lake of fire to be destroyed. They will remain there forever. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- The craziness of the first few weeks of a new semester is upon me. I was warping across the galaxy today on another starship and got a distress call from victoryseeker We stopped to assist and found a poem
I have a lot of regrets but I am ambiguous about them. I regret them because people were hurt by them. I am ambiguous because it took every second of my life to make me who I am today. Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- Image #2118746 over display limit. -?- Image #2147967 over display limit. -?- Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- Image #2159373 over display limit. -?- Image #2164523 over display limit. -?- Image #2191828 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- } Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249884 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: Write about who God is to you." God to me is my Savior. He is the Sovereign ruler of the universe and my owner. I have no delusions about God's sovereignty. I was just writing about that a few minutes ago. I am a seminary student at Regent University as many of you know. Currently I am taking a class on missions and a class on theology. MISS 500 required me to answer a discussion board post which basically inquired about the sovereignty of God. I said that God is God. By His very definition He answers to nobody nor does he give a flip what a person's opinion is on a subject. He needs nobody's approval nor does He care what a person approves of or disapproves of. He is GOD! He does what He wants when He wants. The moment He declares something right, it becomes right, no matter how wrong man thinks it is. I am His subject. He is my Lord and God. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "I had to take a day off from the rigors of grad school! Tomorrow is a new day. I have several assignments due over the next few weeks, but took today to rest. 18 hour days are tough! On my adventures today I saw a lovely star. The star was familiar because it was Lilli 🧿 ☕   . She says she doesn't understand meter but she writes it beautifully. Check out Image #2244859 over display limit. -?- and write your reports (entry)."As I have stated elsewhere, I love metered poetry in any form. I challenge myself to write according to the different meters and am getting a little "gooder" at them, as my grandchild says. Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- Image #2118746 over display limit. -?- Image #2147967 over display limit. -?- Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- Image #2159373 over display limit. -?- Image #2164523 over display limit. -?- Image #2191828 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- } Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- I just bought two more images for Take Up Your Cross. They both link back to the forum. They are {image:2249882} Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- and Image #2249884 over display limit. -?- {image:2249884}. I shrink them to about 1/4 by add {-25%} to the numbers. Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- Should we point out other people's sin to them? Why or why not? James, Peter, and Paul all tell us that we should point out the errors of others. However, we must do so with tact. We must let the other person know that we are sinners ourselves, often guilty of the same sins. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Twikkie and found this planet:
Write about this item in your Blog entry today. I can't imagine having to go through a tornado. I am a disaster relief worker so I will see disasters in my lifetime. I just can't imagine the horror people feel. Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- Image #2098718 over display limit. -?- Image #2118746 over display limit. -?- Image #2147967 over display limit. -?- Image #2187984 over display limit. -?- Image #2159373 over display limit. -?- Image #2164523 over display limit. -?- Image #2191828 over display limit. -?- |
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