Lord, as we start this new study into Your character may it be to glorify You alone and draw each of us closer to Your Kingdom. Lead us Father into a deeper understanding of who You are and what You want to be in our lives. You have promised in Your word to be our teacher, so we stand on this promise in thankfulness. IJN<P>The many names of God reveal His character, these are not mere titles but His own description of Himself.<BR>The knowledge of God is ESSENTIAL for the believer. In the Book of Philippians, Paul speaks of the goal of his life "That I may know Him." (Phil. 3:10) The prophet Hosea states that it is for "lack of knowledge" that we are destroyed.<P>QUESTION?<BR>How do you visualize God in your thoughts? Can you picture Him? Since it is impossible to describe God in human terms, how would you describe Him to someone?<P>QUESTION?<P>Where do we turn when we face crisis in our lives? Who do we run to when we feel the earth slipping from beneath us? Do you know the God who is able to keep you from falling?<P>God speaks to us of who He is and leads us to understand His actions on our behalf through His many descriptive names.<P>"The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runs into it and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)<P>Let us take our fears, insecurities, broken lives, confusion, and distress, and lay them before EL ROI....the God who sees!<P>Choose one of God's powerful names to rely on for your most immediate need. Bring your need and lay it at His feet. Let God show you of His faithfulness to His nature and ways. Share with all of us what name you chose.<P>Elohim - the Creator (Isaiah 43: 1,3,4,7)<P>El Elyon - God Most High (Deuteronomy 32:39)<P>El Roi - the God who sees (Genesis 16)<P>El Shaddai - the all Sufficient One (Gen. 17:1)<P>Adonai - the Lord (Genesis 15:2)<P>Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide (Genesis 22:1-19<P>Jehovah Rapha - the Lord that heals (Jeremiah 8:22, Exodus 15:22-27, Psalms 147:3)<P>Jehovah Nissi - the Lord my banner (Exodus 17:15)<P>Jehovah Shalom - The Lord is peace (Judges 6:22-24, Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:4-7,8,9)<P>Jehovah Shammah - the Lord is there (Ezekiel 48:35)<P>"Those who know Your Name will trust You." Psalm 9:10<P>

Before I came to know God through His Son I thought of Him as something very imposing and stern. God to me was to be feared in the wrong way. Now I know that to fear Him is to realize He deserves my worship and total respect, to revere Him as the Creator and Sustainer of life.<P>If I were to describe God for someone today I would refer to Him as a spiritual presence, revealed to us through Jesus Christ. I would have to rely on what Jesus did when he walked on earth in order to describe the Father.<P>I do run to God when I am in trouble and I am thankful that I know He is there to run to. I don't think I would of survived my husbands infidelity if I had not known there was a God who loved me and was there for me.<P>That is why my favorite name for God is EL ROI, the God who really sees. My vision is limited to what is right in front of me, God's vision is from the beginning of time until the end. He sees things how they really are, I see things distorted by human nature, specifically mine. I can trust that God knows things far better then I do and will show me what concerns me. I can trust Him with the unknown and rest in His knowledge of what really is going on.<P>God allowed my life to be turned upside down, but in so doing He has a perfect plan for me and that is to learn to lean solely on Him. I had my h as my idol.......God is a very jealous God and no one, not even your husband can be before Him. I needed to learn that lesson.<P>EL ROI.....the God Who really sees (Gen. 16:13)<p>[This message has been edited by Taj (edited November 06, 2000).]

For a long time, God seems like a Creator whose Majesty is evident in the nature that surrounds us, and whose Presence was in the faith of my being. Fellow Christians have testified of the Fear of God, Faith in God, Worship of God, Trust in God, and Love of God. I used to see God as Creator through my Faith because it was very difficult to explain to nonbelievers and even myself what God really is. I prayed for even more faith all the time to counter that lack from my WS and others who saw God as distant and rather unreal.<P>After my WS's A was revealed, my faith reached a high point and I understand that God was the One True God who gave us His Beloved Son Jesus to cleanse us of our sins, and that Jesus came down to go through the temptations so that He knows our sufferings and feelings first hand. It was also through the storm of my WS's A and the birth of my child that I understand that the purpose of our lives is to WORSHIP GOD because ALL GLORY IS TO GOD. "everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory" (Isaiah 43:7).<P>Since the discovery of my WS's A, my description of God to others have been so very different. Sometimes I am afraid to tell others for fear that they do not believe me but I think that by not telling the truth of the visions and dreams, I will only be hiding the truth. Jesus knows how much each of His children can take and it really took a lot (visions of the A, dreams of messages, hearing His voice very frequently) that kept me from taking my own life and harming my baby. I heard His Loving voice and saw His Compassionate face through the storm. <P>Jesus knows our every weakness and He is Compassionate. Even at my lowest, with my faith at close to zero after months of fights with my WS concerning God's visions, God reached out to heal me of my Emotional trauma.<P>As is described, God is every wonderful thing that is described, as well as a Fearsome God and that is why we need to seek His Face, too. In the main, I would strive to WORSHIP GOD, because that is how I ought to PRAISE GOD for giving us His Son Jesus and for seeing, comforting, healing, loving, caring, and being all-knowing of every one of his billions and more creations.<P>"Tis far better to have heard God's voice than to have the love of man" was the message that I received a few days after the A was exposed. It is life-changing and purpose-enhancing when one knows there really is eternal life after this worldly walk. <P><BR>

JEHOVAH - SHALOM..the Lord is peace<P>In light of Karenna's loss of little Charles and of course the turmoil our nation is in over this Presidential election, I was in need of a touch from the Lord this morning. I grieve with Karenna over her loss and cried as I read her post. If I felt such loss I can imagine what she and her family are feeling. Looking over my list of God's names I quickly grabbed this one to hang on to today.<P>"Be anxious for nothing but by everything with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known onto God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.....The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace (Jehovah-Shalom) shall be with you. (Phil 4:6,9)<P>These are encouraging words but words alone unless we take hold of them and stand on them as promises. God is faithful and if He says it then that settles it.<P>Tears and turmoil may surround us but we have the God of all creation to give us the "peace that passes all understanding".<P>This is what I ask for Karenna and her family today as well as our country and each woman on this forum who finds herself in any degree of anxiety today.<P>In Jesus Name

Jehovah Rapha - the Lord that heals <P>PS 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted<BR> and binds up their wounds.<P> PS 147:5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;<BR> his understanding has no limit.<P>I guess this is where I am at right now. Learning about the great healer who can heal my heart and my marriage and whose understanding has no limit. The One who listens to my heart and loves me anyway. Who provides comfort in the midst of my circumstances and teaches me about contentment.<P>PR 15:30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.<P>As I imagine the Lord looking down on me with what I know about Him, He gives me that cheerful adoring look, the apple of the Father's eye and He instructs that good news that He will be with me always, that He loves me unconditionally, that nothing happens to me that He doesn't know about in advance. Just knowing that He already knows brings me comfort and the courage to go through the trial since I also know that He disciplines those He loves and if I didn't need to learn something, He would never allow such things to happen in my life. I find comfort knowing that discipline is different from punishment. He isn't punishing me, but loving me.<P>He tirelessly expends energy in teaching me, never gives up on me, is willing to heal in those areas that I relinguish to Him and chuckles at my foolishness for holding on tightly to other areas that need to be relinquished to Him. His will prevails, so I only prolong my own agony by not allowing Him to heal me in those areas immediately in His way, in His time, for His purpose. My own agenda is so short-sighted.<P>Karenna, already emailed you, so you know how much I admire your willingness to be vulnerable and open with us through your pregnancy and the healing of your marriage, sharing your heart with us and showing us how God was softening and molding you. I feel so blessed and I too look forward to meeting Charles in heaven for he certainly was one specially used little guy. May Jehovah Rapha pour an umbrella of protection over you during this time and bind your family ever tighter together for His glory.

I have been having a real hard time posting. If I let the computer sit for a minute before I type again, when I push the back space, into cyber space it goes. I do not understand. And it is driving me nuts.<P>I too must choose El Roi, the God who Sees All.<BR>This is the God I turned to last week when I so desired vindication for things said and believed about me. Hurting, and wanting vindication which I found is not mine but the Lord's to have. In His wisdom and timimg it will come. <P> All this is evidence that God's judgement is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just; He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us all. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power on the day He comes to be glorified in His Holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. (2Thessalonias 1:5-10)<P>God saw and heard the words and the sin against me. He will vindicate me in His time, in his way. There is forgiveness in Jesus. Also we must know that He is sovereign. In His sovereignty He permitted it. He will use it for good.<P> Those who know Your name will trust in You, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You. (Psalm 9:10)<P>This name for God, El Roi, first appears in the Bible in the story of Haggar. God meets Hagar in the desert and tells her to go back and deal with the situation. She had been a runaway; betrayed hurting, used for another's pleasure, thrown away, and feeling used. (Genesis 16)<P>But He is the omnipresent God who sees all. He does not sleep. He does not close His eyes.<P>Where can I go from Your Spirit?<BR>Where can I flee from Your presence?<BR>If I go up to the heavens, You are there;<BR>If I make my bed in the depths, You are there.<BR>If I rise on the wings of the dawn,<BR>If I settle on the far side of the sea,<BR>even there Your hand will guide me,<BR>Your right hand will hold me fast.<P>If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me<BR>and the light become night around me,"<BR>even the darkness will not be dark to you;<BR>the night will shine like the day,<BR>for darkness is as light to You.<P>For You created my inmost being;<BR>you knit me together in my mother's womb.<BR>I praise You because I am fearfully and <BR>wonderfully made;<BR>Your works are wonderful,<BR>I know that full well.<BR>My frame was not hidden from You<BR>When I was made in the secret place.<BR>When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,<BR>Your eyes saw my unformed body.<BR>All the days ordained for me<BR>were written in Your book<BR>before one of them came to be.<BR> (Psalm 139:7-16)<P>In the name of El Roi we see two of God's attributes. <BR> omniscience- all knowing<BR> omnipresence- present at all times, all<BR> places<P>I lift up my eyes to the hills-<BR>where does my help come from?<BR>My help comes from the Lord,<BR>the Maker of heaven and earth.<P>He will not let your foot slip-<BR>He who watches over you will not slumber;<BR>indeed, He who watches over Israel<BR>will neither slumber nor sleep.<P>The Lord watches over you-<BR>the Lord is your shade at your right hand;<BR>the sun will not harm you by day,<BR>nor the moon by night.<P>The Lord will keep you from all harm-<BR>He will watch over your life;<BR>the Lord will watch over your coming <BR>and going both now and forever more.<P> (Psalm 121)<P>This Psalm is so comforting to me. I had forgotten it until I looked it up for this. He is a great God. I love the line that says "He will watch over your life." <P>So I have to ask myself, "Why do I need vindication? Why do I not trust my God more?" It got me thinking and there was much to go to God for.<P>For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, <BR>and He examines all his paths. (Proverbs 5:21)<P>Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)<P>Because we know God as El Roi we can wait in peace KNOWING He watches and He sees.<P>The Lord said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled." (Jeremiah 1:12)<P>David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,<P>"Praise be to You, O Lord, <BR>God of our Father Israel, <BR>from everlasting to everlasting.<BR>Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power<BR>and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,<BR>for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.<BR>Yours, O LOrd, is the kingdom;<BR>You are exalted as head over all.<BR>Wealth and honor come from You;<BR>You are the ruler of all things,<BR>In Your hands are strength and power<BR>to exalt and give strength to all.<BR>Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.<P>Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand.<P>(1 Chronicles 29:10-13, 14b)<P><BR>The Lord appeared to him at night and said:<BR> I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifices....<BR> 2 Chronicles 7:12<P>"See now that I myself am He! <BR>There is no god besides me. <BR>I put to death and I bring to life,<BR>I have wounded and I will heal,<BR>and no one can deliver out of my hand."<BR>(Deuteronomy 32:39)<P>He sees, past, present and future.<P>How much safer can we be? <BR>Who more than Jesus can we trust?<BR>Why would I entertain any worry at all?<P>Hebrews exhorts us<P>"We must pay more careful attention, therefore to what we have heard, so we do not drift away. (2:1)<P>Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. (3:1)<P><BR>Jesus sees all, and He knows all. Not even things in the darkness are hidden from Him, because light nd darkness are the same to HIm.<P>He is the light that lights my way. He is my hope, my faith, my strength, my comfort, and most of all He is El Roi....<p>[This message has been edited by hw (edited November 08, 2000).]

<B>2CO 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.</B><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>2Cor. 1:3-4 Paul generally follows his salutation with thanksgiving for the divine grace evident in the lives of his converts and a summary of his prayers for them. Here, however, he offers praise to God for consoling and encouraging him, while later (v. 11) he solicits their prayers for himself. This atypical preoccupation with his own circumstances shows the distressing nature of the experience in Asia from which he had so recently been delivered (vv. 8-10). He highlights the aspects of God's character he had come to value in deeper measure as a result of personal need and divine response, namely, God's limitless compassion (cf. Ps 145:9; Mic 7:19) and never-failing comfort (cf. Isa 40:1; 51:3, 12; 66:13). NIV Bible Commentary<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR> Paul sees his suffering not merely as personally beneficial, driving him to trust God alone (v. 9; 12:7), but also as directly benefiting those he ministered to: "God . . . comforts [GK G4151] us . . . so that we can comfort. . . ." To experience God's help, consolation, and encouragement in the midst of all one's affliction is to become indebted and equipped to communicate the divine comfort to others in any kind of affliction or distress.<BR>

<B>QUESTION?<BR>How do you visualize God in your thoughts? Can you picture Him? Since it is impossible to describe God in human terms, how would you describe Him to someone?</B><P>I have always visualized God as a loving Father. I would describe Him as warm, loving & supportive. A safe harbor & comforting presence. Someone who loves us beyond all reason, and without our earning it. <P><B>QUESTION?<P>Where do we turn when we face crisis in our lives? </B><P>I have always found faith a bit difficult...I am by nature a person who questions everything. I tend to rely on myself for everything. However, I have been amazed at how God will lift me up when I ask humbly for his help. I see God most easily in times of joy & thankfulness and in times of trouble.<P><BR>I never knew God had so many names!<BR>I esp, like:<BR>Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide <P>and<P>Jehovah Shalom - The Lord is peace <P>Because what I often need is to be able to trust in the Lord to provide, instead of relying only upon myself, and I need to find peace in my jumbled mind.<P><BR>

Elohim.....The Lord your God[Elohim] is the God of gods...(Deuteronomy 10:17). <P>El means mighty or strong. Elohim is the name for God as Creator.<P>God is the Creator of all things and He has given us life. The follow up then stands to be, "If God has created me what is His purpose?" When we are in confusion or despair or seeking or just starting out we often cry out in anguish, "God what in the world am I doing here?" I found this question screaming from my being when I was confronted with my life falling apart. Everything I had counted on was gone, everything I trusted was empty, now what? Why am I here if only to suffer loss?<P>I truly believe that for many of us it takes tragedy to bring us to the end of ourselves and begin to seek the real purpose for our existence. Why does God bring me a family only to have it apparently snatched away? Why does a loving God allow me to see the end of a marriage which I had committed to Him from the beginning? We can all put our own questions in there and I believe the answer will end up being ultimately the same.<P>"Thus says the Lord, your Creator, O jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel....I am the Lord your God [Elohim]....you are precious in My sight....everyone who is called by My nam, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made" (Isaiah 43:1, 3-4, 7)<P>God has a purpose for you and me in our lives whether we are in turmoil or peace, and that is to bring glory to Him! You and I have been created for God's glory!<P>How are we to live if we are to bring glory to God? How should that affect our decisions, our mood, our words, our actions, our very existence? I am to live in such a way that it brings pleasure to God.<P>The very thing which was keeping me from bringing glory to God through my life was that I had placed my husband before God. The sun rose and set on my husband. He was perfect in my eyes and he could do no wrong. I was elevating my husband to a god and God could not stand for that to happen.<BR>I stood in the snow covered driveway one morning and with my bare feet freezing to the surface I screamed to the heavens for God to take my life! He didn't! He Created me and still had a plan for me even if I couldn't see it!<P>I needed to change in countless ways. But it began with my heart being ripped out of my chest through an affair. Then and only then could I see that God alone is to be worshipped, He is Elohim.....Creator.<P>Question?<BR>What is standing in the way of us bringing glory to God? What do we need to do?<P>"Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created" (Revelation 4:11)<BR>

Interesting post Taj. Funny how I was just thinking about these verses:<P> 1CO 7:32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs--how he can please the Lord. [33] But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world--how he can please his wife-- [34] and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world--how she can please her husband. [35] I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.<P>I think I have always looked at it in terms of perhaps a warning to those of us who are married about our need to be careful and not put our spouses above the Lord. Found out today that others had not even considered that possibility. I think there is some jealousy here about that.<P>Thanks for your post and vulnerability.

Thank you Taj for sharing your thoughts. I was also asked by a sister-in-Christ as to whether I 'worshipped' my WS before the A and that would constitute idolatry. <P>Yesterday, at my first counselling session with a different counsellor, very trained Christian cum professional counsellor, I was asked about how my life was before WS's adultery.<P>Two very different questions but both point to a similar answer. I had actually questioned those soon after my WS's A. My answer is that I was rather miserable! I didn't worship my H but I conformed to his way of thinking and doing and allowed him to play golf on Sundays instead of church and would back off when he became angry that I would stress that he goes to church instead. Soon, I found that I didn't want to go to church to just sing the hymns as and when. On hindsight, I realised that we didn't go to church much during his adultery and he would say 'let's go' just before the communion.<P>As SueB has pointed out, I was concerned about the H when married. When I was single, I would devour God's word and my WS admired that. After marriage, I found that it was difficult to get WS to do church things and activities. EVerything was secondary to his extended family, his golf, and his work. The in-laws meet every Sunday morning for golf and every Sunday evening for dinner. I was so alone and left out because they were a very unhappy bunch of competitive people. I thought how miserable and 'without a say' my life has become, and when I confided that to my H, he thought I was wrong that this is not enjoyable. We hardly see my family.<P>I didn't have a fulfilling life in Christ during the marriage because my WS didn't lead the family by example and would pour cold water on my prayers by saying that 'if you don't help yourself, God will not be able to help you'. He prayed too but mow I realised they were lies like during his adultery "Lord, keep us faithful as always and to eternity." <P>I failed to see the majesty of God because I had to keep fighting for my faith, and kept praying for more faith, just hanging on was all I could do. With the discovery of WS's adultery, I was shattered, broken, dead and I couldn't even help myself to do anything remotely constructive. God did all the miracles through our prayers, especially the prayers of my family - third party intercession can work wonders!<P><BR>QUESTION:<BR>WHAT IS STANDING IN THE WAY OF US BRINGING GLORY TO GOD? WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO?<P>Sin - idolatry, unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, etc. "For all hath sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".<P>When we are sick with sin, we need healing to make us whole again. I know that I couldn;t lift my hands and sing praises to the LORD when I was fighting with WS and when I was full of emotional trauma a few months after D-DAY of the adultery. I went to church but was mostly sick with all the adultery tormentors, crying quite often when I feel so broken when a song touched my heart. But I couldn't WORSHIP God, I couldn't feel the uplifting power of His Majesty, Splendour and Power. I could only think about MY PAIN.<P>In order to give God the glory He deserves, we have to be made whole again, and allow Him to work in our lives that we can be His testimonies.<P>1Peter4:13-19<BR>Dear Friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgement to begin with the family of God; and it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? <P>And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved; what will become of the ungodly and the sinner"?<P>So the, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.<P><BR>James 1:2-18<BR>Trials and Temptations<BR>Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and COMPLETE, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sae, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.<P>The brother in humble circumsatnce ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is ....blessed is the man who perserveres under trial, because he has stood te test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. <P>When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."For God cannot be tempted y evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when. by his own evil desire. he is dragged away and enticed. The nafterdesire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.<P>Don't be deceived, my dear brothers, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.<P>Finally, being happy and joyful is different - happiness is ephemeral, and joy is within us. In difficuly circumstances, we cannot be happy but we can still be joyful in the LORD, our God.<P>And with joy in our hearts, we can still worship God despite the unhappy state of our lives and hearts and minds. A brother-in-Christ told me this and it helped uplift me.<P>Prayer and fasting as well as third party intercessions are so important.<P>God bless you all<BR>weep<BR><p>[This message has been edited by weep (edited November 15, 2000).]

Weep, so true! Great verses to cling to! <P>As long as I was focused on my husband's sin, then I couldn't focus on the magnificance of God and my own sin and become the woman God desires for me to become. When the focus of my life became like the words of a song that I hold dear, "you're all I want, you're all I ever needed, you're all I want, help me know you are near" my whole focus for the battle set before me became clearer.<P>Thanks for sharing Weep. <P>

Hope it's not too late to jump into this conversation. It's been very encouraging so far. I esp. like the name El Roi....because God has been showing me how little I actually see sometimes....I feel like I see all around the perimeter of things, instead of the actual situation. God has said he wants me to see clearly, wait on Him and trust Him to bring it about.<P><B>QUESTION? How do you visualize God in your thoughts? Can you picture Him? Since it is impossible to describe God in human terms, how would you describe Him to someone?</B> <P>I see God the Father as a kind, old, wise, loving grandfather. Someone I can turn to and just be totally accepted by.<P>I see God the Son as a wiser, older brother who I can talk to any time, any place.<P><B>QUESTION? Where do we turn when we face crisis in our lives? Who do we run to when we feel the earth slipping from beneath us? Do you know the God who is able to keep you from falling?</B><P>Yes, I always end up, sooner or later, running to back God. Unfortunately, it's not always sooner! I think this whole situation with my H's infedelity and affair has made me again realize that it's only Him who is the solid rock.<P><B>QUESTION: WHAT IS STANDING IN THE WAY OF US BRINGING GLORY TO GOD? WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO?</B><P>For me, the thing that I think has stood in the way these past months is the thought that God should heal my marriage. I have finally come to realized that not matter what, healed or not, God wants me to seek Him above all and in doing that, I can glorify Him even if a miracle doesn't take place. Right now, it wouldn't really matter if my H came back or not....as long as I have God in my life, I KNOW I'll be okay and will be able to make it thru anything.<P>Well, that's about all for now. I may not always post here, but I love to lurk. Thanks all for your great input.<P>Aloha,<BR>Mrs.O<P>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hw:<BR><B>I have been having a real hard time posting. If I let the computer sit for a minute before I type again, when I push the back space, into cyber space it goes. I do not understand. And it is driving me nuts.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>HW, try turning your keyboard over and shaking out any dust or particles that may be making the keys stick. Or buy a can of that pressurized air and blow it under all th keys. <P>My computer seemed to do it's own thing and do things like mentioned and a friend of mine did this and lo, and behold...it doesn't act weird anymore. Also make sure the keys aren't being depressed by anything...i.e. the edge of the monitor, etc. <P>Just a suggestion...<BR>Aloha,<BR>Mrs.O<P>

Jehovah - mekoddishkem (M'Kiddish)<BR>"God is my sanctification" (Lev. 20:8) <BR>"I am the God who sanctifies you."<P>Seems we forgot this one and I found this to bring a smile to my face today. That God makes me holy like Jesus, past, present and future. WOW!

"You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. And you shall keep My statutes and practice them, I am the Lord who sanctifies you." (Leviticus 20:7-8)<P>This is a great one SueB, that is if we look beyond the theological words and pick it apart. The application of this scripture is actually pretty simple. It is a process! Moses uses the word "practice", just do it! Keep on trying, even when you blow it, keep on trying even when it looks impossible. We are to go about the work of being holy for God through obedience. That is the process He uses to sanctify us........through Jesus God makes us holy.....past, present and future.<P>All of our excuses go right out the window. God won't hear of us saying its too hard to walk the walk of faith because all He asks is one step of obedience before the other and He does all the rest. Becoming a Christian is not the end but the beginning, sanctification gets us ready for heaven!<P>This is where we sometimes get confused. We think the hardships of life are the dead-ends when in fact they are the very vehicles God uses to take us closer to being holy. The world says we should, "throw in the towel", "cave in".....the Devil wants us to divorce, have our own affair, or better yet, take our own life for all is lost! That is a lie from the pit of hell!<P>So, take heart when it looks like all is lost, God is really about His best work. He promises to take all of our hurts, disappointments, defeats, sins, wounds and turn them into the process which will turn us into the likeness of His Son.<P>This is awesome news and news which I desperately need to hear. <P>Are we actively pursuing holiness? Remember, its nothing we can do ourselves, it is God who causes us the "desire to do His good pleasure". Our part is to obey!<P>Jehoveh-mekoddishkem has said, "Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine." (Leviticus 20:26)<P>The response is ours to give.....