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Resurrection is not the End Ascension:
It is Easter Monday. In the early hours of the morning the children and believers in Germany traditionally are walking in a parade with candles to represent the visits Jesus had after His Resurrection. I learned about this celebration my first year living in Germany as a missionary. I had never heard of it before. It is documented, Jesus appeared to over 500 people. This uncovered an entire new celebration for me. I have since contemplated it often. I had a tendency to throw myself into Easter, my favorite Christian holiday, and then let out this great sigh afterwards. Like… It is Finished. And I felt it was a good thing to do. And it was finished — for Sin and Satan. However, as Jesus walks around outside the tomb, He visits with people, He enters into their worlds, He touches and laughs, and eats, and sleeps. We don’t know exactly what He did or where He went. There are 10 visits recorded in our Bible with either the women Jesus knew or the disciples. Then, He leads His disciples up on the mount for the Ascension forty days after His Resurrection. There are three different theological steps that Jesus went through. Jesus’ Ascension begins with 1.) the final departure of Him from earth, 2) the going up into the clouds, 3) and then His taking his place in the final sitting at the right hand of the Father. Each of these has wonderful and powerful theological implications. But what I would like to focus on today is His taking His seat at the right hand of the Father. Dear Brothers and Sisters, You, the Family of the Most High God, Jesus sits at the right hand of Jehovah. The Son of God takes His rightfully earned place in redemption. He has redeemed us. We, by accepting Him as our Savior have the availability to come BOLDLY to the throne of Almighty God Father. The Holy, Sinless, Pure, GOD. The God who cannot be touched by any evil because even a tiny spot of evil cannot be in contact with Him, consequently we as sinners were never going to get near Him. We were never going to have relationship with Him. We could only have judgment from His Righteous Holiness. And Yet, He loved us so much He planned a Way. That Way? Through His spotless Lamb, His Son, His Beloved, His Only child we are given the opportunity to receive relationship with the God Most High. Through Jesus’ pure blood, which was shed for us, we have possibility of Father to adopted child relationship. Why is it important? We live in a fallen world. Evil is all around us. In the midst of every trial we are called to make choices to be faithful and courageous against the evil. Yes, Jesus conquered Sin and Satan. And in His conquering of those, He says rejoice in the relationship and it will bring the Fruits of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 — But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. So in the midst of this Pandemic, what Satan has meant for evil, God will use for good. How? I’m waiting to see. But while I wait, I will spend time with my Father coming Boldly to His throne and asking Him to heal me, our nation, our world. We don’t need revival as much as we need repentance; a renewed walk in deep relationship with the one and only God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through Jesus Christ’ conquering on the cross, and rising to life, and taking His seat beside the right hand of God Father we have this available. Let’s watch as He fills us with the fruits and as He shows us His Goodness. Robyn  He Has Overcome the World Because He is the I AM,
i am robyn rochelle cox Robyn & Biff Cox pray that He becomes your ALL. RR&BC,LLC © all writings are protected by copyright laws Please contact the author for any reference. Thank you to the God Who Sees - El Roi.
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Did you know singing is healthy for you? Did you know there is a little talked about nerve that connects your brain, to all your major organs. In fact, it controls your heart,, lungs, and digestive tract. It is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system in the human body. The ending part of this nerve is known as the nucleus ambiguus. It is called the Vagus nerve. It runs from you brain down your neck (jugular, carotid sheath, etc.), lungs, heart, abdomen. It conveys sensory information about the state of your body's organs to the central nervous system. It takes a little hook around the trachea and esophagus exiting then entering the diaphragm through the esophageal hiatus. Then down into your colon. It also controls a few skeletal muscles. And muscles of the Larynx (speech). This nerve has been determined to be what Ecclesiates 12:6 is referring to when the Bible reads: 6."Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the [b]spirit will return to God who gave it." Some say the golden bowl is the head (head injury), the pitcher is the lungs (lung disease) and the wheel is the heart and circulatory system (heart failure. But the most interesting one is the Silver Cord. This is the only place int he Bible this term is used. When you sing or hum this Vagus nerve reverberates throughout your entire body. It stimulates our organs and creates a healing response, as if you were exercising your heart, lungs, etc. If you stop right now and hum and throw the air up into your sinuses you can honestly feel the movement. This activity has been used to help epileptic sufferers to calm them, it has been used to calm heart rate. This is not to replace your doctor care, of course. But as a person who no longer has a voice due to a brain dysfunction, it is one of the exercises I use to continue slow healing of my esophagus muscles. Why do I bring this up in a devotional? This humming/singing exercise can be done anywhere at anytime and is proven to calm our bodies. Now, think about this. Pastor Bill has been leading us on a journey with the Israelites through Song of Ascents Psalms, 120-134. Psalm means Song. God is guiding the Israelites to sing during their journey. He is giving them songs to sing and this exercise inadvertently physically calms them. That is the way God is. He knows the science behind his instructions. i.e. washing of the hands, cleansing of animals before eating, etc... and He knows we don't know how intricately we are made. As we begin to walk through this journey of COVID 19. Remember, God is available to help you through these days. Praise Him in Song. Trust Him. He knows what He is doing. Please be encouraged by this information. Recognize that God even gave us singing and praise to calm our hearts and our minds. Take a moment to lift up a song to the Great Almighty Creator — Jehovah.  Because He is the I AM, i am robyn rochelle cox Robyn & Biff Cox pray that He becomes your ALL. RR&BC,LLC © all writings are protected by copyright laws Please contact the author for any reference. Thank you to the God Who Sees - El Roi. Dependency? What do we depend on? Dependency, is it a big deal? If we were walking down through life's journey do we recognize what makes us, us? What does it mean, anyway? Why do we need it? What’s the big deal? Aren’t we educated capable competent individuals? Do we have to keep going back to square one and talk about dependence? On what or whom we are dependent upon?What are we leaning on for our strength, our support, our identity? I sometimes want to just learn this and get on with it…The disciples seem to have been on this same train of thought in Mark 6. We find that they asked a few questions of Jesus themselves. As we enter into the text of Mark 6:30 we notice that the disciples have come back from a journey and they are tired. Jesus beckons them to “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.” And they proceeded to climb on a boat and head for a lonely place by themselves. Seeking Rest – how many of us can relate to that? The multitude follows Jesus, running to meet Him. Some recognize Him. Recognize. What a powerful word. Recognize – to be familiar with, to know, to identify. Do you think that the disciples recognize Jesus? Truly recognizing requires relationship. Our text makes it clear that Jesus recognized the multitudes. He likens them to sheep without a shepherd. He has compassion on them and began to teach them many things. In verse 36 the disciples confront Jesus and request some relief. “send them away… so that they might get something to eat.” Now, my first thought has always been that the disciples were a bit frustrated with the whole multitude situation; however, I wonder – could it be that the disciples were actually feeling some compassion for the multitudes as well? Think about it. They had come in from a journey, were excited about telling Jesus of the results of ministry, but they still hadn’t gotten anything to eat. They knew how hungry they were. Could it be that they were concerned about how hungry the multitude might be? Could it be that they too were feeling a bit of compassion for the multitudes? Could it be that they were frustrated with Jesus for not seeing the need and taking care of it? They make this request and Jesus challenges them, “You give them something to eat!” Stop for a moment and step into those disciple’s shoes. They are trying very hard to solve the situation. They don’t want to spend money. Wow! I wonder if they were having difficulty raising support? It could be that they don’t want to accumulate one more transportation story to share around the campfire later on during the evening… who knows. The inadequacy overwhelms them and they break. They retort with a short curt answer. Let me be very clear about this: They retort to the Master of the Universe with a short curt answer. They obviously don’t recognize who He really is. But, they do have a relationship with Him. They know Him well enough to feel comfortable to question. They know Him well enough to feel free to question. And as soon as they do, Jesus guides and directs. How many loaves do you have? Go look!” What are your resources? This seems to be the question that He keeps asking me. Robyn Rochelle Eubanks-Cox, what are your resources?????? And I like the disciples come up short. They return with five loaves and two fishes. Five loaves and two fishes to feed a multitude. I think it is quite interesting here that in verse 38 the disciples gather together five loaves and two fishes and then Jesus commands them all to recline on the green grass – and after reclining they are in companies of hundreds and fifties. Does Jesus want us to know in our present time how drastically low the available resources were for the need? Let’s read verse 41. And He took the five loaves and two fish and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them and he divided the two fish among them all. Jesus took the opportunity to model dependency on God. He could have given the multitude a feast without asking for a blessing, my goodness! He could have given the multitude a feast without giving them food!!!!! He could have turned His hand and each one of those people could have had their bellies filled to overflowing. He could have. But He didn’t. Instead, He began to break the bread up and the fish up and the disciples carried the baskets out amongst the multitudes and Jesus KEPT giving them to the disciples. They kept coming back for more and more and more. Feeding five men is a task. Stop and think about feeding five thousand. The resources were insufficient. But were they really? Or was this just that the disciples were depending on the wrong resource? WHO is our resource? Jesus reveals that He is the final and full resource available. When we keep coming back to Him, He keeps giving us what we need to live. But wait. In verse 42 we read, “And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces and also of the fish.” Jesus is such a gracious teacher. He takes this opportunity to allow the disciples to enter into ministry with Him, to learn to depend on their true resource, to open one more door to understanding who He really is, and to feeding the five thousand with His words and food. But He is more than just a gracious teacher. He is the all sufficient God. And He tucks this story in the pages of His book for us to understand that today as we are moving down our journey, we too will become frustrated with being tired, being money conscience, being hungry physically and spiritually, but the dependency issue will never be a past issue. It is one that He will continue to use to reveal Himself to us. He so wants us to depend on Him, to Really Recognize HIM! Because He is the I AM,
i am robyn rochelle cox Robyn & Biff Cox pray that He becomes your ALL. RR&BC,LLC © all writings are protected by copyright laws Please contact the author for any reference. Thank you El Roi. Zephaniah This is a book of the bible many glaze over, if not for the odd sound of the name, for the brevity of the verses. It is a small book. Only three chapters, after Habakkuk and before Haggai, at the end of the Old Testament. Who needs it? The first time that Zephaniah became introduced to me was at my commissioning service with a European mission organization. I was Forty-Nine years young and they read Zephaniah 3:14-20 It was read over me after the actual commissioning, as a sending verse. The woman that read it over me had spent a great deal of time finding out about my life history. The first verses she read, 14 and 15 were like a warm oil being poured over my head. 14. Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, oh daughter of Jerusalem! 15. For the LORD will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the LORD himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over and you will never again fear disaster." Zeph 3:14,15 NLT Doesn't that sound empowering? And it was. Until I had troubles. Of course! Trust me as a foreigner in a country that I didn't know either the culture nor the language, there was trouble and it did not take long for it to find me. My first few days in Germany, the woman that was to be over me let me stay in her home. But, she left the country after only days. Her husband left, Her daughter left. I was in a place I could not drive, I could not speak, and I could not read signs, papers, AND, I couldn't write. I'm a writer. And I know this sounds incredibly trite - I could not write. I had no pens. I have a fettish — pens. Yes, that is my fettish. I love great pens. My pet peeve is a poor pen. What makes a poor pen? 1) the flow, 2) the feel of it in my hand, 3) how much time does it take to dry on the page? If anyone understands this fettish, you get where I am coming from. I arrived at this woman's home and got a tiny bit acquainted with the way things work there in her home in this foreign place. Things like, don't use the bathtub, the water costs too much, to open the windows every day for 10 minutes to Luft (let the air in) the apartment. I set up a checking account with the help of the woman. She drove me around town. I was in a complete fog. I know she was doing the best she could. But, I was lost. Unwilling to cry 'I give' I muddled through. The woman and her family left and I began roaming their home without any anchor. I looked outside. It was snowing. January is not such a great time to move to the Black Forest mountains. A woman from an American school came by for tea once and a sweet young girl took me under her wing, checking on me more often than that. As a writer, I both wanted and needed to write everything I was experiencing in a journal. ALAS! I was days behind. My exit off of the plane in Switzerland had not been an easy one. Exhausted and befuddled from the long journey and time change, I arrived and exited the plane in in the wee hours of the morning, In my confusion of exiting the plane, I left my pens in the pocket of the seat in front of me. My entire pen bag. L.e.f.t.! Lost - gone forever, these pens I had thought about taking, these pens I had kept out of my baggage so they wouldn't break their cartridges, these pens that were my babies. GONE! I didn't even realize I didn't have them until the family was gone. Then I scrummaged through cabinets, drawers, everywhere to try and find a decent pen. There were none. This family obviously did not have a fettish for pens. And I was lost. Now, how silly was that? I knew there was a store down the road a mile or so. A few days into my stay, the snow stopped falling and I decided to venture out and go the the PENNY (a grocery store) and buy a pen. Easy, right? Not so much. I walked to the store. It was cold, but, I had dressed well. I got to the store with red cheeks and runny nose. Nothing could have prepared me for a German grocery store in rural Germany. Small, quiet, and selective. I searched for a pen. I went up and down the aisles. There were less choices than I had ever seen. Only a few products available of each brand. And the prices were confusing. I picked up some snacks I hoped would be what the pictures on the labels showed, because I could not read the labels. I walked to the cashier, swallowed my fear and asked, do you have any pens? I asked this in English LOL! The cashier was blank-faced They called a young girl over that was stacking groceries close by. She translated for me (as I used a miming of writing in front of her). And then...the answer. Oh no we don't sell those. You have to go to a special store for those, we don't have them here. "Which store? Where do I go?" Her response, "No we don't have that kind of store in our town." I was stopped. I was more than whipped. I was shaken. No pen, no way to buy a pen, my culture shock had just begun. It is such a small thing, but as I was told beforehand, it's the small things that come up and bite you in the face in a foreign culture shock. Why you ask? It was a pen, not anything of any importance. Why was this little thing sending me over the edge? I was supposed to have no troubles, my troubles were supposed to be over. Now, even though I had received these verses, I still didn't embrace them unto myself. I had not really understood what God was saying to me. I didn't really get what God was trying to teach me until later. We will always have troubles. Until the end days are over. I knew that. This wasn't even about that. God was teaching me a very simple truth. What God showed me during those next ten years on the mission field. Be Glad! You will never again fear disaster. Since 2006, when I sold everything and left my career and my adult children in the United States. I have found that I wallow less in the fear of disaster. Am I over that? No, not completely, yet. Fear is stagnating. It is overpowering, It is the beginning of the end of any valuable project. Satan plays with it. He slams it in our faces. He uses it to manipulate us to stop what we are called to do and succumb to not doing much of anything. No not much of anything at all. Does that mean our calling must be some great over the top mission? NO. Does that mean our calling must be famous? NO. It simply means our calling, whether that is to take care of little ones at home, or build a business of public influence, must be ours and cannot be anyone else's. God set that calling aside for you. I've heard some people say, God doesn't need us. And He doesn't. He can grow someone else into the person that will do whatever He has needed to be done. But, with that said. It will never be what He planned for you to do. It will have a different flavor, a different look, a different feel. It cannot be the calling that He called you to, because you are not a part of the recipe that completes the call. You are unique. He made you unique for a reason. He wants you that way. Only your personality, gifts and genius can be applied to your calling. If someone else does it, it is their calling, not yours. I'm 63 years old. I have lived much. I have lived many places, and worn many hats. But, as for my calling? Here it is: Share with the world the Joy of intimate relationship with God. Invite them to come with me and to spread the Good News. God gave me that call when I was 30. He has been honing it for 33 years. Learning not to fear disaster gave me courage, to raise my kids by myself with the help of the LORD, and a very gracious loving church body, to sell everything and go onto the mission field trusting that God would provide the finances to do so, to stay chaste in this world where chastity is not valued, and to give my all to the one man that He brought into my life (at 58) to be my forever love. With these words from Zephania I've learned to refuse to fear disaster. I embrace the JOY of His delight in me. The LORD lives among us. He is right here with Biff and I at BlueMoon (our little haven.) His calling is constantly morphing me bringing a deeper and deeper walk with Him into adventure. And as I step out in faith to follow (i.e. continuing providing a place for people to gather and share His word, as well as, write novels that confirm that true love happens.) I will find Him smiling down upon me and Him keeping the fear of disaster away. I hope you will find this place of JOY as well. Fear is not of the LORD! Because He is the I AM,
i am robyn rochelle cox Robyn & Biff Cox pray that He becomes your ALL. RR&BC,LLC © all writings are protected by copyright laws Please contact the author for any reference. Thank you El Roi. When faced with the brevity of life, one begins to count the moments. As you might have read, I had a heart attack a few months ago. I am finally in the afterglow of the ordeal. No, mine was not as bad as some of those who have gone before, but it was a major heart attack brought on by extreme sadness. That happens sometimes after a long drought. In these months since this heart attack, other things have caught us off guard. Our kitchen had a tiny leak in the ice-maker hose. It collected behind the wall and filled the floor, dropping our workroom ceiling in the basement on the floor! This was over months. Consequently, we've been without anything in our kitchen since end of May. Cooking with no sink, counters, cabinets, stove, microwave, is quite impossible. LOL! Due to these life issues that have eeked into our world. We have been delinquent in our blogs. We will return soon. Please remember if I'm not here. Please pray for me and my wonderful husband Biff when we are not here. Trust me - something is happening to keep me away. I will return SOON! I miss our time together. As for our community, we have continued daily. We reached 1,000 days of reading the bible and reflecting on it together this week. What a joy! I am looking forward to feeling better and writing and contemplating the Word with you here, soon. I am not as bad as I was, however, I am also not as good as I will be. I am amazed at how God is healing this body. Heart attacks are not fun, and not easy. But, God seems to have a reason for me to be on this earth still. And one of those is for me to be here, sharing about His greatness, mercy and love. I would appreciate your prayers and your support. Come and join us on our daily log in page and read the word with several of us every day. Letting the word change our hearts from inside out is an exciting and powerful journey. Thank you for stopping by. Come back soon to the blog. But consider joining us on our third year in this endeavor to read and reflect on the Word of God every day within a community designed for unity, growth and support.  Because He is the I AM, i am robyn rochelle cox Robyn & Biff Cox pray that He becomes your ALL. RR&BC,LLC © all writings are protected by copyright laws Please contact the author for any reference. Thank you El Roi. Christmas. Lights are lit. Wreaths hung. Cookies made. Presents ordered. Mom's not here. Dad's not either. Kids building their own family traditions -- blessed they love us so. Friends from ages ago still remember. Cards are gathering, stacked and displayed. Nativity scene is placed. Tree speaks of decades of memories. Rain and cold and sometimes snow. Just like King David and Abraham of olden days, we bring our love and our lives - what He wants. They were too early in time to lay down gold, or incense, or myrh. We, also, are too late for the birth to adore. We join these spiritual giants as best as we can to give what He wants, who we are, and what we have. And we know He receives us as broken and bruised and in return He completes us into whole and healed. Being honest and open wasn't easy for David, wasn't fun for Abraham But by giving our all we find rest in Him. May we focus on this every day we live. by: Robyn Rochelle Eubanks-Cox aka Nellie Jane Romance aka RoRoEbenezer but my true identity: Child of God, Daughter of the King Be blessed friend, be blessed. What a quandary! We fly our flag high today in the USA. As we should. But the importance of inner dependence upon God escapes us, shore to shore. We fight against the very dependence that offers us independence. The daily walk with God gives us the ability to know who we are as His children. God's guidance, total dependence, is paramount to our becoming independent from slavery. Without God we are slaves to every selfish desire known to man. Without recognizing our need to seek Him we flail in this world that casts shadows of hope but never delivers. Hope cannot be placed on another person, a job, a move, an income, or even a nation. Our hope can only be built on the firm foundation of the Rock of Jesus Christ. And even more tragic, what I detect in our world today, the largest travesty, the greatest farce: The commercial of Hope Within Self. The Hope that is built on Jesus, the GUIDANCE available to us every day, the peace that comes as I walk this life with my husband — this is the way to independence. When I know who I am in Him, I make moment by moment decisions that open my mouth to words of love and close them to words of hate. I protect my heart from being darkened by evil and turn into the Light. When I know who I am in Him, instant gratification is unnecessary as I realize He gives in His timing what is best for me. When I know who I am in Him, lies, theft, murder, broken commitments, even self importance all become painful in my mind and in my heart; moving me down the road to healing. Healing relationships, ethics, and nations one person at a time. Healing and Wholeness. These are the offerings we receive as we enter into dependence on the Great God Who Is. OH IF ONLY! If only our communities could understand the benefits of being in relationship with Him. If only our communities could understand the glories He desires to share of Himself as we enter into dependence upon Him. Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering (patience), Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control. All of these are the benefits of dependence upon God. When I am dependent upon God
Please seek Him before that doorway is forever closed. Paul says this so well in Galatians 5. Here it is from the Amplified Version of the Bible: Copied from Bible Gateway 5 It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed]. 2 Notice, it is I, Paul, who tells you that if you receive circumcision [as a supposed requirement of salvation], Christ will be of no benefit to you [for you will lack the faith in Christ that is necessary for salvation]. 3 Once more I solemnly affirm to every man who receives circumcision [as a supposed requirement of salvation], that he is under obligation and required to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, if you seek to be [a]justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God] through the Law; you have fallen from grace [for you have lost your grasp on God’s unmerited favor and blessing]. 5 For we [not relying on the Law but] through the [strength and power of the Holy] Spirit, by faith, are waiting [confidently] for the hope of righteousness [the completion of our salvation]. 6 For [if we are] in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but only faith activated and expressed and working through love. 7 You were running [the race] well; who has interfered and prevented you from obeying the truth? 8 This [deceptive] persuasion is not from Him who called you [to freedom in Christ]. 9 A little [b]leaven [a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers] leavens the whole batch [it perverts the concept of faith and misleads the church]. 10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view [contrary to mine on the matter]; but the one who is disturbing you, whoever he is, will have to bear the penalty. 11 But as for me, [c]brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision [as I had done before I met Christ; and as [d]some accuse me of doing now, as necessary for salvation], why am I still being persecuted [by Jews]? In that case the stumbling block of the cross [to unbelieving Jews] has been abolished. 12 I wish that those who are troubling you [by teaching that circumcision is necessary for salvation] would even [go all the way and] castrate themselves! 13 For you, my brothers, were called to freedom; only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the [e]sinful nature (worldliness, selfishness), but through [f]love serve and seek the best for one another. 14 For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is fulfilled in one precept, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, you shall have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit].” 15 But if you bite and devour one another [in bickering and strife], watch out that you [along with your entire fellowship] are not consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the [g]sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts]. 17 For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the [h]sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do. 18 But if you are guided and led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law. 19 Now the practices of the [i]sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), 20 [j]idolatry, [k]sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], 21 envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the [l]sinful nature together with its passions and appetites. 25 If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit]. 26 We must not become conceited, challenging or provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5 If we helped you in any way share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Because He is the I AM, i am robyn rochelle cox Robyn & Biff Cox pray that He becomes your ALL. RR&BC,LLC © all writings are protected by copyright laws Please contact the author for any reference. Thank you El Roi. This is a repeat of a blog written earlier. I am thankful for your visits. It makes me aware that God is not finished with me yet. There are people, YOU, that are reading and being encouraged by the words of this simple missionary/mentor/lover of God. Please feel free to comment. Weekly posts are returning. Right now, I work very hard on the daily writings for our members, blog posts, and short inspirational autobiographical stories. I write Miracles and AHA moments from a life of loving God. I am self-publishing and these will be available here in our store soon. I am also writing a new novel. I lean into Jesus for restoration of my body. Severe heart attack means rethinking priorities in one's life. I live here now. I am so thankful for God who is not finished with me yet. Robyn please ponder over the blogpost below  I Keep Coming Back to This Picture. It is Appropriate and Real - Do You Believe? Respectful and relational knowledge and usage of the names of God removes us from being psychologically indifferent to the great I AM. Books and studies on the names of God range from difficult and theologically driven to simple definitions. From The Power of God's Names by Tony Evans, Minister of Oak Cliff Bible Church in Dallas, Texas, to Lord I Want to Know You Precepts Ministries founded by Kay Arthur. And even Pinterest posts listing and defining the Names of God. Just do a search on Pinterest, Google or Amazon and you will see a plethora of books, studies, blogs dealing with this topic. These are usually powerful and helpful, if not for the writing of the author, the simple truth that studying God's names is a powerful concept. However, I bring this before you, not to talk about the different meanings and insights of God's character through His name. Instead, I would like to take a look at how we as a culture have desensitized ourselves to God by removing His name and or defaming His name in our vocabulary and in our daily lives. In the psychology of dehumanization we see two dynamics being twisted:
Could we take this one step further and think about how we view God's name? You as an employee on a job, a family member, a neighbor. Us as a culture. As a country. As a world. How do we view God's name? How do we relate to Him? First, I wonder if our world has not come to the place where we have so desensitized ourselves to the names of God we are deaf to the still small voice that calls out in us? Do we understand God's essence is as El Elyon (the God Most High)? Second, I wonder if our world has not come to the place where we have so desensitized ourselves to the names of God we are raising our own importance by degrading His Name in curse words, degrading comments. Even simply a word of exclamation destroys the importance of the name? How would you feel if every time your husband smashed his hand with a hammer he shouted out in frustration and anger your name? By doing either of these, and not taking His Name as important, nor personal, nor powerful, nor worthy, we stand on the brink of travesty. Instead of learning His names and using His names to communicate with Him we show that we are not desiring to know Him intimately. What a shame. What sadness. He desires to be known. After all one of his names is Abba, Daddy. There is a little story I've heard about John John, President John F. Kennedy's son. When President Kennedy was in office there was a photograph taken of JohnJohn playing underneath his desk in the Oval Office. President Kennedy was meeting with important people. Think about it. These very important people had to walk through all sorts of check points to be validated before moving into the Oval Office for a meeting with the President. But JohnJohn, President Kennedy's little boy, had sped past them all. Running down the hallway, he entered with abandon into his father's lap and slipped down under the desk to play with his father's shoelaces. There was no hesitancy, no fear, no anguish. Not one person tried to stop him. They couldn't. He, little JohnJohn, belonged. He was playing at his daddy's feet. And because JohnJohn knew President Kennedy as Daddy, JohnJohn got preferential treatment. What we are missing by desensitizing ourselves from God's intimate names. Even as believers we are negligent in learning them, sharing them, calling out to El Roi, the God who Sees. Or Jehovah Jireh, The God who Provides. How many of us seeking peace cry out to Jahweh-Shalom, or healing ask our precious Great Physician, Yahweh Rapha? And when we think of Jesus do we understand that the name Jesus means the God who Saves? And Immanuel means God with us. Oh how even His names cry out to us for relationship. Take some time to get to know God. Take some time and get to know His Names. They are powerfully personal. He waits patiently for you to call Him. If we helped you in any way share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. Because He is the I AM, i am robyn rochelle cox Robyn & Biff Cox pray that He becomes your ALL. RR&BC,LLC © all writings are protected by copyright laws Please contact the author for any reference. We appreciate your honesty. RR&BC,LL© All writings protected by copyright laws.
Contact author or link to this page or website if you use or reference. “What shall I say? Father, save me, from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.” John 12:27-29 RV “My attitude as a saint to sorrow and difficulty is not to ask that they may be prevented, but to ask that I may preserve the self God created me to be through every fire of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself in the fire of sorrow; He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour. We say that there ought to be no sorrow, and we have to receive ourselves in its fires, If we try and evade sorrow, refuse to lay our account with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life; it is no use saying sorrow ought not to be. Sin and sorrow and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them. Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness, but it does not always make a man better. Suffering either gives me my self or it destroys my self. You cannot receive your self in success, you lose your head; you cannot receive your self in monotony, you grouse. The way to find your self is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be so is another matter, but that it is so is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You always know the man who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself; you are certain you can go to him in trouble and find that he has ample leisure for you. If a man has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous; he has no time for you. If you receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.” By: Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest I sit on the windowed porch in the deep East Texas woods, watching the yard bunny hop in its leisure across the yard as the squirrel waits patiently on the chain-link fence to dash across the yard and fill up, as he did yesterday, in the birdbath. The bird feeder and the hummingbird feeder have been left for me to enjoy nature through these windows. Ebenezer watches and enjoys the movement and I snuggle into the overstuffed couch with my feet up on the ottoman to read the Word and Oswald on this day. To read, to meditate, to write, to pray – that is my task for this morning. One would never guess that this soul has been through any pain at all as I sit in such luxury, blessed by generosity. And yet as I listen to my life’s days, sorrows are the marrow of them. I often say that I have been called to minister to women because I have experienced most of the pains/sorrows/injustices/abuses a woman can experience and God has been faithful in allowing me to heal and find Him in those places. He has not only seen me through them, but in His faithfulness, He has allowed me to find joy in the midst of many of them, and definitely find joy and healing in the ending of them. And they have ended. I am blessed to have had these sorrows enter my life and then be removed. I am amazed as I look back and realize that. And yet, was that the purpose from His beginning? I have lived where the women I have ministered to live. I have seen God’s hand and I share His faithfulness with them. I share with them His desire to hold them in the midst of the chaos and pain. I am a traveler on the other side of the chasm that shines a light in the darkness and cries, “Follow Jesus.” I am blessed to be “nourishment” for the women that come across my life-path, as I am blessed by the people that have been “nourishment” for me on this life-path. How will I encourage them in this place that God has them? I cry: Follow Jesus.  Because He is the I AM, i am Robyn Rochelle Cox Biff and I are thankful you are here. If you want to join our membership community, daily readings and commenting available: click here RR&BC, LLC Drop by and see us anytime: Website: www.readthebiblewithrobyncox.com Email: rrandbc@readthebiblewithrobyncox.com GO WITH GOD.   In seeking His guidance I wander through the fields of my soul. These planted fields are growing in the Word of God. But? Do I bend my heart to Him? Do I stand and question against His hand? Do I look for the promises that He has given and fulfilled or question why others are still not completed? Do I glory in the miracles He alone has placed me in and through, am I aware of the miracles awaiting me in this very day? What do I do in the in-between times? These times when I am waiting for answers? Why do I even seek? Could it be that I am walking in this world simply aware that I want to be more in tune to Him? Is questioning 'How can I get there?' the goal? Is it possible that simply coming to Him and crying out "I want to know YOU better. I want to listen as You guide me. I want to be aware of You." Could it be that these are the most important actions to take in seeking Him? I will never know His perfect ways. He tells me clearly my ways are not His. But the seeking. The seeking is the juice of the experience. In seeking Him I cry out, I look under and through, I observe and evaluate. I study, and glean truths I would never have seen. I build, one brick at a time, a way to walk that comes with trust and obedience. I once was young and now I am older. I know some ways are not His. I know that some ways are. But there are still caves I am forging through. I am still battling fears. Surely if I was stronger I would not be battling these fears again. But I am not. I am human and frail. And in the midst of my frailty He holds me. He comes with His shepherd's staff and wrestles me out of my distress. He speaks over me with words like: Ps. 46 - He is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Deuteronomy 31:8 - It is the LORD who goes before me. Zephaniah 3:17 - The LORD my God is in my midst, a mighty one who will save, He will rejoice over me with gladness; He will quiet me by His love; He will exult over me with loud singing. Do I take Him at His word? For you see in Psalms 34:10 His word says: Those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. These words of encouragement are spread throughout His word and I will stand on them in this time of waiting for guidance. Because God's Guidance IS a slow and certain light.  Book recommendation: God's Guidance - A Slow and Certain Light by Elisabeth Elliot Because He is the I AM,
i am Robyn Rochelle Cox Biff and I are thankful you are here. If you want to join our membership community, daily readings and commenting available: click here RR&BC, LLC Drop by and see us anytime: Website: www.readthebiblewithrobyncox.com Email: rrandbc@readthebiblewithrobyncox.com GO WITH GOD. |
Robyn Rochelle Cox
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