@tracy87b One has to be careful in telling a person who was hurt that it is their obligation to make things right. Forgiveness is the first step, but the victim should not be told to go back and make things right with the one who cause them the harm. It wasn't their fault to begin with. What if the person who causes the hurt in that lady's life hasn’t changed? If the lady goes back in hope to make things right, the individual to whom she returned could cause another hurt to her. The reason we forgive is not to be a friend again with the person who once harmed us, but when a person forgives, they in essence take off the weight of the pain, the sorrow and hate that arise within them whenever they think of what happened to them. When we forgive someone who brought harm to us, we say, Lord, I was hurt, I am still hurt emotionally and mentally. These feelings that I feel, I cannot overcome them, neither can I fully understand why it was done to me, or someone that I love. So, Lord, I turn it over to you. Through this, we take our mind off the one who caused the harm to us by putting our focus on the Lord. Remember, vengeance is mine says the Lord. As the result when we forgive someone of the wrong they did to us, we are no longer a victim, but victorious by taking the higher ground. The perpetrator is no longer the focus of our thoughts constantly, but now we start to see the good things in our lives for we are now looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. Gratification will be the result because we did the right thing, though it was difficult. As time goes by, where there was once the void of hate or sorrow, it will be filled with love, but we cannot obtain love when we hold on to hate, unforgiveness is hate.

Good question, it sounds simple, but it carries a deeper implication. The idea of Jonah being preserved or saved from danger, is this, the only danger Jonah was being protected from was himself. In verse one and two of the book which bears his name, we read he was told by the Lord to go to the city of Nineveh, and warn them concerning their wickedness. However, in verse three we are told, but Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa. Here is one of the lessons, whenever the child of God turns their back on the Lord, or refuse to do what they ought to do, they never progress, they digress. Though he went to Joppa, a geographical location, but the idea is that, if the Christian flees from the Lord in whichever way, they backslide, and their condition will get worse. Hence, he went down to Joppa. The adverb “down” or the phrase he went down to Joppa, typified a retrogressive deterioration of the backsliding believer, but there is always hope to those who call upon the Lord. It doesn’t matter the time or the location. Jonah was the perfect example, he called upon the Lord during what seems to be his last seconds. In so doing, the Lord will use any means to reach out and save that soul. Even if it takes a “great fish” and the “world” to be used as an instrument.

Thank you

@studentboston11 So much on here to learn. It's overwhelming in a positive way.

For an exposition concerning the verse above, there is a Law to which the Holy Spirit is allowed to work in the life of the believer. (Romans 8:2) This Law is not the Law of Moses. It is The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, derived from eternity past by the Godhead. This Law was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. This we read in 1 Peter 1:18-20. The premise of this Law is The Cross of Christ. One may ask, was the Cross before the New Testament? The Cross is throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. After the fall of Adam and Eve, when God returned to them, they hid themselves, for what they had done. The act of sin will cause men to hide themselves from the presence of God. In His willingness to help, an animal was killed its blood was shed, and its skin was used by God as a covering for Adam and Eve. This was symbolic of the Cross of Christ. As sin exposed humanity, the Grace of God would cover those who believe through the sacrifice and the shedding of Blood. The animal that was killed to cover our ancestors represent a lesser covering, but the coming of Christ to this world, from that point in time, it pointed to a better eternal covering. Christ, referring to this said, Abraham saw my day and was glad. Abraham being before Christ, saw into the future and perceive what Christ would do on the Cross for all humanity, and Abraham was glad. So should be all believers, but they must first understand the source of their victory, before they can understand how to live a victorious life. This we read again, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Through the explanation of the passage we will understand the answer to the question; How does the Holy Spirit work in the believer? First, there are two Laws in the verse above. 1. The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. 2. The Law of sin and death. The first is greater than the last, but the last is the most destructive entity. Everything the Law of sin and death touches is destroyed. The countless of lives lost throughout the ages, the blood, many of which the earth is drenched in since the blood of Abel, are all because of The Law of sin and death. However, its only antidote is The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. To further understand, let us study the verse as a whole and a phrase at a time. Why is the word Law used? By the term “Law” it implies that it is governed by a set principle, without which the Law cannot operate, or it operates against the individual. Take for an example, of the eight Laws listed in the Book of Romans, one of the Laws is the Law of Faith, every Christian abides by this Law. For without faith it is impossible to please God. The following phrase from the verse reads; of the Spirit – This implies as to how the Holy Spirit works, concerning this Law, and it is only the Holy Spirit who carries out this work in the believer. How does the Holy Spirit work? We’ll continue to read to find out how. Then comes the following phrase, in Christ Jesus – That is to say, all life is from the Lord Jesus Christ, the life of living and in this case the life of living a victorious Christian life, but this life is only brought to the Christian through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the source from God the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the means in which we receive all things. Now, the phrase in Christ Jesus refers to what Christ did on the Cross, on behalf of the believer. His death on the Cross was a sacrifice that you and I will be set free from the penalties of our sin which is death, but He dies that we may live. So as a believer, when you place your faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, there is something that happens within you supernaturally, this is the transformation of change from within. The apostle Paul said it this way, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me. Christ died, but He was resurrected. Therefore, when we placed our faith in what He did on the Cross, we in essence died with Him, but as Christ was risen with a new body, spiritually speaking we are risen too in newness of life. Consequently, our old self, which is of no good was crucified, but we come forth with a new life, or a new nature. All old things are passed away, behold all things are made new. • This is not achieved through fasting. As good as fasting is. • This is not achieved through asceticism, Christ already suffered that we may have abundant life. • This is not achieved through the laying on of hands by another. • This is not achieved by Membership to a church denomination. God in His wisdom chooses a way for the believer to achieve the new life in Christ, it is so simple that anyone, anywhere can receive, if they believe. Indeed, this is all it takes, just believe by faith. Lord, I come to You, I cannot do it on my own, my abilities to live the Christian life, though I tried, but the results are constant failures. So, Lord, I surrender to you, may the Holy Spirit work in me to lead me in all truth and transparency. What is the result of such proclamation? This is beautiful, Romans 8:1. Which reads; There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Whatsoever your past was, it is gone, no condemnation. Why? For you are in Christ Jesus, remember the phrase implies the finished work of Christ on the Cross. We do not worship the Cross as an object, but the reason of the Cross was to set you and I free. If you don’t know how you were set free, you cannot enter into the freedom and the rest thereof, and the Cross set us free. Like the hymn of old: At the Cross, at the Cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day! Then we can say . . . has made me free, from the Law of Sin and death. Destructive is the Law of Sin and death, but greater is the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. In summarizing we say, all things we receive are from God through the Lord Jesus, we can only get to Jesus through the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit can only work in us to lead us to Christ through the Cross. We can only understand the Cross through the surrendering of Self. Hence, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me. We stay in Christ, meaning the maintaining of the victorious life when we walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The flesh represents our thinking and our ability, assuming we can bring about changes through our might and will power, but this we forsake and walk after the Spirit. I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.

We all know one or two :) Jan van de Velde (the Elder) was very interesting to say the least, it is why I placed him on the list. He was a calligrapher, writing teacher, and engraver. Although you could say he was just a calligrapher, but in his calligraphy works, were beautiful, astonishing artworks. More so, the images were so detailed and of Symmetrical Balance. Considering he was from the 1600s, but his works were so perfect, it appears as if it was done by a machine rather than a man. On a personal note, all through my teen years, I vigorously practiced the art of precise details and Symmetrical Balance in my drawings, sketches and some paintings. Most adults thought it was a waste of time and uncalled for. I continue anyways. In the end, it pays off in some of my works. So, later on in life, having seen some of the works of Jan van de Velde (the Elder) it was a good feeling to know someone hundreds of years ago thought it was important to display precise details.

Hope what we do here be like an "assembling" and blessings to everyone.

Amen 🙏🏼than ever... Alleluia

What are your take on the other names? 🙂

John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I AM he, ye shall die in your sins. Here is the conflict on our part as a typical English reader. Herein, the reader likely would say, but there is nowhere within the verse above wherewith Jesus is referring to Himself as God. However, the term used by Him, with the phrase I AM, it isn’t referring to Himself as the speaker. Rather, the I AM is a title. To Further understand this, let us go back in time, to the beginning. All through the Scriptures, from the dawn of time, the names and titles of God were brought forth by the believer through the revelation of God upon their hearts for what He has done for them. For an example, Abraham found himself in a dire situation, when it seems like there was no way out, God Intervened and the situation turned out for the better. In return, one of the names of God was brought forth, which is, Jehovah Jireh – which means, the Lord will provide. There were many other examples as this. However, one of, if not the first time God reveals Himself by name to humanity was to Moses. The name in which He used to reveal Himself to mankind was the same name Jesus used in the verse above, the name I AM. The account of the first use of this name is recorded in Exodus Chapter three. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, this shall you say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you. The idea of the name I AM means, the eternal God, and whatsoever your problem is, I AM the solution. (Exodus 3:13-14) Now, back to our text, whenever the Lord Jesus used the title, I AM, in essence He was saying to the so-called religious leaders, I AM the eternal God who has the power to forgive your sins. Remember, it is only God who forgive sins, and here Christ Jesus is saying boldly, if ye believe not that I AM he, ye shall die in your sins. Notice, there is the pronoun “he” after I AM, but if you have the right Bible, the pronoun is in the italic. This is to cautiously bring attention to the English reader because there is no “he” in the original Greek text. It reads this way, Therefore I said to you, You shall die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins. One of many reasons for us to pay attention to the text, while using the right Bible.

In turns of forgiveness, if all people allude to a fellow believer and the unbeliever, yes, we ought to forgive all people. Knowing we are now what we are as Christians by God’s love toward us for the forgiveness of sin, through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we forgive others, lest we be hypocrites, living the Christian Life, which is rooted in God’s forgiveness toward us, yet we withhold forgiveness toward others. "If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done. (Matthew 6:14-15) However, there is a difference between forgiving a fellow believer and forgiving an unbeliever. When you as a believer forgive an unbeliever, you are not obligated to have a friendship or relationship with them. This also applies to a degree to a believer as well. If you forgive another believer, thereafter, the believer turns back and do the same thing repeatedly over and over as you forgive them. Do not hold any animosity toward them, but it is in your best interest to stay away from them.

The life, as we know it, is in the blood of the individual. (Leviticus 17:11) Without the Blood there is no life. When the Christian speaks of being redeemed by the Blood of Jesus, this basically means that we have been saved by His sacrificed life. The blood makes atonement for the soul. Meaning, when something is wrong with the body, through the blood, comes the correction. Even in the medical field, the treatment we receive into our body, it must first address the blood in order to cure an illness. A Terminal illness which requires blood transfusion, is the key to healing of the body. Like sin, it is a terminal illness that is spiritual in its roots, but with a physical effect. Like a patient in needs of a blood transfusion of a better blood to live; So, Christ gives His life (His Blood) by faith we received His perfect Blood as a transfusion into us, to replace our contaminated blood from Adam. Thereby, imputing new life into the believer.