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Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy,...

What are we to make of someone who had been and even currently is mightily used by the LORD to bring blessing to God’s people, but whose personal life is an ungodly, unseemly mess of broken relationships, strife and enmity? Is it even possible? It is a tragic scenario, but is certainly a possibility according to scripture. Sampson, for example was mightily used of the LORD for years, delivering Israel from the Philistine menace, but in the end He was almost killed visiting a prostitute and eventually tricked into breaking faith with the God of his vows, and blinded and...

Sin Lieth at the Door By Philip Cottraux Eden was paradise on Earth, a place where the Lord came down to personally walk and talk with man. How much closer to God can you be this side of heaven? Yet because of sin, only one generation later, Adam and Eve’s children were killing one another. What a fall from grace! You could be a great witness for God your whole life, preaching the gospel, laying hands on the sick, and seeing miracles and healings. It could take decades of fasting and praying to reach such a high spiritual level. But...

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Exodus 20:16And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Rev 12:10As food and water are to physical health, So Truth is to the Soul and the Spirit. We all need the Truth to live. Obviously we need the truth about God, we cannot live without the knowledge of God, for that is the very...

Manifold Grace By Philip Cottraux Webster’s dictionary defines manifold as “marked by diversity or variety: many: comprehending or uniting various features.” In 65 AD, the Great Fire of Rome destroyed much of the city. Many blamed Nero in the aftermath, but the truth is that it was more than likely an accident waiting to happen. The city had been a tinderbox; years of poor construction, overcrowding, and garbage-filled streets made for a ticking time bomb. Nevertheless, the emperor needed someone to blame fast. Christianity, a new, fast-growing religion that people viewed suspiciously due to its refusal to bow to the...

My righteousness is the architect of your day , let no man dictate your footsteps for we are one My Beloved. Though others may tug and attempt to coerce you, remember Eve. I AM with you in The Garden and MY WORD stands eternal as your Tree of Life therefore there is no other. Eat only from My Tree for in it lives your True Eternity for there are no counterfeits in Zion as I AM THE WORD and these are your footsteps of your Life in Me. Take Joy in each footstep for obedience is far greater than sacrifice...

The Bible is a record of real people, living out real history, and fulfilling the purposes of God, knowingly and unknowingly. All of the Prophets of the Bible in some way are tops of the Messiah to come. Moses, Joseph, David, Jeremiah, all lived out certain aspects of the suffering and triumph of Jesus Christ. Pharaoh tried to kill Moses as a child, just as Herod tried to kill the baby Jesus, Joseph was sold for silver by his brother Judah, just as Jesus was sold by Judas… I could go on and on. There are some also who are...

But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart...

My absoluteness extends into forever as Loving kindness and so My Faithfullness equates The sum of My Love for you for I AM ever with you being in and through all things . . . Therefore there is No need of reaching out but merely and graciously just a laying down before Me (Jesus) All your cares and woes for I AM ever listening and caring for you even when it seems I AM distant to your needs, your cries and your joys for Truly I KNOW your beginning for I AM YOUR COMPLETENESS and Final Joy Eternally waiting for...

… the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:...

Solomon the King is in the temple at it’s dedication, in front of a great congregation of Elders, Priests, Levites and Israelites, alternately kneeling or standing upon a brass platform. His arms are outstretched towards God, and He is praying. The prayer consists of an acknowledgement of the Faithfulness and Omnipresence of God, and that no man made temple could ever truly contain Him. He then supplicates that the House He had built for God’s Name, be one of prayer, that God would ever be attentive to it or to anyone who ever turns toward the temple to pray. Next...

…And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the...

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.(Isaiah 53:12)The Last verse of this fourth Servant Song has always struck me as anti-climatic. But this is because I believe the King James version confuses the meaning somewhat, for it reads as though the Servant takes his place among other great and strong ones. But the according to evangelical scholar Alec Motyer,...

This is an article I wrote in 2011.... The Gaza Strip, was originally part of the inheritance the LORD allotted to the tribe of Judah. But Philistines invaded and built their five cities in the area, Gaza, Ashdod, Gath, Akron, and Askelon. Eventually King David defeated the Philistines and Judah possessed the land until the Babylonian captivity, the return and finally the Roman diaspora. Nearly 20 centuries later, once again the Gaza is occupied, this time by Arabs who call themselves Philistines (ie Palestinians), and whose dubious claim to the land God gave the tribe of Juda, is supported by...

No, Dinosaurs Aren’t in the Bible: Part 3 How Young Earth Creationists Get Dinosaurs Wrong By Philip Cottraux For part 3 of this series, I want to critique Young Earth Creationism from a viewpoint that doesn’t get much attention; its scientifically incorrect portrayal of dinosaurs and the clumsy way it tries to factor them into the creation account. Let me disclaim once again; this has nothing to do with the age of the earth and although I’m personally an Old Earth Creationist, I’m not at all trying to prove that the planet is older than 6,000 years. One of the...

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto...

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.(Isaiah...

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the...

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.(Isaiah 53:1-3)The fourth Servant Song opens with a paradox, for we are...

Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.(Isaiah 52:13-15)Thus far the Songs of the Servant have described an individual whom God holds forth as the answer to the idolatrous world’s sad predicament. He...