Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
(Do) not (forsake) the assembling together of ourselves as is the custom with some…(Hebrews 10:25).
Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27:17).
I’ve heard a lot of believers use the Hebrews verse as an admonishment for not attending church.
However, by coupling it with the Proverbs verse, my inclination is, rather, to encourage, to celebrate, even, “assembling together.”
But not just in some brick and mortar building under a denominational banner, rather, as the real church, with Christ at the head, a living, breathing, talking, walking (falling down and getting up again), born-again, Spirit-filled body of believers who, whenever gathered together here and/or from afar have the extraordinary opportunity to encourage, inspire, and guide each other to come closer to God–and to “mine” the nuggets of truth found in His presence. Continue reading
Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
Oswald Chambers wrote,” Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings*.” It is in a devotional on the theme of hearing God’s call to ministry. We can best hear it, he writes, by our “disposition,” the “state of our ears,” and by “proving” ourself to be “the chosen ones” by being in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.” Few, however, Chambers notes, are “chosen”.
Whereas I do agree that being in a relationship (by faith through grace) with Jesus Christ enables us to more clearly comprehend God by the gift of the Holy Spirit imparted to us when we are born again (see previous post for an expanded discussion), with all due respect to Chambers, I do not agree that God never “pleads” with us. Continue reading
Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
Intro: Most people are aware of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), i.e., “any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.” (source)
Modifying nature can make better “products”; however, GMOs may also be harmful. They might result in unintended consequences, thus controversy and conspiracy theories abound around this practice. As the old ad campaign for Chiffon Margarine goes, “It’s not nice to fool mother nature.” Most of us tend to think of GMOs in the food supply.
I’ve been thinking about a different kind of “genetically modified food,” as it were, genetically modified as in altered by humans; food as in “spiritual food”. Continue reading
Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
But Why NOT A God?
I was lisening to a radio talk show interview of a guy who is brilliant by any calculation, a modern day Renaissance Man.
He achieved a PhD in Philosophy and an MD before the age of 31. He is now in his mid-seventies. He has written many books. He has worked as a philosopher, psychologist, psychiatric doctor, and a college professor. He is famous (and controversial) in particular for his work with people who have had near death experiences (NDEs).
As a result of the latter interest, he has done considerable research in the shadowy world of communicating with the dead. It is for this pursuit he is most famous, although for all his curiosity about the afterlife, he rejects a religious perspective, prizing, instead, curiosity. Continue reading
Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
In my previous post, I suggested that what, deep down, “scares the Hell” out of the far left in the U. S. who call themselves the Democractic Socialists of America (DSA) who, by their own admission, do not belong to a political party but to an ideology (and who have infiltrated the Democrat party) are voters who oppose them.
Specifically, the DSA fear Continue reading
Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
January 2020 Calendar – Wiki-Calendar.Com
On this third day of the blank slate called 2020, my mind still lingers on New Year’s resolutions.
Just a bit, though.
Because I am like a lot of people who, inspired by the dawn of a new year, the chance to start afresh, get these ideas on how to become a healthier/wealthier/wiser human being and I get excited. Continue reading
Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
Wait! What?
Anybody familiar with the REAL Scripture (Matthew 6:34, KJV) I used for the title, knows I worded it wrong! The real version reads,
“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (emphasis added)
The rest of the text is Jesus’ saying, if it were in the modern vernacular, “Chill; I got you covered.”
But if you think about it, Continue reading
Letters to The Remnant, 11: Guest Feature–“Rules for Remnant Survival: How to Survive These Last Days”
Today’s guest feature comes from Jan Markel’s Olive Tree Ministries that includes weekly broadcasts, articles, newsletters, and the largest annual fall prophecy conference in the United States held in Markell’s home state of Minnesota. I’ve included an excerpt from her newsletter introduction and the extended version of the topic from a presentation she did recently in Rock Harbor Church.
Rules for Remnant Survival:
How to Survive These Last Days
Continue reading →