BUILDING blogs of FAITH

 

The LORD JESUS said:

John 7:38

King James Version

38 He that believeth on me, 

as the scripture hath said, 

out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

I am not meant to build physical structures.

I am meant to build blogs honoring GOD.

That's what GOD made me for.

I was made to take up Architecture.

My heart was in words.

GOD had the final say.

His WORD.

I searched everywhere.

Looking for absolute truth.

Not realizing, GOD was in my heart.

All that lengthy, arduous time.

Took me a long time to come around.

But GOD's got patience.

He's got eternity.

I don't.

Grieve not,

that it took you a long time to know GOD.

Grieve,

when you don't seek Him at all.

What were you made to do on this earth?

Keep seeking.

Keep searching.

Keep praying.

Wait, watch, listen.

You will have your answers.

GOD hears the faithful.

Just when you think GOD isn't there.

Oh, He's very much there!

Waiting for your call.

From a humbled heart.

From a grieving heart.

From a lost heart.

From a defeated heart.

Even from an angry heart.

GOD has no use for pride.

Leave it outside your door.

Better yet, throw it into the ocean,

and have the sharks gobble it up.

Like eats like.

We started knowing nothing.

Through JESUS,

we learn everything.

Why remain hard-hearted?

Your heart of flesh

needs the HEART of GOD.

All we know on this earth

is as nothing

compared to what JESUS knows.

Who do you listen to?

What is the company you keep?

Are they good for you?

Are you good for them?

Or are you all bent on destruction?

JESUS loves children

because they are pure, teachable,

joyful, open-hearted, fun, trusting.

Adults are a different story.

The word "adulterated"

isn't by chance.

It has the word "adult" in it.

The secret of GOD?

In every word.

There is a real battle going on.

GOD's pure WORD,

versus the enemy's corrupted words.

It isn't hard to tell them apart.

One makes us live.

One makes us die.

When you think you know much.

You probably don't know much at all.

A born again doesn't expect worldly freedom.

This fallen world won't offer you that.

Only through GOD's SPIRIT 

do we have true liberty.

The world as we know it,

doesn't know GOD.

The world to come?

It's all GOD.

This world can't offer you,

anything of lasting value.

Only GOD can.

When GOD makes you born again,

the learning sticks.

You will be forever changed.

When the world makes you born again,

you will still be subject

to man's fallenness.

The day you acknowledge your sins,

is the day GOD will show up.

The day you acknowledge your ignorance,

is the day GOD will teach you.

The day you thank the LORD each day,

is the day GOD blesses you even more.

Authenticity.

That's what my soul searched for.

For the longest time.

Now, I'm no longer lost.

I live, and breathe GOD.

The enemy of CHRIST

is a pretender.

He pretends to have a throne.

Or, at least, aspires to have one.

Only GOD has a throne.

Slow learner, that one.

When you are truly GOD's own,

your work will change.

You will change.

You will take that 180-degree turn.

And never look back.

By never looking back,

we mean that you won't want your old ways.

Who wants to put on old clothes,

when JESUS gave you new ones to wear?

You are a new person in CHRIST, remember?

Working for JESUS

is the most sublime work.

Every day is full of surprises.

Tons to do.

But there's nothing like it.

Who would have thought 

I'd be writing this way?

Who would have thought

I'd be teaching this way?

Only GOD did.

Come down from your towers.

Come down from your lofty abodes.

Those won't last.

Only JESUS does.

Do you care to be popular?

Or would you rather

your heart is right with GOD?

Do you care to be rich?

Or would you rather

see the mansion JESUS saved for you?

What citizenship do we speak of?

Believers are citizens of heaven, 

not of this earth.

Does it matter you are not liked?

Does it matter you are not loved?

Does it matter you are not accepted?

The world doesn't care

for those who love JESUS.

Accept that.

Aspire?

Or expire?

The choice is easy.

Every blog,

every post,

came from JESUS.

They were my

building blogs of faith!

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GOOD for BRAIN health

 Isaiah 64:8

King James Version

8 But now, 

O Lord, 

thou art our father; 

we are the clay, 

and thou our potter; 

and we all are the work of thy hand.

Has it really been that long?

That I've been inspired by a structure?

Thanks to a feature I saw on cable today.

Frank Gehry's structure was stunning.

A fantastic, convoluted structure.

And I learned that building was called Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.

So very fitting it would also be located at quirky Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wikipedia reports:

"The center is approximately 65,000 sq ft (6,000 m2) and includes 13 examination rooms, offices for health care practitioners and researchers, a "Museum of the Mind", and a community auditorium. The center also serves as the headquarters for Keep Memory Alive, the Las Vegas Alzheimer's Association and the Las Vegas Parkinson's Disease Association."

Had this building appeared when I was studying Architecture, perhaps, I may have become a full-fledged architect.

Perhaps.

But GOD had other plans.

He made sure there was nothing especially interesting at school.

I've always loved studying, but there was hardly time to digest stuff.

Sure, we studied Sir Banister Fletcher's "A History of Architecture".

But history of architecture is a study in itself, and cannot be surface study.

At least, for me.

I liked to absorb what I study.

Gehry's brain health structure is a 12-year-old beauty, and it came too late for me.

Still, I can appreciate its quirky, wavy lines, use of materials, and spotless facilities.

Methinks it's good for my brain health.

I had been fed a diet of pyramids, Greek temples, European churches, American buildings, a host of other popular architects.

But I did hear of Frank Gehry then.

Just didn't realize his works were revolutionary.

Seeing the documentary, and videos on the link below, woke my dormant brain cells, regarding design.

We all need a good dose of inspiration.

As born again, GOD lifted my thinking to another level.

Of really serving man, and not ego.

Thus, the PRAISE village I was creating in my mind.

And now, Gehry gave me more ideas.

Curiously, Frank Gehry had a particular affinity for fish design.

Such that, it was incorporated in his buildings in various countries.

I also learned he had Russian-Polish Jewish roots.

And I think to myself, it would be great if he believed in JESUS, who asked His disciples:

Matthew 4:19

King James Version

19 And he saith unto them, 

Follow me, 

and I will make you fishers of men.

I am happy that SPIRIT alerted me to Gehry's work today.

May all our work honor JESUS.

And may it always be useful to man.

Ephesians 2:10

King James Version

10 For we are his workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 

which God hath before ordained 

that we should walk in them.

SPIRIT gives believers lots of inspiration.

He gives us life!

I thank Him for today.

And every day.

2 Corinthians 3:6

King James Version

6 Who also hath made us 

able ministers of the new testament; 

not of the letter, 

but of the spirit: 

for the letter killeth, 

but the spirit giveth life.

Related material:

DOC Frank Gehry - Architecture In Motion

Frank Gehry's TED Talk in February 1990 - My days as a young rebel

CLEVELAND CLINIC LOU RUVO CENTER FOR BRAIN HEALTH

9 Things You Didn’t Know about Frank Gehry

13 Iconic (and Wacky) Frank Gehry Buildings

13 Outstanding Frank Gehry Buildings and Their History

Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health by Frank Gehry

Robert Harding photos

Image: Cygnusloop99

CIELED houses

 

The WORD of the LORD, 

through Haggai, His prophet:

Haggai 1:4

King James Version

4 Is it time for you, 

O ye, 

to dwell in your cieled houses, 

and this house lie waste?

What are "cieled" houses?

I had an idea, but I wanted to be sure.

So, I turn to the Bible.

True enough, my suspicions had foundation.

SPIRIT led me to the various Scripture versions:

Haggai 1:4

21st Century King James Version

4 “Is it time for you, 

O ye, to dwell in your ceilinged houses, and this house lie waste?”

Haggai 1:4

Amplified Bible

4 “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your [expensive] paneled houses while this house [of the Lord] lies in ruins?”

Haggai 1:4

Christian Standard Bible

4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house[a] lies in ruins?”

Haggai 1:4-5

Contemporary English Version

2-5 that the Lord All-Powerful had said to them and to the people:

You say this isn't the right time to build a temple for me. But is it right for you to live in expensive houses,[a] while my temple is a pile of ruins? Just look at what's happening.

Haggai 1:4

Darby Translation

4 Is it time for you that ye should dwell in your wainscoted houses, while this house lieth waste?

Haggai 1:4

Easy-to-Read Version

4 “You people think the right time has come for you to live in nice houses. You live in houses with beautiful wooden paneling on the walls, but the Lord’s house is still in ruins.

Haggai 1:4

Expanded Bible

4 “Is it right for you to be living in ·fancy [L paneled] houses while ·the Temple [L this house] is still in ruins?”

Haggai 1:4

Good News Translation

4 “My people, why should you be living in well-built houses while my Temple lies in ruins?

Haggai 1:4

International Children’s Bible

4 “The Temple is still in ruins. Is it right for you to be living in fancy houses?”

Haggai 1:4

Living Bible

3-4 His reply to them is this: “Is it then the right time for you to live in luxurious homes, when the Temple lies in ruins?

Haggai 1:4

The Message

3-4 Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”

Haggai 1:4

New English Translation

4 “Is it right for you to live in richly paneled houses[a] while my temple is in ruins?[b]

Haggai 1:4

New International Reader's Version

4 “My temple is still destroyed. But you are living in your houses that have beautiful wooden walls.”

Haggai 1:4

New Life Version

4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your houses with walls covered with wood, while this house lies waste?”

Haggai 1:4

New Living Translation

4 “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?

Chaggai 1:4

Orthodox Jewish Bible

4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your paneled batim, and this Beis [HaMikdash] lie in ruins?

Haggai 1:4

The Voice

Eternal One: 4 Do you think the time is right for you to live in secure and lavishly covered homes when My house still lies in a heap of rubble?

Haggai 1:4

Wycliffe Bible

4 Whether it is time to you, that ye dwell in houses coupled with timber, and this house be desert(ed), either forsaken? (Is it right for you to live in houses built with timber, while this House, my Temple, is deserted, or abandoned/while this House of mine lieth in ruins?)

Haggai 1:4

Young's Literal Translation

4 Is it time for you -- you! To dwell in your covered houses, And this house to lie waste?

In SUMMARY, here's what a "ceiled" house means:

ceilinged houses

[expensive] paneled houses

paneled houses

expensive houses

wainscoted houses

nice houses

houses with beautiful wooden paneling on the walls

fancy [L paneled] houses

well-built houses

fancy houses

luxurious homes

fine new homes

richly paneled houses

houses that have beautiful wooden walls

houses with walls covered with wood

luxurious houses

paneled batim

secure and lavishly covered homes

houses coupled with timber

houses built with timber

covered houses

All the Bible versions above point to a "cieled" house, as a lavish, ostentatious house.

No wonder ostentatious design never held appeal for me.

As an architecture student in college, I had absolutely no desire to fulfill the whims of future clients.

I was always impatient with such foolishness.

My interest always lay in low-cost housing, where all could be housed, in the most comfortable manner, no matter how simple the structure or basic the facilities.

It's been 43 years, and I had not deviated from such principles.

If anything, being born again nearly 35 months now, has further expanded my thinking.

Especially now that I serve the LORD.

In my heart, SPIRIT and I created a PRAISE village instead.

Where, the focus is on GOD, and GOD alone.

Which the LORD rightfully deserves.

Related material:

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The MOST SECURE foundation

 

JESUS on FOUNDATIONS:

Matthew 7:24-25

King James Version

24 Therefore whosoever heareth 

these sayings of mine, 

and doeth them, 

I will liken him unto a wise man, 

which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, 

and the floods came, 

and the winds blew, 

and beat upon that house; 

and it fell not: 

for it was founded upon a rock.

Oh, to lean against the ROCK, that is CHRIST!

Who is the strongest, surest foundation of all.

For upon Him, everything was built.

John 1:3

King James Version

3 All things were made by him; 

and without him was not any thing made 

that was made.

GOD is the ONLY TRUE BUILDER.

Hebrews 3:4

King James Version

4 For every house is builded by some man; 

but he that built all things is God.

He laid the sure foundation in CHRIST JESUS.

Isaiah 28:16

King James Version

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, 

Behold, 

I lay in Zion for a foundation 

a stone, 

a tried stone, 

a precious corner stone, 

a sure foundation: 

he that believeth shall not make haste.

JESUS being the chief corner stone.

Ephesians 2:20

King James Version

20 And are built upon the foundation 

of the apostles and prophets, 

Jesus Christ himself 

being the chief corner stone;

In Whom everything PERFECTLY fits together.

Ephesians 2:21

King James Version

21 In whom all the building fitly framed together 

groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

For GOD built that temple, for His HOLY SPIRIT.

Ephesians 2:22

King James Version

22 In whom ye also are builded together 

for an habitation of God 

through the Spirit.

What surer foundation can there be?

In this life, or in the next?

Lean against JESUS.

Lean against His WORD.

Find GRACE and TRUTH, in JESUS CHRIST alone.

John 1:17

King James Version

17 For the law was given by Moses, 

but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Related material:

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Image: Pexels 

Meditating on Paradoxes

 

What is, isn't.

What isn't, is.

Paradox is defined as:

"a statement or a concept that is, 

or seems to be, 

self-contradictory"

(Source: grammar-monster)

Well, this fascination with paradoxes surfaced, only because I wrote this article today:

"The Paradox of the End Times"

And then I realized I had enumerated at least five paradoxes on that post:

The more things don't make sense,

the more they make sense.

What you think isn't, is.

What you thought is, isn't.

Those who know, don't.

Those who don't, know.

The more fantastic your story, 

the more kids believe you.

Just when you think nothing is happening, 

something is happening.

When you think a lot is happening, 

nothing is happening.

Now, for me to ponder on those things, to see if they are really true.

Words are my toys, sorry.

I love word play.

The Bible does, too.

Being a born again writer magnifies my excitement, and enjoyment, at discovering God's treasures in Scripture.

So much so, the Holy Spirit and I created 21 blogs already.

And today, I got intrigued by paradoxes.

For, it seems, there's more truth to what seems to be self-contradictory statements.

Need I be surprised?

Jesus is the Word of God.

Revelation 19:13 

King James Version

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: 

and his name is called The Word of God.

He knows all the words, and their contradictions, for He is the author of the Word.

And because the Holy Spirit is my teacher on Jesus, I am fed all these glorious ideas about words that must serve God alone.

If you have not thought about it yet, now is the right time to meditate upon paradoxes.

See the truth in it.

More importantly, test it against Scripture.

What does God say about it?

Are paradoxes true?

Do they make sense?

What paradoxical statement have you come up with?

You will find, that this mental and spiritual gymnastics, is a most fun thing to ponder on.

It stretches your heart, mind, and spirit.

For my part, I use words to serve God alone.

That's respect for the Word -- JESUS.

Related reading:

More paradoxes

Updated 5 January 2023

BLESS Your HOME with the PRESENCE of GOD

 

Isaiah 55:8-9

King James Version

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 

neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

so are my ways higher than your ways, 

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

What do you think makes up a home?

What is the difference between a house, and a home?

Let SPIRIT and Scripture define it for you.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 

King James Version

5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God 

with all thine heart, 

and with all thy soul, 

and with all thy might.

6 And these words, 

which I command thee this day, 

shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently 

unto thy children, 

and shalt talk of them 

when thou sittest in thine house, 

and when thou walkest by the way, 

and when thou liest down, 

and when thou risest up.

Joshua 24:15 

King James Version

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, 

choose you this day whom ye will serve; 

whether the gods which your fathers served 

that were on the other side of the flood, 

or the gods of the Amorites, 

in whose land ye dwell: 

but as for me and my house, 

we will serve the Lord.

2 Samuel 7:29 

King James Version

29 Therefore now let it please thee 

to bless the house of thy servant, 

that it may continue for ever before thee: 

for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: 

and with thy blessing 

let the house of thy servant 

be blessed for ever.

Psalm 91:1-2 

King James Version

91 He that dwelleth 

in the secret place of the most High 

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, 

He is my refuge and my fortress: 

my God; in him will I trust.

Psalm 127:1 

King James Version

127 Except the Lord build the house, 

they labour in vain that build it: 

except the Lord keep the city, 

the watchman waketh but in vain.

Proverbs 3:33 

King James Version

33 The curse of the Lord 

is in the house of the wicked: 

but he blesseth the habitation 

of the just.

Proverbs 24:3-4 

King James Version

3 Through wisdom is an house builded; 

and by understanding it is established:

4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled 

with all precious and pleasant riches.

Isaiah 28:16 

King James Version

16 Therefore 

thus saith the Lord God, 

Behold, 

I lay in Zion for a foundation 

a stone, 

a tried stone, 

a precious corner stone, 

a sure foundation: 

he that believeth shall not make haste.

Isaiah 32:18 

King James Version

18 And my people shall dwell 

in a peaceable habitation, 

and in sure dwellings, 

and in quiet resting places;

Matthew 7:25 

King James Version

25 And the rain descended, 

and the floods came, 

and the winds blew, 

and beat upon that house; 

and it fell not: 

for it was founded 

upon a rock.

John 14:1-2 

King James Version

14 Let not your heart be troubled: 

ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 In my Father's house are many mansions: 

if it were not so, I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you.

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 

King James Version

5 For we know that if our earthly house 

of this tabernacle were dissolved, 

we have a building of God, 

an house not made with hands, 

eternal in the heavens.

2 For in this we groan, 

earnestly desiring to be clothed upon 

with our house which is from heaven:

3 If so be that being clothed 

we shall not be found naked.

4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, 

being burdened: 

not for that we would be unclothed, 

but clothed upon, 

that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

5 Now he that hath wrought us 

for the selfsame thing is God, 

who also hath given unto us 

the earnest of the Spirit.

Hebrews 3:4 

King James Version

4 For every house is builded by some man; 

but he that built all things is God.

Some verses sourced from:

"Bible Verses About Home"

Compiled and Edited by BibleStudyTools Staff on 3/18/2018

Related material:

The IDEAL home

Image: Unsplash

Updated 23 August 2025