HAS YOUR PLANNING FALLEN INTO THE WATER AGAIN?
Is your schedule regularly different than you would like? And do you also notice that, often when an important deadline is imminent, things suddenly come your way that do not fit …
HAS YOUR PLANNING FALLEN INTO THE WATER AGAIN?
Is your schedule regularly different than you would like? And do you also notice that, often when an important deadline is imminent, things suddenly come your way that do not fit …
3 EFFECTIVE WAYS TO OVERCOME YOUR GREATEST FEAR
Do you feel stressed? Are you under pressure? Or have you always wanted to do something, but don’t you dare? What are you afraid of? Under stress there is always …
praying for the lost. God has honored, and in many instances has answered, the fervent prayers of believers for the salvation of unbelievers. Concerning his own salvation, L. R. Scarborough, the second president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and inaugural occupant of the first established chair of evangelism in the world (“The Chair of Fire”), recounted:
The human beginning of the influence leading to my salvation was in the prayer of my mother in my behalf when I was an infant. She climbed out of bed, having gone down toward the grave that I might live, and crawled on her knees across the floor to my little cradle when I was three weeks of age, and prayed that God would save me in His good time and call me to preach.[1]
In fact, research has revealed in the last two decades that regardless of their sizes or locations, Southern Baptist churches who report the highest rates of baptisms attribute praying for the salvation of unbelievers by name to their evangelistic effectiveness.[2]
Although historical examples and investigative evidence of God’s blessing on believers’ prayers for the salvation of the lost can be documented, do any biblical precedents exist concerning praying for the salvation of unbelievers to substantiate these examples and evidences? Yes, the Bible does in fact establish precedents for believers to pray for the salvation of the lost, when one considers that Jesus practiced, Paul acknowledged, and Scripture instructs prayer for the salvation of unbelievers.
The Bible attests that Christ prayed for the lost. Concerning the suffering Servant of the LORD, Isaiah writes: Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors” (Is 53:12, NKJV, emphasis added). In his account of the death of Jesus, Luke confirms that He interceded on behalf of those who crucified and reviled Him. He writes:
And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself” (Luke 23:33–36, NKJV, emphasis added).
As Christ suffered for the sins of the world on the cross, He prayed for the forgiveness of sinners who crucified and reviled Him. The Bible does not indicate that all, or even many, of those for whose forgiveness He prayed actually received it. Nevertheless, one of the crucified criminals who at first derided Him (Matt 27:44) later entreated the Lord. As a result, he was forgiven of his sins and naturalized a citizen of Paradise by the Savior who cared enough to pray for him.
In addition, the apostle Paul acknowledged praying for the salvation of unbelieving Israel. He wrote to the believers in Rome, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1, NKJV). Paul’s desire for the salvation of his fellow countrymen led him to pray for their salvation. Although not all Israel was saved during his lifetime, he looked forward in faith to a day when the fullness of the Gentiles’ salvation would be accomplished and his prayer for Israel to be saved would be answered (Rom 11:26a).
Finally, believers are commanded to pray in various ways for all people, kings, and authorities. Paul writes,
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:1–4, NKJV).
The apostle explains that the prescribed petitions on behalf of “all men, … kings … [and those] who are in authority” 1) should be practiced in order to live godly and reverently in peace and 2) should prove good and acceptable to God who desires the salvation of everyone. For these reasons, the supplications, prayers, and intercessions required of believers should include a petition for the salvation of all people.
Consider that most, if not all, of the kings and authorities to whom Paul refers were not only non believers, but they had actively oppressed believers. No wonder Paul appeals to the hope of a day when believers could lead godly and reverent lives in peace, free from the threat of persecution. Such a day was possible if the believers in Paul’s day would pray for the salvation of these tyrannical rulers, and as a result of hearing the gospel they would believe, thus bringing an end to their oppressiveness.
In addition, Paul claims that praying for the salvation of all men is pleasing and acceptable to God. As Thomas Lea explains, “The relative clause of v. 4 provides the basis for the assertion in v. 3 that prayer for all people is pleasing to God. The goal of the prayers Paul urged is that all people be saved. Intercession for all people pleases the God who desires all to be saved.”[3] God desires to see everyone saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, though not all will do so.
Therefore, in order to lead godly and reverent lives in peace and to please God with their supplication, prayers, and intercession, believers are instructed to pray for the salvation of all people, great and small.
In a sermon he entitled, Mary Magdalene, C.H. Spurgeon urged the following in regards to believers’ responsibility to plead for the salvation of the lost:
Until the gate of hell is shut upon a man, we must not cease to pray for him. And if we see him hugging the very doorposts of damnation, we must go to the mercy seat and beseech the arm of grace to pluck him from his dangerous position. While there is life there is hope, and although the soul is almost smothered with despair, we must not despair for it, but rather arouse ourselves to awaken the Almighty arm.
On their own merit, historical examples like that of Scarborough and/or pragmatic evidences like those documented by Rainer and Parr provide believers reasons to pray for the salvation of unbelievers. However, the example of Jesus, the acknowledgement of Paul, and the instruction of 1 Tim 2:1–4 as presented above reveal to believers their obligation to pray for the salvation of the lost.
When a believer prays for the soul of a lost person and he is subsequently saved, skeptics may attribute it to nothing more than mere coincidence. When churches pray for the salvation of unbelievers by name and effective evangelistic growth results, cynics might consider it pragmatism. However, perhaps the most appropriate label to designate believers who pray for the salvation of the lost would be “biblical.”
[1]L. R. Scarborough, “The Evolution of a Cowboy,” in L. R. Scarborough Collection, 17, Archives, A. Webb Roberts Library, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, n.d, 1.
[2] Thom Rainer, Effective Evangelistic Churches (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1996), 67–71, 76–79 and Steve R. Parr, Steve Foster, David Harrill, and Tom Crites, Georgia’s Top Evangelistic Churches: Ten Lessons from the Most Effective Churches (Duluth, Georgia Baptist Convention, 2008), 10–11, 26, 29
Candle flame spiritual meanings
While burning, candles also speak a language of their own, which you can learn to interpret with some effort. You must have wondered why that candle is acting so strange, well below is the explanation of what a flame does. Keep an eye on! If you are going to make sure there is no draft, even if you walk past it, a flame goes back and forth, so sit at 2 meters away from it, because if you breathe in and out, the flame can affect it.
Take the regular thin candle 2.02 cm, no stumps or larger, if you have a thick stump candle, then take a new one, the first 2/5 cm of a new candle is still possible. When the candle is halfway through, it no longer gets enough oxygen and it goes back and forth, so that means nothing.
With the Xenos they also have pillar candles of 4.5 cm thickness and 10 cm long and they burn out completely. The disadvantage of pillar candles that are thicker than 5 cm is that you can always throw away half of it or you have to make new candles out of it. You can do that again in a knotton roll of kitchen paper just the right size.
The north stands for physical manifestation, symbolizing purity, purity, innocence, inner growth, death and rebirth and is paradoxical.
The east always stands for birth, the east symbolizes new life, a new beginning, the power of creation, optimism, vision, hope and clarity.
The west stands for maturity, for inner strength, for the healing of all your wounds. It is the place of love, an open heart, and you can see where life has really brought you.
The south stands for initiation, it stands for your youth; the direction of pure life without any restraint. It is the direction of innocence and the direction of losing your innocence, to come to responsibility. The south is action. And from the action where you have met the full life.
If your candle burns solidly, it means that power and energy is going to your manifestation, so a very good sign.
There is opposition, the ritual will probably have to be performed a few more times to achieve the intended success.
There are raw emotions and an explosion of energy is taking place.
The flame vibrates for no apparent reason: The current state changes.
Is that a good sign, because it shows that all power and energy will be used for the purpose.
The tip of the fire tongue has a light color: Success, happiness and improvement of the current situation. (But if the glow lasts for a while, the windfall also takes a while)
A coming disappointment. The flame is small, gives little light: Be careful when making decisions.
Flame describes a spiral / revolves around its own axis: Indicates the presence of people who want to bring evil to your house.
Flame is slender and slender, seems to want to turn down: A sign of danger.
The flame is very narrow and high (15-20 cm): Someone is cheating on you or you will get a financial benefit in the future.
The flame seems to dance and moves in different ways: An ‘energy’ is happy that contact was established and would like to provide comfort or advice.
A disaster report? If the deaf goes a bit more gradually, this is a sign that it is better to start again with setting your goal and to prepare better. It could also be that someone is working against it.
Extinguishing flame: Your goal is missed, it is best to start over again and this time set your intentions more carefully, it may also be that someone is trying to stop your creation.
The flame continues to burn quietly: You are listened to carefully.
A crackling flame: It may be that someone from the spirit world is communicating with you, trying to tune into this sound so that you understand what is being said.
If the flame crackles strongly: Is there a disagreement or quarrel about your intention / purpose of burning?
The flame crackles softly and irregularly: The spirit world communicates with you, the thoughts are pure. The flame is regularly but mildly crackling: Someone has authority, someone gives orders.
Numbers / numbers are important with various forms of magic, including with magic candles. If you believe in a higher power or an energy that connects us, then it is good to put 1 apart for this in addition to the amount of candles that you burn.
1 candle: is for 1 purpose, 1 person, 1 prayer, or for the beginning of something. 1 candle is a direct question!
2 candles: brings balance and keeps the energy of the candles in the house. For a romantic dinner where the atmosphere and the contact between two people must remain there, you burn 2 candles.
3 candles: is for divine power, for balance, for love that is not physical …. all good consists of 3.
4 candles: is for balance with groups, family etc. Here too the energy stays where it is already present. 4 is earthly (4 points of the compass) and is also used for the progress of material things.
5 candles: is for friends (group balance + 1 for the higher), but also for repairing setbacks.
6 candles:is what is controversial …. for some the 6 is the number of evil, others see it as a perfect number because it is the sum of its own factors (1,2,3) and the sum of 2×3 is. 6 is used for domestic matters and balance. I never burn 6 candles myself, unless it is 2x 3 and this is clearly visible in the color or location of the candles.
7 candles: is often used for occult matters. 7 is a number of the unseen, the philosophical and the spiritual. reverse or neutralize.
8 candles: I have not yet lit a fire, the number 8 is a continuous number, 2 zeros on each other or 2×4 and stands for willpower and individuality. According to some, it is also the number of regrets and you could use 8 candles to make up for something.
9 candles:is for everything that is finite … is perfect, or to achieve this. The number 9 is the ultimate number and is considered a special number with sacred meaning. 9 is also the transition number.
11 candles: is for the special consciousness, balancing between good and evil.
12 candles: is for powerful completeness. There are 12 months, zodiac signs .
13 candles: ..oooo …. for some it is the calling of misfortune and bad friends, but I also hear many people for whom this number means the opposite. Sometimes it is very useful to know which color belongs to which day. Certainly if you want to burn a candle for something that needs extra light and / or warmth in the near future. Even when you want to pick out a color of candles for a special day … or you don’t know how to choose a color for a special ritual.
Finally, I want to give an advice! A general rule is that everything you give will come back 3x … this does not only apply to all positive things, but also in other areas. Remember this very well in advance !!
What is a Birth Chart and How is it Calculated?. What exactly does the astrologer do and what about the complicated birth chart . You may have asked yourself whether working with the personal birth chart is reserved for you or you may have had a free birth chart made for you.
What you will discover in this article:
Perhaps you still have little insight into the true value of astrology and you are still unaware that it involves a serious profession and study of a few years . There are still many who have never seen the ‘radix’ or ‘birth chart’. Did you know that there is a training institute in England where astrology students attend day classes! The fascinating astronomy is also an important part of the profession there.
The Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung, was a great advocate of astrology. His vision; that your world is a projection of yourself and the language of synchronicity, he has spread for years. This is what the birth chart also shows. The simultaneity of events and in this case ‘as above, so below’.
The horoscope is, as it were, the building plan of human existence, but it is man himself who must ultimately build a life out of it. Central to this is your choice of free will.
First, let’s take a closer look at the word ‘horoscope’. The name is composed of the Greek words ‘hora’ (hour) and ‘skop’ (see). By this is meant that one looks at the birth hour of someone, to be able to study the personality of someone. This is one of the most important principles of astrology: the moment of birth gives a cosmic image that influences someone, a company, a project or a marriage.
The moment of birth applies to various situations . No decision is made in southern cultures without first consulting an astrologer.
Seen from the Earth, the Moon catches up with the Sun 13 times and then forms a circle in one year . This is indicative of the zodiac and with this the zodiac is divided into 12 parts, in which each sign of the zodiac is given a symbolic name, from the constellation Aries to the constellation Pisces .
Subsequently, the following distribution of the horoscope is created , namely the houses (pie points) as shown above. These are generally unequal in size and differ from person to person just like the distribution of the 12 zodiac signs.
The distribution of the houses , at your time of birth and time of birth, are derived from the movements of the Earth around its own axis. These movements cause the differences of day and night. Connected to this is the Equator.
The Equator divides the Earth into the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere. It is this axis which is called ascendant and descendant in astrology and offer inspiring information to you as a personality.
You can compare the personality with a wheel of 12 spokes, the twelve archetypes, or 12 signs of the zodiac. This wheel is constantly moving. In the center of the wheel is symbolically represented, your true Self or the center of your Being .
If you choose to go into peace or choose a meditative moment, you will find the space and silence within yourself. Others, like you, consciously or unconsciously make attempts to return to the center of this wheel. Herein your everyday work and life, with all the choices that come with it, whether small or large, are the challenges.
Be aware that yourself, consciously or unconsciously, is actively involved in your process of personal growth and development.
Your personal birth chart forms a beautiful navigation system in this.
The skilled astrologer used to learn how to calculate the horoscope manually. This is no longer necessary in this digital age. The intensive and complex mathematical calculations have been taken over by a variety of programs that you can purchase and that are also offered on the internet as free to calculate your horoscope .
The big advantage of this is the speed with which a horoscope drawing can be calculated, but also the fact that the main calculation work can be done without errors.
The old fashion way is still somewhat discussed during vocational training, but is then quickly put aside again.
Like there are different horoscope programs, astrology also offers a variety of different techniques . You can think of the different housing systems, which have been tested and examined by the trained astrologer for years.
The important basis from classical Jungian astrology and psychology, however, always remains the starting point for every astrologer.
Similarly, astrologers worldwide look at different technical ways regardless of background, culture and religion.
Then there are the distances and angles that the planets make between themselves.
These distances are called ‘aspects’ which can be distinguished in Majeure – basic aspects and Mineure – small aspects.
The major aspects consist of:
This allows the professional astrologer to do precise research on how the psyche and human developments work. This, not from a prediction but from the insightful and practically applicable instrument of the personal horoscope. All of these aspects and techniques are also applied to calculate the birthday for, among other things, weddings, projects, companies.
In Chinese astrology we mainly work with the Moon and with ‘dates’ and with Vedic astrology the Moon is also used as the main actress. Only later did the positions of the Sun play a major role here. The birth time is therefore used here in a different fascinating viewpoints and techniques.
However, you usually know the Sun sign, or the constellation under which you were born. However, your position of the Moon and the ascendant are almost always unknown , until you have been able to find out your astrology birth date, place of birth and birth time.
If your birth time cannot be traced through your parents or other close family members, you can always request the birth time from the municipality where you were born . If this is also difficult, the highly experienced astrologer can come very close to your ascendant through questions and astrological research into your past in which you were involved in awkward or correct joyful moments.
There are various astrological techniques for this, such as ‘progressive astrology’. The upbringing that you have enjoyed and the image that you have of your parents also play an important role in this.
The astrologer usually starts with your birthday horoscope, with the time of noon. This as a symbol because the Sun is at its highest point, so that it optimally lies most over your sky map, or astrological blueprint.
Of course your intuition also counts as a beautiful and ancient hand of the clock.
Your ascendant also plays an important role in addition to your Sun position and Moon position and you also have a wonderful total package with starting a full-fledged horoscope display.
The ascendant is formed by the rising sign on the Eastern horizon , so where the Sun rises and determines the very first impression you make in your environment at the very first encounter. You can see the ascendant as your front door, where people ring the bell, before they get to know you better.
So you understand that this gives an important impression and is a personal characteristic of who you are and what you color in terms of the zodiac sign. Your clothing, makeup, attitude, communication skills and adaptability are all written in your ascendant.
You calculate your ascendant by entering your details.
The drawing or blueprint of the personal birth chart can be seen as one organic whole, in which each link has an important, individual function.
A clear distinction is then immediately created in this:
Astronomically, the orbital times of the planets to go through the entire zodiac are averages. Due to the retrograde movement (considered from the earth, the career of planets changes into a seemingly opposite course) time is sometimes a little shorter or a bit longer. All planets can run retrograde, except the Sun and the Moon.
As the planets rotate around the Earth, their movement will seem to move faster and from the Earth sometimes slower and seemingly move back – retrograde. In this way it is already possible to get a picture of how the horoscope is made and how it is subsequently interpreted.
For example, imagine that on the birthday of the horoscope, someone is born the moment the Moon is in the zodiac sign Sagittarius . Next, the Moon is in the twelfth house, which symbolizes the dreamy and imaginative Pisces zodiac sign . This may already give you a clear picture.
The Moon as Moon sign shows in astrology what the emotional needs are and you need to feel good and satisfied. The light of the Moon indicates in the horoscope how someone is looking for security and safety. Everyone has this motive, because the Moon appears in every horoscope.
But of course everyone has a different hue and need to find the soul’s destination.
Returning to the Moon in the Sagittarius star, you will never have finished learning in your life.
Knowledge transfer and philosophy belong to you, just like exploring the big wide world and going on a journey. Emotionally you do not stay in gravity for long. Optimism and being able to look ahead quickly, quickly get you out of negativity.
Then the twelfth house will be added as the last to conclude. This house often indicates a need for seclusion. You have an emotional need to regularly withdraw from your daily work and life and you love being on and with yourself. Meditation, Yoga and Tai Chi suit you.
Regularly looking for peace and quiet belong to you, in which it would be great for you, for example, to do a retreat week with a group of like-minded people abroad once a year.
In short, are you looking for yourself and are you longing for a positive and loving life, take the trip to an astrologer or calculate your horoscope yourself. There is more to explore!