WHY SO MANY DENOMINATIONS IN CHRISTIANITY ?

I believe that I finally have been given some clarity on why there are so many Christian denominations. I like so many people, Christian and non- believers ,had come to the conclusion that the wide variety of denominations was because there was something wrong with the Faith that there was so much division in the churches. But that is so far from the truth. The diversity within Christianity shows that there really is Freedom in Christ. I think where many gets it wrong is that they are trying to compare Christianity with Judaism. In the Old Covenant, God was dealing with people as babes and children in their evolutionary journey with Mother/Father God. And like all good parents when dealing with their children we approach our raising of them  to age appropriate information and guidance. When our children are infants and small children we have to be with them all the time so that they will not harm themselves or others.They have little freedom to do as they please because they are clueless to the dangers around them. The information we teach them pretty much has to be spoon fed to them according to their ages. As our children age our dealings with them changes as well, our children are given more freedom and harder subjects to learn,and we are able to let  them be more on their own because we are able to trust them with more freedom.And this goes on as they age until they become young adults able to think for themselves and take full responsibility for their actions. Well Father/Mother God's dealings with humanity has been no different. The Old Testament is God dealing with children and the New Testament is God dealing with us as young adults. So how this ties in to the many denominations that we see in Christianity today? In Galations 5:1 - 13 we were called to freedom,and in Romans 3:23-25 , the literal Law was given to keep and protect the Hebrew people until they were ready and grown up enough to be given the freedom we have now in Christ. In Romans 14, the whole chapter is about various levels conscience,in that if you decide to celebrate certain holidays to God then as far as God is concerned ,S/He is okay with it and if you decide to not celebrate certain days and decide that all honor God then that's okay.  If you have noticed in the Old Testament every aspects of the Hebrew people was covered by God but in the New Testament  God does not seemed all that concerned with his believers  about how, to worship,the only real comment about religious practice is that God states that pure religion is taking care of the poor,widows,orphans and prisoners as written in James 1:27. So what I have come to understand is that how each of us choose to honor and worship God is  up to us,some like a calm quiet service,some like ceremony and rituals, some with much celebration and emotions and it's all good. The many denominations we see shows the Freedom we have in Christ, it is proof that God enjoys the variety as should we. We should not see this as confusion and in-fighting. The only in-fighting is because people ,believers and non believers alike, are confused about the fact that we really do have Freedom to express our unique personalities, God does not demand that we all be the same,period. There must be conformity in what makes a person a Christian and the only sign God wants to determine if we are on the path is not right doctrines or traditions but that we LOVE one another ,that's it. There truly is simplicity in Christ only humans tend to want to make all things difficult. So  having many denominations is truly a good thing! It is one of the signs that we are trutr Free in Christ !
Blessing in Christ,
Patricia

KNIGHT OF SWORDS

The Knight of Swords
Represents the mind and intellect. He is on a quest for knowledge but S/He sees things not as they really are but as S/He really is. So the pursuit of wisdom will begin and end with the pursuit of self Knowledge and personal self improvement. In our pursuit for knowledge we must realize that head knowledge is useless if it is not applied in our lives. As James in the New Testaments states that "faith without works is dead." Meaning that a life of faith and beliefs will get you no where if it is not applied to your life. It is acting on this knowledge is what brings wisdom which is really our true spiritual pursuit. We must be cautioned here that living too much in our heads is not what brings enlightenment. A student goes to school to learn, lets say to become a nurse or to be a teacher , they learn what they need to know to be good teachers or nurses, they graduate but never become that nurse or teacher. They have all this knowledge but never apply it in their lives. They will never BE A NURSE, OR BE A TEACHER  if they do not go to work as one and experience life as one. We must engage in life.

Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: Work. ~William Arthur Ward~

So the Key here with this Knight of Swords is that we can go charging everywhere in our heads but until you put that knowledge to good use, it is ,well, useless.
We learn to be loving and compassionate by BEING loving and compassionate to others. So what ever you are studying and learning until it is applied in your life it will in the end do you no earthly good.
brightest blessings,
PATC.

MIA, MANY LIFE CHANGES

I have been MIA for most of this year  and I apologize for that. It has been a year of upheaval , change, pain and death. I lost my lover, friend ,soul mate, my husband of almost 40 years, July 2,2017. My Mike had what is called THE WIDOW MAKER heart attack on June 28, he died in my arms and as best as I could I administered CPR until the ambulance arrived, Mike was dead for 10 minutes until help arrived and they worked on him for almost an hour until his heart started beating. He was flown by helicopter to the hospital where they did what they could and five days later his body died. So I experienced the death of my best friend  2 times.
So I am living alone in our home , just me and my dog MOJO. I am just as disabled and in just as much pain as always. I have a major decision to make, should I stay or should I go? Both daughters want me to move in with them, my eldest is a RN married and has 4 kids living at home about 4 miles from me, they are in the process of buying some land and building a home and will build a space for me there as well, but their lives are hectic and busy ,not what I am use to at all. My youngest daughter is single, living in KC Missouri, she wants to sell her home, use my home when I sell it as a down payment and find a home handicap accessible, where we both can have the privacy we need and yet be each others company and support. So decisions decisions, I will probably stay here over the winter because we need to fix the place up a bit before putting it on the market so I will be here all alone until spring. I say all alone, I have company 5% of the time and the rest is just me and my dog, I don't go out , my daughter buys my groceries, I did go out with her once but it was hell and so I just stay home. One good thing, I have a manual wheel chair , I am unable to get around in that chair without the use of my legs, my arms are useless in getting the chair to move, so I bought a new to me electric wheel chair so now I am able to get out of the house into the yard and take Mojo for a walk all over my 3 acres, before getting this chair I was a prisoner of my own home because I was unable to use my chair out in the yard. I bought a hospital bed and another lift chair as well, but they are in the garage until I get new floors put down in my house. I have not slept in a bed for 6 years! I am looking forwards to stretching out in a bed.
Trying to get a monthly income was a pain in the patudy but I finally get disability every month THANK GOD/DESS for that, and I am awaiting a big lump sum of retro back pay that I will use to fix up this house, my floors are buckling and so I need new floors and carpet. Now that I am here all day long with not much to do I hope to begin keeping this blog going .So with that I will call it good.
Blessings
PATC

Biblical creation

Biblical creation has nothing to do with the material world, and everything to do with man being created in the image and likeness of God.  It is man that is the creation, and Biblical creation is all about our being made a new creature in Christ.  The entire labor of God is for this end.  This is why God and Christ work.  Scripture says: “[t]his is the work of God; that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29).  It is only AFTER you have been made in the image and likeness of God that God rests.  Thus, as the book of Hebrews states, there remains therefore a rest to the people of God” (Heb. 4:9).  We are still awaiting the Sabbath.

Your ability to love is the acid test of spirituality.  Scripture requires that you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.  Scripture requires that you love your brother.  Scripture requires that you love your neighbour as yourself.  Scripture requires that you love your enemies.  Scripture requires that you love those who hate you.  Scripture requires that you love one another.  Scripture says that everyone who loves is born of God.  Scripture says that if we love one another, God dwells in us.