Father God I pray for Kera and her fears Lord. Father I pray that You would teach her that You are the merciful healer of those who turn in truth to You. Heavenly Father we know You to be kind but also just. I pray therefor tha Kera would put her trust in You. Lord You are the healer and restorer of our soul and You have rescued us from the fall. We know that You search out the lost and would leave the 99 to find the 1 because of Your great compassion & kindness. Therefore Lord we are not reticent to pray Your will be done and your will is always rescue, help, befriend, teach, and encourage all in You. I ask Lord that You would put people into her life that will guide her in Your Truth. Father God lead her to church and confession that she might become a true partaker in the communion of saints. This I pray in the Name of Your Son, Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. AMEN
Give to Christ your weakness and He will give you completeness. Give Him your troubles and burdens and He will give His Peace. Give Him the ashes of human futility and He will give you the beauty of everlasting life. Learn the songs of Christ and let the love of Christ captivate your heart and bring you peace. E.K. **
:harp:
youtube.com/watch?v=VNlCBBYwaj0**
MY HUMBLE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MARK
Kera,
My understanding of it is primarily from Scripture and the early church fathers and my understanding of the mark is somewhat immersed in symbolism rather a literal mark. However I also take the fathers caution that we do not necessarily understand the entire meaning but still must be wary and live to Christ. Here is my understanding of the mark and I use it as spiritual inference rather than any bonafide teaching. Still I find it helpful to consider much of the weight of Scripture in my study.
Remember the mark of the passover? It was the blood of the Lamb sprinkled on the doorpost of every house that believed. In Hebrew the letter Tau, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet was used a mark. The Tau was written in the form of a cross. It has been Christian practice to mark the forehead in baptism as a symbol of the cross. The early church fathers taught that the antichrist will be the exact opposite of Christ Jesus. But, whereas the world rejected Christ beating Him beyond recognition and nailing Him to a tree, the world will run after the antichrist and embrace his teachings, which may not only be unrighteous but utterly disgusting. From all I can gather he will be the champion of the unrighteous and just as those baptized into Christ are to live to Him & love His righteousness have His mark the symbol of the cross, the antiChrist and those who love his unrighteousness will also have his mark. I’d hate to speculate any further than that because it is tangential to what is needed. To believe in the cross of Christ and His resurrection and to learn and love His Ways, making your heart an abode by which He can construct His temple in You by the power of His Holy Spirit.