"One man build his house upon the rock and the other upon the sand, the one with no foundation in Jah Word shall fall away in the sinking sand."
In this time, we are met with struggles at every angle... from money, love, family, political, spiritual, environmental and more... Take a moment and Breathe... Reflect... Where are you standing? Are you standing upon solid ground? Is you house built upon the Rock or the Sand? What is your foundation? What grounds you to the life you desire to pursue and live?
Contemplate the things you absorb into your head daily... Where do you get your daily inspiration? Are you reading daily, learning daily, being artistic and creative, expressive? Are you meditating, doing yoga or exercise? Are the foods you eat and thoughts you feed your body and mind of the truly healthy kind? Are you starting your mornings off right and do you enjoy your nights?
Are you taking the time to quiet the mind, to be silent and observe, witness, the wonders of nature... of creation... are you talking to Jah? That Divine Voice within, your own Higher Self?
Are you making the effort to connect with your loved ones? Are you extending a kind gesture from your heart to someone, anyone, everyday? Have you called your Mom or Dad or Grandma or Grandpa lately? Have you read a book to your child or sang a song with a friend lately? Have you reached out the ones that need it the most? Have you hugged someone recently? Have you forgiven yourself and others for the hurts and disrespect? Have you cried in sadness and or cried in joy? Have you shared a tear with someone you love? Have you counted your blessings today? Have you said what your grateful for today? Really, what makes you most happy?
Are you ready to take action and transform your life? Are you ready to be the most powerful expression of yourself that you've ever been? Are you ready to be more successful and attractive than you've ever been? Are you ready to radiate with Love and Light and Positivity, infecting others around you with the same Magnetism and Charisma, Empowering others to be what they want to be, too? Are you ready to manifest your dreams and live the most fulfilled life ever imagined? Are you ready to give back to all those that helped you along the way? Are you ready to serve others in need and help the world be a better place? Are you Ready? It is your destiny! It is your time! You are meant to be amazing and impact the world with incredible positivity and success! Your time is now! Empower Yourself! Build your House upon the Rock, Not the Sand!
The lyrics to the song are actually a very deep parable of Christ from Matthew 7:24-27
The Wise and Foolish Builders
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
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~Sakshi
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard - Matthew 20
When I read this parable I began to think how Yeshua was teaching that The Lord provides equally to all. There is an Abundance that comes from the Source Energy, and the Source supplies all needs according to it's own Source of Infinite Supply. Many times Yeshua reminds his followers that the Lord's Sun shines and it also rains on rich and poor alike, good and evil, and that just as the Lord provides for the birds and animals of the the earth, so also does he provide for each one of us.
Yeshua also teaches here in this parable that though the harvest is plenty in the vineyard and there is work and fruits of that labor available for all, many who could benefit from the work and fruits thereof are just sitting around idle, and simply need to be engaged in the right way, so they may also receive their inheritance. This inspired my thoughts and passions to sight that Yeshua is signifying that so many are siting idle, looking for the right opportunities to reach their dreams and fulfill their destiny. With the right focus, perspective, commitment and mentors, one will be properly engaged in the works that open the door for this divine inheritance to come in and transform your life.
At the end of this parable Yeshua came upon two blind men, who begged for the mercy of Christ, and asked that they be made to see again.
So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. -Matthew 20:34
1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
29 And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.
Blessed Love unto Yeshua ha Moshiah~
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I just saw this video about Vissarion, the man in Siberia Russia who claims to be Jesus Incarnated, the Word of God, he has over 10,000 followers who most live in his spiritual community in Russia and they practice ecological harmony, a vegan diet, belief in reincarnation and UFOs and money is banned. This video documentary is very well done and leaves me fascinated and wanting to go visit myself to see and experience Vissarion and his community.
from Wikipedia:
Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop (Russian: Сергей Анатольевич Тороп, Sergej Anatolʹevič Torop; born January 14, 1961 in Krasnodar, Russian SFSR), known by his followers as Vissarion (Виссарион), is a Russian mystic. He founded and heads a religious movement known as the Church of the Last Testament with its head church in the Siberian Taiga in the Minusinsk Depression east of Abakan, in the southern Siberia Kuraginsk district of Krasnoyarsk
territory. He has around 4,000 followers (called Vissarionites) in
around thirty villages in the immediate vicinity of his base at Sun City
and approximately 10,000 followers around the world.
Vissarion claims to be a reincarnation of Jesus. He teaches reincarnation, veganism,
and the impending end of the world, or at least of civilization as we
know it. Vissarion claims to have experienced a mystical revelation in
May 1990, when he was 29. He first spoke publicly in Minusinsk on 18 August 1991. He founded the "Church of the Last Testament" (Церковь Последнего Завета Tserkov Poslednego Zaveta), also known as "Community of Unified Faith".
History
He was born in Krasnodar; after service in the Red Army, he settled in Minusinsk. He worked as a traffic policeman before losing his job in 1989.In 1991 he was "reborn" as Vissarion, the returned Jesus Christ. In his
system this does not make him God, but instead the word of God. His
religion combines elements of the Russian Orthodox Church with Buddhism, apocalypticism, collectivism, and ecological values. His followers observe strict regulations, are vegans, and are allowed no vices such as smoking or drinking alcohol and money is banned. The aim of the group is to unite all religions on Earth.
Tiberkul, the settlement in the Taiga, was established in 1994 on a
territory of 2.5 square kilometres, and today counts some five thousand
inhabitants, largely living autochthonous and on ecological principles. It is centered around the villages of Petropavlovka and Cheremshanka. The settlement has a three-tiered structure: the Town itself (Abode of Dawn), the Heavenly Abode, and the Temple Peak.
In October 1995, the religious association of Vissarion officially registered as the "Church of the Last Testament".
Personal life
Vissarion has two wives, and six children from two marriages. He has
expelled the first wife and married the young nineteen year-old girl,
who was brought up at Vissarion's home from the age of seven.
Vissarion has a sister named Irina. Vissarion considers Mary, mother of Jesus, as his own mother. The biological mother of Vissarion is a woman named Nadejda.
Interpretation
Vissarion's sect is estimated to have some ten thousand adherents,
with claims of up to 50,000 adherents in eighty-three communities spread
over 150 square kilometers..
Since 1992, biographer Vadim Redkin has published an annual volume
detailing Vissarion's activities. Vissarion has attracted a number of
followers from Germany's esoteric subculture, and seven volumes of Vadim's account have been translated into German.
In March 2010, UK TV channel, Channel 4 showed an hour long documentary about Vissarion and his followers.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four canonical Gospels. (Mark 11:1–11, Matthew 21:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19).
In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshipers. The difficulty of procuring palms for that day's ceremonies in unfavorable climates for palms led to the substitution of boughs of box, yew, willow or other native trees. The Sunday was often designated by the names of these trees, as Yew Sunday or by the general term Branch Sunday.
Biblical basis and symbolism
In the accounts of the four canonical Gospels, Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place about a week before his Resurrection.
According to the Gospels, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, and the celebrating people there lay down their cloaks in front of him, and also lay down small branches of trees. The people sang part of Psalms 118: 25–26 – ... Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord ....
The symbolism of the donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, versus the horse, which is the animal of war. Therefore, a king came riding upon a horse when he was bent on war and rode upon a donkey when he wanted to point out he was coming in peace. Therefore, Jesus' entry to Jerusalem symbolized his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a war-waging king.
In many lands in the ancient Near East, it was customary to cover in some way the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. The Hebrew Bible (2Kings 9:13) reports that Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, was treated this way. Both the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John report that people gave Jesus this form of honour. However, in the synoptics they are only reported as laying their garments and cut rushes on the street, whereas John more specifically mentions palm fronds. The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in Jewish tradition, and is treated in other parts of the Bible as such (e.g., Leviticus 23:40 and Revelation 7:9). Because of this, the scene of the crowd greeting Jesus by waving palms and carpeting his path with them and their cloaks has become symbolic and important.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Palm Sunday was marked by the burning of Jack-'o'-Lent figures. This was a straw effigy which would be stoned and abused. Its burning on Palm Sunday was often supposed to be a kind of revenge on Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Christ. It could also have represented the hated figure of Winter whose destruction prepares the way for Spring.
Western Christianity
On Palm Sunday, in the Catholic Church, as well as among many Anglican and Lutheran congregations, palm fronds (or in colder climates some kind of substitutes) are blessed with an aspergillum outside the church building (or in cold climates in the narthex when Easter falls early in the year). A procession also takes place. It may include the normal liturgical procession of clergy and acolytes, the parish choir, or the entire congregation.
In the Roman Catholic Church, this feast now coincides with that of Passion Sunday, which is the focus of the Mass which follows the service of the blessing of palms.
The palms are saved in many churches to be burned the following year as the source of ashes used in Ash Wednesday services. The Catholic Church considers the blessed palms to be sacramentals. The vestments for the day are deep scarlet red, the color of blood, indicating the supreme redemptive sacrifice Christ was entering the city to fulfill: his Passion and Resurrection in Jerusalem.
In the Episcopal and many other Anglican churches and in Lutheran churches, as well, the day is nowadays officially called "The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday"; in practice, though, it is usually termed "Palm Sunday" as in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer and in earlier Lutheran liturgies and calendars, to avoid undue confusion with the penultimate Sunday of Lent in the traditional calendar, which was "Passion Sunday".
In the Church of Pakistan (a member of the Anglican Communion) on Palm Sunday, the faithful carry palm branches into the church, as they sing Psalm 24.
In many Protestant churches, children are given palms, and then walk in procession around the inside of the church while the adults remain seated.
Eastern and Oriental Christianity
In some of the Orthodox Church, Palm Sunday is often called the "Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem", is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year, and is the beginning of Holy Week. The day before is known as Lazarus Saturday, and commemorates the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Unlike the West, Palm Sunday is not considered to be a part of Lent, the Eastern Orthodox Great Fast ends on the Friday before. Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday and Holy Week are considered to be a separate fasting period. On Lazarus Saturday, believers often prepare palm fronds by knotting them into crosses in preparation for the procession on Sunday. The hangings and vestments in the church are changed to a festive color - gold in the Greek tradition and green in the Slavic tradition.
The Troparion of the Feast indicates the resurrection of Lazarus is a prefiguration of Jesus' own Resurrection:
O Christ our God When Thou didst raise Lazarus from the dead before Thy Passion, Thou didst confirm the resurrection of the universe. Wherefore, we like children, carry the banner of triumph and victory, and we cry to Thee, O Conqueror of Death, Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ruthenian Catholic Church, Polish, Bavarian and Austrian Roman Catholics, and various other Eastern European peoples, the custom developed of using pussy willow instead of palm fronds because the latter are not readily available that far north. There is no canonical requirement as to what kind of branches must be used, so some Orthodox believers use olive branches. Whatever the kind, these branches are blessed and distributed together with candles either during the All-Night Vigil on the Eve of the Feast (Saturday night), or before the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. The Great Entrance of the Divine Liturgy commemorates the "Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem", so the meaningfulness of this moment is punctuated on Palm Sunday as everyone stands, holding their branches and lit candles. The faithful take these branches and candles home with them after the service, and keep them in their icon corner as an evloghia (blessing).
In Russia, donkey walk processions took place in different cities, but most importantly in Novgorod and, since 1558 until 1693, in Moscow. It was prominently featured in testimonies by foreign witnesses and mentioned in contemporary Western maps of the city. The Patriarch of Moscow, representing Christ, rode on a "donkey" (actually a horse draped in white cloth); the Tsar of Russia humbly led the procession on foot. Originally, Moscow processions began inside the Kremlin and terminated at Trinity Church, now known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, but in 1658 Patriarch Nikon reversed the order of procession. Peter I, as a part of his nationalisation of the church, terminated the custom; it has been occasionally recreated in the 21st century.
In Oriental Orthodox churches, palm fronds are distributed at the front of the church at the sanctuary steps, in India the sanctuary itself having been strewn with marigolds, and the congregation proceeds through and outside the church.
Customs
It is customary in many churches for the worshippers to receive fresh palm leaves on Palm Sunday. In parts of the world where this has historically been impractical, substitute traditions have arisen.
Belgium
In Hoegaarden one of the last remaining Palm Sunday processions take place every year. A fellowship of Twelve Apostles carries a wooden statue of Chist around the town, while children go door to door offering the palms (box) for coins.
Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, Palm Sunday is known as Tsvetnitsa or Vrabnitsa. People with flower-related names, (for example Tzviatko, Margarita,Ralitza, Lilia, Violeta, Yavor, Zdravko, Zjumbjul, Nevena, Temenuzhka,Rosa etc.) celebrate this day as their "name day".
Finland
In Finland, it is popular for children to dress up as Easter witches and go door to door in neighborhoods for coins and candy. It is an old Karelian custom called Virpominen.
India Flowers (in this instance marigolds) strewn about the sanctuary in an Oriental Orthodox church in Mumbai, India on Palm Sunday
In the South Indian state of Kerala, (and in Indian Orthodox,Church of South India(CSI), Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Syrian Orthodox Church (Jacobite) congregations elsewhere in India and throughout the West), flowers are strewn about into the sanctuary on Palm Sunday during the reading of the Gospel at the words uttered by the crowd welcoming Jesus, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who is come and is to come in the name of the Lord God." These words are read to the congregation thrice. The congregation then repeats, "Hosanna!" and the flowers are scattered. This echoes pre-Christian Hindu celebrations in which flowers are strewn on festive occasions; however, this also echoes the honour shown to Jesus upon his entry into Jerusalem. Indian Orthodoxy traces its roots to the arrival in India of St. Thomas the Apostle in AD 52 (according to tradition) and his evangelism among both the Brahmans of the Malabar Coast and the ancient Jewish community there. Its rites and ceremonies are both Hindu and Jewish, as well as Levantine Christian, in origin. In Syro-Malabar Catholic Church's palm leaves are blessed during Palm Sunday ceremony and a Procession will take place holding the palms.
Latvia
In Latvia, Palm Sunday is called "Pussy Willow Sunday", and pussy willows – symbolizing new life – are blessed and distributed to the faithful. Children are often woken that morning with ritualistic swats of a willow branch. People also catch and spank each other with the branches, a ritual often consummating in sexual intercourse.
Malta
All the parishes of Malta and Gozo on Palm Sunday (in Maltese Ħadd il-Palm) bless the palm leaves and the olive leaves. Those parishes that have the statues of Good Friday bless the olive tree they put on the statues of "Jesus prays in the Olive Garden" (Ġesù fl-Ort) and the "Betrayal of Judas" (il-Bewsa ta' Ġuda). Also, many people take a small branch of olive to their homes because they say the blessed olive branch keeps away disease and the evil eye (l-għajn ħażina or is-seħta).
The Levant
In Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, Palm Sunday – known as Shaa’nini in Arabic- is perhaps the best-attended service in the Christian Calendar, among the Orthodox, Catholic (Latin rite and Eastern rite), Maronite and Anglican Churches, perhaps because it is notably a family occasion. On this day, children attend church with branches from olive and palm trees. Also, there will be carefully woven crosses and other symbols made from palm fronds and roses. There will normally be a procession at the beginning of the service and at some point, the priest will take an olive branch and splash holy water on the faithful.
Netherlands
In the Saxon regions of the Netherlands, crosses are decorated with candy and bread, made in the form of a rooster. In the diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden, a great procession with oil lamps is held the night before Palm Sunday in honour of the Sorrowful Mother of Warfhuizen.
Philippines
In the Philippines, communities re-enact Jesus' triumphal entry with a procession. A statue of Christ on the donkey or the officiating priest mounted on horse process around or towards the local church, surrounded by the palm-bearing churchgoers. In some towns, elderly women spread heirloom "aprons" (made for this sole purpose) or large cloths along the procession route in imitation of the Jerusalemites. Children dressed as angels sometimes sing the Osana ("Hosanna") whilst strewing flowers about.
Once blessed, the palm branches (palaspas), are taken home by the faithful and are hung beside, on or above doorways and windows. Although the true purpose of this custom is to welcome Jesus Christ, many Filipinos hold the branches to be apotropaic, turning away any evil spirits as well as averting lightning strikes and fires.
Poland
Many Polish towns and villages (the best known are Lipnica Murowana in Małopolska and Łyse in Podlasie) organize artificial palm competitions. The biggest of those reach above 30 meters in length; for example, the highest palm in 2008 was 33.39 meters high.
Romania
In Romania, Palm Sunday is known as Duminica Floriilor.
Spain
In Elche, Spain, the location of the biggest palm grove in Europe, there is a tradition of tying and covering palm leaves to whiten them away from sunlight and then drying and braiding them in elaborate shapes.
A Spanish rhyming proverb states: Domingo de Ramos, quien no estrena algo, se le caen las manos ("On Palm Sunday, the hands drop off of those who fail to wear something new").
