When something like a certain spice is no good anymore, it usually means exactly what I just said. I just looked at some of the things in the pantry and was aghast at what I've overlooked. Multiple spices are kept there, so, inevitably, that means things get pushed back to where you can't see it, and then you don't realize you still have some when you didn't check first. Other times, you'll get what I experienced the other day, and that's a container of chives which expired...

Matthew 16:18 - "On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."


Where precisely are the gates of hell? Where does the devil sit in power?

The mind is the gatekeeper of the Kingdom of God. It is the place of access, transition, and power. It follows that the gates of hell are set up in people's minds. Jesus made this clear:

Matthew 16:23 - But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind...

2 Corinthians 1:20 - "For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes in Him (Christ). For this reason we all utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him to the glory of God."

The Master has handcrafted each one of us for a specific PURPOSE and a precise time, making sure we've been carefully polished and are ready to soar.

With practice comes the testing. This will happen until what the psalmist said of Joseph's testing in Genesis will...

Hebrews 4:9,10 - "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his."

We may have perfect rest -- that we dare to cast ourselves upon God, and have no care because Christ has: put away sin, has rent the veil, and has sit down on the right hand of the throne.
Because all is finished and perfected, we have received the Holy Spirit from heaven in our hearts to make us the...

Has this ever happened to you?

I'm hungry. (Check). I decide what I want to eat & mentally compare it to what's in the refrigerator. (Check). Put the food to warm up in the oven. (Check). Come back after awhile only to discover I forgot to turn the oven ON! (Uncheck).

In the interest of full disclosure, yes, I did get mad. And yes, I likely said a few words that I should not have. But then, afterwards, I thought to myself "Is this really THAT serious?"...