Some Food for Thought…

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After the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Yeshua, the disciples became disheartened, and turned back to their previous occupation fishing. While fishing Yeshua stood upon the sea shore, Peter realizing that it was the Lord, jumped into the sea and swam to shore. While eating, Yeshua asked Peter  “do you love me more than these other things?”  in John 21:15. Today, when we gather together as a body of believers, have you noticed that most of the activity of gathering is done so by focusing on “each other?” Having love for one another is very important (see John 13:34-35) however, is fellowship alone good enough?  Gatherings, meetings, special speakers and special music are all good: but are those things enough? Did you know that in a praise and worship service it is possible to sing “about” Yeshua but not truly worship Yeshua? Similarly with preaching and teaching, it is possible to talk “about” Yeshua but yet not truly meet Yeshua in the spirit of the word. This is also possible in prayer while speaking with God “about” our “needs and desires” but not actually communing with God and with Yeshua.

When we come into a relationship with the Lord by faith, our lives begin to change, it is this change that draws a distinction between those who are only going through the motions and those who are spiritually growing closer to the Lord. Our faith in Yeshua (Jesus) is all about change; God has taken us out of this world, and created in us a new heart, restoring our spirit (this is how we are created new), one that is in fellowship with God. So, if we are born again in Yeshua (Jesus), and serving a Holy God; shouldnt we be fighting for truth and for Holiness in our daily lives? Shouldn’t we be trying to spend as much time with the Lord as possible on a daily basis in prayer?  How about studying God’s Word?  The next time you attend a service, sing praise to the Lord, or approach the Lord in prayer, evaluate your life, ask the question “have I grown closer to the Lord lately” or “have I reached a spiritual stagnant point in my life?”  The spiritual stagnation could be the result of approaching God with a focus on ourselves in contrast to our drawing near to simply draw near and dwell in God’s presence. If you need a spiritual jumpstart today, you can begin by drawing near to the Lord for the sole purpose of drawing near to the Lord.  By doing this it is possible to bring Glory to God in a new and intimate way.

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Duane D. Miller received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron Ohio. He is currently a Chemical Engineering Researcher. Duane’s research expertise has focused upon functional materials development for the control, conversion, and release of process gases in Energy production technologies. His R&D interests include computational chemistry, developing novel technologies for converting biomass to fuels and studying their fundamental interactions during the chemical conversion process. His past experience includes sorbent development for pre- and post-combustion CO2 and SO2 capture, selective absorption of H2S from methane streams, O2 capture for oxy-fuel combustion, photocatalytic reduction of alcohols, NOx reduction catalysis, the development of oxygen carriers to combust fossil fuels (CH4 and coal) for the chemical looping combustion processes, and the extraction of rare earth elements using patent pending sorbents. His research expertise has focused on operando-characterization using Infrared, Raman, and UV-Vis spectroscopy to observe the nature of the catalytic active sites and reaction intermediates under realistic reaction conditions, allowing direct correlation of molecular/electronic structures with catalyst performance during Gas-Solid / Liquid-Solid Adsorption and Photocatalytic Processes with real time online analysis of reaction products using ICP-MS and mass spectrometry. His current work involves a multi-disciplinary approach to developing, understanding, and improving the catalytic gasification of coal and methane, high temperature chemical looping combustion, and the catalytic decomposition and gasification of biomass and coal using novel microwave reactor.​ He has been studying the Hebrew Scriptures and the Torah for 20+ years and sharing what he has learned. The studies developed for MATSATI.COM are freely to be used by everyone, to God be the Glory!