Tag: Scripture

Scripture on the Divine Heart of God the Father

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The Heart of God the Father in Christianity is indicated by 27 specific references in Sacred Scripture (Bartolo-Abela, 2012), with 26 of these references being in the Old Testament, whereas one of the references is in the New Testament (Bovenmars, 1991). Many of these references exist in all three major sources of Scripture including the Septuagint (LXX), the Masoretic text and the Latin Vulgate. A few of the references could be considered doubtful because of their presence in only one of the aforementioned sources.

The 27 references in Scripture which speak about the Heart of the Father are: 

  1. Gn 6:6-7 (Vulgate, LXX);
  2. Gn 8:21 (Masoretic);
  3. Jb 7:17 (Vulgate, Masoretic);
  4. Jb 9:4 (Vulgate, Masoretic);
  5. Jb 10:11-13 (Vulgate, Masoretic);
  6. Ps 32:11 (Vulgate) / 33:11 (LXX, Masoretic);
  7. Ps 77:70-72 (Vulgate, Masoretic) / 78:70-72 (LXX);
  8. Is 63:4 (Vulgate, Masoretic);
  9. Jer 3:14-15 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  10. Jer 7:30-31 (Vulgate, LXX);
  11. Jer 19:5 (LXX);
  12. Jer 23:20 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  13. Jer 30:24 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  14. Jer 32:35 (Vulgate);
  15. Jer 32:41 (Vulgate, Masoretic) / 39:41 (LXX);
  16. Jer 44:21 (Vulgate) / 51:21 (LXX);
  17. Lam 3:33 (LXX);
  18. Ez 28:2 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  19. Hos 11:8-9 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  20. 1 Chr 17:19 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  21. 2 Chr 7:16 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  22. 1 Kgs 2:35 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  23. 1 Kgs 13:14 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  24. 2 Kgs 7:21 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  25. 3 Kgs 9:3 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  26. 4 Kgs 10:30 (Vulgate, LXX, Masoretic);
  27. Acts 13:22 (Vulgate).

References

  1. Bartolo-Abela, M. (2012). The Icon of the Divine Heart of God the Father: Apologia and Canon. East Longmeadow, MA: Apostolate of the Divine Heart.
  2. Bovenmars, J. G. (1991). Biblical spirituality of the heart. New York: Alba House.

For those who hate

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For the men whose hearts are so full of envy, anger and hatred, they have become vile:

Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips is a fool (Pr 10:18).

The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness. The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes (1 Jn 2:9-11).

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him (1 Jn 3:15).

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 Jn 4:20).

On the Truth of God – 2

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As it says in scripture: Anyone who is upright through faith will live. The retribution of God from heaven is being revealed against the ungodliness and injustice of human beings who in their injustice hold back the truth. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them, since God has made it plain to them: ever since the creation of the world, the invisible existence of God and his everlasting power have been clearly seen by the mind’s understanding of created things. And so these people have no excuse.

They knew God and yet they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but their arguments became futile and their uncomprehending minds were darkened. While they claimed to be wise, in fact they were growing so stupid that they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an imitation, for the image of a mortal human being, or of birds, or animals, or crawling things. That is why God abandoned them in their inmost cravings to filthy practices of dishonoring their own bodies – because they exchanged God’s truth for a lie and have worshiped and served the creature instead of the Creator who is blessed for ever. Amen.

That is why God abandoned them to degrading passions: why their women have exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices; and the men, in a similar fashion, too, giving up normal relations with women, are consumed with passion for each other, men doing shameful things with men and receiving in themselves due reward for their perversion. In other words, since they would not consent to acknowledge God, God abandoned them to their unacceptable thoughts and indecent behavior. And so now they are steeped in all sorts of injustice, rottenness, greed and malice; full of envy, murder, wrangling, treachery and spite, libelers, slanderers, enemies of God, rude, arrogant and boastful, enterprising in evil, rebellious to parents, without brains, honor, love or pity. They are well aware of God’s ordinance: that those who behave like this deserve to die – yet they not only do it, but even applaud others who do the same” (Rom 1:17-32).

On the Truth of God – 1

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Do you not realize that people who do evil will never inherit the kingdom of God? Make no mistake – the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, the self-indulgent, sodomites, thieves, misers, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers, none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you used to be of that kind: but you have been washed clean, you have been sanctified and you have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and through the Spirit of our God. ‘For me everything is permissible;’ maybe, but not everything does good. True, for me everything is permissible, but I am determined not to be dominated by anything.

Foods are for the stomach and the stomach is for foods; and God will destroy them both. But the body is not for sexual immorality; it is for the Lord and the Lord is for the body. God raised up the Lord and He will raise us up too by His power. Do you not realise that your bodies are members of Christ’s body? Do you think one can take parts of Christ’s body and join them to the body of a prostitute? Out of the question! Or do you not realise that anyone who attaches himself to a prostitute is one body with her, since the two, as it is said, become one flesh. But anyone who attaches himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

Keep away from sexual immorality. All other sins that people may commit are done outside the body; but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you and whom you received from God? You are not your own property, then; you have been bought at a price. So use your body for the glory of God (1 Cor 6:9-20).

For the Church – 3

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“Go and stand at the gate of the Temple of Yahweh and there proclaim this message. Say, “Listen to the word of Yahweh, all you men of Judah who come in by these gates to worship Yahweh. Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: Amend your behaviour and your actions and I will stay with you here in this place. Put no trust in delusive words like these: This is the sanctuary of Yahweh, the sanctuary of Yahweh, the sanctuary of Yahweh! But if you do amend your behaviour and your actions, if you treat each other fairly, Continue reading “For the Church – 3” →

Where in Scripture is the Heart of the Father? – Response to a question

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The question was posed, “Where in Scripture does it talk about the Heart of the Father?” The answer was already posted early last year, so it is herewith reposted as follows:

The Heart of God the Father in Christianity is indicated by 27 specific references in Sacred Scripture (Bartolo-Abela, 2012), with 26 of these references being in the Old Testament whereas one of the references in in the New Testament (Bovenmars, 1991). Many of these references exist in all three major sources of Scripture as shown below: namely, the Septuagint (LXX), the Masoretic text and the Latin Vulgate. A few of the references could be considered doubtful because of their presence in only one of the aforementioned sources. The 27 references in Scripture which speak about the Heart of the Father are:  Continue reading “Where in Scripture is the Heart of the Father? – Response to a question” →