Everyone who looks does not see. Everyone who hears does not listen. What are we looking for? What is it we need to see? What would God reveal to us? There is but one desire of GOD for us, and that is that we may see Christ. GOD does not reveal one hundred, one thousand, or one million things to us. HE is pleased to give us HIS Son, and HE delights for us to look only to HIM. Not even the things HE gives, but to HIM who is the GIFT. We might pray for revelation into a great many matters, but only one thing is important to GOD, that is, that we may have revelation into HIS Son.

If we know the Son, If we possess the Son, we know and possess and see all that GOD has and is, for HE has deposited all of HIMSELF into HIS Son, and all of HIS Son deposited into us.

As we progress in our Christian walk, we begin to ask for and seek spiritual things in order to have a victorious Christian life. We learn to do this from watching what everyone else is doing. We may seek blessings from GOD. We pray many prayers and make many requests. Sometimes it seems we are given what we ask for, and sometimes it seems we are unchanged. So we struggle on, always searching for something out in space a thousand miles away that will change us from being defeated to being victorious. Hmm, does this sound familiar to anyone?

The whole problem is, that we view VICTORY as something out in the twilight zone of the Spirit, while we are struggling alone here on planet Earth, toiling and sweating as we wrestle and fight against a defeated adversary. To us then, victory is something we do not have, something we cannot see, something we are not experiencing, something we must reach for and diligently seek until we find it. The routine of daily life becomes old. We hope to find the victory we seek in a new book, a new tape, a teaching, a ministry, a church, a group, a video, a seminar, a special speaker, a website, or a special discipline, or Spiritual regimen. We go through those one by one, and some of them even work short-term, but eventually they end up on the shelf in the recesses of our minds, collecting dust and never being put to practice beyond the initial excitement of having learned a new thing or riding the wave of the latest Spiritual fad.

GOD does not give us a thing called VICTORY. Instead HE gives us HIS Son to be our VICTORY. CHRIST IS OUR VICTORY! It is not a question of going forth to war in the name of JESUS and claiming Victory in advance. Let me give you a Spiritual Golden Nugget. VICTORY IS A MAN CALLED JESUS! Overcoming is entering into VICTORY HIMSELF, being clothed with VICTORY, sharing in the Life of One who overcame death and the grave. Thus, our VICTORY IS IN JESUS. It is not a separate Grace of Gift which HE grants to certain ones who learn some principles of Spiritual Warfare. HE GAVE VICTORY TO AND FOR ALL!

Live each day VICTORIOUSLY,

David guss Imperio

Reading from the Message Bible this week:

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Matthew 5:13 (The Message)

Oh Boy!I feel this week's thought is a good, but harsh word. This week's verse of scripture tells us WHY we're here on this orb we call Earth. Jesus is answering that age old question, "WHY ARE WE HERE?" We do this by first loving God and Loving EACH OTHER AS HE HAS LOVED US. (THE anthem for the Pocket of People Assembly is sung by the Gaithers Vocal Group entitled: Loving GOD, Loving Each Other."

LOVE is the salt seasoning that brings out the GOD-FLAVORS of the Earth! LOVE is the core nature of GOD; it's that nature created in us and now pursues us. It is that NATURE that GOD wants us to show the world! My, My, My!

Sooo that is the GOOD NEWS. We are told WHY we are here and WHAT we are to do. So what is the harsh or bad news? If we don't do this we lose our usefulness. We lose our purpose and we will be thrown out with the garbage. Like I said, this is harsh, but it is there clear as day--if we don't fulfill our purpose we are useless and we will end up in the GARBAGE. My,My,My!! That's not Guss Imperio speaking, that's straight from the MESSAGE BIBLE.

Now I know that no one wants to end up in the GARBAGE. Let me suggest that we embrace the answer to the age-old question of WHY AM I HERE?, and be that salt-seasoning (LOVE) to the world around us. Let's bring out the GOD-FLAVORS of this Earth! Let's reflect GOD'S LOVE for ALL people and HIS desire for intimate personal relationship with each and every one of us.

LET'S LOVE GOD AND LOVE EACH OTHER AS HE FIRST LOVE US!

Loving GOD, Loving Each Other, Making Music with My Friends!

David Guss Imperio

"Reading from the Message Bible: " May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans: 15: 5-6.

This particular verse of Scripture caught my attention this morning because of the emphasis it placed upon YOU, ONE, GOD THE FATHER,,JESUS CHRIST and WE AS ONE!

YES, ONE UNITED! WOW! JUST THINK FOR A MINUTE of the power we have UNITED AS ONE IN JESUS CHRIST! And how do we UNITE as ONE? IN PRAYER! In prayers we join with others in a POWERFUL "network" of FAITH. Allow me to give you an example of unseen UNITY! An Aspen Grove contains a "metaphor' for the POWER OF UNITED PRAYER. A stand of Aspen appears to be individual trees. But, botanists know that the grove is actually ONE SINGLE ORGANISM, connected underground by a network of unseen roots. EACH tree SUPPORTS and STRENGTHENS the WHOLE! MY,MY, MY! That'll Preach!

In much the same way, WE are but ONE individual, yet WE are connected with ALL OF GOD'S creation. (Please read that last sentence over and over again until you grasp the Revelation of WHO you are in Christ. Jesus encouraged US to pray together! UNITED Prayer is POWERFUL! as we pray together with Friends, family, OTHERS, We are COMFORTED AND STRENGTHENED! Let's join in UNITED PRAYER that is DEEPLY ROOTED in FAITH!

A BOND SERVANT FOR CHRIST

David Guss Imperio

If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which helps to enlarge our possessions or our status in society, then mythology has no claim to the appellation. But if that which make us happier and better can be called useful, then we claim that epithet for our subject. Mythology is the handmaid of literature; and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of happiness.

Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our English Language cannot be understood or appreciated. When the poet Byron calls Rome"the Niobe of nations, or says of Venice, "She looks a Sea-Cybele fresh from the ocean," he calls up to mind of one familiar with the subject illustrations more vivid and striking than the pen could furnish, but which are lost to the reader ignorant of mythology.

But how is mythology to be taught to one who does not learn it through the medium of the languages of Greece and Rome? For a reader to devote a in debt study of learning which wholly relates to mythological gods and obsolete worlds is not to be expected in this year of 2021. The time of the young is claimed by so many sciences of facts and things that little study can be spared for a set treatises on a science of mere myth. But may the requisite knowledge of mythology be acquired by reading the ancient poets translations and the Black Water Mist series? Maybe, but the mythological field is too extensive for a preparatory course; and these translations and my books do require some previous knowledge of mythology to make them intelligible.

My book series Black Water Mist is an attempt to solve this problem, by my re-telling of the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of entertainment. I have endeavored to tell them correctly, according to the ancient authorities, so that you the reader may not be at a loss to recognize the references. Thus, I hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study; to give my work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important study of your education.

I trust my young readers will find my books a source of entertainment; those more advanced in the study of mythology, a useful companion in their reading; those who travel, and visit museums and galleries of art, an interpreter of paintings and sculptures; those who mingle in cultivated society a key to allusions which are occasionally made; and last of all, those advanced in life's pleasure, a guide for retracing a path of literature which leads them to the days of their childhood, and revives at every step the associations of the morning of life.

Homeric themes have always inspired me and lately, I've devoted countless hours of my time to the examination of his works. Homer was a mentor to many greats of brave and noble deeds. Amongst the best were Alexander the Great, who carried copies of the epics on his military campaigns. I have read the Iliad and the Odyssey several times which leads me to my blog for September 2021.

" Everyone of us have read these two books over and over again, again, and again. Each time I found the same things: an excellent narrative, superbly told; well-drawn characters; the worlds best plots; pathos, horror, excitement, calm, philosophy, history and so on. Yet each time I finished reading, my reaction has always been the same: I felt I had missed the point. I have read dozens of books on Greek Mythology, I studied ancient history, I lived in Europe for fifteen years, and I read criticism and comments by world renown authors. I re-read the Iliad and the Odyssey several times while writing the Black Water Mist Series., but the same old feelings remained, that I was missing the point. Homer, so it seems to me, was saying something very clearly, yet something I did not grasp. Between his words and my understanding was a veil. So I studied and wrote, studied and wrote more about Greek Mythology until I finalized a couple of questions that needed answered. Are both epics extended metaphor? Figurative language is a poetic device. To sustain the metaphor for the length of two books is long. Nevertheless, I found a Cape Fear Community College Professor at a block party, who by the way, is teaching both epics. I explained my theory of the two books and what I thought to be Homer's purpose. She totally disagreed with me and voiced her opinion of the two books. Not to be defeated or deterred, I put everything aside to explore the possibility of the Homer's epics being the said metaphor. What did he think worthwhile to put into a book length poem, at a time when writing was either unknown, or if known, an expensive process? What was the incentive, good literature apart, for poets, and scholars to memorize both books even after writing was known?"

While the Earth was in its infancy, water covered the entire orb. Stories of Gorgons, Hydras and Chimeras, Calaens and Harpies reproduced themselves in the human brain of superstition and Greek Mythology-- but this was before humans walked the earth and the Elder ones had slipped to Earth from another Galaxy and built cities under the oceans--before life existed-- they were there before life existed - they are the transcripts, types - the archetypes are in us and they are eternal. The Black Water Mist Series delves deep to investigate the truth, the fears, and the myths, that have come to terrorize and affect everyone of us. Is it that we Earthlings are naturally afraid of beings able to inflict bodily harm upon us? Oh, least of all. Is the Black Water Mist a remnant of these ancient myths and terrors? Yes, these myths and terrors are ancient. They date beyond the body or without the body--regardless, they would have been the same kind of fear-- that kind of fear we treat as purely spiritual-- it is strong in proportion as it is objectless on Earth--it not only predates life but gives us a peep into the shadowlands of pre-existence.