Monthly Archives: July 2011

The Deal of Eternity.

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White Flower

Image by doug88888 via Flickr

The Lord.  The Lord Most High is calling.  “Make your paths straight before My sight.  I have offered you My Son, that you might clothe yourselves in His Righteousness.”

“He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” (Rev. 3:5)

We walk according to the ways of man.  But God offers us His way.  Seek His offer and submit to His leading.  There is no other way to Life.  All who ignore His offer will not see Life.  But to the extent you receive His offer, you will not be put to shame. 

By His Grace.

The Mire of Anxiety.

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US Navy 090808-N-4267W-509 Competitors crawl t...

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How desperate are my fingers.  How anxious is my mind.  That when I read a hopeless post I do not possess the remedy.  I see you struggle and in agony you cry.  For you miss the strength to drag your limp legs another inch.  The mire of problems has bogged you down.  And your soul is black with the sticky mess of life which has bought you. 

I know the One who can rescue you from your toil.  And I hold out the words of life to all my brothers and sisters of flesh.  His name is Jesus.  He is The One who was slain on your behalf.  But unless you take Him to yourself these words will hold no tone of help. 

From His perspective He sees the world as men and women who drag themselves along each day.  The words and power of His help has hovered above them with a gentleness.  But they continue to ignore His loving hand.  And what shall be said of this plight?

Call out!  You’re in a horrible trouble and you know it.  He is the answer.  I know you don’t believe.  Neither did I.  But to all who muster the strength of a whispered scream, He will respond.  Even the faith of calling out on what you can’t believe yet will yield help.  Yell once and receive.  Yell twice and receive more.  Continue to foster a desire for Him and He will continue to help.  Let it become your daily and instant resource and He will become your daily and instant help.

Some have said to me, “I called out to Him once.  But nothing happened”.  Something happened:  you called out to Him once.  But did you make Him your desire?  Did you desire His will for you?  Or did you simply want your eyes wiped off that you could see where you are? 

If you want clear of the mire of your troubles, turn to Him with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and with all your soul.  It is in the entirety of the matter that you will find His continuous help.  He is not like a light switch.  You can’t simply reach up once and switch His help on.  He rightly expects us to develop a resolute desire for His ways.  I have called this a “Place of Testing”.  And this term comes about for a reason.  God is waiting for you to enter the test of His Holy demands.  He will never change.  Yet, without Him we will surely die.

By His Grace.

The Carpet of Potential.

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White

Image by Tolka Rover via Flickr

Before me lay the day.  It is rolled out in front of me as a clean white carpet.  I have never stepped one foot on this new “place of possibilities”.  And as I look about me I perceive the carpet to extend in every direction for the distance of a day. 

Where shall I set my first step?  How shall I know which direction to begin?  And haven’t I been here before?  I remember the days like this from years and years past.  How they settle against me now.  They are like an army of days of darkness.  I walked about on their carpets as a blind man.  And now they have amassed against me as an army.  They hold in their hands weapons of regret.  They hold my potential hostage, and wait like lions in the bushes to grasp this day’s hope.

I know what I will do.  I will call upon the Lord of Life.  He has in His hand the days of eternity.  He knows the way of each day.  And has seen the end of things from ancient days before.  I will beg His Glory to guide my first step.  I will set my face in the direction of His Holy whisper.  And I will allow the wind of His Pure Flame to direct my strength upon that foot. 

From the beginning, His Son was slain.  He set the foundations of the world with the intent of sacrificing His Son for a people blind, naked, hopeless, and purposeless.  This is the God who now directs the steps I make on this pure carpet about me.  I will walk in the strength of my God.  And I will not be ashamed. 

Rail against me, you days of regret! 

Speak of my failings, go ahead! 

I walk these days without your help. 

For I rest on the Lord of Glory!

By His Grace.

At the Advent of God’s Wrath.

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Burning Castle Before a City

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While I drive the truck around, delivering my loads, I’m constantly made aware of the overwhelming push to own more stuff.   Billboards shout in our faces of how we need this….. want that….. should do this and that….  support this cause….. give money to that…..   And on it goes. 

I get near a television and hear the same things.  Videos shout a constant stream of violence, greed, sexual immorality, pride of man, and the screaming void of godliness.  Man has gained the precarious place of being the number one promoter of every evil thing.  And most folks don’t even notice anymore. 

I live in America.  So I speak as one who lives here.  I’m aware that the internet allows others of other countries to view this post.  And though I can’t speak for their experience, I’d wager it’s the same for them. 

Our awareness of God’s Holiness is almost lost now.  Even Christians are being what is termed “dumbed down”.  Grand religion buildings are taking the place of personal truth in worship of God.  And the people swallow it like honey. 

But God is the same God He was when Enoch was taken from the earth.  He is the same God who condemned the wicked in the flood.  He is the same God who tested Abraham.  He is the same God who sent His Holy Son into this world to become the sacrifice for all mankind.  He is Holy.  And the entire world is busy chasing after evil, wickedness, blasphemy, and rebellion against Him.  There will certainly be a very high price to pay for man as he builds his world without consideration of God’s consistent demand to be holy.

I was struck by a passage last week.  It comes from Revelation:

Rev 18:21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:

“With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. 22 The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. 23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth.”

Along with this passage there was a celebration in heaven at the overthrow of babylon the great.  God is not kidding around folks.  What is wicked is fuel for the flames of hell.  And to whatever extent we contain wickedness, we are in danger of destruction.  I present this post to urge every man, woman and child to turn away from the onslaught of wickedness.  Turn to God and begin to realize your plight.  We are all liars and fools without Him.  If you don’t agree with that statement, you’re under the spell of babylon’s wickedness.  If we don’t repent of all this day’s evil, we will not be part of the celebration before God.  We will be the reason for the celebration.

By His Grace.

My Dad’s in Prison.

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Jail cell

Image by Gerry Dincher via Flickr

I started out to search for the Lord God who made me.  Innocently I inquired from those who said they had the answers.  I found answers and embraced them as best I could.  And as a child I entered into a relationship with the Almighty God through Jesus.

Over the years it has become apparent that I stand in a very hated place.  I defend the Glory of the One who made me, gave His life for me, and is causing me to learn to love Him.  This has become very curious to me, this hated place.

If my dad had been an honorable man and was accused of a horrible crime.  And after the accusation he was remanded to jail for the rest of his life.  And all of society believed the lie that he was guilty.  And if I knew, beyond any doubt that he was innocent of the charges against him.  Do you think it would be right for me to sit quietly while my dad was in prison? 

Though I were the only one to stand up for him, I would stand.  Those who believed he was guilty would learn to hate me.  But should I stop trying to right the wrong?  It would be wrong for me to remain silent.  And so it is with God.

He has done nothing wrong.  But men accuse Him of horrible crimes.  He is jailed in society and people rail against Him.  He has been accused of the ultimate hate crimes.  But He is not guilty of any crime.  He will never be guilty.  And I will not stop defending His honor as long as He allows me breath.

By His Grace.

Response to Celebration of Homosexual Marriage.

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Humans banter social issues. Some lose, some win. But in the end, a social issue between humans is simply that. Regardless the issue being bantered about, as long as the arena used is only society, or personal choice, or explaining a compulsion, there can be no complete resolution. There will always be another “banter” to enter. Someone else will hold an objection.

But bring in the concept of a Holy God and the bantering escalates to “something more”. I find that truth both unsettling and peaceful. It tells me that, regardless what I say about a subject of social debate my allegiance to God will become a serious factor at some point. It becomes a factor for what I say. It becomes a factor in my own conscience. And it becomes a factor for the response of those who listen. There is no compromise with a Holy God as there might be between humans in social context. And this poses as a wall insurmountable.

The debates of what is right or acceptable will ensue in a free society. And those who wish to make their choice, or compulsion, law will suffer under their own choice. How much better it would be if we would just all shut up about our special interests. The government is there to provide oil to the machine of society. It was not instituted to lock down certain aspects of freedom, pro or con our special interest.

But doesn’t this last statement enter into the “Bantering” realm.

By His Grace.