Monthly Archives: September 2011

The Lion Will Devour.

by

0


Lion

Image by fatedsnowfox via Flickr

Take a lesson from the Lion and its prey.

The Lion stalks close, having spotted it’s dinner from afar.  Silently and with the wind in his favor he closes in to dine.  The prey sips lovingly at the water and listens with all its might.  But there is no sound of warning. 

The Lion charges.  And two leaps are taken before the prey notices death approach.  Too late!  Now it is too late. 

The Lion devours without mercy.  There is a hunger which compels his jaws.  And his belly will cease its frantic message.

 

So it will be for those caught unaware.  As they sip from the river of greed and selfishness they will be put upon.  Though they listen with all they have, there will be no hope of escape.  The Lion of Judah will satisfy the judgment of God against all the ungodly.  Why then, would you put off what could happily avoid your certain death?

By His Grace.

My LOVE! How Sweet You Are!

by

0


The Analysis of Beauty Plate 1, 37.15 x 49.05 cm.

Image via Wikipedia

I present you words here.  That is all I can do.  And what shall I say which will describe the beauty of my Lovely God?

He is as a very light breeze which caresses my face.  Almost imperceptible to my senses, yet powerful enough to touch me, pass by, and caress a tree a hundred yards away.  And to my amazement, this same breeze which He allowed me to perceive has come from somewhere.  And it did not appear to me void of having touched others.  His beauty is a gentle breeze to those whom He loves.  Yet it is a hurricane to His enemies. 

His blazing light of Righteousness and judgment are welcome guests in this tent of flesh He has endowed with understanding.  And to say “guests” is less than appropriate.  For He is the owner of what He has made.  And even now I see that it is I who am become the guest in my own flesh.  It is I who sits down to the mean prepared by He who has come to live in my house.  This servitude is most amazing.  For He feeds the wicked in the temple of His building. 

Words.  Unholy words from he who is redeemed.  These are my lot.  Yet, don’t these words ring in your mind?  Can you read what I write?  When a man of God was brought to the Throne of He who Lives forever, that man spoke what is true;  “Woe is me!  For I am a man of unclean lips.  And I dwell among a people of unclean lips!”  This was said by a servant of the Most High God.  What shall be the words of those who remain in darkness?

Words.  How beautiful they can be if they strive to portray the beauty of my Love.  Yet how absolutely unable to paint the picture He shows to His people.  Who shall be proud of their words?  Who can stand in the Great Assembly and proclaim with their lips of man the Glory of God?  And who has ears to hear the beauty spoken?

By His Grace.

To Remain or to Depart?

by

0


Georg Gsell. "The Apostle Paul."

Image via Wikipedia

The Apostle Paul said that he was torn between wanting to be with the Lord and recognizing that to be with the people was more important.  And his conclusion was that he would remain with the people for the sake of their benefit in the Lord.  I understand that quandary.  And I see his reasoning in this matter.  To be with the Lord is a sure thing for those who are called by the Lord as His people.  We only have a limited time to infect others with the message of God.

Yet I also see why he desired to be with the Lord.  This place is not our home.  And the desire to go home is intense.  And there is another aspect of this which bears mention.  The Lord said what was true when He said that a prophet is not accepted in his home town.  It is the nature of men to exclude the title of holy from any who’s history is presented to their memory.  That is to say, if a few people know my history, they will never accept the words I now speak on behalf of the Lord of Life.  To them, I am simply a fool who thinks too highly of himself.  And this will be the case as long as I am in this place of testing.

But when I am not here for their fingers to point at, what is left behind has the potential to become something far more than it could have when they knew me.  Now I appear as a fool.  Then I will become part of those who have passed through.  And in the end, what I leave behind becomes greater in their eyes.  What a curious but true phenomenon. 

So I desire to leave this place.  Not because I am sick of the “crap”.  Because I know that these words will gather more power when I am not here for them to accuse.  While I am still here, pride will reign more than service, both within me and within those who read these words.  When I am with Him, there will be no more opportunity for pride, neither in me nor those who read these words.

So I desire to leave this place.  In the Apostle’s condition, his remaining was well founded.  For he had lived a life worthy of living from the beginning.  From my condition, I have not.  So, for the benefit of those who might read these things, I desire to leave this place.

By His Grace.

Dress Yourself, For Your Shame is Exposed.

by

0


Mediaeval (early 14th century) stone carving o...

Image via Wikipedia

In our prayers we learn that certain phrases are good to speak.   And often these phrases become understood as we continue to use them.  Though we don’t understand their significance at first, they come clear to us as we make them part of our pattern of prayer.  I’m not speaking of using words or phrases over and over so that our prayer will be heard.  I’m speaking of such things as this:  “Father, dress me that I may serve You and those who witness my life.  For one can not serve naked.”

I’ve often brought that to the Lord with a limited understanding.  I know that He is dressed in Glory and Righteousness.  And I know that those who had been beheaded for the sake of the Gospel, those in the book of Revelation who reside under the throne of God and wait for a moment of God’s wise choosing, were given white robes to wear and told to wait a little longer.  Even these souls were given appropriate clothes to wear.

Then it struck me.  When Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden of Eden, the Lord killed animals and prepared clothing for them to wear.  Thus it has been so from the fall of man.  That our nakedness, that is to say our sin must have a covering.  And wasn’t this also so when those two recognized that they were naked?  Do we now see the necessity of the fig leaves which they used to cover themselves?

It is appropriate, even absolutely necessary, that man must be covered to hide his shame.  And what covering should there be that we should wear as we serve the Living God?  Only the righteousness of Jesus will cover us before the eyes of He to whom we must give account. 

He who desires to serve the Lord without the covering of Jesus will only end up serving himself.  He remains naked and his shame is exposed before the Most High God.  And he should not think that he will receive the blessing of God.  Dress yourself with an understanding of your sinful tendencies.  Even the most battle hardened saint will require the covering of God when he goes to prayer.  How should we who struggle to understand the basics be any different?

By His Grace.

Don’t Lock that Lock! Noone Has a Key!

by

1


Locked

We have heard that the Patience of God is great.  We have heard that He provides for the wicked regardless how they rail against Him.  In this Great Patience His Mercy is profound.  But we have also heard that there is an end to His Patience and Mercy.  In the Lord’s patience we find Him a “long suffering” God.  But He will not suffer loss forever.  He has warned us that there is an end to His patience and mercy.

How long has He suffered with the rebellion of man?  We are told, and believe, that He has suffered the rebellion of man since the sin of Eve.  But I saw something more last night. And if we allow ourselves to understand, our concept of the Glory of God is about to increase.

I have written that this place of testing was built as an answer to an accusation.  I have written that we are living answers.  An accusation was presented regarding God’s Glorious patience, mercy, and righteousness.  You will find this in the post called, “What is man that you are mindful of him?”

We should not assume that God simply rose to His Holy Throne one day to condemn the accuser.  We are taught that God does nothing without employing great patience and mercy first.  There is the Love of God which provokes Him to counsel, teach, and rebuke the wickedness within all of us.  I rest confident that this was also employed in the way of the accuser.  We read that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  And we have read and believe that Jesus is the exact representation of the Father.  So in Jesus we have a telling view of our Father in Heaven.  And for those who are learning to Love Jesus, we have the personal testimony of His great patience, mercy, and righteousness.

Look at the patience of the Lord that He should suffer so for the sake of bringing us to His Father, clean, confident, and full of holiness.  Consider how many years the Lord has suffered with the sins of man.  Would you now think that the accuser did not have the same mercy applied to his sin before this place of testing was built?  Would you conclude that God rose quickly to condemn without first trying to rectify the problem?

Who can accurately name the number of centuries man has been allowed to prosper and sin under the watchful eye of the Holy Lord God?  And we have never seen the face of the Most High.  Mercy to us is extended while we learn of His ways.  This same God, who is so very gentle with those who are striving to rid themselves of rebellion, would surely have dealt with the accuser in the same way.  How many of our years might He have been patient with this one?  Who can tell.  But I know the patience and mercy He has shown me.  And I revel in the fact that He is a Marvelous God who is able to save those who desire to rectify their state of affairs before His Holy Throne.

There is, however, a place where the heart of His creatures becomes sealed with a lock.  We do not die because we have sinned.  We die because we have determined that He will not be allowed entrance into our heart, mind, and soul.  We close off every word of correction and become proud of our hardness of heart.  Rebellion sets in and utterly closes any possible hope of avoiding regret.  We see this in many who have heard the Gospel over and over, yet remain in their sins; not calling out to the Lord, because they no longer see any fear of hell.  They no longer consider the Holy Love of God.  This hardness of heart remains a place where God can no longer hope to help.  And the end of such men is absolute destruction.  For they have sealed themselves against the Lord God’s ways.  And reject any possible alliance with eternal life.

I submit that the patience of our God was extended before He saw the accuser harden his heart.  Yet, when God perceived the bent desire of the accuser, I can also rest assured that God moved quickly to begin this place of testing.  There is alarm and fear within me as I consider the Lord God Almighty approaching me without mercy!  And now this accuser stands in exactly that place.  He is condemned without mercy.  For the Lord has already given what he intended, and was able and willing, to give.  Now there is nothing left but to be utterly destroyed.  For God will not live with rebellion and sin forever.  He will restore His Glorious peaceful place.  And never again will rebellion exist!

Why do I bring this up?  Because men rarely understand the God they serve.  Because God’s patience does have an end.  And His mercy will not be extended forever to those who remain rebellious.  There is a place where we become hardened against His Love.   And He can no longer have any effect on the heart of these ones.  I present this post to cause those who love Him and struggle with their sins to consider. Renew your efforts to submit yourself to the Lord you say you serve.  Consider how powerful and deep is the patience of God for those who desire to be rid of their rebellion. 

But if we look at the promises of destruction for the accuser, and that of those who harden their hearts to the Gospel, we also see the sure end of the patience of God.  He does not hand over to destruction because He has lost His patience with us.  He sees the condition of our heart when we reach the point where we lock it down to His Love.  When a man becomes handed over to destruction, it is his own fault!  We read, “The one who sins is the one who will die”.  We never hear of the Lord condemning the righteous, who struggle to learn to love Him.  It is the rebellious who are pronounced as walking dead.

Be wise and consider these things.  There is a fence within you which divides hope from hopelessness.  I would advise you, with urgency, to step toward God and away from that fence.  You know the place.  God has placed a divide within us.  And each of us knows where that divide is placed.  Once you cross that line and lock your heart to His Love, you will be sealed forever.  Enter His love and push away rebellion.  Accept His leading, teaching, and discipline.  He is leading you toward Himself and away from that chasm which divides life from death.  Why would you choose death?  When He offers such glorious communion with Himself and you? 

I promise and testify a truth:  There is a Glorious peace to be had in submitting ourselves to His Love.  He does not leave His people dry and empty as they come near Him.  He replaces rebellion and hopelessness with a marvelous peace and joy!  With this in mind, why would you choose death?

If, after reading this long post, you desire to read the Word of God regarding this issue you will find Jeremiah 15: 5 -21.  The Lord is providing every possible avenue for your escape right now!  Step away from the Lock.  You do not have the key to reopen it.  And the Lord has no key to reopen it.  Once locked, you are sealed as one who will be destroyed.  And this sealing will be on your own head.  I will tell you that there are billions who have done this horrible thing to themselves.  And some are walking around in this world.  Many are already waiting for their destruction, reserved in a place for judgment.  DO NOT JOIN THEM!

The Peace of God is Given to Those Who Love Him.

by

1


Peace

Be careful with your words.   Do not proclaim peace to those who have no peace with God!  The Lord did not come to bring peace to the wicked.  He came to bring peace to those who obey the calling.  He offers hope to the hopeless.  And those who take His Great gift with gladness and joy; those who render themselves to the Holy Will and Majesty of God through Jesus receive the inheritance of peace. 

But to those who remain in rebellion and curse the name of the Lord Jesus remain in destruction.  Do not proclaim “Peace. Peace.” To those who hate the Lord God of Life!  Proclaim destruction for the enemies of God.  This is their lot.  And this is their choice.  What God offers is not the peace to do as you please.  He offers the gift of teaching, leading, and life to those who turn to Him and away from their sin.

The rebellious continue toward death.   Do not be fooled by the proclamation of peace to the wicked.  Be wise and consider the Holiness of God.  “And all who call upon the Name of the Lord must turn away from evil”.  The promise of God has two sides, peace and destruction. 

It is the false prophets who proclaim peace where there is not peace.  Do not be of their number!  Count your days and be wise.  The Lord searches the whole world and hears every word of man.  He listens to the whispers in the inner room.  And He takes note of those who proclaim His truth.  Be wise.  Learn His Truth and live!

You say, “They will not hear such a message.”  Why should that surprise you?  Haven’t you read the Scripture and learned how they rebel and accuse against those who speak that word?  Do you count the mercy of God so lightly that you would allow them to utter lies through your own lips?  To the wicked is destruction, not mercy! 

Have respect for the Lord!  Have a trembling love toward the Lord who has proclaimed death to the wicked.  He Himself has proclaimed this.  How should His servants speak what are not the words of the Lord they serve?  Do not fear them.  Fear God.  Speak what is true and do not listen to the lies of this world.  Listen to what they say, “God will forgive us through Jesus, for this is what His servants are saying.  Though we remain in our sins, the forgiveness of God will be shed upon us with great joy.  I am a fool and I revel in my foolishness, for God will save me despite my ways.”  And with a slight of hand they turn the truth of God into a hideous lie! 

Lies and Lies are being broadcast today, as they were from times gone past.  Do not stand with them.  Separate your message to the world.   Destruction walks in this world without equal or hindrance.  Do not be like them.

I will say what the world has come together to call a joke:  “The end of things is nearer now than when we first believed.”  Be wise.  Wake from the sleep of world peace.  Consider the Holy God’s promises.  And do not allow your lips to join in the song which brings death.  STAND!  We will be judged for every idle word we speak.  Why would you allow your troubles to grow?  We are either of He who Lives and is True, or we are of he who will writhe in pain for eternity.  Choose your destiny.  It is the Lord or it is death. 

You who are timid are not firm in your understanding regarding the Gospel.  Fortify yourself!  Isn’t the Bible before you?  Isn’t prayer within you?  Didn’t your ears hear?  Then where are your lips?  Learn to reach deep.  Speak with the boldness, the promises of He who cannot lie.  The rewards remain; death to the wicked and hope to those who obey. 

By His Grace.