Monthly Archives: March 2012

Pride of Man-vs-Joy of Salvation

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Sculpture - head of Jesus Christ

Sculpture – head of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I step out on the back porch, again, to consider the difference between pride and joy.  Pride is of the flesh.  But joy in understanding the Lord’s ways is acceptable.  While the world walks in darkness there is no time or room for the pride of man; that is to say an internal boasting that I know more than others.  Even in our time of reflection before the Most High God it is wise to consider the difference between the pride of man and the joy that we receive from His Grace.  All of us who come to know the Lord were, at one time, full to over flowing with sin, disgrace, shame, and wickedness of every kind.  It is by Grace we are saved.

I am stunned at the consistency of the war within us.  And I am reminded that, in this place of testing, this war against sin will not cease.  My heart is encouraged to pick up the battle afresh.  To render to God what is God’s while I kill the flesh by the power of Christ Jesus in me.  Never, in this place, will a man be rid of the things that plague his walk with God.  They are at the very door of our house.  As it was said to Cain, it is now said to each of us: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must  master it.” (Genesis 4:7)

So I say with all the saints (those being sanctified, transformed, by the power of God in Jesus), “I will rise in the early morning before it is light.  I will find a solitude among the trappings of this world of chaos.  And I will seek the Lord that I might rid myself of the things that have and will destroy me.  I will raise up to kiss the face of He who has kissed me.  And I will learn from Him to do the perfect will of eternity.  Sin will not have me!  For I am being made a son in the house of my Father.  And all this is to the Glory of Jesus, my Lord, Master, King, and Desire!”

Amen.

Take IT!

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Sarah Trimmer

Sarah Trimmer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To my brothers and sisters:

A question was posed to me.  And in truth I was asked to answer.  “Have you taken all that the Lord your God is willing to offer you?”  What was proposed is a consideration of His promise.  And the question is raised as an answer to prayer.  This question is poised every time we enter prayer with the God who cannot lie.

What has He promised His people?  Isn’t it true that He has said that all who enter the Kingdom of Heaven will do so without sin?  Isn’t it true that no man will see the face of the Father without holiness?  Isn’t it true that it is God’s will that no man should perish, but that all should find eternal life in His Son?  And isn’t it true that those who believe will know that they have eternal life; that this joy of truth should abide in them so as to cause laughter, joy, love, mercy, wisdom, understanding, and a certain doing that belongs to the holy family of God?

Each of us answers this question with truth, no matter how we lie to ourselves.  God sees all.  God leads His people in power and truth.  We do not serve Him out of a silly religious practise.  Religion is what we do as a result of His blessings.  But we yearn to approach Him with the same dedication to truth that He presents to us.

I urge us all to consider where we stand in our belief.  And I beg that we all consider that we serve the Living God who raises the dead.  Take His promises!  Enjoy forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus.  But let us not leave anything on the table as we march into eternity.  Let us consider what He offers to all His people.  And let us allow Him a great bounty from His patient labors.

Amen

A Sickness Has Enveloped Me.

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Disease?

Disease? (Photo credit: armigeress)

I don’t know who to address this post to.  Perhaps it is simply a complaint of ailment.  But this ailment is no simple sickness.  And from this infirmity I will not recover till the Lord appears before my eyes.

My limbs are limp.  No strength apparent affords movement.  Even my fingers are numb as I type these letters.  Is it a heart attack?  No.  My head is tilted for lack of muscle strength.  It is the onset of some hideous disease?  No.  My gait is slow and rather labored.  It this because of MS?  No.

I see clearly what is about to unfold in America.  And I am aghast at the cause.  To whom shall I speak?  Who will listen?  Who will even care that there is a message of ruin?  I don’t know.  But I will speak regardless my personal knowledge that anyone will hear.

Some time ago, perhaps decades, perhaps a century, America abandoned God for the sake of personal gain.  I won’t go into the particular time.  It would do no good to itemize the problem.  But turn to today and what do you see?  I see a nation at war.  The war is about to be fought on our own ground, by our own people, and the bloodshed, tears, crushed dreams, and ruined families are staggering to behold.  Who is the enemy?  I am weak to speak this truth.  America will fight to the death with her own children.

People of America, when your parents abandoned the Lord they passed down their heritage to you.  As they walked away from Him and chased after personal desire, His hand of protection was lifted.  Foolishness took hold.  Men of foolish descent ascended to places of power and teaching.  And now you are about to reap a fire storm of cruelty.  How I ache for you.  How deep will be the pain of your crying.  Your own babies will crush you now.

Is there hope?  Not for the nation.  The only hope is that you, as individuals, return to the Most High God with a contrite and earnest heart.  What has been grown among us is firmly embedded now.  We will have to weather the storm that is coming.  There is hope if you will surrender your will to His.  But for all who remain rebellious, I am on the verge of tears for you.

I write this because it overwhelms me to sit still and silent.  So it was for many who saw this coming.  So it was for Jeremiah, as he watched in horror at the judgment of God on his own people.  All I can do is sit here limp and whisper, “wake……….. please wake up.”

By His Grace.

Lack of Will = Lack of Productivity.

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Productivity

Productivity (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Lord has given as He pleases to men.  To some He has determined to restrain the mind.  To those He extends a wonderfully beautiful grace.  Yet to most men He has given a full mind, capable of understanding and free to choose what is good or evil.

It is the way of men, in all generations, to do what is partial.  To work, think, will, and choose, with half a heart or less.  We see it appear in the work place.  And productivity suffers as a result.  We see it make itself known in the family.  And parents, as well as children, suffer under an oppression of half heartedness.  And we see this choice to live half-hearted lives make itself known in even the Church of Jesus, the Lord of pure life.   And the testimony of the Most High God suffers under the oppression of this rebellion among men.

I urge all of us, including myself, to consider what you are capable of producing for the sake of God’s grace extended to us.  If your mind works well enough to rebel against what is good, then it also has the potential to obey.  What is it that causes this lack of productivity in the world and in full sight of Heaven?  Is it not laziness?  We prefer to remain ignorant of what is good.  We make that choice with our very desire to be less than what we know is good.  “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:17)

Strengthen your will.  Move toward what is good and God will bless you for it.  Every step you take toward His perfection will receive what is appropriate.  God is wise, merciful, yet is judge of all men.  Be wise then and turn away from the slothful spirit that grips all men.  Be diligent.  Become aware of what is right and good, and then do what you know must be done.  There is no other word, given to men, concerning this.  It is up to each of us to work hard to present the Lord with the fruit He deserves on the day He judges His people.  All good things belong to God.  And those who render their lives to the doing of the will of God will not fail to receive what is promised.

Is there something you do not fully understand?  Have you come to a place where what is good is obscured, and confusing?  Then we should pray in these places.  Does anyone rightfully believe that God will restrain understanding while holding us under judgment?  It is not His will that any should die, but that all should come to an understanding of His Holy Will.  He will give you what you need to endure such tests.  But we are not talking of those moments as much as the simpleton ideals of sloth.  If we present ourselves toward what is right, so that we might do it, we will prove far more able to encounter those moments of doubt.

If you stand as one who does not believe, then reach out toward God and believe.  It is for this very reason that you were given life.  If you are of those who believe, yet find yourself less than you ought to be, surrender to what is right.  We are only given this one life to allow our hearts to be tested.  And after this we will give account to Him regarding His testimony in Christ Jesus.  And let us not mistake this:  Right now is eternity.  The future belongs to God.  What has been done belongs to God.  Only this very moment belongs to you to make choices toward what is right and good.   And it is at this very moment that you can choose to do what is in your hand to do.

Do not be fooled by liars.  He who does what is right is righteous.  And He who chases after the things of God receives the blessing of God.  All else will be destroyed.  This is a truth:  Only God and what is His will enter eternity.  All else will cease to be.  Let us all be willing to produce for the sake of His Holy Name.  If you lack willingness then ask Him for a willing heart.  Those who earnestly seek Him find Him.  Those who chase righteousness with half a heart will end their days with nothing.  And those who remain willingly in rebellion will receive the reward which is held in waiting for the destruction of “the accuser”.   What more can be said about this?

By His Grace.

POST 666! Glory to God for What He is Doing!

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English: copy of 19th century photograph of 1 ...

Image via Wikipedia

 

11“ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13)

 

Learning is the essence of life under the sun.  Yet there will come a place where learning ceases.  And this place will be under the Son.   What His people are and will be should not be compared to those who remain in darkness.  And we MUST stand apart from the masses around us.  This is not a mystery, though many make is so.  There are mysteries, but learning to grow in the knowledge God gives us should never become a mystery to those who have been granted eternal life through Jesus.

With a great sadness we say that many live as enemies of the Cross of Christ.  Though they call themselves what they will, they remain outside the will of God.  May God grant that they will not die in that disrepair.  And may God equally grant that those who endure will be found having overcome by that same mercy.

The title of this post represents the “man of lawlessness”.  But the body of this post is a celebration of what God has done for His servant.  That He has blessed me with 666 articles of good words, ideas, desires, and encouragements.

Having said that, what remains is that I do what I have said must be done.  That maturity come upon me.  That when I see a task and know it to be the right thing to do, I will put away the child and go do it.  That when I speak a word of teaching, encouragement, rebuke, or praise, I will speak it as it is becoming who this man is.

While the wicked remain in darkness the blessed of Jesus will grow from glory to glory; from faith to faith.  Patience belongs to those who believe.  And it is through patient endurance that we happily encounter each new threshold as we walk “The Narrow Way.”

 

 

Night is Obliterated, Thus Folly Walks in Broad Daylight.

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Español: Vista aerea de la población Taritari,...

Image via Wikipedia

Standing with coffee in hand.  Perched on a porch in the early morning light I stand.  “Who are you?  What do you have to say for yourself now?”  The question is posed by He who does not lie.

A moment of silence while the mind considers what is, as opposed to what used to be.  Tracing steps between, the answer comes voluntary from lips without warning.  “I am born of God.”

What I was before is held up for inspection; shadows of what is now.  They, which consumed my way before, cannot be seen for the brilliant light that now shines within.  As if a man would determine darkness by shining a light to find it.  They are, yet they are not.  God has done what man could not do.

As the night is obliterated by morning’s sunrise, so my sins and folly are replaced by that which promotes growth.  Now a man walks with sure feet, though he still might not know where he is going.  In this, folly walks in broad day light.  God has come upon me.  And the denseness of sin is replaced by a faith which knows.