Do you really think you can live without God?  Do you really believe it’s ok to play religious?   If so, you don’t yet know as you ought to.

Today is the day of grace.  What that means is that today is the assigned day when God will support and supply life to His enemies.  But every day has an end.

As surely as He provides today, He has promised to cease His provision and protection to those who live as His enemies today.  In other words, “He’s gonna cut off the credit card dude”.  There is a place of “NO MORE HANDOUTS!”

Do you seriously think you don’t need God?  Do you serioisly think you can play in this world and not become part of it?  Maybe you don’t know that God has said that to be a friend of this world is to side with His enemy.   You can’t possibly want that. 

Maybe it’s a matter of fear that holds you back.  Ok, that can be fixed quickly.  Let the world slap you a few times, because of the name of Jesus, and you’ll harden up.  Once they draw blood fear gets replaced by a deadly serious determination to pull away from it.  Volá (that’s how you spell “Whalla”)  fear dies.  Boldness is born!

Think about it please.  We live in a place of testing.  He is watching to see who will begin to struggle against His enemy.  He sends help to those who desire Him.  All we have to do is ask.  How hard is that?  Hard enough to have kept you where you find yourself now!

The day is coming when this test will be over.  Would you be willing to die to pass it?  Do you think you will wish you had?  That’s what it takes, my friend.  That’s what it takes. 

And they call Christians weak.   Weak doesn’t fight!   Weak gives in to lust.  Weak follows along with fools!  You want to wear “weak one” on your eternal t-shirt?  Why not trade it in for some serious body armor?  Jesus has your size in stock!  By the way, it only comes in White.

Think Eternity.

By His Grace

The legacy of godly men, women and children remains.  They stood apart yet oddly strong.  Indifferent to the lure of lust, they yearn for a land of promised inheritance.  That yearning is resoundingly different.

The wife of a dear man of God once confided that her husband would slide out of bed during the night.  He would kneel against the edge of the bed and spend time in prayer.

I thought that to be a powerful insight into the dedication of that man.  He was well into his 70’s when I met them.  His teaching remains burning within me.  Humble, meek, yet viciously dedicated to God; sin had very slippery fingers when it tried to lay hold of this man.

Glory to God by His Holy Son,  by virtue of His Holy Spirit, and because of the living testimony of His holy servants Herman and Mervine Wilson. 

Gather, if you please.  I will fast.

Fulfill your lust.  I will learn to refrain.

Become slyly vulgar.  I will strain toward purity.

Crave every shimmering bauble and trinket.  I will stagger toward promises unseen.

We will die. 
We will appear before Him. 
He will separate.  
“THINK ETERNITY”

The strength of a man to fight to the death for his loved ones.  Who created that?

The love and dedication of mommy to spend her very life’s blood for her children.  Who created that?

The soul consuming laugh of a baby.  Who created that?

The wailing sound of heartache.  Who created that?

Fear, sorrow, anger, joy, anticipation,  dedication,  love, hatred, memory and forgetting.   Who created these things?  Where did they come from?

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”  Is there really any question why I, and so many millions more, love Him so deeply?  We testify that we know who created.  And we invite everyone else to join us.

There’s something about having a Christian around you who loves the Lord and its not ashamed of the gospel.  It just disrupts and ruins the whole day.

You woke up and had in mind entire day of blissful sin.  Then this guy shows up.  It’s not that he says anything in particular.  It’s not like he’s carrying some big sign that says he’s a Christian.  He’s just THERE!

Who wants to be reminded of the coming judgment?  How incredibly irritating!  You can’t talk about all the subjects that you love to talk about. 

It’s not that you can’t make the noises, or that your lips are frozen shut.  It’s just that you’re afraid to open Pandora’s box.  He might not say anything about purity, but you don’t want to take the chance.  So you put on a fake and really obnoxious silence. 

I’m sorry my friend I know you feel this way.  And you’re allowed to feel that way as long as its called today.

Funny thing is, if funny is usable here, by your very own admission you cannot stand in the presence of God.  If hanging around me drives you crazy, how do you think you’re going to feel when your face to face with absolute purity and majesty?  Particularly considering that God is not ashamed to speak.  And I promise you, your attention will be totally God.  No more allowing your mind to gravitate toward pleasure.  You’ll find yourself entirely consumed with thoughts about God.  Though they give me pleasure now, it will not have the same effect on you

It would be nice if you give that some consideration.  You think you live a life of freedom to do anything you please.  But notice how you don’t dare talk around me.  Restrictions, restrictions, restrictions, your life is not freedom it’s a series of restrictions.

The only way to freedom is to embrace the One you’re now trying to avoid.  For now you are part of darkness.  And you cannot go where there is light.  I wonder if you are unrestricted enough to understand what I just said.

“His voice was like that of many waters”.  Ezekiel and the Apostle John mention the sound of the Lord’s voice as appearing like many waters. 

I had understood this to mean that no matter what language you speak you would understand Him when he spoke to you.  But I was thinking like a child.

Though it does indicate that, like the believers at Pentecost,   it also has implications within the same language.

If I use cows to explain something to a rancher we are likely to come to understanding rather quickly.  If I speak of metal and plastic and grease and oil, the mechanic understands me well.

I look back at the things I have heard the Lord say to me, and I take note that there were various ways to write what I heard.  It is not that the various ways manipulate the truth.  In fact it is that the various ways uphold the truth even more strongly.  For the proof of truth comes from its various supports.  It is much like a four-legged table, or a rope of many strands.

When he speaks all understand him.  But I will confess there is a language he uses when he speaks to us personally.  He speaks in visions and dreams, experiences, words and sounds.  And every aspect of his voice fits our experience and knowledge perfectly.  It is absolutely impossible for us to misunderstand.

He is God.  All things are His.  Even our understanding is not beyond His reach. 

By His Grace