Monthly Archives: January 2015

Curiosity is

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It is not possible to live in Christ without testifying.   If we speak that testimony with words, then good.  But everything we are reflects who we have been willing to become before Him.  It can’t be hidden, not before every creature in heaven, nor every human on earth.

Has this come home to roost in our tree of understanding?   Have we come to place this truth in front of everything we think or do?  How would our life change if we forced ourselves to remember this, as if a “First” habit?

Give a young man a Ferrari for his birthday.  There will come a place where he will certainly test its ability.  Isn’t that the nature of humanity?  And isn’t that why we consider such parents to be foolish?

We are disciples of the Most High God in His Holy Son.  By the power of his endless Holy Spirit we serve Him.  Excuse me for stating the obvious, but how does a Ferrari compare?  Tell me, if you can, why do we suppress our natural tendency to “Give it all its got” when it comes to the promises of God?

Man is not stripped of curiosity when he becomes a Christian, in fact it is enhanced.  Despite the shocking ability of a Ferrari, it has a limit.  It requires a road, gasoline, and a human to drive it.

But what God offers us comes from his Eternal Sovereignty.  Why wouldn’t it be advisable to take some time and consider this?  What does God offer that we are not willing to test?  Why do Christians lay down their curiosity before they enter His Holy Throne?

Curiosity is not of the flesh.  It is a gift from God to our soul, that we may search out his marvelous willingness.  The flesh is only curious about the things it can get away with.  But our soul should be curious about the things we can receive.

If what you want are the Ferraris of this world, then yes, you are living in the flesh.  But if what you desire are the eternal things of God, then apply your curiosity to attain.

He has sealed his willingness to give, with the promise of the Holy Blood of His Holy Son.  How much more proof do we need, that he is willing to give us endlessly more than we can even imagine? 
Let your soul enter.  Strap yourself in with the restraints of faith.  Place your frail foot on the Holy ground.  Prepare your heart for a mind shocking ride. Grip His promises with steel hands, and press your foot down hard. Why should we not try to find out how far God is willing to take us?

By His Grace

Eating the Tree

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What is the stature of a holy man in Christ?  He does not gain one inch in breadth, width, length or depth.  It might even be said, in fact, that such a man shrinks physically.  For such a man’s physical stature is bent in service to others.  As pride is vanquished, he walks and works with eyes cast down.

The world perceives such a man through twisted pupils.  Darkened eyes perceive with extremely restricted perception.  They see a work or two, those works which cannot be hidden, and those works which were accomplished by error before men.  They refer to a holy man as a Saint.  But we cannot rely on their nomenclature.  What does the World know of what is holy?

If holy feeds them, they acknowledge a “good”.  If it causes sustaining of man’s desires, accolades are handed out.  And if holy produces financial gain, the World heralds the godly man as “profitable”.

But what is holy remains far beyond the perception of men.  It appears within a man, absent of physical form.  What men see, is much like the fruit of any productive tree at the time of harvest.  Men do not take home the leaves, bark, or limbs; they take the fruit.  And they do not call the fruit a tree.

Now consider something curious.  Men differentiate between the fruit they can eat and the tree from which it comes.  Yet they make no distinction between the work of God and the “work” of a man.  Instead, they refer to the man as holy, giving no credit to the work of God within the man.  Even in this, their hypocrisy abounds!

Dressed Robes of Procurement

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What is the disparity between nothing and something?  The starving man knows the difference between what is food and what is hunger.  The man who is freezing to death knows the difference between frozen wood and a blazing flame.  The one who lay on a sweaty bed of hopeless sickness knows the difference between health and approaching death.

But what is the disparity between what is Holy and what is unholy?  What is the disparity between a doing of the Holy will of God, and a life that remains subject to all that is not?

Let the starving man eat, and understanding of that disparity blazes clearly in his mind.  Let the one who is freezing to death be taken toward life-giving warmth, and he will testify of what is “good”.  And let the hopelessly sick be healed.  They will proclaim the wonders of health and ability.

We have received the promise of the Holy One.  We know He who is of the Righteous Father.  The starving, the ones who are freezing, and the hopelessly sick, know of the vague promises of life.  How should we who know the Holy Promises of the Living God, LACK?

He said to us, “You can do nothing without me”.  But isn’t the knowledge of that statement like the hopelessness of the dying, if indeed we do nothing to procure that Holy Something?

Today comes to us, dressed in the doings of those who went before us.  There are very few who became living testimony of the Life God stands ready to dispense.  Will tomorrow see the same lack of dedicated souls?  Isn’t it our responsibility to procure?

If a man of God will say, “I found no more strength than I did from Him”.  If he will say that, he says what is true.  But looking at the volume of those blazing testifiers, I am appalled.  Can we gather together as one to determine to look into these things?  What will it take to produce a powerful people of “today”?

I will not rise into crescendo for the sake of inspiration.  I have appealed with what is true.  Let the crescendo appear because each one who reads this determines in his soul to do his part.  No man can make another do what is right.  Prisons keep turning out wicked men.  Few who endure the force of men take hold of what is proper.  How has Christianity proven to be any different?

No, the force to do and become, continues to lay squarely on the will of each of God’s people.  Singly, we stand here.  Singly, we will appear before Him.  And singly, we will see redemption appear from the mass of men.  If a rekindling of determination to be a holy people appears, it will be because we turned, one by one, toward what is Good.

Worthy Servants

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We present what we are given, and in a manner we have received.  As a man combs his hair, because that is how his hair roots were formed, so we are bent to deliver what we have received.

Should a servant go out and attack his master’s enemies?  How should that servant know the subtle knowledge of his master?   A servant is confined to his service.  He is not privy to the upbringing of his master.  He is sent from the room when conversation of importance are held.  How should he know the full wisdom of his master’s business among men?

Wouldn’t it be better if such a servant were to ask his master, “My lord, is there something I might do to help you against your enemies?  Forgive me, but I perceive that they attack your estate with malicious intent.  I owe you my life, for the sake of what you provide for me.  You have my lowly place at your disposal.”

Such a servant will be respected for the sake of his love and dedication.  That servant may never use a sword against the enemies of his master.  But he will certainly be remembered as one who is prepared to render “good” service.

In the same way, should we give counsel to the Most High God?  Shall we determine to attack and devour His unholy enemies?  Such servants of God will find themselves being counseled by Holy Words.  They presume to know what they cannot possibly know.

Each man of God should speak according to the faith he has received.  But let him take counsel as to his position.  Let him draw a distinction between his lowly and restrained state of affairs, and the Eternity that is the counsel of God’s Holy Wisdom to act among men.

Can I make this clearer?  I must ask, and have asked, myself: “What has the Christ of God allowed you to do for His Holy Kingdom?”  I find that this place of testimony is the pinnacle of my service to the world.  But I must also recognize the value of a life lived as a servant to all men.  Even as the Holy Lord Himself is a servant to all creation.

This is the message given to me personally this morning.  “Remember the place you retain.  Take a good look at where you have been summoned to perform.  Be wary of presumption.  Remember what brought you to the place you inhabit in My Grace.”

I share this with you because I am no different from any man.  The temptation to move beyond the Lord’s blessing comes to every one of His servants, sooner or later.  It is good to avoid the tears of regret that will surely come to the servant who presumes to know his Master’s business.  It is best to revel with great joy that we have done the tiny things He has allowed us to do.

Bible Thumpers, and the Like

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Where is righteousness among the people of God?  There are “Bible Thumpers”, yes.  Who am I to say they should be restrained?  Would I stand well in the presence of Isaiah?  Yet, we have an obligation to inspect our service to the Lord.

I know that the Gospel is a very vital offence in itself.  Do we need to be odious to man’s perception also?  Again, however, I am no one to point a finger at my brothers.

It is mine to live as a slave to righteousness.  It is mine to remember my place, for I must testify that I am not where I should be among men.  Sin has brought me to live a life that should never have even known my name.  But I know there are righteous men of God among us.

Let each man do as truth demands.  Let each of us examine our place among men.  And I will enjoin the following, to support this theme:

In the day of Joel, did the prophet refer to what was written before him?  As he spoke the words that were given to him to speak, did he recall words that were spoken to a people who lived before him?  Isn’t it true that Joel spoke from the Living God, as the Living God desired to speak to the people of Joel’s day?

Point to a beautiful prophet.  Show me where their holy accounting mentions that they stood on a stump, thumping the despised Holy words of the past.  Yes, there were remembrances given to the people of each prophet’s day.  But there was also a vibrant and pointed message to the people of their day.  Their message was hated.  But not because it was of a different generation.  It was painfully applicable to the people whose ears heard the message.

I do not desire to step on the toes of any of God’s people.  I simply ask that we examine our testimony.  Are we the ones who are being hated?  Or is it the message of God that incurs abuse?  Let us not give them justification before God for their refusal of the Gospel; “The man who spoke the Gospel to me was filled with unholy comparison and judgment against me.  I found his presentation a hateful and proud dispensing.”

Though there is no place for men to hide from accountability, let us not give them another crutch with which they will find excuse.

Passing Worship

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wpid-20150103_073540.jpgThe night is nearly spent.

To His Throne, I’ve went.

What will come is in His hand.

Let the DAY begin!