Category Archives: Encouragement

An Unwarranted Suppression

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I do not need bars or scars to mark out the place of my imprisonment for the sake of Christ.  I am constrained by his excellent strength within the place he has set me himself.  And it becomes my great joy to serve Him in this very place of obscurity.

How greatly I desire that all my brothers and sisters should perceive their place in the same fashion.  May zeal consume us to be joyful in our place of holy affliction.  For we have not arrived among the things we own by circumstances of chance.  But it is God in Christ who draws us to this place.

It is God in Christ who will draw us to himself.  And even now the signs of his ownership dress us with glory!  See how our hearts are marked by his indelible seal.  See how Desire desires to consume us.

Do we restrain his will?  Do we restrain the desire of God among us?  This has no Holy right to exist.  But receive this word of urging.   Receive and be strengthened for his Lovely sake.  How should the Gospel of Christ Jesus be suppressed?  How should that which burns within us find any extinguishing?  These things within us, these things of Christ, are delivered to us from eternity to eternity.

It is a childish matter to be able to point out the suppressing of the Glory of God among men.  But among the people of God, it would be right if one had to search far and wide to find such a suppressing.  Yet how my heart sinks to realize, one does not have to search very hard at all.

Does this need to remain among us; this willing restraint of the Holy will of God?  You know the answer is “no”. 

This word of exhortation is complete.

By His Grace

The Grand Reception

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There is a love that is readily perceived as hatred and selfish ambition.  And there is a hatred that is readily perceived as love, but is full of hatred and selfish ambition.

There was a time when one man turned an entire city to God.  For in that day people cared about what is true.  The love of God for the people was sent in the body of a reluctant man, and the fruit of that love was blatantly obvious.

Today no such thing can be done.  Jonah caused Nineveh such great anguish that they fell to their knees in repentance and prayer.  Such words today are ignored as if they are full of hatred and selfish ambition.

But preach to the people what they want to hear, and you will amass to yourself millions.  Your words will be full of hatred for the Living God and full of selfish ambition, but the people will perceive that you love them.

Do not be surprised in this day if the preaching of the true Gospel receives such a tiny welcome.  This is not the day of Nineveh.  This is not the day of Babel.  It is not the day of the great Egyptian empire.  Nor even that of Rome.

This generation is special unto itself.  For these are the last days.  This is the day which gives birth to the generation who celebrates at the death of the prophets; sending gifts to one another, for they despise the Word so greatly.

Take heart if you are cast aside and vastly unpopular.  So mankind has treated God’s prophets from the beginning.  And from here on, it becomes even more so.

And if you are a teacher who receives great welcome in this world for the words you speak, it would do well for you to consider the truth.  For if the world loves your words. . .

By His Grace

Obey?

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The ignorance of man is astounding!  I say that knowing that I am a man.  And that I am ignorant of many things.  But there is a difference between not knowing something, and knowing it for the sake of abuse.

How dearly humanity loves the law of God.  But we do not love it so that we might obey it, for we know that is impossible.  Men love the law of God because it is a tool with which they can readily hate their brother.

But this is so absolutely contrary to the nature of the law of God. 

I don’t want to make this a long post.  But there is something key to understanding the law of God, that I have never heard men speak of: how all of heaven embraces the law of God without question, yet man turns it into a tool of death.  Enough apology.  Let’s get at it.

When the law of God was delivered to Moses for the people, at a certain point they begged that no further word be spoken.  Realization struck them and fear overwhelmed them.  Yes they wanted God but they knew they could not have him.  The inability of men to obey the Holy law of God was blatantly obvious.

But still God commands us to be holy, and to obey His law.  How can this be?  Does he demand too much?  Is the devil’s accusation against him valid; You demand too much and you do not give the resources to obey?

Isn’t this what men say?  Isn’t this what every single one of us finds our soul believing at one point or another?  But we know that cannot possibly be true. 

We know we will die and we know that God never will.  He obeys his great Holy Law with the most perfect ease.  And so do all the other creatures in heaven!  And the Christ of God has walked among us, fulfilling the law completely, again with the greatest of ease!  How can this possibly be?

Because the creatures of heaven, and the Christ himself, love the Father more than anything in all creation.  Never once does rebellion cross their mind.  Eternity is sustained by this love.  It is not sustained by obedience to a set of rules.  Yet this is the perspective of man!

We raise the Ten Commandments and scream at our brother!  “Do these or you will die!”  But we know they cannot.  And even the one who is screaming knows he cannot obey these laws!  And so we divide and hate one another by the very law that brings unity in heaven.  By the very law that is the foundation of eternity.

There.  That’s what I wanted to say.  But I don’t find myself feeling any better for having written it.  For I know it will not be received or understood.

We will all nod our heads in agreement.  But we will turn right back around and hate our brother.  We will read the Ten Commandments as if there might be something we missed.  But we will not find it.

Let’s add one more key to this proclamation that will devastate the heart of the one who considers it. 

What is the first and greatest commandment?  Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 38)

There’s the key to obedience.  Love.  But when we read the Ten Commandments we don’t hear love do we?  All we hear is fear. 

Fear gives birth to rebellion and hatred.  Fear reads the law of God and despises it.  Fear turns away from God with a great willing heart.  And fear will eventually lead to complete obliteration.

You ask perhaps, how can I love God?  There is only one way.  Look to Jesus the Christ of God.

Without him you will never love God.  Without him you will only obey according to your understanding; you’ll find your obedience is nothing more than a mental exercise.  It never finds its way to your fingers or feet.  Not to mention her filthy mouth.

I do not need to say more than this.  Because if you will not turn to Jesus, you will not believe these words anyway.  Yet if you do turn to Jesus you will find yourself in complete agreement, and I will be rightly pushed to nothing.  That is my proper place.  I am only a messenger of he who lives forever.

May God bless this testimony to the very door of eternity.  Amen.

By His Grace

Be Faithful

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No one here can say,

What waits for us after passing “away”.

But come the very day,

We see his face we’ll know!

80 billion years will pass.

What then shall we be?

Tiny creatures rescued at last?

I don’t think that’s very likely.

We don’t work for reward.

That’s true.

But I know we won’t be bored.

How bout you?

Our God creates what pleases him.

And in us there will be no sin!

Perhaps we’ll be creating too!

Does this give you help to follow through?

By His Grace

The RIGHT to Brood

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I just had a realization that is fully worthy of contemplation.

Every Christian blogger desires that his or her things be read.  And oh how we take note of our ministry.  And it is right that we should care so deeply about our charge to write.  For there are plenty enough worthless writings of man in the very same place.  But we hold up the Living God’s Holy Son!

I came to understand that it is just as right to brood over this blog, as it is for a Pastor to brood over that which is his.  But then the stupendous struck me.

I have a right from God’s Holy Son to brood over the work He has delivered to me.  But I brood over what has been given.  How much more is it right for Jesus to brood over the work that is HE?  He is the source.  How deeply does He desire that His things be read and understood, ingested into the soul and accomplished?

If I care about the ministry that He had delivered to me.  How much more does He care about His Living Ministry among the people of this place of testing?

The Fullness

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The Wisdom of God among men is that they should have faith.  The miracle among men, from God, is that there are many who do have faith.  The Faith from God believes (with a certainty) that Jesus is the Christ of God.  The Faith from God among men believes that Jesus is risen from the dead, for death had nothing with which to hold him.  And The Faith does more than remember that history was made.  The Faith becomes the Love of God, which is the Holy Will of the Father in all creation.

Yet Love does not appear without dressings.  Fear of God, knowledge of the Holy Word he sustains among us, right assessment of the fruit of men, and that specific “doing” that comes only from the power of the Holy Spirit among and within us.  With the appearance of these things within us, we can define the Love of God.  Yet our definition of the Love of God is limited to the wisdom of God to send his knowledge among men.

There is a fullness in heaven, regarding what is revealed of the nature of God.  There is a fullness on earth, regarding what is revealed of the nature of God.  In heaven, the fullness of revelation is embraced without question or reserve.  But on earth, the fullness of revelation of the Love of God is restricted by our willingness to believe to the “doing”.

Who, then, of men, are willing to throw off restriction?  Who, among men, are willing to embrace the fullness of God’s wisdom of revelation to Man?  Who, among men, finds the will to “Become”?