Category Archives: Encouragement

Well Intentioned

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This article has no intention of casting judgment.  But let who will, come and eat.  Let them come and taste that the Lord is good.

Those who keep their faith to themselves (those who fail to testify openly regarding the Lord who beckons them) have not seen what Life the Living God is willing to reveal.  These perceive from the darkness of death.  These have not perceived the greatness of distance between Life and death.  They have not yet understood that death must die.  They have not yet understood that only that which is God, lives forever.

If they had encountered the Holiness of God, that which He is willing to reveal to men, they would be compelled to share their living faith.  But the faith they own is the faith of a dead man.  It is the faith given to such as are “newborn” in Christ.

Such reluctance has been chided.  Such unholy restraint has been cast on the pile of the filth of man.  Chided and cast by those who have, yet with a limit of ignorance regarding what is true.  Men have been shunned from the congregation of well-intentioned souls for such unwillingness to overcome.

It has been perceived as weakness, this restraint of testimony.  “Fear” has been the label given to such as withhold the Gospel from men, and properly so.  Yet this is not the full.  For casting and chiding have no value in driving a man through his fear to glory.

I have been guilty of this also.  Yet I will confess, without desire to find excuse, that such treatment is done in ignorance.  Here is the fullness of inspiration:

He who climbs the Holy Hill of the Lord must have clean hands and pure heart.  His worship must be of truth and the Spirit of God.  Nothing else will ever be allowed to approach the Living God.

Yet, those who do approach, return with a distinct lack of fear for the threats of man.  They have been witness to the enormous chasm that lay between Life and death.  They have perceived to the point of testimony.  No matter how the enemy has tried, such men can not be silenced.

This is the reason why such casting and chiding is proper; it is unavoidable.  But the reason they testify is also proper.  For the Lord has set His Anointed One in place to enable all men to ascend the Holy Hill of God’s Holiness.  The ones who balk will never ascend.  They will remain in fear of man.  They will remain in fear of He who is Life.

No flesh will enter the throne room of the Most High God.  As a man draws near, his flesh is burnt away.  The purity and cleanliness born of obedience to the Living God’s Christ is all that may enter.  In short, only the living Blood of Jesus may enter the Holy Throne Room of the Living God.  What part of a man remains exposed, is denied entrance eternally.

Your fear is the direct result of your lack of will.  Your reluctance to speak openly about he Gospel of Christ, is a direct result of perception.  He has allowed all that is necessary to enter.  But who has accepted His Holy willingness to give what is eternal?

Many will continue to live in fear.  It is, indeed, comfortable to live with the “known”.  It is difficult to let go of the familiar, even at the threat of death.  Even if that “comfortable known” is death itself.  Who will persuade them differently?  The choice to live or die belongs to every soul, independent of counsel of others.

But that they might know that there is hope, I have written this word of encouragement.

May whoever will, approach and encounter the Living God.  May whoever will, ask for understanding in these things.  The Lord is willing for all to live.  He has sealed His intent by the very life, death, and resurrection of His Holy Son.  Yet who will believe to the doing?

“The City of Faith”

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There is singing and dancing in the streets.

The City of the Faithful resounds with joy and triumph.

All houses are cleaned; prepared for the celebration to come.

Even while the enemy encamps all around its walls,

Preparing to lay siege.

There is an open feast within the City.

There is a feasting on the holy things the Holy Spirit of God brings to them.

Joy belongs to the people of the Lord!

Everlasting joy is brought to those who abide in His Holy Love.

Who will come against us?

Who will dare entice the Power of  The Living God among His holy ones?

They will see the Power of God displayed within their camp;

That camp of wicked intent.

For God’s people will pray.

God’s people will offer opportunity for His Glory to be displayed.

Let their enemies be foolish and darkened in their understanding.

God, Himself, will take them to task.

He will say, “Then they will know that I am God”.

Arise!

Let us be about our Father’s business!

Who, or what can come against us, that our God is not willing and able to counter?

Testify!

Pray ceaselessly with earnest heart and full of faith.

We will see our lives testify that our God is able to save.

Expect!

His eyes are intent on those who do His Holy will among men.

Beware, you who have minds to damage what belongs to God.

God never sleeps!

Display!

Show them no fear.

Your God is with you.

The very proof of His Love abides in your souls.

Amen!

The Living God is endlessly strong and willing;

To build our faith into mountainous strength,

Even within the very fires that threaten to consume us.

He has spoken.

He cannot lie.

His Holy name among us is Jesus, The Christ of God!

Those who put their trust in Him,

WILL NEVER FAIL!

How Much?

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If you want to live forever, seek out Jesus the Christ of God.

If you want to serve Him faithfully, seek out Jesus the Christ of God.

What is the fullness that God is willing to give to man?  Seek out Jesus the Christ of God.  Only then can you begin to know.

If you think you “have”, seek out Jesus the Christ of God.

By His Grace

Two Lions

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The forgiveness of Christ is the ultimate power for life.  If a man’s sins are forgiven, his conscience is cleaned.  Where then is regret?
Where then is fear? 
Where then is strength to live? 
What kind of joy should this one own? 
What kind of man should he be able to become?

Are you willing to dissect this truth with me?  Are you willing to be free of regret?
Are you willing to become fearless?
Are you willing to become endlessly strong?
Are you willing to be full of joy?
Are you willing to become a child of the Living God?

It may be that you have said yes to all these.  But if these are not a part of your life, have you asked why?  And if you asked, were you able to endure the answer?

These things are true for the one who is forgiven.  Why then are they not true for you?

I don’t mean to attack you or to judge.  I simply asked the question that everyone in Christ is asking.  “If the forgiveness of Christ is real, then why do I struggle so?”

You believe the things of the gospel.  But the problem is application to you.  At your best moment, and full of generosity, you perceive that forgiveness is available to every man.  But in your personal practice, that application comes and goes.  It gives you strength and leaves.  Why does it leave?  If it leaves, have you pondered why it even comes at all?

If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, why not you?  Why can’t you have that familiar strength all the time?

The answer, whether we like it or not, is diligence.  When we are strong in Christ, by His forgiveness, it is because we have taken time to assess our situation.  It is because we fail to sit quietly and make assessment, that we falter and lose our strength.  Isn’t this so?

Then it takes a strong man to receive the things of Christ.  It takes one who is dedicated purely to living the truth.  As a man is lazy in the things of Christ, so his faith will lack.  We could call such a soul, a sluggard.  Couldn’t we?

Proverbs 26 addresses this very clearly.
13. A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

Yes there’s a lion roaming the streets.  And for this the sluggard keeps his door shut.

But hear this truth!  There is also a lion in your own house.

The Lion of Judah roams the streets seeking earnest hearts.  While the lion who devours, lives among your things.  The One is fearsome and free.  The other is domesticated and emaciated.

As you can understand, let me say this:  Get off your couch, open the door, and walk in the streets.  If you have faith, prove it to yourself.  Become diligent.

The domesticated one will not go with you, he will remain emaciated and sleeping on the couch. 

But you!  Go out into the street and call for Him.  The Lion of Judah is free and full of fire.  Yet you know you do not fear him.  You fear your own weakness.

You know he can take away your weakness and give you strength.  You know he can decimate your regret.  You know he can make you fearless.  You know he can give you the fullness of life.

Then the choice is yours.  Remain with your pet domesticated and emaciated lion,  or go out in the street and live.

If I say to you, “I live in the street”, I would be a liar.  For I wake in my house just like you.  But he teaches me to walk past the couch and go outside.  As honestly as I can, I tell you, this takes great strength.

But my brothers and sisters, it is so sincerely worth it!  In my past, laziness has destroyed me.  But as I listen to him, I retain diligence.  This truth he teaches me, is the same for all men.

By His Grace

Gifts of the Spirit

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The one who makes a personal art of the things he knows he can do, can be referred to as an artisan.
                      ~
There are men who make worthy pots and pans.  Men who paint, and men who “stand” and speak of what is true.

There are gifts that are inherent from the teachings we endure.  They come to us by virtue of our parents, peers and more.

But a singular gift is sent from above to everyone the Lord will love.  For the Glory of His Majesty, His Christ; the Worthy One and Free.
                     ~
At the beginning of my walk in Christ, I used a talent that seemed to emerge from nowhere.  I kept it to myself, for it was very useful.  I spoke to the Lord with paper and ink, writing my thoughts and writing possible responses.  I came to perceive the wisdom of God in the responses that were chosen.

No one saw those early writings.  I don’t know what became of them.  And perhaps it doesn’t matter.  For, little by little, I became because of them.

He had gifted me to become a scribe; to write down the things I encountered that belong to Him.  Not that I am above my brothers, for my writings are ramblings and small.  I have read the things that belong to masters of the same gift.

This is an awareness of my own journey.  But every child of God receives something uniquely special.

The Apostle Paul said this to his spiritual son Timothy:
6 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

Had men laid their hands on me, and spoke of the gift that is in me, I would have known to fan it into flame.  But no mention was made, for no one knew.

Decades later, I began to perceive a gift to relate the things of God.  His wisdom is given freely to anyone who asks and believes.  There is nothing special about this man.

There is nothing special about you.  But the Lord of life has seen fit to give such gifts to every one of his children. 

The purposes of his giving are hidden and woven into the fabric which spans the boundary between heaven and earth.  Your gift is exclusively for His Majesty. 
I say this with a desire for the deepest of encouragement; that every child of God may know he has a distinct purpose.

Examine what you do (if you do not yet know what gift is yours).  Look at what you love to accomplish, those things that bring the Lord praise.

Try to forget for a moment those things which you see others accomplish.  Though your gift may be similar, it will be unique.

And be careful as you listen to those who may advise you.  As it was for me, the decades between, it may not be for all.  But I suspicion that if man can manipulated it, or direct another along his way, the result is too close to man’s hands.

Read all the “how-to” books you want.  In sum, they will say no more than this.  You will find yourself still requiring an answer.

Many assume that the wisdom of man can direct them in the wisdom of God.  If you search far enough you will find this fallacy a lie.  Yet many embrace the traditions of society.  There they remain, the rest of their life, lacking.

What can be faned into flame, that already rages among men?  How is the richly variegated wisdom of God glorified, if everyone is the same?  And how many of His gifts have fallen to the dust unused and unnoticed.  Ask yourself: “Should that case belong to me?”

By His Grace

The Hopeful One Endures

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“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36)

If the Lord’s eternal word says that a man shall die for his sins and rebellious soul, that man shall surely die.  Likewise, if a man turns his will to obey the Living God’s commands, that man will find himself living.  And this life is eternal life.  For what cannot be shaken remains forever.

What produces the man who enters into an eternal living here, in this place of testing?  Isn’t it the fear of the Living God?  Isn’t it that the man believes what the Word of God has proclaimed regarding life and death?

But shall the man who finds himself living the eternal life here remain in fear?  Doesn’t it depend on his willingness to be diligent in the things he learns?  Doesn’t a man’s love follow the things he desires?  If he desires the kiss of God, then he will desire to love Him.

The scripture above is fear to those who perceive with a weakened will.  But it is a proclamation of love to those who willingly train themselves to obey what they learn.  For they have come to live inside trust.  They have come to desire a love for God’s Holy Son.

The trust God’s people have comes from a living faith that cannot be shaken.  Even if they are “injured” by a Holy Blast of Condemnation from the Living God, they survive into a holy hope.  For such people perceive that purity is the desire of their God, Christ Jesus.  How can they be shaken then, by the threats of this world, or even their own faults?  For they have come to adhere to the following hope:

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him. 

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12: 5, 6)
Their fear is transformed, over time, to a love for He who rebukes toward the health of their soul.  By this, the wrath of God is endured before the Judgment Day, that they might become like His Holy Son.

What condemnation can be given to he who has willingly obeyed the Lord’s commands to purify himself?  And won’t the Son of God direct his commands toward what the man can accomplish?  Like His Holy Father, the Son does not EVER ask too much.