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These are the top 10 excuses God will happily allow for not letting the Lord Jesus be your King.
And in case any of those don’t work, try using this effective excuse:
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A bird chases another by flying behind, just below and at a slight distance. It remains in this position so that it can follow with the hope that its enemy will make a mistake. And it flys below so that it can remain out of sight of the other bird.
So it is with satan. He travels behind us in our blind spot. He is waiting for us to forget that he is there. He’s waiting for us to relax our grip on truth. And when we do, the second stage of his work begins.
By His grace.
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The deck out back wasn’t built very well. The uprights aren’t spaced evenly. And there aren’t enough of them to steady the weight from wiggling laterally. It’s old. And the nails they used are beginning to loosen. I’ve hammered them back in a few times. But they come loose again each year. The frost, rain, and heat do their work to loosen what was done. So I’m putting deck screws into the joints to help the deck last a few years longer.
While I’m doing this, I’m looking for similarities between my Christian walk and the deck I’m working on. (No. It never stops with me.) Then it dawned on me. I consider the shoddy work done at the beginning of building. And I’m here doing work to make that bad work last longer. It will either come down on its own some day, or it will need to be torn down and rebuilt. Either way, it won’t last as long as it might have done if the work in the beginning had been done well.
Consider your Christian life. If you have had a rather shaky start, or allowed the world to mingle with your Christianity while you were forming the foundations of your faith, you’ll be fixing it till your last day on earth. If you’ve begun a strong foundation to your Christianity, you’re likely going to be able to support more weighty problems. And you’re less likely to be swayed by the winds of wickedness that the world will throw at you.
If you’ve had a shaky start, get in there and strengthen what remains. Isn’t that what the Lord told us to do? Keep what you have. There’s no sense in tearing down what remains. Refine your faith in the Lord. Nail down those weak questionable choices you keep making. Solidify your understanding in the Lord and learn what the Lord’s will is for you.
Why am I out there sweating like a water faucet today? I’m out there working on the deck because it needs to be done if I expect it to endure another winter or two. What about you? How long do you expect to have to endure this world’s assaults? 1 year? 30 years? You’d do well to start strengthening yourself now. The Christian walk either gets harder or easier come the end of your life. Either you’ve planned and learned well to obey the Lord, or you’ve begun to forget the foundational teachings because you’re letting the world influence your choices.
By His Grace.
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Who are we? Why did the Glorious God of all create us? We are a jewel in His Majestic Glory. We are the work of His hand. Yet the wicked abound. Even the wicked are created to become sons of the Most High God. They spurn His rule over them. They are men of His creation. But they desire their own desires. He would have us all desire to serve Him. And in His service there is no shame nor burden. With His Word, he proclaims “I have said you are gods. Yet you will die like mere men.”
He has set us to live that we might learn from Him. We are led by the Mighty Hand of God’s desire and Glory. We are placed in a tent of flesh that we might learn humility and obedience. Yet men by millions hate His guidance. They build for themselves every pleasure they imagine. And the Lord has allowed that they should have their day. I have heard a man say “Read the books of those who hate the Most High God and His people. It’s only fair that you read the books of my longing, if you expect me to read and understand the Book of yours.” And what was the reply of the Lord within me to this man? “I do not seek to be fair. I seek the truth of God in Christ Jesus.”
We are set apart to glorify the Lord of our Calling! We do not strive under the same dementia as do those who throw away the very One who gave them minds to consider the world around them. They are lost in a place of testing and can give no answer for their lives.
The Lord will have His day and He will not be put off. Every man will answer to His Majestic Righteousness. He has been patient with those who are now His enemies. He has given every opportunity for them to consider His ways and to humble themselves under His Beautiful Will. Refuse, you hated of the Lord’s Glory. For you turn from His pleasure to seek your own. Refuse and die. Or choose to accept His gift in Jesus, His Christ, and live. He offers, with open hand, a peace between you and His Glory.
May the Lord of Life forever be glorified for the work of His powerful hand in the works of His people. May His people know who they are and become pleasing to the Lord. Rise up and dress yourselves with the Glory of God! You are His sheep. He has set you to wander in this Place of Testing, that you might learn of His ways. Jesus has gone before us that we might perceive both the punishment of the wicked, and the reward of the Most High God for those who desire His ways.
By His Grace.
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Are you ready?
Are you watching?
Are you actively working through the Holy Spirit in the Work of the Lord?
The universe will see the Glory of God descend to earth. The sky will rip open with the Holy Fire of God to reveal the Lord of Glory as He comes to gather His people.
Are you ready?
Are you watching?
Are you actively working through the Holy Spirit in the Work of the Lord?
By His Grace.
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1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes
and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
8 I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
16But to the wicked person, God says:
“What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and testify against your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things and I kept silent,
you thought I was exactly like you.
But I now arraign you
and set my accusations before you.
22 “Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
23 Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”
We: Live, Die, Face Judgment. Jesus or die twice.
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