The Prosperity of Lies


They lied to me by saying, “We can be useful in our selves”.  They displayed to me what they consider useful.  But as I did those things, they told me I am useless.  The only thing they succeeded in doing was proving to me that men are fully liars.

What they proclaimed as the sum of life, I embraced with zeal.  Where they were liars, I was more.  They perceived me as one who would take the throne among them.  For this reason they cast me away.

Within their way of lying, they called me a liar.  The casting out became complete.

What reason was there to live;  what place might I attain?  Shall I be a useless man among them?  How can that be, I am alive.

They have blessed me with their lying ways.  By their casting out, I have received all there is to receive.  How can I hold anything against them?  By their nature, they have forced me to receive the King of Kings.

Holy Father, Righteous God, hold nothing against any man on my behalf.  But free them all from accusation concerning me.  No one has sinned against me.  I am no standard of truth.

Rather bless them in their ungodly way.  Let the prosperity of Lies be theirs. That they to make perceive, you alone are good.

Thank You, Holy Father, for your excellent wisdom, which you display freely among all men.  Let those who desire you ask.  Let those who love the lie remain.  May your will be done forever in Christ Jesus your Holy and Righteous Son.  Amen.

By His Grace

Zeal


I will speak as one of you, for isn’t that the case?  I have spoken harsh words in a zeal for the will of the living God.  Accusations have come from my lips.  Challenges have been sent out.  Yet you have not heard the full of what I have to say.  I have restrained my words for the sake of your faith.

You do not know it, but no one has responded either good or bad.  But how should that be of any concern to you?  What is of concern to you, is what I have done.  Isn’t the question put forth, “Who is this who speaks such vehement words against his brothers”?

I am simply a fool who is coming to adore the living God in Christ Jesus.  My eyes are beginning to see clearly that he alone is worthy of praise. 

I was like you, listening to those words.  We sang all the praise songs.  We prayed good words before our version of the living God.  We even hugged one another now and then.  Yet all that worship left me empty.

Sermons were preached, but my ears would not receive the words.  My life drifted into religion, just like those who live the life I have condemned.  I found myself no more than an empty cup, abandoned on the corner of the sidewalk; alone and worthless for the will of my God.

But God has been merciful to this man.  He has struck me with isolation.  He has filled my heart with a desire to learn about his Holy Way.  He has been patient and merciful to show me my failings.  And through his lovely fire, condemnation has come strong.

He accepted no excuse from me.  His truth hovered over me.  I could not sleep, I could not wake, I could not eat or enjoy, without that the knowledge that condemnation was sure.  Curiously enough, all my waking days, I provoked his appearance all the more.  Echoing in my heart is the concept of refining gold by fire.  May it never leave me!

This is the man I am.  I am a Christian, because he has made me into one.  And he is far short of finished.

I speak to you as if I am a new Christian.  You know the zeal of those who suddenly understand.  But I am beside myself to explain why this understanding of zeal diminishes!  I cannot explain why my brothers pat such children on the head, and nod with understanding.  “You will soon settle down.  So we will put up with your words for now.”

They should not be settled down!  They should be joining a band of elders who are the same as they!  The wisdom of a child is greater then the wisdom of a domesticated elder!  This child is not joining a band of warriors!  He is encouraged to take his place among those who live at peace!  All the while the world dies around us!  And the will of God suffers for our lack of zeal!

I have simply determined to believe Him.  I am no great prophet.  I do not part the waters.  I do not heal the sick or raise the dead.  I have simply determined to believe the words of my Lord.

Will you ignore me, or join me?  Truly, will you come and pat me on the head?  Will you secretly read my words and roll your eyes?

With that said, this article is finished.  For my heart perceives the answer.

By His Grace

Hiatus


I will be gone for about 8 days.  I won’t be able to access WordPress.  Not that this should bother my brothers, for you have your own productivity in the Lord to keep you busy.

But I post this as a request for mercy.  For when I return, there is likely to be a flurry of posting.  I ask you who have subscribed to this blog to understand that I’m not trying to flood your inbox when this happens.

I will have produced a number of posts in the interim.

This blog is a testimony of the Love of God which I am learning.  It is not a source intended to direct, teach, or lead others (though it sometimes goes that direction).  Yet I don’t want to disturb any of you when I return.

May God bless your walk, according to the riches of Christ within us all.  May the coming week provide a wonderous revealing of His Majesty to all my brothers and sisters.

We will all gather together in the coming age with glorious joy.  It is good that we strive to develop this joy while we are here.  Though it pales horribly to that which is promised, as we grow in application of the things of God, we grow ever closer together.  May this be the nature of our reunion in a week.

Time and Eternity


Among the things of man there are places that we “wait” to encounter.  We wait for Sunday, that we might attend worship with our brothers.  The time in the middle of the week to gather together and study the Holy Word.  Perhaps there is also a time in our lives when we gather together to pray as one.  And there is a “waiting” for these moments to appear.

But there need be no waiting to become one with God in Christ Jesus.  The body needs to wait for the next appearance of event.  But the soul has no sense of time.  For the soul is of the same essence as the Spirit of God.  It is timeless.

Those who live according to the needs of the body separate one moment from another.  Those who live according to the nature of the soul, find recognition of time a burden.  They do not take note of passing moments that have come and gone without productivity.  But they live in eternity.

Prayer and worship are not a place on this earth.  they are a matter of posture.  It is the result of a life led in the Spirit of God.

The Storehouse of Determination


The house of light.

The storehouses of hail and snow.

The place where lightning and wind are cast abroad.

The father of rain and dew.

The womb of winter, with its ice and heavenly born frost.  (Reference job 38 for more.)

Only God knows these places and ways.  They are marvelous concepts to ponder.  Beautiful words that beckon understanding.  Yet who among us can hope to grasp their full meaning.  The fullness of them belongs to God alone.

As marvelous as they are, there is one more mystery I went to present before the Living God and His Holy Christ.  And in my presentation, I found a similarly mysterious quality.  So I write it here.  Let my fellow man ponder it while I wait for an answer. 

(Shall the answer come from the Holy Spirit of God, directly to my soul?  Or shall he send the testimony of a man, to humble my soul?  I will know I have received, when I see it appear in my will to obey.  Regardless its source of arrival, there will be joy and praise to God.)

“Where is the storehouse of determination?”

With righteous expectation, the Holy Lord commands all men to become holy before his sight.  And he does not ask too much!  For he willingly gives the strength to overcome the wickedness of this place of testing.  Let us be willing to confess, that it is we who do not provide his rightful expectation.

He has promised that a man may go to him for wisdom, with full expectation of receiving.  By this he provides the tools to accomplish His Holy will among men. 

But I find a mystery at work in this.  Why do so few accomplish his rightful expectation?  And what strength do those who overcome employ?  The answer has come to me in the form of a question.  “Where is the storehouse of determination?”

The Holy Son of God knew where it was.  And from it he drew consistently.  For he was found fully pleasing before his Father, the Living God.

It is as if each man lives in a spacious place.  It is as if his own land.  God Himself commands us to farm this place and to keep it in good order.  It is His righteous and Holy expectation that we obey.

But what should a man say if he finds a task he cannot accomplish?  Perhaps a rebellious tongue abides on his own land.  Perhaps his besetting sin grows weeds faster and taller than the righteous crop expected. 

Frustration attends the man’s land as if a rebellious servant.  What hope does such a man have to accomplish the righteous holy will of his God?  Such a man needs another tool.  Such a man needs determination!

He has seen that others have it.  He has also perceived his own lack.  Yet he knows that God is faithful to provide.  So he has searched among his things to find determination.  Still his farm proves his lack.

With the little time God gives us in our life, do we have time to search the vastness of our own land?  And what should we say, if in our search, we have not found the means to obey?  Time grows short and we are bound to appear before him.  “Do I dare appear with a lack?”

God has required it of him.  God is just in all his expectations.  But where is the storehouse of determination?  And it must be a storehouse for it is not a singular tool!  It is a constant, overflowing, and endless resource.  Therefore there must be a storehouse of vast potential.  But where is it?

Who has found this place on his own land?  It is he who has succeeded to give the Living God his rightful expectation.  It is he who can be relied upon with excellent faithfulness.  It is the kind of man who receives all the excellent titles, both from God and man.  It is he, of whom it can be said, “This one has accomplished”, or “Well done thou good and faithful servant”.

So I ask again, with a hope of mist around me, that some man may answer me.  Or that God himself will lead me to it.  “Where is the storehouse of determination?”

By His Grace

“Happy Birthday”


My birthday approaches.  But no man will help me celebrate.  No one will notice, for I am not one day older.  They will not perceive my age by white hair or wrinkles.  And few will perceive my age by the words I speak.  Yet the years of man have produced a different soul.

I am 61 years old in the flesh.  But I am about to become only 29 years old in the Lord.  The birthday of my flesh is the twentieth day of a summer month.  I was wise enough to write down the day of my baptism years ago.  The ink says January fifth of 1986.

Now a curious question comes to the front.  Are these years and dates really correct?  There is proof that my flesh came to breathe air on a certain day.  But what about my soul?

Shall I say I made a choice to become a Christian?  The word duress comes to mind.  For if I refused, death remained my only eternal belonging.  I can make absolutely no claim to righteousness before the Living God.  I am His because of His Holy Purposes.

And what of the tiny baby I became?  Who gave that babe a soul?  Who purposed His own desires?  Who provoked me to think like I have become to think?  Doesn’t the Bible tell us we are destined to appear because He determined our days?

What of this thought:  I purposed to become sin.  But He determined my day of eternal birth.  And there is yet a day of completion!  At that moment, I will not have a third birthday.  I will be ushered into an age of dayless eternity.  Who will remember his entry?  By what moment in dispelled time will such beings mark passing years?

For now, nights and days have marked the place I am.  But the day comes when there is no differing shadow.  To this I look forward with a peaceful anxiety.  Then, when the Age to Come appears, “happy birthday” will be a forgotten phrase.