Tag Archives: brave

Watchman, What is Left of the Night?

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“Watchman, what is left of the night”?  The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.” (Isaiah 21: 11, 12)

We wait as men condemned.  We search the sky for the appearance of He who never lies.  The world has condemned all who would be godly in Christ Jesus.  Yet we know we live as free men.  We do not want death to come upon anyone.  Yet the Lord of Glory has proclaimed, with absolute justice, that death will come upon all who remain in wickedness.  It is not ours to condemn anyone.  But it is our glorious duty to proclaim that message along side the message of hope.  For what is hope without the horror of death?

May we not forget His promise against all that is corrupt.  We hear the “good news” being spread all about us.  But it seems that many forget why we call it “good news”.  God is just and perfect.  He demands all people everywhere to turn from wickedness and seek holiness.  He has given His Son that all who desire might find Him and receive the power to become God’s people.  Yet the world invents their own brand of religion to cover over their wickedness. 

Here is only one warning among many.  There is darkness about them.  They cannot see what is coming and will not inquire.  Yet the darkness only hides the approach of   The Day of Judgment.  Darkness which envelopes man does not cancel or delay God’s Day of Truth.  Read this with wisdom and consider that it remains before all men as a truth which will not be taken out of the way.  

Mock, if you desire.  You do only yourself eternal damage.  Laugh and ignore, if that is what “floats your boat”.  It’s not my concern, but you will be concerned.  God is true and will keep His Holy word to accomplish an end to the wickedness of all men.  And what God promises comes true.  We can consider what God has promised as though it already is. 

   “‘The end! The end has come
   upon the four corners of the land!     The end is now upon you,
   and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
   and repay you for all your detestable practices.
   I will not look on you with pity;
   I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
   and for the detestable practices among you.

   “‘Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

(Ezekiel 7)

Though you did not ask me, I told you.  Though you did not seek, you were warned.  And was the warning necessary?  God has said that no one will own an excuse before Him, for all His Glory is displayed about men every day and every night.  There are days which will come and you will doubt His promise of “The end”.  Yet that day is coming.  Day will come, yet so will the night.  And then the sky will be rolled back as a scroll and you will see Him who you do not desire.  It will not go well for anyone who is not sheltered by the power of Christ Jesus toward holiness.  Prepare today and do not put this off. 

By His Grace.

The Message of Enoch, the Seventh from Adam.

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We all have our heroes.  A hero might be very popular among the world, such as John Wayne.  Or a hero might be so obscure as to only be known by the one who lifts them up to hero status, such as your dad or mom.  A hero can be defined as a man, woman, or child, set apart by exceptional courage and nobility and strength.  But in all things our hero is our personal perception.  One man’s hero might well be another man’s enemy.  “Hero” is a word subject to subjectivity, or opinion.

We look for our heroes by setting up criteria and looking for the one who best fits that mold.  Since, by His Grace, I adore God, I look to His opinion as the final authority in establishing what is “opinion”.  And when I see God honor someone, I rest assured that this one is worthy of being a hero.

Beyond question and debate, Jesus  was and is honored above all else in the eyes of God the Father.  Some would differ, but in the end, that statement regarding Jesus will be proven true to all creation.  But there are a few men mentioned in the Bible who stand tall before the Most High God as men worthy of mention and our respect; David, Moses, Abraham, Isaiah, and (the subject of this post) Enoch.

In searching my limited knowledge of the world I look for a hero among men.  Without fail my pointing finger would rest on Enoch.  Included next are the three passages which speak of this man.  They are short, but filled with information regarding Enoch:

“When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.   After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.   Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years.   Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”  (Genesis 5:22-24)

 “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones  to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”  (Jude 1:14)

” By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: ‘He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.’ ”  (Hebrews 15:5)

There is a book which floats around which is said to contain some of the sayings of Enoch.  You can find it here:  http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/  I’ve read the majority of it and find it even more inspiring.  But as is with all our heroes, we tend to pick the one which matches our own heart and desire.  Love for God has become my burning passion, almost to the exclusion of humanity.  Yet He has set us to the task of speaking to our brothers and sisters for the sake of their souls.

The passage from Jude strikes the deepest with in me.  “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones  to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 

As I write for His Glory, I am reminded that it is God’s convicting that is coming.  What a fine line we walk as we hold out the words of life.  It is written, “Zeal for your house will consume me”.  And we know that was meant to apply to Jesus, the Christ of God.  Yet we read also, “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.   It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters.”  What applies to Jesus, in some way applies also to His people.  And in this case I find truth and resounding echo.  The closer I get to God, the more I feel the zeal for His house and His name.  And in getting close to God, there is no record of any one else pleasing God so much that God took him from this world.  He did not taste death.

What I ask of myself every moment of every day, I ask of the reader: Are you pleasing God?

By His Grace.

Are You Aware?

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This note is not to those who are not under the leadership of Jesus.  This is put to those who have recognized the rule of Christ Jesus in their lives. 

Are you aware of the war that goes on all around you?  Do you hear everything through the strainer of truth?  When your friends mention the name of Jesus as if it were a word equal to surprise, do you hear it as they meant it?  When you see a yellow light, do you listen to the flesh and speed up?  Or are you listening to the truth of God to obey authority and make plans to stop?  When there is something you know needs doing and you’ve acknowledged it in your heart, do you respond by the flesh and say to yourself, “Oh I got my priorities mixed up.  I’ll do such and such first”?  Or do you listen to what is true and go get it done?

When you feel that urge, that familiar urge toward that sin which debases you before the Most High God, do you realize that you’re being urged by both your flesh and the enemy whispering behind your head?  You strive to become holy and devoted to God, but when you’re tempted you give in.  Why?  Hasn’t Jesus set us free from the law of sin and death?  So, where is that devotion to Him?  How has He asked us to suffer beyond what the world encounters?  There are millions who run into the same problems you have, yet they seem to be able to handle the situation pretty well.  What is it about believers that we stumble so?  Where is our strength to defend and create a worthy testimony to the Lord of Life?

There is a war.  Those under the control of  the lord of flies are rarely hit as hard with “whispering temptation” as the believer.  The reason is that they pose no threat to his kingdom.  We, on the other hand, do pose a great threat if we ever get wind of being manipulated.  We are the players in this war who receive the greatest blows.  And this is as it should be. 

I became aware of his whispering one day.  I can’t remember how I knew it wasn’t me.  But I clearly recognized how out of place the thought was.  It was then and there that I started to listen carefully to my thought patterns.  I began to pay careful attention to what entered and what was produced by that entrance. 

Ponder what I’ve brought to the table here and consider His demand for Holiness on our part.  “Be Holy, even as your Father in Heaven is Holy”.  What cha gonna do bud?  grovel like a little child all your life?  You gonna let him bully you around?  Or are you gonna take charge with the power of the Holy Spirit God gave you?

By His Grace.

RISE UP AND LIVE IN HIS HOLY NAME!

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God!  To God we send our service.  The world serves themselves so that they might eat from their bountiful table of waste.  Yet the servants of the Lord Most High will eat of what He gives.  We struggle through this place as a people foreign and forgotten.  But we are not aliens to the floor of God’s Holy Throne room.  And we are remembered by He who cannot lie. 

How should His people walk in this great blackness?  Should our feet not find each step with a sure boldness?  We stand by the strength of the One who stands forever.  He enables as He sees fit.  And we are not left as orphans. 

Beware, all you who stand against the Holy Will of God.  You stand amiss.  He is about to close the door on all that is wicked.  For He has promised that His Spirit will not contend with the wickedness of man forever.  Be wise and consider your ways.  It is God who will judge.  You do not stand beneath the judgment of men, even the men of Christ.  You will be judged by your own standards, and that against the perfection of the Holy One of Israel.

Strength!  Be strong, you people who call upon the name of Jesus, the Christ of God!  We are entering into His rest.  Watch!  Watch with eyes of an eagle.  For He calls us to Holy service for His Glory.  Speak to one another with Holy words.  Speak to your heart of the peace He gives.  Remember your calling to become His people.  We do not serve any but He who never ends.  Rise up and LIVE!

By His Grace.

Deadly Ground

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The door swung open and the man walked in.  With eyes that have seen blood and terror, he looked around quickly.  Having located those who might pose a problem, he began to speak.  “Which one of you wants to take me on?  Let’s get to it.  He waited.  Those he had assessed as a possible problem proved him right.  Three of them stood up with anger in their faces.  The four of them stood straight and still for a moment.  You could just smell the tension in the room. 

The one who had the most potential for trouble turned to his friends and said, “I say we go across the street and catch the action at Millies”.  With a laugh, the three walked past the man with eyes that never left their target.  The man turned slightly as they left and watched them go.  Then, when they were dedicated to their words, the man turned to those left.  “Good evening folks”, the man said with a great joy in his voice.  “My name is Keith.  I’m the preacher from Tombstone.  I’ve come to hold service with you tonite.  Put down your drinks and lets rearrange the chairs”.  After a moment of shock and gawking to each other they got up and moved all the chairs.  Without any farther dilly dally, the man began his prayer.

“Father in Heaven, I thank you for Your Glorious grace and mercy.  It is good what You have taught me; When you enter a place make sure to shake out those who would stand against My Word.    Now, by Your Majesty, we will begin to share the truth You have given Your servant.  In the Glorious name of Jesus we pray”.  And the people said “AMEN”!

 The message was filled with a beautiful mix of death and life.  With simple words, the preacher laid out the truth.  One of the men sitting near him watched him intently and the preacher began to worry that a snake had remained.  None-the-less, with a sharp corner of his eye keeping watch on the man sitting near, the preacher kept on.  Perhaps he was just very interested in the message and the messenger.

At the end of the message, that man came up to the preacher.  He said, “Mind if I ask ya something?”.  “Shoot”, said the preacher and it made the man smile.  “Where’s your guns?”, the man whispered.  “I didn’t see any sign of em under your top coat.  You got a special place to stash em?”  The preacher laughed.  “Guns!”, he spoke loudly.  “What guns?  I don’t carry any guns on me”.  The man squinted hard at the preacher.  “Maybe he ain’t all there”, he thought to himself.  “You don’t appear to be stupid to me, preacher.  So why call those men out when you walked in?   If they called your bluff, you’d be dead by now”.  The preacher’s face got grim and a scowl crossed his forehead.  He turned and looked the man face to face and eye to eye.  Bending closer, the preacher whispered in a coarse tone, “You don’t get it.  If they plug me through they only send me home.  Though I die in this body I will never die.”    The man squinted back at the preacher.  And he whispered back with the same corse tone, “You just ain’t all there mister”. 

The man turned and left shaking his head.  He had paid no attention to the message given.  He had no eyes to see and no ears to hear.  How about you?

By His Grace.

Who?

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I raised the banner high.  It was cold and dark.  Who would see it? 

I spoke the words of life.  It was empty and hollow.  Who would hear it?

I set my self up high.  It was alone and fearsome.  Who would believe it?

And when I come again.  It will be triumphant.  Who would receive it?

By His Grace.