Tag Archives: Christ

Rise Up!

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Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, alabaster, ...

Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, alabaster, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If my brother stood beside me while we spoke of the beautiful things of Christ, and someone were to accost him in that moment, would I stand idle?  Would not my hands draw blood?  If I were able to defend I would indeed defend.  Should a soldier stand by silent and motionless as the enemy attacks his fellow soldier?  NEVER!  Now my brothers are attacked.  Now they suffer loss.  Now they cry out to the Living God for help.  And I will not stand by idle.

But we do not war against the flesh of our enemy.  We war through prayer and the confidence born of belief in the Son of God.  Silently to our ears comes the attack.  Sightless eyes look and do not perceive their approach.  A blow is delivered and the brother staggers.  Horror and deep guilt assail our brother, and he falls to his knees.  Only he knows the pain he endures now.  He cries out for help.  In his plight he cries to our flesh and our ears hear him.  We can see him as he cries.  Shall we do nothing?  May it never be.

Are we prepared in spirit to pray for him?  Are we ready to reach out a holy hand to lift him to his legs again?  Have we overcome by the blood of the Lamb enough to drive away what assails and nearly defeats him?  Are we ready, at a moment’s notice, to apply the power of our God to those who scream out for help?  The time of preparation is not upon us when our ears and eyes perceive his need.  The time to prepare is upon us now.

Who will be available to render the help of the Holy Spirit to those who cry out to us?  Who will have made himself ready and able to give the help requested?  Who, of us, is living filled with the Holy Spirit?

In this age of utter wickedness how can we walk one more moment void of the power of Christ?  We are not set apart and cleansed from our sins so that we can smile and “have a good day”.  We are separated from the ungodly wickedness around us so that we can work, by the power of God, the things of God!  Who will rise up and take hold of the things necessary?   Who now sits idle while our brothers suffer under hideous rule of sins?  Who will stand in the gap, ready and able to come to their aid as they cry out?  Where has the Church of God gone that men should find no help in their time of need?   Have we retreated to silent amazement as we watch men die?

By His Grace.

Is it Soup Yet?

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I watched the movie about the Apostle John last night.  And as I suck down on my first cup of coffee I ponder what I take away from the encounter.  Among the things taken from that movie, one item stands out clearly.  There is a people of God who will suffer greatly under the hands which belong to those who worship the beast.  This is why I write.  This is why I pray.  This is why we support and spread the Gospel with vigor.

When I first began to speak for the Lord, it was to simply tell the story in the hopes that others would grasp its meaning to themselves.  But now I see two additional elements.  Now I see the Gospel itself as a defence toward the ungodly; they attack our beliefs and we return with the message of Christ Jesus.  And I see the telling of the story of Christ as a way of encouraging those who struggle to gain a foot hold as they encounter the things which are sure to come because of The Way.

I wonder, am I able to endure what is coming upon the Lord’s people?  I guess the answer is yes.  For He proves to us that He is sufficient for the moment’s cause.  But I am reminded that it is never a bad thing to be prepared for all eventualities.  The lord of flies is after our destruction.  And it is only a matter of time before killing us becomes legal again.  It doesn’t take a prophet to see that society is headed in that way.

The Pastorate is not Gained by Man

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Church of Body of Christ in Kaunas. Lietuvių: ...

Church of Body of Christ in Kaunas. Lietuvių: Dievo kūno bažnyčia, Kaunas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How shall a man determine that he should stand in the body of Christ in a certain place?  Is he to render himself to the Lord and speak like this:  “Lord, Most High God, I will stand here and do these things for I am worthy.”  Is it not the Lord who places each of His people among the body?  We have heard of gifts given to man by the Lord, and that for the building up of the body of Christ.  Yet some suppose, in their vain imagination, that they possess certain gifts.  And so they provoke, prod, push, and tender their way to a position.  Some have even had the gall to become teachers in the Church with this pompous attitude.  These are those who consider that the Word of God is all that is necessary to achieve position.  Yet they miss the mark.  And the Church today suffers under the oppression of their folly.

It is the Lord Jesus who gives position to man.  If there were but one teacher appointed by the Lord he would do great things beyond ten thousand presumptuous men.  There is nothing accomplished, which will last eternally, if it is not accomplished by the power of the Lord Himself.  A man should become promoted to position because he has shown the power of God within him to accomplish that post.  The ability to read and speak are no sign of the power of God among us.

May the Lord Himself give insight into these things.  May all His people search for His Holy will with all their might.  May wisdom from God be first, and the will of man be last.  Unless the Lord builds the house the builder builds in vain!

There are those who will take your money to give you a position in the Church.  And there are people who will take you in to lead them and call you pastor, priest, even “father”.  But I urge you to consider this:  You are a man.  They are but men.  Shall the blind lead the blind down, what the Lord Himself has called, “the narrow way”?  Decide for yourself what is right.  Who shall know the mind of God but the Spirit of God within us.

In ALL things it is first and last Jesus, the Lord and King of all righteousness.  Seek Him aside from man.  Search out His will.  Why would you pay money for what you cannot eat?

Lord I ask that you give insight into these things for all who seek to serve You.

By His Grace.

An Inconvient Truth

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An Inconvient Truth

An Inconvient Truth (Photo credit: yuan2003)

Allow me to speak as one who has been accepted by Jesus.  I am a Christian who has been a horrible sinner.  Drinking, drugs, profanity, blasphemy, immorality, and every other kind of sin were the banner of my life.  I don’t say this to brag at the amount of change in my life.  What I mean is that I don’t say that as a badge of some sort.  It is not to my honor that I lived like that for over 30 years.  And it is of no credit to me that it took nearly 50 years of living to come to terms with the Lord Jesus.  I speak of these things to show you that I know what it is to live in wickedness.  Now I am going to  speak as the man who God has caused to inhabit this bag of blood.  And it is to the wicked I will render these words.  You who have also came from that kind of life and now find yourselves blessed by the presence of God will know what I am about to say is true.

What will you do, sinner and foolish men, you who now walk as if there is no accounting?  What will you do when you are older and find that those you have trashed along the way begin to die?  What will you say?  There is an accounting here in the flesh.  It will fall on you with great noise in your soul as you watch opportunity to make things right evaporate before your very eyes.  You who divorced the mother of your children, what will you do when she dies before you do?  What will you feel as you realize that your hope of making things right between you is absolutely and forever gone?

You who have abandoned the children you have fathered, what will you do when one of them dies before you do?  What will you cry that will make it right between you?  There is an accounting to be had even before the judgment of God.  I can testify to you that you will weep like a little child.  Ache in your heart will overwhelm you.  And you will be left with nothing to say, no where to go, nothing to do that will be useful.

This post is a warning that sin has consequences.  If you are wise you will listen to what I have said.  I do not speak as one who supposes these things.  I have tasted them and warn you as one of you who has become full of hope in Jesus.  Yet that plague of regret enters my life uninvited.  I do not weep as you will weep if you continue on your path of wickedness and rebellion before God.  But weep I do, none-the-less.

I urge you to do all you can to make things right now.  I tell you a truth.  A moment is coming toward you with earnest speed in which you will loathe who you are.  Now is the time to rise up and find courage.  Or you can simply wait long enough.  And you will surely see that what I say here is true.

 

By His Grace.

Too Much to Expect?

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Where are the teachers of the Lord?  In this whirl wind of lies, deception, redefinition of words, abominations, immorality, idolatry, and chaos, where is the word of those who have lived within the will of God all their adult lives?  I’m looking for the wise among man who can lead others away from the brink of destruction.

Are we, as a nation, sealed now in the corruption of sin?  Is there no voice from the righteous people of God against these things?  Where is the concerted attack against media from the Christian community?  Where is the righteous word against lies?  Why does the Christian community, as a whole whisper like this?  While sin is consuming our nation, is there no one who will stand up like a pillar of fire and spout the truth?  Or have we become so comfortable in our little lives that we won’t step forward?

I know, and so do you, that anyone who raises his voice against the folly of this nation will be set on like a baby among hungry wolves.  What a precious opportunity to shine for the Lord.  I am a fool redeemed.  Where is the righteous man of Christ?

Rights or Obligation?

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Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven, as in the r...

Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven, as in the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 33, after Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A “right” can be established if the proper means has been gained.  An obligation really doesn’t care whether you want to meet it or not, it remains against you until the contract between you and the obligation expires.  A “right” never dispels as long as the giver of that right remains.

Sometimes people who have lived a relatively “righteous” life will look down on a drunk (or worse) who has gotten a handle on life’s prerequisites.  And when the sinner begins to live a “righteous” life and speaks about it openly the “righteous” folk will come to detest him.  You would think they would embrace the sinner gone “good”.  But that is rarely the case.  The sinner is embraced by the perceived righteous if he has some quality that they themselves admire.  But if he has worn out his bodily welcome he is shunned and laughed at as a fool.

I can see why the “righteous” think they alone have the corner on speaking about what is right.  After all, they have worked hard to guard against the kind of behavior that the sinner allowed to swamp his boat.  But there comes a place where their perceived right becomes judgment against others.  To them, their “rights” are being usurped by an illegal citizen of their ranks.

But the obligation to speak belongs to the sinner more.  He has been lifted from certain death to a place of understanding.  He knows the ground he has covered.  He knows better what it is to be filled with wickedness.  So he has an obligation to warn others.  Not to mention that he is likely far more thankful for being set loose from his former life.  So the very fact of his thankful heart compels him to meet his obligation to speak about what is “righteous”.

“But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” (from Luke 7:36-50)