Tag Archives: Christianity

Amazement Thus Beckoning

by

0


I will speak of myself, for it is impossible for me to know the heart of anyone who might read this.  I do not want to give confidence where it is not warranted.  But I find desire within me to encourage those things that warrant encouragement.  And I desire to share a mutual amazement.

When I ponder the Glory of Christ within me, I am astounded.  That I should contain the Gospel of the Glorious and Eternal God!  That I should not be tossed about by all the rumors regarding him.  But that I should know the Holy and Living God in Christ Jesus his Righteous and Holy Son.

When I think of the billions who have died without this knowledge, I am amazed that this man should understand.  I say “knowledge”, knowing that it is only in small portion.  And the same is true of the word “understand”.  But that there is a seed in me is undeniably true.  And the joy of this knowledge goes far beyond words to express.

There are many who hold what they say is the Gospel, yet are thoroughly hard-pressed to give account of themselves.  This too, adds to my amazement.  Not that they are at all amiss, but that I should know the truth.  In this great joy there is no room for judgment or comparison!  Oh that I could live this way all my days!

For the glory of Christ!  Again, for the Glory of Christ!  These words are placed prominently for the Glory of my Lord. 

Let all the world hear.  Let all the world be told.  I will not shrink back into the sea of men.  I cannot, for he sustains me in “The Way”.  No enticement shall bind me!  No tears of beckoning shall sway me.  Such things have no hope of any Life.  They are like the useless tapping of bird’s feet on my roof.

Can you agree with these things?  Do you find proof in your soul that the Living God has come to you with all his Glorious Promises?  Then say “Amen” full of thanks, for the willingness to obey which lives in you with endless strength.

I do not need to perceive your agreement.  Who am I that I should demand any such thing from any man?  But render your agreement and thanks to the Living God in his Holy Son.  And let what is unseen receive what is rightfully his.

Let us all go to the Holiest Holy of Holies.  Let us spread our soul before the Light and Life of all creation!  There, in that place, let us render to God what is God’s.  There, in that place, we shall be as one.  There, in that place, we shall be at peace and unity.

He has spoken, there are far fewer of his people than those who are destined to destruction.  But do not think I say such a thing with malice, or boasting.  For I have not received this joy because I am a righteous man.  It is God’s mercy to teach us these things, and to cause us to become his children.  And anyone who desires this place I have described, is welcome to come share in the things of joy.

Are you a filthy person?  That need not remain your case.  All you need to do is believe that God’s Holy Son is Glorified in the very presence of the Most High God. 

But in the beginning of your transformation, do not believe the weakness of lies; those words which tell you that belief is the end of your responsibility.  There are many who have gone out of Christianity.  They spout such a weak expectation.  And sadly they have destroyed millions.

If you are to receive this joy, it will require you to agree with the Holy Lord in all that he commands you to do.  You cannot be his, and remain bound by the things for which you are now ashamed.  He will grant you release but you must receive it.  If you are to attain this joy you must become his disciple.

But indeed come, all who will!  Come and share with us in this scourging from men!  See how they hate you, they do not love you!  They only love the things they can take from you.  They only love you in that they may debase you and use you for no good purpose.  Why would you willingly submit to such things?

See how boldly his children proclaim their love for him.  See how fearless they are.  Yet you can see how full of fear your soul remains.  Why would you not desire freedom?

By His Grace

An Unwarranted Suppression

by

0


I do not need bars or scars to mark out the place of my imprisonment for the sake of Christ.  I am constrained by his excellent strength within the place he has set me himself.  And it becomes my great joy to serve Him in this very place of obscurity.

How greatly I desire that all my brothers and sisters should perceive their place in the same fashion.  May zeal consume us to be joyful in our place of holy affliction.  For we have not arrived among the things we own by circumstances of chance.  But it is God in Christ who draws us to this place.

It is God in Christ who will draw us to himself.  And even now the signs of his ownership dress us with glory!  See how our hearts are marked by his indelible seal.  See how Desire desires to consume us.

Do we restrain his will?  Do we restrain the desire of God among us?  This has no Holy right to exist.  But receive this word of urging.   Receive and be strengthened for his Lovely sake.  How should the Gospel of Christ Jesus be suppressed?  How should that which burns within us find any extinguishing?  These things within us, these things of Christ, are delivered to us from eternity to eternity.

It is a childish matter to be able to point out the suppressing of the Glory of God among men.  But among the people of God, it would be right if one had to search far and wide to find such a suppressing.  Yet how my heart sinks to realize, one does not have to search very hard at all.

Does this need to remain among us; this willing restraint of the Holy will of God?  You know the answer is “no”. 

This word of exhortation is complete.

By His Grace

From Appeal to Dismissal

by

0


“Sir, will you calm down please.  Your vile remarks are a blatant disregard for all of mankind.  Not a single one of us understands why you attack us with such liquidity.

We are only man and you are one of us.  If you will render yourself civil, we will take you back as a dear brother. 

We will apply on your behalf for lenient mercy.  And who knows, a property owner among us may give you something of your own.  Only cease your violent ranting, and speak softly to us regarding God.”

“Dear men of the world.  I cannot calm down.  It is for your sake that I am considered as cursed among you.  For unless you become even as I, you will suffer extensive loss.  This is why I show a blatant disregard for the ways of man.  And the fact that not a one of you understands spurs me on all the more.

You say you are only man, yet you could stand to inherit greatly more.  For as man you will die.  But God has proven his desire to give you eternal life.  How can this offer not be considered civil?

And sirs, you will not take me back as a brother.  Why do you choose to lie to me?  For you already treat me as an alien.  You promise what you are not willing to deliver.  Your willingness to entice with a lie, speaks loudly of the reason I have come against you.

You do not own the concept of leniency. You have only borrowed a sweet sounding word.  For there is not one ounce of mercy within you.

And I will not accept a gift of property from your filthy hands.  For by ownership, you will own me.  And I am promised vastly more than you can offer.

How can you ask for soft words from God?  You despise his leadership. The only reason you give Him glory, is that you may have a holiday every year.  You use his glory to advance your self.  And in this you make no apology.  How should I go to God to receive soft words for you?

PART 2
“We have sweet accommodations for such as you.  Pick any room you wish in the house of religion.  Then you can live at peace, spewing your venomous words.  For we have taken note that you readily even tear down those of your same kind.  Perhaps it would suit you well to live among them.

Perhaps they would give you a suit and tie.  They might even pay you a handsome sum, and give you a room in which you can dwell.

Many of them are our friends.  We will speak to them on your behalf.  They readily take bribes from us.  We will simply pay them a sum and they will do as we ask.

Since you choose not to live among us as a civil member, perhaps it will please you to accept this offer.”

“Dear worldly Man:
I am not of religion.  I am of the house of “The Faith”.  Religion is man’s way of pleasing his version of God.  But those of my house worship the Living God.  His name to us is Jesus the Christ of God.  And he does not accept the opinion of any man.

I do not desire to live out my days in peace.  I am at war with my own flesh; that is to say my own inward wicked desires.  And by the Lord’s blessing, I am at war with your flesh also.  Again you offer me something you cannot deliver.

If you find my words tearing down the house of the religious, it is to help them in purification.  It is to correct errors in their understanding.  And to enable them to reach for those things which God offers generously. 

Those who belong to God understand this.  Those who do not, are set on their heels.  And the rightful division among false security arises.

I refuse to be honored by any man.  I refuse to receive further pay for the work of God.  As the receipt of your filthy property would corrupt me, so would the receipt of their filthy honor.  See how you even admit that you bribe them.  How then are they any secure place to live?”

PART 3
“We perceive that you are a most uncivil man.  We have brought this matter to council, and with unanimous decision, we have determined to regard you as an animal.  There are some among us who are even persuaded that you are less than animal.  For even animals may be tamed and useful for our children’s joy.

We regret your answer.  And we hereby withdraw our generous offers.  Your proclivity to stubbornness has left us no choice.  We are a people of civil order, and your intent to disrupt is clear.

We have sent out orders to every establishment.  You are to be captured and disposed of by whatever means the captors think best.

If you will turn yourself over to our hands, we promise to make short work of it.  We are, after all, not the vicious people you paint us to be.  For we will not revenge our selves on your demise.  And we will not make a public display of your vulnerability.

Afterward, our children will live in peace.   For we will honor your name with obliteration.  See what a great merciful people we are.  For upon your demise, your name will not be associated with what is evil.”

“I will depart from among you when my Lord determines it appropriate.  He may still have use of me in this place, for your sake.  And you can do nothing to me that is not given to you from above.

If you succeed in hastening my departure, it will be the will of God.  He will not hold my death against you.  For you already have enough accusations waiting.

You have spoken clearly for the sake of those who will apropriate my life.  I need give you no further answer.  Do as pleases you, for it will be God who directs you now.

By His Grace

Growth in Christ (recovery from chaos)

by

0


No one sins all the time.  That’s just not physically possible.  Every man has a lucid moment from time to time, at least.  And because of the weakness of the body, sleep must come.

When you have those lucid moments, make the best of it.  Search out the message of the Gospel, and do it quickly.  Just as the chaos of sin cannot last forever, our lucid moments pass even quicker. 

Just as a man who wakes after a night of heavy drinking finds himself pondering what happened and why, such thoughts are signs of a lucid moment.  Treat them as a welcome friend.

Raise whatever faith you have to the surface of your conscience, and believe.  You may not have the answers.  But then is the time to approach the One who does.  And if growth is to become a part of our experience, the answer must be found in the Christ of the Living God, Jesus.

Every man is like a disturbance at the bottom of the sea.  At birth the seafloor rises in a certain place.  Then as the man grows and does the good things of God, his disturbance becomes a mound.

If the man will train his soul to listen to the words of God, eventually the nature of what he, is breaks the surface of the waters.  This “breaking forth”, lends itself to all manner of Life.

Dust in the air settles between the cracks of rock.  Storms whittle down the sharp edges, causing the filings to fill in the gaps.  The birds of the air come and deposit a few seeds.  In time, the man becomes more then a disturbance in the sea; by his nature he lends himself to the utility of the heavens.

The growth at the bottom begins when the lucid moments of a man are captured for “Good” intent.  I will admit that there are far more mounds that never break the surface of the sea, than are those who become useful to God.

And don’t we see this played out in creation, in the fact that there is more space of water on the earth than land exposed to the air.  More places for slime and few places of dazzling beauty.

But now in the emergence of the man above the surface of the waters, there comes many a travail.  Parts of the exposed land occasionally break off and fall back into the sea.  Part of the work is wasted.  But that should not stop the land from taking its rightful place.  And what broke off was not firmly committed to what must become.  Good riddance, c’est la vie.

If the use of your lucid moments has allowed you to rise above the nature of man, use them all the more as you aspire to become a place of Life.  Why remain a desolate island?

Do not let your failings cause you to plummet down under the waves.  The target here is to work diligently to produce more lucid moments than moments of chaos and decay.

If you will apply the forgiveness of Christ, as it is found in the Bible, you will find your self overcoming guilt, and far more quickly.  This does not erase what was lost.  But certainly provides more vertical growth.  And every square inch of attainment offers more potential for Life.

If you believed at the outset, if that belief has caused you to break into the air, why can’t that belief cause you to reach for the heavens?

Those who shrink back because of the storms of life, will not find themselves pleasing the soul of Jesus.  But those who believe that he cannot lie, will prosper according to the wisdom of God.  Lucid moments of righteousness will begin to grow in the place where before was nothing but chaos.

Think diligently on these things.  Apply this with diligence.  And you will find yourself growing in Christ exponentially.

When you find yourself having sinned before the Lord, in the ways you had learned and the habits you had developed, grab a hold of your belief which you had at first.  And do not delay!  When the next lucid moment comes to your mind and heart take hold and grow!

I could have held the following for another post.  But it fits so seamlessly here.

Many think that they should punish themselves after a moment of insane chaos, called sin.  Such self abuse may or may not be useful.  And I have come to understand that sometimes self abuse is only a continuance of the sin we have just committed.

It is necessary to let Jesus be God.  Who could possibly know better what is necessary and useful after restoration of lucid thought?  Should it be the one who is prone to moments of insanity, or the One who knows the very elements of righteous eternity?

I cannot speak about this to those who have not developed a relationship of communication with the Holy Lord.  A man cannot rely on his own heart to determine what should be done next.   It was, after all, your wicked heart that caused the sin and decay to abound.  Is it reasonable to trust your judgement now?

And what has been the outcome for others may not apply to you.  Prayer is necessary.  With a calm heart full of belief, wait and listen.  In reverant prayer, confess your situation to God.  Ask Him to show you what you must now do.  He will certainly respond.

Be careful not to let anxiety overwhelm you.  Anxiety is a form of self abuse.  And the best of lucid moments teach us to be at peace and trust the Living God in Christ.

If you want biblical proof of these things.  Read the story again of what David did following his sin with Bathsheba.  Take special note of how he received the judgment of God against him for his child of sin.  How is it possible that we should be any different?

By His Grace

Eusebius of Cesaria

by

0


Why do men look so diligently to discredit those who write for Christ?  It is as if we look for fault before we look for Life.

I know there are wolves among us.  But is it right to treat every brother in Christ as if he is a wolf, before we embrace him as a sheep?

Can we trust the Living God in Christ Jesus to show us plainly and quickly the value of a man?  Or must we rely on man’s opinion which is full of violence and obscured by doubt?

The fruit of a man’s doing must be the proof of his heart’s allegiance.   Perhaps his words will be faulty, yet his actions may display integrity.  But look how we attack him because of his words.

I agree that words may be all we have to determine a man’s allegiance.  But let us take stock of what rules in us first.  Is our first strength mercy or is it a violent behavior?  The latter thins our ranks.  The former gives place to learning.

I write this because I see that there are those who diligently try to discredit Eusebius of Caesarea .  I would guess they pursue their desire with great abandon.

But a question comes to mind.  Were those who are diligently desiring to distrust his writings, there among the people when he wrote his work?  Why not believe the man’s word?  Why not believe the power of God to save, and the love of his holy people to endure great torment?

You people view things from this perspective; a time of relative peace and plenty on your table.  But as you inspect a man’s work, you conveniently discharge a truth; it could just as easily have been you who lived in his time.  It could just as easily have been you whose writings are now under violent scrutiny.  And make no mistake, there will be people who will scrutinize your own work with violent intent.

We are but men.  But Christ is God.  Do we dare waste our time discrediting the foundation of our faith, while there are so many souls who are abandoned to eternal death?  Is that a profitable use of our very short days?

By His Grace

The Wrong Religion

by

0


To glorify Christ!  That is the object of Christianity among men.

It’s not so we can dress up pretty once a week!

It’s not so we can carry around the biggest baddest Bible anybody’s ever seen!

It’s not so we can say some gibberish prayer at dinner.

It’s not so that we can look down our nose at every human being!

Its not a get rich quick scheme!

It’s not some warm fuzzy!

It’s not a religion!

It’s not just a clean conscience so we can keep on sinning!

And it’s not an insurance policy that will allow us to float around on a cloud for eternity while we strum a golden harp!

We are saved in Christ to die for Christ.  We are saved in Christ it we might be transformed to be like him; holy and acceptable to He who sits on the Holy Throne forever.

To say no to self and to say yes to Christ!  That’s what Christianity is!  That’s what we are saved to do!  If you ain’t doing that you got the wrong religion!

By His Grace