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Debates regarding what is “right” are endless to those who despise the Lord. A simple situation will spawn thousands of angles to defend. But to those who are learning from the Lord Jesus will begin to see truth in a very different light. Each situation which is presented before us becomes a very distinct understanding. God’s view of what is right will forever be firm.
By His Grace.
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(Since this entry was written nothing has come about to warrant its writing. I will leave this post on my blog. I see that a lot of people are searching for such things. But I will remind the reader that prophecy has its place. All the while, leading a life filled with the Holy Spirit of God is of vastly more importance. While we search for what is to come, let us remember to live a life worthy of God’s blessing. Prophecy will do nothing to help us as we stand before the Throne of Christ Jesus. Obedience, however, will help us immensely.)
I just posted a difference in beliefs between Glenn Beck and the children of the Most High God through Jesus’ sacrifice. So I feel a bit redundant bringing him back to my blog. But something is transpiring which demands attention.
Glenn is planning to take his media power to Jerusalem. It is his belief that he must stand with Israel in the coming days. I pondered this move in light of the Lord’s plans and wondered how this might fit in. Though I don’t have direct word from the Lord on this, I’ve come to a realization that might hold some water.
The current media ignores Israel, being quite liberal and ungodly in their approach to the world’s plight. And we have heard of the two witnesses which will appear to testify to the world’s ungodly behavior. It’s not likely that the current media would even notice them, given their present bend to sin. But we are told that these two witnesses will be seen by the entire world. Is it possible that Glenn’s move to Jerusalem (along with his powerful outreach) is a direct hand of God? Perhaps the Lord is setting up the stage on which these two men will carry out their appointed tasks.
The following is the account of these two men from the book of Revelation chapter 11. I present this, not as the direct word of God, as something for all men to ponder and respect. God will move against the sins of this world. How He will do it is only in our hands to watch.
1 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
May all who seek life from the Lord through Jesus be made to wake. The time is nearer now than ever before. Do not get caught sleeping.
As a supplement to this post, I invite you to read Man’s Understanding of Holy Lacks a Bit. (which is another post on my blog)
By His Grace.
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I respect Glenn Beck‘s “ministry”. I know that in the world of media he stands out rather loudly for the best man can aspire to under religion. Glenn will often refer to the doing of good on the part of those who care about what is right. And I find no direct fault with the world seeking what is good.
But I hear something missing among his words. Though it is good to pursue righteousness, there is a certain righteousness on this earth which man will rarely aspire to accomplish. What is “good” among men might not reach to the “Goodness” of God’s perfect will. Glenn is promoting that “We will be the key” to positive change toward righteousness in this world. I am forced by the word of God to differ. Man will never be the key toward the Righteousness of God. God’s will alone can accomplish the eternal and therefore perfect Righteousness.
While Glenn will encourage others to reach up toward God for help, it is more on the order of “enlightenment”. Perhaps it would best be summed up as, “Lord, help me do the right things”. And in one respect, this is a right request. If we are asking that we might understand and do the Will of God, we are in the right vein. But if we are only asking that God bless the work of our own hands we stand slightly amiss.
This difference of belief could be considered subtle by most. But in the end, only those who do the will of God the Father will be allowed entrance into His peace. What is the will of God the Father? To believe on the Son of God, Jesus. To obey Jesus’ commands to do everything Jesus tells us to do. We are not set aside to redeem the world. That is to say we are not saved to retain human implements of freedom on this world. We are embraced in the blood of Christ Jesus to be implements of the will of God. It is quite possible that man’s freedom will be dashed by God. And I find this latter idea holds a great deal more water than manipulating government policies so that we can do anything we please.
What we believe matters! Who we obey and serve matters. Believe in the directing of Jesus and you stand on solid ground. Believe in the “goodness” of man and you stand amiss.
By His Grace.
After sleep comes the bowed head. No tears threaten to well up. The sorrow is felt in the soul. Yet the heart hears a different tone. The Lord of Perfect Beauty is calling. And He calls to one who has sinned before Him. I knew better. Was it stubbornness? Was it simple weakness? Was it a lust for things past? What do any of those questions matter now? I sit here afraid yet not afraid. It is the eyes of He who sees which gaze at me and softly scan my heart. I have transgressed His demands of me. And I am not misguided in my assessment of the situation. There will be punishment to endure for the acts done.
After reflection and thanks for the simple things He whispers something odd. “Yes, there will be punishment to endure. But you will gladly accept My judgment when you see the alternative.”
47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12)
Jesus sits enthroned in Heaven. The oil of joy is poured upon Him by the Father in Heaven. He rules all eternity and is willing to share His joy. For those of us who are being humbled by a collision with Holy and foolish sinful tendencies: Consider yourself for a moment. If you had a million dollars and were standing in a great place of poverty, would you help those around you? Of course you would. And would you judge those around you while you gave them food and clothing? Of course you wouldn’t. If that is how you who are full of sin would handle riches, how much more will the Lord of Glory share all good things with those who call out to Him for help?
Let your back be bent and your head be bowed for a time. It is good to ponder the seriousness of your offences before the Most High God. Allow yourself to really listen to Jesus’ calling, however. Listen to what He is saying. He knows your plight. But He also knows where He is now enthroned. He calls to all men to humble themselves before Him that in due time He might lift them up. Only submit to the Lord of Love and consider yourself dead before the foot stool of the consuming fire that is God.
By His Grace.
There is a difference between doing good acts of righteousness and doing the Father’s Good and Holy Will. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death. A man might go about doing what he thinks is good all the days of his life and still miss the promise of eternal life in Jesus.
Want proof? Consider the following:
We see men and women all over the planet busily convincing others that doing good for their neighbor is the proper way to lead a meaningful and “godly” life. Yet how do they know what good to do? Are they, perhaps, stepping on the “toes” of God’s will? When I was a willingly sinful man, I had no right to claim help from anyone. Yet these people helped me. What did they do to bring me to God’s will for my life? Didn’t they enable me to remain in my situation? I don’t say that I didn’t appreciate their good deeds. But were their good intentions simply promoting a life I was willing to live? Since I knew I could get help from men when I needed it, I continued in my willing sin.
Another aspect of this error of doing good to all for the sake of doing good is the reality of limits. A man with a loaf of bread must feed his family first. If there is something left over then he is allowed to feed the needy. This limit of resources extends to everything man has at his disposal. Sometimes we see men giving from their basic necessities for the sake of doing good for others. But eventually the resources run out. So by limits placed on man he can only give of what is available. After that we see promises and hopes dashed. This is not so when it comes to the will of the Father in Heaven. To God there is no limit to His resources. And if a man chases after God’s will in Jesus the Christ, he will find enough to satisfy the needs of God’s will. And only God can truly change a life. Man’s efforts are only a bandaid over the sinful nature within the man. God, through Jesus, comes in and removes the necessity to live a sinful life. That man’s ways become godly by virtue of the unlimited resources of God. Not the limited resources of man.
In short, we see man trying to do good yet failing because of the limits God has placed on him. These limits are in place that we might recognize our need to rely on God alone. But man, without the Spirit of God, does not see the need to rely on God as long as there are still resources left. Politicians are in demand for every resource the people under them can generate. They are seriously damaging their own household that they might provide for their own greedy minds and hearts. Yet they don’t take into account the dwindling resources under their control. God will judge with eternal wisdom. And every man will give account of his willingness to serve the God who made him.
Do not be fooled by the “Good Doers of this age. Serve God first then all things good will be provided. You will find your resources expand where others watch them recede. Become God powered doers. And this is done by accepting Jesus’ perfect desire for your life. This is the reason we are given life in the first place. In this Place of Testing, we are put to a choice; serve God or serve man.
By His Grace.
In the way of the Christian life we are required to war against all manner of enemies. But what exactly are our enemies and by what means shall we conduct this war? We do not war with implements of bodily damage as does a soldier on a battle field of this world. How often I have wished that I could just face my enemies and do a physical battle once and for all. But this is not the lot of a Christian.
From the point of view of the physical, we swat the unseen around us. We thrash and churn the air against what is not apparent. We have dreams of our sins and wake upset. We speak a lie without thinking and regret that sound had come from our lips. We find ourselves thinking of something we know is wicked and loathe our brains. We see the ungodliness of those around us and ponder the difference between ourselves and those who hold themselves accountable to no one. Then we are doused with regret that we should compare ourselves to anyone. We notice, in retrospect, that we have omitted an action which should have been accomplished. And we hate ourselves for being so blind to what is right and good. And we note that all these things and more are the nature of our war.
In citing the “more”, we consider the onslaught of temptations toward ungodly evil. All day long and even into the night, we are tempted as is any other man. Greed, hatred, slander, idolatry, doubt, and godless thoughts assault the Christian every moment of every day. Sometimes they are brought about by advertisements we witness around us. The media (TV, magazines, billboards, bumper stickers, window dressings in a store, the actions of others, and even the memories of our sinful and godless days) press us with temptations toward unfaithfulness toward our God, Jesus. In citing the “more” there is not enough paper or time to mention every aspect of temptations.
And what are we tempted to do? We are tempted to do two things:
We are tempted to sin; to ignore the holy life God is calling us to live and pursue selfish gain which we cannot keep. We are tempted to satisfy the lust of our bodies by chasing after a certain fulfillment of desire we experience in the now. Anything which is not eternal or offends our conscience before the Most High God is sin. And we are tempted to consider the Lord of Life a liar. In this we are most viciously tempted. When Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished”, He did not intend that anything was left to do. We are tempted to allow ourselves to give in to regret for sins we commit. And in this particular temptation we are set to task in a ferocious manner.
If the Lord of all creation is not complete in His sacrifice on the cross, then we war in vain. But this is the central point in all our warring. We live as if to testify that Jesus is complete and that His word is absolute, final, true, and Holy. We war to prove the Lord correct. We do not war to be saved from certain condemnation before the Father God. We war to prove the effectiveness of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. It has been mentioned by many that we do not live as Christians to become saved. This task is done for us. No man can please God on his own merit. Instead, we war to bring glory to Jesus by believing what He has said and done for all men. And we war in this Holy battle to be considered by Jesus for a promised reward and place in His heavenly kingdom.
Now, this brings the very point of the pin into view. If we fight the battle with the glory of Jesus in mind, we are more than conquerors, as Paul has said. For in the sacrifice of Jesus, we have already won. And all that is left is to secure our standing before Him. This will release the child of God to live. This way of fighting will release the man of God to live a victorious life. A life filled with hope and free of shame. When we become aware of sin and temptation in our lives, we submit ourselves to God through prayer through confession and requests and believe as we have heard Him testify, “It is finished”.
Hope is the result of His work. We have no hope without Him. Yet we have the right to hope. For He who cannot lie has promised! We war with the very essence of our beings as a people without hope. And we war against what we cannot see by believing He who we cannot see. This will be foolishness to anyone who does not believe. There are no bruises, no blood, no cuts, or broken bones. There is nothing to prove that a war is even necessary. Yet we who believe are constantly aware of the war against us. And the closer we get to Him the more the battle rages. Curiously, however, the closer we get to Him, and the more the battle rages, the less fear we experience.
In all things Jesus will be glorified, and that to the glory of the Father in Heaven. For He has performed our righteous for us! He has spoken in a body the perfect will of God for all who would dare believe. As He has said, “It is finished”. Believe and live!
By His Grace.
We: Live, Die, Face Judgment. Jesus or die twice.
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