Asking God to bend reality is to ask for the miraculous. Accepting horror or inconvenience because you trust Him is obedient faith. Decide for yourself which approach to life pleases God more.
Tag Archives: faith
A Prayer for Today
Forboding Malibu Creek State Park (Photo credit: jasoneppink)
Holy Father in Heaven, we give You Glory for Your Holy ways. We observe the choice You are setting in our path. The choice of freedom or oppression hangs before our path as if a fragile cliff. With one gentle move of Your Mighty hand America will encounter one or the other.
We consider ourselves in light of this pending choice. We are the sum of what we have done; to abandon Your Holy commands to one extent or another. Or we have failed to employ our whole heart, mind, soul and strength in the pursuit of Your Ways. But we are also a people filled with hope at the generous gifts You have given us. Each one of us having attained a certain filling of Your Holy Spirit, and each one accountable to You as to how we have employed “The Faith” You have graciously given us.
To each You present this choice. To the holy of Your people You rightly expect more. To the sinner just entering into Your Gospel You rightly expect more. And to all Your people You have said “Straighten your path. Display to Me what you desire. The choice belongs to My people. And I will act accordingly.” As it has been eternally written: 13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to
devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7)
We see the choice looming before us and we ask that You clearly waken Your people with eyes and ears that only You can give. Guide us all in this matter that we may act wisely before Your Holy Throne. This prayer is presented to You who are a consuming fire of Holiness, purity, and love. And we sign this petition with the Holy Name of Your Blessed and Faithful Son, Jesus. Amen.
Notes From Reading “The Shepherd of Hermas”
English: The Lord Jesus Christ in the image of Good Shepherd. Early Christian trsdition of symbolism. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I am reading “The Shepherd of Hermas”. I have stumbled on a few thoughts regarding “The Faith” and “The Way” that are worthy of note. May the Lord of Life impart understanding through these words.
There are men in whose life righteousness has been King. And there are those whose life has been dimmed by sin and a certain broken consistency with righteousness. To the former, in Christ Jesus, is the prospect of salvation and glory. To the latter, in Christ Jesus, is the prospect of salvation and far lesser glory is the prospect of their faith. To each eternal life is offered. The righteous will seal their identity in the body of Christ if they remain consistent to the end. The wayward soul may attain to salvation in Christ Jesus if they will mend their pace toward attaining what the righteous own by their consistent actions of godly living.
What aspect of “The Faith” remains upon each group is that each is encouraged to add to what he already has attained. What man can muster the measure of righteousness which the Lord Jesus held from birth to death? So we encourage one another to add to their testimony all things good and sure.
In one way, I cannot help my brothers more than to render these words of hope and encouragement. Yet, by my own appropriation of righteousness, it is possible to impart some worthy provocation toward what glory the Lord will give to those who practise righteousness. That is to say: If I live out the truth of Christ in my own life I can leave a legacy of example. And in this way we are more effective in encouraging one another to a living faith.
And I am made aware of another aspect of “The Way” which we hear little about. Salvation is not found in knowledge. Rather salvation is found in “The Doing” of what is pure and right. And as we do what we are told more understanding will be given to us. This understanding is said best by the Lord Jesus, as spoken by the “New Living Translation”: “Those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” (Matthew 13:12)
Many seek to understand the greater things of God. They perceive that if they understood more they would, naturally, become more adept at doing the things of God. While Godly knowledge is good to own, there is an obvious tendency for knowledge to “puff up” a man’s perception of self. It is better to be lacking in knowledge of revelation while doing the things of God, then to be over filled with pride for that which adds very little to a man’s obedience to the commands of Christ Jesus.
May the Living God bless these things for the sake of His Holy name to all people who desire to please Him.
By His Grace.
Of Blessed Understanding We Join the Athletes of the Beginning.
Eusebius of Caesarea may have continued the Liber Pontificalis into the 4th century. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Lord has blessed my heart by bringing an audio file to me. He is more gracious than we can possibly know. If all His people were to combine their testimony regarding the Glory of the Lord Jesus (and that to the Glory of the Father) all the melody of sound would still fall short of His eternal beauty. So I thank you Lord Jesus for Your precious blessings that filter to us through our time in this place of testing. May all Your people present great glories to You on the day You are revealed in Glory to all men! Amen!
The audio file is that of Eusebius’ Church History. The work spans the time from the beginning of the Church to about the year 350 or so. Up to the end of his account the Church had weathered a few problems within. But the account tells us that the Lord’s people were blessed to pretty much remain constant in their worship, brotherhood, and display of righteousness.
I suspect that as I finish this “listening” I will search out another work which deals with the subsequent years. I fear those works that will follow, however. For it isn’t long in Church history when we find compromise between Church and State. The results of which attack the Lord’s people from a particularly tender perspective.
How my soul wants to encourage my brothers and sisters to regain, retain, and revitalize our purity and love for the Lord. But I am at a loss this evening. Perhaps the Lord will bless us all by words fitting to the surge of dedication this work of Eusebius has inspired.
Shades of persecution have come and gone. Yet today seems the most hideous of all. Silent compromise seeps into the very foundations of our identity as “sons of God”. For the most part the Church has become useless and loved by the world, especially in America. Each man and woman goes after their own tasks unscathed by physical or financial malnutrition.
One thought runs through my blood tonite, however. A rather foreboding thought presses against my skin from the inside out. Is the Church today ready if the impiant (as they were prone to refer to wicked men) one regains his footing against us as he did in the first 1000 years of the Church? This question is not for me to either answer or speculate about. It is, perhaps, for us to prove individually as what will be enters the calendar year of its own time.
One possible answer to that question is this: Prepare in prayer, Truth, righteousness, purity, holiness, bodily control, and consumption of the Word, lest that day (if it indeed comes upon us) encamp around us from the very fringes of the woods which create our present clearing of “peace”.
Watch with all hope. Hope with eyes that are not of man. And stretch out the wings of “The Faith” as far as they will stretch. Get ready to fly by the strength of the Holy Spirit, regardless the necessity. Only then can we walk toward what comes with the great peace displayed by the millions who have worked in the heat of the day.
By His Grace.
“I Want to See Jesus”
First page of the Gospel of Mark, by Sargis Pitsak, a Medieval Armenian scribe and miniaturist (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Gordon rose from prayer. He had been asking Jesus to appear to him. He so desired to see the Lord, or perhaps even a manifestation of His presence. But nothing happened.
Gordon looked through his soul seeking any sin that might be hindering his relationship with Jesus. He was sure there was nothing. And the Scripture was remembered: “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.”
With a heavy sigh, Gordon resigned himself to quit asking for an appearance. With his head down he shuffled to the couch and sat down. Hanging his head for a moment, and closing his eyes, he simply let his soul rest in the peace of The Faith.
After a few minutes Gordon raised his head slowly and let his eyelids raise at the same speed. And there, before his eyes, was the Bible on the coffee table. Then it came to him more fresh than ever before: “All Scripture is God breathed.” “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me?” “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
It wasn’t a voice he heard. It was a string of understandings that flashed in his mind. Now he felt foolish for even asking. And with a renewed effort, Gordon picked up the Bible and began to “see” his Lord and Savior.
Opportunity
Vision from Book of Revelation (Photo credit: cliff1066™)
The current movement of the world toward a one world government, the rise of Islam, the promotion of “good works” driven by secular man and government, the demise of freedom, and the imminent threat of violence against Christians and Jews, can be a frightening concept to watch appear. But there is a word from the Lord that must be spoken now.
All these things hasten the believer in Christ Jesus into a realm of strength never before seen on the face of the earth. If you will hold your hope in Christ Jesus you will see your strength increase dramatically. Do not fear what they fear. Hold your head high as you see the day approach.
This will be a day of extremes. One side will see the extreme hatred unleashed against the Lord and all His people. The other side will see the Holy Spirit as never before give “The Faith” to all the Lord’s people. This is not the horror for the Lord’s people that it will be for those who are not. This is a day, coming quickly, when men’s hearts will become hardened in their way. But it will also be a day when the hearts of God’s people in Jesus will become free to worship in fullness.
This day we are entering will be a singular opportunity to shine like the sun as we hold out the words of life. Men will torment us. But they will not break the Spirit’s power within us. Instead it will fan our Spiritual gifts into a raging fire of steadfast hope. Many will witness God’s people suffer with joy. And they will wonder at a people’s religion and faith that can withstand such an onslaught and grow.
Hold the Lord high within your heart! We are offered a time to gather for Him a marvelous abundance of glory!
May the Lord be blessed by His word among all His people. And may we render what is His with a glorious joy, which is unknown among the faithless, sinful, godless, and wicked.
Amen
Words From There 