Salvation


From a trickle to a monstrous wave,

Sweeping naked all the shore,

Is the torrent of forgiveness
From the one whose heaven born.

By His Grace

Growth in Christ (recovery from chaos)


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

The Living Dead


Make no mistake in thinking that evil is its own master.  Evil thrives in the creation that belongs to God.  Having overcome all wickedness, Christ Jesus is the Master over evil.  Even the father of lies is subject to his rule.

The Apostle Paul said that in God we live and move and have our being.  There is nothing that finds its life apart from God.

So proud they are to rebel.  What joy it gives them to spurn the things of the Living God’s Christ.  How utterly foolish to think they have accomplished anything.  For even rebellion belongs to God.  And he will do with it as pleases him when the time is right.

Why should this not give us peace, we who belong to Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit?  Why should this not give us strength, to know that nothing comes upon us outside his Holy rule?  And should this not cause us to forgive with the greatest of willingness, knowing that we are in His Holy presence now and forever.

Even the living dead belong to him.  And God will do with them as pleases him, when the time is right.  How much more do those who live in Christ belong to God?  Should such as we not desire to please him in the now?

Let us wake and remember these things!

By His Grace

Purposefully Single!


The choir sings, while one sings alone.

The preacher preaches to hundreds,  while one bows in the dust alone.

So many are witness to each others worshiping soul.

While the single one grapples with truth before the master of it all.

“16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen”  (2nd Timothy 4)

By His Grace

The Demands of Man Exposed


The message of Man to God:  “We will dictate to you our desire and you will succumb.  We will play in our filthy way until we have had enough, and sleep.  And you will receive us because you are love!

Your people walk among us and demand too much.  They accuse us of wanton behavior.  We are sick of their meddling words!   We only do what is natural, and you unjustly accuse us.

We have attained freedom from your so called holy ways.  Now we revel in the filthy streets as pleases us to do.  We will not come in and be properly dressed!  Send your people out that they may revel with us in this filthy place.

You have commanded us, and we have had enough.  And now as you can see, we put our feet firmly in the filth and command you!  Now be the love you say you are, and send them out to play with us!”

So you have said in all your unholy and ungodly way.  You do the things that are filthy.  And with your unholy mouth you command the Sovereign God.

It will not go well with you when the Lord rises.  He will surely rise and all you rebellious youth will be destroyed from his Holy House.  He will rise up and expose your filthy ways. 

As you are defiant now, so you will be on that day of His Rising.  The Holy One has spoken, “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

Who are the wise among you?  Who will perceive that these words are true?  Who will approach the porch of the Holy house of God and beg entrance and cleanliness?  For he has also spoken, that those who do so with earnest heart, will be cleansed and well fed.  Forgiveness demands repentance.

See how it remains before you; the choice between life and death.  Respond now and live.  Remain in your rebellious filth and you will surely die.

By His Grace

Destruction of Christ


You want to destroy Christianity.  You want to wipe out the name of Jesus from every square inch of this planet.  It would give you great joy if the name of Jesus ceased being given to the new-born.  Yes, I do understand your desire.

But your desire is filled with ignorance.  (please understand the true meaning of the word “ignorance”.)  Two things you do not know.  You do not understand the depth of your wickedness, for your estimation is held from the expectations of faulty men.  And you do not understand the height of joy that could be yours, as it is now among so many, who thrive with joy while they live their days along side you.

Forgiveness of your sins waits for belief to dawn in your frozen heart.  All you need do is ask, and the Lord will look into your will.  All you need do is ask in a continuing belief, and He will grant you that same joy.

Your desire to tear down Christ is understandable.  Because you know that you are at fault.  But you don’t understand that those who love Him were at fault before they asked also.  And you don’t understand that if you received your desire of destruction of Christ’s message among you, your life would cease.

For the Living God has placed all life squarely under the control and dissemination of Christ.  You desire what you will never have.

This message is true for two things.  That you desire the destruction of Christ among you, and that the very breath of your lungs comes from Him, these are true.  It is also true that you are invited to join Life.  Will you look into these things?