Tag Archives: God

Baal Worship.

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Deutsch: Der Baal Tempel in Palmyra im Dezembe...

Deutsch: Der Baal Tempel in Palmyra im Dezember 2009. English: The Temple of Baal in Palmyra in December 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Lord has set me in harness.  With skillful hand He directs me in the straight ways of the plow.  “Rip up the land.”  He has commanded me.  He is with me to tear at the ways of baal (The worship of man’s rebellion toward God and his love for the works of his own hands.) among the members of men who inhabit the same day as I.

You who worship the ways of man in every wicked way come to me.  Argue what you will.  Your ways will not stand before His wisdom and Righteous ways.  You sacrifice your children to every wicked way.  You do as you please and are not satisfied with the wickedness you already retain.  “More rebellion!”  This is the battle cry of man today.  It has been prophesied from thousands of years past.  You will seek out all that is wicked in increasing violence.  And you will consider yourself righteous because He allows you to have your fill of what your hand can create.  In this rebellious way you consider that strength belongs to you.  All lasting strength belongs to the Living God in His Son Jesus!  But you will refuse to acknowledge this.

There was a young man who is like what the Lord has given to His servant.  The young man’s name is Gideon.  Listen to the testimony of that young man.  The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”  (Judges 6: 14, 15)

Listen to what Gideon said.  He confessed that he was the least in the least clan.  Yet the Lord sent him to rip at the enemy of His people.  I am of those who are the least in the world; full of wickedness and depravity.  And of those wicked men I was the lesser of them all.  But now He has set my feet on strong ground and has commanded me to rip at the wickedness of all men.

You think you will stand on the day of judgment.  All the while you chase after every evil thing you can lay your filthy hands on.  What restrains you now is the society around you.  But you will fall away into oblivion on the day your soul is judged.  Righteousness has escaped your heart.  The Righteousness of God has not entered into your ways.  And you will be found false before the perfect Living God.  This restraint you trust in, the acceptable laws of man around you, will begin to fall into chaos soon.  Then what restraint will you find to restrain your desire for filthy ways?

I warn you as one who draws the plow over your desirable meadows.  There will be good seed planted.  And you will marvel at the edible crop which grows from among you.  For now you have no taste for the food of God.  You think what you provide for yourself is sufficient.  Your food is sweet to your wicked tongue.  But it is the sweetness of poison that you embrace with all your heart.  You consider that God will harm you.  And you hate His ways with all the strength you can gather.  You have no taste for what is Good.  You call good evil, and evil good.  What will come of this behavior?

Present yourself to Him before He comes to take you from this place of testing.  If you do not, you will be destroyed.  The fruit of sin does not provide God’s desire among men.  At the harvest of souls such men will simply be cast away, as one might throw away rotten grapes.  Where is the compassion when you toss out your garbage?  Do you love what you are willing to throw away to the stinking heap of refuse?  Do you shed tears as men come to take what you do not want?  No!  Unless you turn your heart to Him, this will become your fate.  Be wise and listen.

By His Grace.

In the Blink of an Eye

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Regardless whether you believe it or not there is a place where you will give full (I mean full and involuntary.) testimony about what you have done in this body He has given you as a test of your heart.  The Lord once showed me how quick and permanent this testimony is.  He approaches you unseen.  And in less than a blink of an eye you know what He has found within you.  It is quicker than anything you have ever known.  And the concluding judgment is made by the One who is the final authority over all heaven and earth.  Though you deny what He finds He will simply retain His own judgment of you.  Your denial will accomplish nothing in your defense.

You will leave this body soon.  And you will be a soul who will appear before the Lord Jesus.  What will you say for yourself?  Will you dare say that you simply couldn’t curb the natural instincts?  If that’s your plan you know nothing about what the Gospel offers.  Look into it my friend.  The message of God through Jesus has the power to set you free from the things that will surely destroy you.  It is not religion.  It is true freedom to do what is good and right and just; to stop sinning!  No one who listens to Him will return to sin.  And this steadfast heart, that He will give you, will set you free from the condemnation you now face with a certainty.  No man can tame the body by himself.  Without Jesus you are locked in the perception of the body.  With him, however, your perception becomes as God sees the world.  This perception is a gift from God to all who call out to His Son in faith.

I have spoken here from God’s perspective.  Do you hate what I have said?  Do you find yourself doubting that you can lead a sinless life?  It is because you are locked in the perception of the body.  If you had been set free by the Lord you would have had an entirely different response to this message.  This perception I’m talking about is called living by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we live by this Heaven born perception we are living by His Holy Spirit.  This gift of perception is the very power to be free from sin.  How can you listen to what has not been given to you?  How will you fight the sinful nature that you are, without being able to perceive what it does?  Enter into Jesus and He will show you clearly what the sinful nature (that is the body) is doing.  And He will set you free to choose what is good, right, acceptable to God, and eternal.

As you learn to love Him, you will learn to hate what He hates.  Come on now.  You have only a few years to live in this body before you are to give account of yourself (and that in less than the blink of an eye).  If you accept what He offers now you will never die.  If you refuse to listen to this message, you will certainly die.   As the Bible says, “He who is righteous does what is right.”  Come to Him in prayer and begin the journey into what is right, good and eternal.  Why would you die?

My What You Are Missing!

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You who do not believe there is a God, my what you are missing!  You who worship greed, my what you are missing!  You who follow empty religions made by the imagination of man, my what you are missing!  You who worship the Lord Jesus in vain, my what you are missing!

All of you are so busy falling short of what could be within you.  With first grade math you calculate the sum of God.  From 0 to 4 you add up value.  And you could be counting countless blessings.

This Jesus we serve is the exact and blazing representation of the Living God.  Endless in mercy, love, wisdom, knowledge, and judgment, He remains forever.  And this comes to live in the soul of every man who will empty himself of his own will, presenting himself and all he has to be used by this Jesus.  Accepting poverty of self, we receive from Him what is endless and resistant to the calculations of man.

Join us!  Come away from what you hold dear and embrace what the Living God offers in His Holy Son.  Come and live!CAPTION

Thistle to Pine

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Who is this God, the living God, who is able to transform a thistle into a great Pine?

The Living God who takes away so that He can give me what is mine.

What wind will appear to drive me down as long as His blessing remains?

It is He who has blessed and transported my frame, for the sake of His Holy Name.

No longer a thorn to pierce His soft skin, to be counted as enemy prime.

His Grace spent on me has produced shade and food, according to His Great Design.

The Man Who Lived When Men Died Quicker

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The Sacrifice of Abraham

The Sacrifice of Abraham (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A man lived, in the years when men died quicker.  It was there, a certain place in eternity, where God took His stand among men.  “I will cause you to be the father of many nations.  I will bless those who bless you.  And I will curse those who curse you.”  And the man submitted.

All things belong to God.  You who hold so tightly to what you think you own, I have a message for you.  You who think you can control your own destiny.  You who think the world is simply a place where profit lay hidden, waiting for your greedy fingers to uncover as a child would look for eggs on Easter.  You are full of pride in the accomplishments of your mind.  And your heart is cold to anyone who would compete with you to gain.  The way you are living is not the intent of God for man.

All things belong to God.  But many take as they please.  No thanks is given for the air they breathe unless it is a thankful heart that they can continue to plunder.  You will deny that your god is greed.  But your actions speak far louder than you know.

All things belong to God.  The man who lived when men died quicker was not like you.  He was a righteous man.  And his son was a righteous son.  What is it to us if we are asked to lay down our desire?  Who are we that we should compare ourselves to such a man?  “Sacrifice your son.”  This was not spoken to such a man as I.  Yet this man who lived when men died quicker was willing.  Greed was not his god.  Even to the dispatching of his lovely son, this man was willing to give all he had.  He reasoned that God was able to raise the dead.  And it was credited to him as righteousness from God’s Holy Throne.

Consider what you think you own.  Consider the way of your fingers to gain what you should not.  Consider how hard your heart has become since you were an innocent child.  For now, you believe that who you have become is who you must be.  I tell you that such thinking is a direct lie.  You need not live like that.  God will provide for you.  But you will be asked to suffer loss for His sake.  I tell you, it is worth everything you think you own to gain what God offers all men.

Consider: All things belong to God.  Get yourself away from greed.  Enter into the presence of the One who owns all things yet is generous beyond our understanding.  Sacrifice what you have.  Though you are not as the man who lived when men died quicker, you still present yourself unwillingly before the eyes of He who sees even into the darkest night.  All your ways are counted.  Yet He offers you what is Good.  Let go of what is not yours.  All things belong to God.

Judging, Peace, and Holiness

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Three Empty Boxes #1

Three Empty Boxes #1 (Photo credit: z287marc)

I’m going to take a stab at defining and explaining three important aspects of Christianity.  If I hit the mark, then well and good.  If I miss the mark then I ask for clarification by my brothers and sisters.  I even invite comment from those who are not yet believers in what is called “The Way” (If you don’t understand what “The Way” is, then it’s you I’m talking about).  These three topics are very hot in the world today.  They are misunderstood and abused far too often to leave alone.

This post is created to see if I contain what is true.  I make them public so that I might expose what I believe personally.  These are the things of Christ as I have come to understand them.  And this understanding has become central to my every thought, attitude, and deed.  So what you will read is the sum of who I am in Christ Jesus.  (A bit verbose huh?)

I do not mention that to boast.  I mention that to ask for help to clarify what I believe and do.  Who among us would be willing to divulge our heart in these matters?  I ask for mercy from you as you examine what has become my very soul’s desire.  These are central doctrines (teachings) in the Christian faith.  And it is good, for all God’s people, to hold His ways so tightly that they can be delivered through our own words.  Far too often I see Christians simply quote scripture to deliver their understanding of God’s ways.  Though I too could do that, I have determined to render them in a far more vulnerable manner.  We will see what the response from my Christian family will be.  I know what the response from the world will be.  And I laugh within myself to remember that we will also see what I am made of as I encounter the responses…..

In this, this post becomes a game of sorts, a game of pride against humility.  A potentially deadly game, but a game none the less.  Approach it light heartedly, as if in a class room filled with willing students (of which, I am also a student).  It is my desire that all my family in Christ try their hand at these things.  With love this exercise can be exceedingly fruitful.  “Ya otta try it yersef.”

I know this post is a lot of words.  So what?  So is “War and Peace”.  And there are a couple people in history that have read the entire book.

Judge:

Do not judge by appearance but render a right judgment.  Do not guess about what you see in others.  Assess by what you witness.  In the first statement we are commanded to judge.  All that is necessary is the knowledge of the Lord which He is willing to extend to all His people freely.  Have you cleaned your own house by His gracious knowledge?  Then you are able to rightly understand what is proper before the Most High God.  And if your house is clean then you are allowed to figure out the needs of others (that is to say, “judge rightly”).  We all lack in various ways.  But as we enter into The Lord’s commands (That is, as we learn to live His commands consistently.) we are compelled, by what we have learned to obey, to assess that same obedience as we witness it in others.  We learn to live by His standard.  And as we live by those standards of Holiness, we are compelled to voice what is true.

Do not listen to those who say you have no right to judge.  You are compelled to make right judgments as you learn to live according to the Lord’s ways.  Let one idiot say to another idiot, “I did that and I can tell you clearly, ‘That’s gonna leave a mark!’  So don’t do that!  I used to do that till I couldn’t stand the pain anymore.  Now I don’t do that.  Look.  See the scars?”  Only a proud fool is going to hate you for giving the warning.  Only folly will respond, “You don’t know anything!  And you have no right to judge me like that.  I’m going to do what I want. And you have no right to speak to me like that!”  Ok.  Go ahead and do it.  You’ll be joining me to tell others about it in your very own words, just like I told you.  This is appropriate judging.  And that is the expected response today.  The indignant one will soon enough chime in with you to say something about the “marks”.

Consider others equally important to yourself.  You have cleaned your own house so that you will be presentable to the Lord of Life through Jesus’ sacrifice.  Help others clean their own house by gently pointing out what they are not able to see alone.  You too once had blind spots which required a brother or sister to come along side and point them out.  They did approach you to give you counsel.  And in humility to the truth spoken to you, you accepted their counsel and made the appropriate changes to your behavior.  Perhaps that counsel was delivered to you harshly.  But, in retrospect, wasn’t the harsher counsel delivered after various attempts to reach you through kindness, love, gentleness, and peace?

What people hate about this process is the final warnings that come from continual rebellion against God’s teachings, which were first delivered more kindly.  But these people fail to recognize the softer teachings which came before the harshness of warnings about the Holy Judgment of God.  All men know they are impure.  It is pride alone which restrains the Lord’s words from entering.  And if we are to help them we are compelled to find a way around the pride of man.  Isn’t this the reason for a display of physical authority against the rebellion of our children?  (I’m talking about what used to be called “spanking”.  But I thought it an inappropriate word……… It just aint PC anymore.)

This process is much like my little dog.  She is busy sniffing about and wandering around at her own pace and pleasure.  But when the time is near to leave, I call her.  Sometimes she will not hear repeated and escalating calls to return to me.  So she requires that word of rebuke.  Then she hears me clearly and returns.  I do not begin with that word to her.  I give her time to come because she is willing to obey.  But she will return to me regardless, whatever it takes.  There is reward in my hand when she obeys.  Though for now she endures a rebuke.   Maybe I ought to just skip all the “TADA” and move to yelling at her.  Nah.  I love the lil creature.  Isn’t that why we subdue frustration long enough to talk softly to others?

People balk at righteous teaching because of pride.  But come the day of judgment they will appreciate that you had the boldness to warn them, provided they had responded with humility and obedience.  There will be respect for those who have cleaned their own house so that they can render right judgments of their brother’s actions, having delivered the appropriate level of teaching at the proper time.

We are  commanded to love our brother as we love ourselves.  Have you rendered this process within yourself until obedience became second nature?  Then there is no shame to do the same for others out of a pure love and concern for their safety.  Do not listen to those who hate what is good and rebuke you for applying what is true from a true heart.  Love them toward obedience for their own good, even as you have endured the same for the sake of God’s Holy Son’s Name.  Such people will remind you of the mote in your own eye.  You know, the one you have removed so you can see clearly to help your brother.  While they remind you of your sins they are pushing you away without remembering the second part of that message.  In this they blame you for judging them, all the while they are judging you.  Curious isn’t it?

Peace:

This talk about judging others leads me to the next important conversation.  I have heard many today speaking about peace among men.  What they refer to is not the peace of God.  They are intent on making man into his own peace without God’s command toward holiness (in case you didn’t read the title, it’s the next conversation).  They would circumvent the Lord’s command to obey His laws for the sake of peace, tranquility, neighborly kindness, and a social fearlessness (a society in which no one locks their doors anymore).  They would remove the coming Judgment of God so that men are not afraid of them.  And by this they enter into a great folly.

This teaching does not love God’s ways.  This teaching respects man as more important than the Holy God of Life.  And it will find no favor from the Lord.  It has been refered to as “man pleasing”.  Such a vile teaching, if followed to its fullness, will surely end in the Lord saying to them, “Away from Me.  I never knew you.”  These men and women will find themselves loved by man but vulnerable to accusation by the Living God.

The peace that God is intent on distributing among men is not a peace built between men.  God’s peace is a peace between God and man.  “Peace on earth, goodwill among men”, does not mean peace between man alone.  Peace between men is only a treaty built to retain social prosperity.  The peace of God brings war between His people and those who are not.  We obey what is true from His Holy hand.  They only obey what is expedient between men.  They will surely hate those who are obeying the higher commands because the obedience of God’s people is an “in your face” condemnation of their own actions.

God calls His people to obedience beyond what is socially marginal.  His people will obey Him even when society demands otherwise.  For me this is never more apparent than on the freeway.  Drive your car at the posted speed limit and watch what happens.  While you are obeying the law of man you will be hated for it.  You stand in their way as they break their own laws.  But you obey from a deeper conviction which comes from the Lord.  This will become obvious to the one who begins to enter into obedience.  Though we will remain enigma to all who do not humble themselves toward God.  (I’m sorry for the use of the word enigma.  It is not used much anymore.  It means that something that is an unsolvable mystery.  And, from their perspective, obedience to a higher law than that of man is a mystery.  It is not expedient to their greedy ways.  Their grubby little greedy hands are too busy to stop and fold in prayer.  “Gotta have” is the motto of today.)

The summation of this talk regarding peace is that there is no peace among men.  It is only a social contract of sinful men to live together for the sake of greed; making sure that everyone gets their fair share of the pie.  The peace of God is immeasurably more.  His peace removes greed, thus we live as free men.  We become free from the temporary restraints of the world’s social contract.  In God’s peace we rise above their expectations.  Rest assured, they will hate us for it.

Holiness:

Now the final aspect of Christianity presents itself.  This is an “all but forgotten” aspect today.  Someone talks about it and we either say, “Oh yea.”  Or we give that frantic nod, hoping the speaker will over look our ignorance.  If we remember it as a group of people, it is often simply applied to God.  There is little talk among God’s people as it applies to each of us.  But what we say to each other has no effect against the truth God continues to deliver to us.  Holiness among His people is a command.  And it will not be taken out-of-the-way, EVER.   The mass (no pun intended) of what is called the Church has turned to living out their “religion” by attending a gathering once a week.  But this is not the holiness God commands us to attain.

The holiness God commands upon us is a separation from sin and a uniting to what is pure, true, and eternally powerful.  I hate to burst your bubble while I attend your party of self-importance, but I will inform you of something:  you are a slave.  You are either a slave to sin, or a slave to righteousness. We are either entering into service to what is Holy, or we remain as slaves to what is wicked.  We all serve as slaves!  You are not a free individual; free to chase after anything you desire.  There are only two powers present, in all heaven and earth which we obey.  (simple math for a very simple understanding.  One, or the other ONE = enslavement.  Cool huh?  Not even a question from a math teacher: “What is one plus one?”  [don’t try to answer that] It is simply a statement that you are either one or the other.)  We either naturally obey the one who accuses even God Himself, or we obey the Holy Lord of Life by the Spirit He gives His people.  Regardless what you do in your life you are a slave who is being ordered around by a higher authority.  Those who think they are free men are a slave to wickedness.  Those who humble themselves before the Most High God will recognize that they have become slaves to God’s Righteousness.  Hey!  Get over your pride!  You’re nothing more than a slave.  Does this offend you?  Then examine yourself to see why.

Frustration consumes me as I listen to my brothers complain that they just can’t get past a certain sin or two.  I listen with compassion but leave in frustration.  I will say this here but would never say this as my brother vents his heart to me:  “If the conquering of sins is not available to God’s people in Christ Jesus, then the Lord is a liar, and asks far too much from us.  But if the Lord never lies (and this is absolutely the case) then it is the man of Christ who is lying to himself and others.”  How else can it be said?  On the other hand, since I said it here I can only hope my brother understands what I meant.  We are a pompous people.  Without God’s Spirit within us we cannot hope to please Him.  But oh how we continue to try.  And how we continue to fail!

Holiness is commanded by God to all His people!  Please forgive me for saying these things but they are essential.  We are not saved so that we can carry around a warm fuzzy all our days.  We are saved to war against the sinful natural tendencies which the slaves of wickedness embrace.  We are saved by Jesus’ work so that we can serve the purity of God’s will forever.

I will sum this up in this manner:  There seems to be a great lie going about.  It has something to do with what people refer to as “up there”.  They consider that God will do some kind of magic when they die.  They think they will be transformed into something beautiful after they are through doing as they please here.  Um, I have to say this, “That’s really stupid.”  It shows a complete lack of understanding about what the Gospel reveals.  The initial transformation happens here!  I know we won’t attain to perfection here.  But why would you let that stop you from gaining everything you know you are able to attain here?  This lie is like saying “I want to go to Portland Oregon tomorrow.  But I’ll wait to leave until I get there.”  How stupid is that?  Isn’t that what the lie says?  (Please don’t joke about what if obvious.  I know there are a lot of people who actually live in Portland Oregon.  Ok.  So for those people, consider that you want to go to New York City, though I can’t imagine why.  I’ve been there.  It isn’t better than Portland Oregon.)

I could go on about the importance of holiness.  But for what purpose?  I think the point was made.  And if the point wasn’t made, wasn’t that the reason why I opened this entire conversation by inviting comment and correction?

I will end this conversation about the three essential points of Christianity with my favorite signature.  Three words present themselves to cover over my folly.  They are, themselves, essential to all teaching about what belongs to God.  May God grant understanding as He sees fit to grant.

“By His Grace.”