Tag Archives: Holiness

The Storehouse of Determination

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The house of light.

The storehouses of hail and snow.

The place where lightning and wind are cast abroad.

The father of rain and dew.

The womb of winter, with its ice and heavenly born frost.  (Reference job 38 for more.)

Only God knows these places and ways.  They are marvelous concepts to ponder.  Beautiful words that beckon understanding.  Yet who among us can hope to grasp their full meaning.  The fullness of them belongs to God alone.

As marvelous as they are, there is one more mystery I went to present before the Living God and His Holy Christ.  And in my presentation, I found a similarly mysterious quality.  So I write it here.  Let my fellow man ponder it while I wait for an answer. 

(Shall the answer come from the Holy Spirit of God, directly to my soul?  Or shall he send the testimony of a man, to humble my soul?  I will know I have received, when I see it appear in my will to obey.  Regardless its source of arrival, there will be joy and praise to God.)

“Where is the storehouse of determination?”

With righteous expectation, the Holy Lord commands all men to become holy before his sight.  And he does not ask too much!  For he willingly gives the strength to overcome the wickedness of this place of testing.  Let us be willing to confess, that it is we who do not provide his rightful expectation.

He has promised that a man may go to him for wisdom, with full expectation of receiving.  By this he provides the tools to accomplish His Holy will among men. 

But I find a mystery at work in this.  Why do so few accomplish his rightful expectation?  And what strength do those who overcome employ?  The answer has come to me in the form of a question.  “Where is the storehouse of determination?”

The Holy Son of God knew where it was.  And from it he drew consistently.  For he was found fully pleasing before his Father, the Living God.

It is as if each man lives in a spacious place.  It is as if his own land.  God Himself commands us to farm this place and to keep it in good order.  It is His righteous and Holy expectation that we obey.

But what should a man say if he finds a task he cannot accomplish?  Perhaps a rebellious tongue abides on his own land.  Perhaps his besetting sin grows weeds faster and taller than the righteous crop expected. 

Frustration attends the man’s land as if a rebellious servant.  What hope does such a man have to accomplish the righteous holy will of his God?  Such a man needs another tool.  Such a man needs determination!

He has seen that others have it.  He has also perceived his own lack.  Yet he knows that God is faithful to provide.  So he has searched among his things to find determination.  Still his farm proves his lack.

With the little time God gives us in our life, do we have time to search the vastness of our own land?  And what should we say, if in our search, we have not found the means to obey?  Time grows short and we are bound to appear before him.  “Do I dare appear with a lack?”

God has required it of him.  God is just in all his expectations.  But where is the storehouse of determination?  And it must be a storehouse for it is not a singular tool!  It is a constant, overflowing, and endless resource.  Therefore there must be a storehouse of vast potential.  But where is it?

Who has found this place on his own land?  It is he who has succeeded to give the Living God his rightful expectation.  It is he who can be relied upon with excellent faithfulness.  It is the kind of man who receives all the excellent titles, both from God and man.  It is he, of whom it can be said, “This one has accomplished”, or “Well done thou good and faithful servant”.

So I ask again, with a hope of mist around me, that some man may answer me.  Or that God himself will lead me to it.  “Where is the storehouse of determination?”

By His Grace

Purchased Authority

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Authority is such a fleeting reward.  For a price you can gain believability.  Man has bottled the truth of the Living God, and will sell it for a certain price.

The manufacturing facilities are called colleges.  A man or woman is vetted by those who say they know.  Authority is not given without a punishing ordeal.  But once it is received a man may walk about this earth as if full of power.

But is the authority given by men truly a viable resource of truth?  Or is it a source of division?   At worst a ruse.

I don’t claim to know the price tag for a bachelor’s degree today.  I can’t remember the cost of my own.  But on cursory search it looks to be over $10,000.  With that a man has preliminary authority.

But let him search for more strength.  Man has created better, better and best.  You can gain what is called a masters degree.  Then if you are a truly diligent and godly man, you may seek for a doctorate!

What is the price tag of a Doctorate degree?    A man could easily spend 200 thousand dollars.  But don’t bulk!  Consider the authority he has just purchased.

How much did Moses spend to become the voice of God for Holy Law?  For what price did Abraham pay to achieve the title of “Father of faith”?  I wonder what Adam paid to become the first man.  And the College of shipbuilding seems to have faded into obscurity; yet Noah built an ark which withstood the most fierce of raging waters.

Was there a college available that helped Christians endure murder at the hands of the Romans?  Does anyone even ask what degree Billy Graham had procured?

There ought to be a sign above every Christian college door,
“ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK“.  For there you will learn what men have to teach.  My friend, I testify, they are persuasive.  But I also testify they are utterly useless.  The summation of their teaching is simply one sentence: Seek the Living God in Christ Jesus”.

Why do I need to spend 200 thousand dollars to do that?  The answer comes back as a slap in the face.  “If you want men to listen to you, you have to have an authority they respect.”

Really?  Is that why the Christian Church is such a vital part of this world today?  Is that why there is a line outside every church on Sunday morning waiting to hear the sermon?  Is that why the parking lots are crammed with more cars than the Super Bowl parking lot?

Thank you for the answer.  I confess I didn’t know.

By His Grace

Curiosity is

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It is not possible to live in Christ without testifying.   If we speak that testimony with words, then good.  But everything we are reflects who we have been willing to become before Him.  It can’t be hidden, not before every creature in heaven, nor every human on earth.

Has this come home to roost in our tree of understanding?   Have we come to place this truth in front of everything we think or do?  How would our life change if we forced ourselves to remember this, as if a “First” habit?

Give a young man a Ferrari for his birthday.  There will come a place where he will certainly test its ability.  Isn’t that the nature of humanity?  And isn’t that why we consider such parents to be foolish?

We are disciples of the Most High God in His Holy Son.  By the power of his endless Holy Spirit we serve Him.  Excuse me for stating the obvious, but how does a Ferrari compare?  Tell me, if you can, why do we suppress our natural tendency to “Give it all its got” when it comes to the promises of God?

Man is not stripped of curiosity when he becomes a Christian, in fact it is enhanced.  Despite the shocking ability of a Ferrari, it has a limit.  It requires a road, gasoline, and a human to drive it.

But what God offers us comes from his Eternal Sovereignty.  Why wouldn’t it be advisable to take some time and consider this?  What does God offer that we are not willing to test?  Why do Christians lay down their curiosity before they enter His Holy Throne?

Curiosity is not of the flesh.  It is a gift from God to our soul, that we may search out his marvelous willingness.  The flesh is only curious about the things it can get away with.  But our soul should be curious about the things we can receive.

If what you want are the Ferraris of this world, then yes, you are living in the flesh.  But if what you desire are the eternal things of God, then apply your curiosity to attain.

He has sealed his willingness to give, with the promise of the Holy Blood of His Holy Son.  How much more proof do we need, that he is willing to give us endlessly more than we can even imagine? 
Let your soul enter.  Strap yourself in with the restraints of faith.  Place your frail foot on the Holy ground.  Prepare your heart for a mind shocking ride. Grip His promises with steel hands, and press your foot down hard. Why should we not try to find out how far God is willing to take us?

By His Grace

The Crystal Spire

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A Mystery from vision:

 

A Crystal Mount rises from below the deep.

Frothing waves; mindless beginnings.

Settled and firm in the bedrock below,

With mighty claws, the Mount remains fixed.

Renowned is the spire which towers above.

As it juts though, it’s jilted by tumult.

Pierced are the clouds, never handled by men.

Obscure is what lay, just “beyond”.

Sparse are the feet which have climbed “within”.

Never, no never, to return; not again.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sigh.

. . . . . . . . . . . . ..Amen.

Now the tale turns to oblivion beyond,

To the place no perception of man has witnessed

The spire continues to mount and recede,

Past the grasp of flesh’s fingers for gripping.

Tiny atop, is this vibrant aged spire.

Not one shred of man welcomed to climb.

From somewhere above, to the end of all things,

Only souls defy nature to bind.

The narrow gate’s not wood, stone or lime.

It’s becoming from flesh; death entwined.

 

Willing Refinement

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The fire is brought to the field to cleanse it of stubble and blight.  The winds of a hurricane are a pleasure to the man who knows he has built his house well.

For everything a man may make, receives a testing.  To the craftsmen who knows he has done his work well, there is no fear.  For even if his work may suffer loss, he is anxious to apply his learning.  Such a man’s hands quiver with delight at the approach of destruction.

As the racehorse strains against the bit, ready and willing to run, so the man of God looks forward to the testings.  Always looking for refinement, he does not despise destruction of weakness.

It is of man to desire rest in peace from the labor of his hands.  He seeks respite for the weakness of his body and the sparseness of resource.

But the Spirit of of the Holy Lord God Almighty urges toward completion.  Let every one of God’s people be joyful to submit themselves to the fire of God’s Holy expectations.

His love is destruction for all that is unholy.  But this destruction is sent in eternally lovely intent.  The rewards will always outweigh the tears.  Yet is it righteous for us to have tears at all?

Allowing ourselves to be driven, accomplishment draws nearer.  But rest, as the flesh desires, and you will suffer loss.

Every man will appear before the Holy Lord to give account of himself.  The day of judgement will come as the final restraint.  But now is the day of testing.  Now is the day for becoming.

It is the forceful soul who presents himself to the day of judgement now.  “The Faith” in Christ Jesus is the beauty of holy strength.

May God receive the bounty that belongs rightfully to him; the refinement, the willing refinement of his holy people.  His reward is in his hand as he stands to judge all men. 

Let us therefore not despise the destruction of those things the flesh desires.  Rather let us side with God in His Holy judgment against sin.

The servant who whimpers at the commands of his master, is no joy at the dinner table.  Such a one is deservedly given a lower place.

By His Grace

Well Intentioned

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This article has no intention of casting judgment.  But let who will, come and eat.  Let them come and taste that the Lord is good.

Those who keep their faith to themselves (those who fail to testify openly regarding the Lord who beckons them) have not seen what Life the Living God is willing to reveal.  These perceive from the darkness of death.  These have not perceived the greatness of distance between Life and death.  They have not yet understood that death must die.  They have not yet understood that only that which is God, lives forever.

If they had encountered the Holiness of God, that which He is willing to reveal to men, they would be compelled to share their living faith.  But the faith they own is the faith of a dead man.  It is the faith given to such as are “newborn” in Christ.

Such reluctance has been chided.  Such unholy restraint has been cast on the pile of the filth of man.  Chided and cast by those who have, yet with a limit of ignorance regarding what is true.  Men have been shunned from the congregation of well-intentioned souls for such unwillingness to overcome.

It has been perceived as weakness, this restraint of testimony.  “Fear” has been the label given to such as withhold the Gospel from men, and properly so.  Yet this is not the full.  For casting and chiding have no value in driving a man through his fear to glory.

I have been guilty of this also.  Yet I will confess, without desire to find excuse, that such treatment is done in ignorance.  Here is the fullness of inspiration:

He who climbs the Holy Hill of the Lord must have clean hands and pure heart.  His worship must be of truth and the Spirit of God.  Nothing else will ever be allowed to approach the Living God.

Yet, those who do approach, return with a distinct lack of fear for the threats of man.  They have been witness to the enormous chasm that lay between Life and death.  They have perceived to the point of testimony.  No matter how the enemy has tried, such men can not be silenced.

This is the reason why such casting and chiding is proper; it is unavoidable.  But the reason they testify is also proper.  For the Lord has set His Anointed One in place to enable all men to ascend the Holy Hill of God’s Holiness.  The ones who balk will never ascend.  They will remain in fear of man.  They will remain in fear of He who is Life.

No flesh will enter the throne room of the Most High God.  As a man draws near, his flesh is burnt away.  The purity and cleanliness born of obedience to the Living God’s Christ is all that may enter.  In short, only the living Blood of Jesus may enter the Holy Throne Room of the Living God.  What part of a man remains exposed, is denied entrance eternally.

Your fear is the direct result of your lack of will.  Your reluctance to speak openly about he Gospel of Christ, is a direct result of perception.  He has allowed all that is necessary to enter.  But who has accepted His Holy willingness to give what is eternal?

Many will continue to live in fear.  It is, indeed, comfortable to live with the “known”.  It is difficult to let go of the familiar, even at the threat of death.  Even if that “comfortable known” is death itself.  Who will persuade them differently?  The choice to live or die belongs to every soul, independent of counsel of others.

But that they might know that there is hope, I have written this word of encouragement.

May whoever will, approach and encounter the Living God.  May whoever will, ask for understanding in these things.  The Lord is willing for all to live.  He has sealed His intent by the very life, death, and resurrection of His Holy Son.  Yet who will believe to the doing?