Tag Archives: hope

Missing the Marriage

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I drove last night, thinking about the things that happened in my life.  Working over time lines and seeing stability or disrepair.  I saw far more of the latter then I did the former.

So I looked for the things that are good, that I might bring peace to my mind.  I found very few of them, but they did show the sovereign God working in my life.  So I took what peace I could, from what is true, and moved forward with an amazing thought.

My daughter was married in Oregon during my first year as a truck driver.  All I knew was to steer the truck; a complete and utter rookie.

I knew virtually nothing about logistics; how long will it take to get from point A to point B, when to take breaks, and when to drive like a madman.  So I relied very heavily on the dispatcher.

I let her know months ahead of time that my daughter would be married on a certain day.  The company was very friendly and assured me that I could be there.  Regardless that we drive the entire United  States, no matter where I was, I was sure she would direct me to Oregon in time.

As it worked out, that did not come to pass.  I found myself in Tennessee one week before the wedding.  Still, a week is a long time, so I did not panic.  I got the load to New Mexico.  There was no hope.  There was no fear.  I knew I was headed home.

Then I got a load to the east!  I don’t remember where.  All I remember is that I did not take the load.  Instead I made my own load and headed into panic and rage.

I remember sending many messages, of rather crude intent, when I realized I could not make the wedding.  I needed to vent my rage.  To their credit, they got the message quickly.  They eventually got me to Oregon, two days after the wedding. 

The understanding of a few was that I did not want to attend.  Some uninformed minds decided I had stayed away on purpose.  My daughter, graciously, did not utter such things.  It was a strained time of visit.  And after three days, I went back out on the road.

In the reflection of this experience last night, I remembered how I felt.  I remembered the rage.  I remembered the lies that some embraced in regard to my integrity.  Then I perceived what is truer than I.

Aghast as I was at the loss of my daughter’s wedding, I thought of a wedding that is far more precious.  The living God will give his one and only Son to a bride.  And there is nothing that can keep the sovereign God from attending.

She is my only daughter.  He is His only Son.  By the grace of God she will have married only once.  Is not grace that God will marry his Son once.  Divorce is an option among men for the sake of the hardness of their heart.  It is not so with the righteous God and his Holy Son.  The vow he makes will be literally eternal.

There were many who attended my daughter’s wedding.  And they graciously related the experience to me as they could.  With pictures and words and a piece of cake, I swallowed hard to let my imagination be there.

Two questions come to mind in regard to this astounding revelation.  Who are those who are of the Bride of Christ?  They will marry him once for eternity.  And to be married to the Husband of joy and peace is unspeakable.  It is impossible that the threat of being a widow should ever enter their heart!

And the other thought is akin to the first.  Who are those who will not be married to the sovereign God’s Son?  What rage they will feel!  For they were kept from that place by themselves.  They have decided that the pleasures of this world are far greater than to be married to the Holy Son of God. 

There will be no place of reminiscence.  They will never share in the glory that belongs to those who become the Bride of Christ.  There will be no pictures.  There will be no relating the experience.  And there will be no piece of cake for them to swallow hard. To whom should their anger be directed?  But how can any anger be righteous?

With these things in mind what is the comparison we might draw, between the suffering of this place and the joy of being Christ’s bride?

Have we given all we have to gain what will never be taken away?  Do we truly count the sufferings of this place incomparable to that which is promised.  Or do we willingly make compromise and excuses that we will surely come to regret?

May God’s will be done!  May He bless understanding to all his people.  May the sleeping eye come awake.  For many who now believe they will be of the Bride of Christ have fooled themselves to great loss.

The word

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The Word is life.  The Word is joy.  The Word is hope and help.  How should those who have received any portion of all that keep it to themselves?

We moan and groan at the display of wickedness among men.  Have we discharge our duty to share what we know?

The world hates God because it is blind.  A simple fearless word to them can begin the opening of the eyes.  But if we keep our mouths shut, can we truly say we see?  If we live in fear have we appropriated grace?

The few

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When men reach the end of their days; when their time in this place to testing is done, they will find that everything the Lord’s people have said to them is true.  They will leave this place only to enter the most hideous of circumstances.

I do not say this to laugh at them.  I say this as another means to wake a few. 

I know that most men will receive what is hideous, because the Lord Himself has testified so.  He himself has said that the way to destruction is broad and many go in there by.  And he has said the way to eternal life is narrow and few there are who find it.

Will you listen?  Will you let your ears hear these words?  For the sake of your own life will you give a moment of consideration?  Or you will you continue in the broad way to respond as most will?

All things in this world are either a warning of curse or a test for those who will live.  Which camp do you desire to enter eternity belonging to?

Certainly you want to live.  Even the most wicked among us desires life.  Have you asked yourself, “Why then don’t I take it?”  Or have you walked through time oblivious to all these things?

The Lord’s people stand still and testify day and night.  Who will hear and cease scoffing?  Who will eat at the Lord’s people’s table?  Who will remain?  Who will feast with us and find strength to live?

If there are few who understand and enter in, who are they?  If the majority of men do not consider these things and die in hideous shame, who are they?

You are urged to ask.  You are urged to separate yourself from those who die.  We are dead in our sins, even as we live with the majority.  It is by the prevail of holy struggle that we live eternally.

I did not write this to those who will die.  I wrote this to those who will hear, understand, grasp and do.  Is that you?

Will you humble yourself and receive?  Or will you retain your pride and die in hideous shame?  The door of salvation stands wide open to those who will enter in.  But it remains concealed and eternally locked to those who refuse.

Delusion

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The hardest thing I have had to learn is to put away delusion.  I find it is wrapped up in everything I think and do.  It is a false expectation.  It is an untrue belief.  It is a false hope.  A man may think he is something, all the while he is not.

A man may think he has achieved, only to find himself having fallen short.  He may think he has understood, only to be proved wrong by another thought or action.

A man may think he has done a good deed.  But he walks away not understanding what brought the moment to him nor what happens after.

A man may go to prayer believing he is accepted before God.  In his dilution he promises himself many things.  But he walks away unblessed for he lives in a lie.

Men may praise Him, or even express hatred for him.  The delusional mind perceives it wrongly.  For the first, he thinks he is a good man.  For the second, he thinks he is persecuted.  All the while he is no more or less than any man.

Delusion is a lie.  Delusion has everything to do with perception.  The man who perceives himself outside of truth is deluded.

The sinful nature thinks of itself outside of truth.  But the Spirit of God within speak only truth.  It has been the learning to listen correctly that has been the most difficult. 

A man may well be willing to receive a beating for his wayward ways.  But is he earnestly willing to put error away and live in truth?

It has been difficult in my life to grasp the fullness of truth.  It will certainly be that for all men.  For we are raised in lies as children.  We are taught lies as we become adults.  We are expected to compromise.    we expect others to compromise for us.  And because of this expectation, we expect God to compromise for us. And all these boil over into dilution.  The man who lives like that has no right to expect to be blessed in what he does.

Transformation into a son of God is a difficult process for any man to accomplish.  And, in the end, it will require the majesty of God to complete the transformation.  For now we are given to work with diligence.  In the end it is God who will provide the transformation.

One item has been an exceedingly helpful insight in the delusion of sin.  I learned that God is, though  this learning is a constant difficulty.   He may know of the past.  He may know of the future.  But he lives in the now.  God is.

As I live in the now I find the delusion evaporating.  Living in the past is useless.  It has happened, yes.  But the past is not now.  Living with expectations for the future is also useless.  There are things that will happen, yes.  But they are not the now.  We hope in God and this is appropriate.  But we are given things to accomplish now.

The truth of God is.  The truth of God is the sum of what was and what will be.  Letting go of what was and leaving what will be to him, I find myself living in the truth.

Jesus is the perfect reflection of the Father.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Circumstances and experiences may change.  But he is truth because he never does.

This cannot be said of us.  For we were born in vile state.  And we must learn to live in what is holy.  The process can be painful, arduous and sporadic.  But if we are to learn to please the Holy Lord of all, we must learn to put away delusion.  That is to say, if we are to learn to be productive members of the family of God, then we must learn to put away dilution.

The pit

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I saw something this morning that I will not have words to describe.  What I saw is what I am.  What I saw is the sinful nature.  What I saw is what all men are without the Lord’s mercy.

My first coherent thought, upon waking, was of how wicked and ugly I have been.  How solidly hard my heart has been.  I am not saying it is so now, for if it was I would not have seen what I saw.  I saw the man I was. 

I saw how hatred consumed me.  I saw how I trusted the wisdom of men and found myself utterly wicked.   In my youth I looked to man that I may grow and become a man.  But they could teach me nothing more than what I already had as a fool of a boy.

They said, “The beauty of this world is worthy of praise and desire.  And the best beauty of this world is woman.”  They told me to gain what is best and beautiful.  The best however could only be gained in my weak, futile, wicked and twisted mind.  But that to them was sufficient wisdom.

All the while they praised this form of wisdom, they despised me for holding it.  And this was the beginning of true wisdom for me.  As in all other things, men will say they love you only to show they hate you thoroughly.  So with their mouth and their media they show you beautiful things only to despise you inwardly.  My friend, they don’t even want your money.  They only hate and despise anything that is not them.

There is no beauty in this wicked place of testing.  Those who put their hope in this place, and the things that belong to it, will find themselves empty.  They will think they have.  They will think they own what is good.  But when the understanding of God comes near they will see themselves are.

This is what I saw when I woke this morning.  I was caused to look inward on my body and see a dark cave; seeping with every wicked thing.  Hopelessly uncleanable.  No sooner is the nature of man cleaned but it seeps more putrid wickedness.

The man who thinks he can save himself is unspeakably fooled by a lie.  With what will you reach to approach the Most High God?  What righteousness will you present that is acceptable to the Holy One?  How can what is unclean present anything clean?  What complete folly resides in the heart of man!  And folly above folly, man thinks he is clean!

It is impossible for me to paint a more clear picture.  I am blessed to have seen it, despite the tears.  It is the mercy of God to have shown me now.  It is his tender compassion to teach what is true.

God alone is good.  He has sent His Holy One for our redemption.  Yet he was not sent simply for the sake of man.  He was sent that God may glorify him.  And those his blood redeems are a gift to his eternal and Holy kingdom.

Jesus appear before us to testify of his Father.  He came among the wicked to testify of righteousness.  He alone is what is good for us, for, without him, there is no good within us. 

The man who would balk at this is full of wicked hatred.  He does not perceive the stench of his way.  And unless a man appeals to God in the name of Christ Jesus, he will find no welcome in the kingdom of heaven.

Utterly and eternally the wickedness of man will be sealed on the day of judgement.  Those who trust in the wisdom of man will find themselves horribly crushed.

Perhaps you think I am judging you.  With my confession of my own wickedness, how could that possibly be?  I testify of Jesus.  I testify to the righteousness of God the Father.  And I testify, in truth, to the wickedness of man.

Those who think this message is a judgment against them, are full of vile things.  If there is wisdom within you to be had, consider how you hate this message.  Let that be a sign to you of what is to come.  If you cannot stand the message of a man, with these words, how will you endure them when they come from the lips of the Holy One?

I place these words here on WordPress.  I have thought them through and have been is careful as I can.  If I were to speak with you face to face I may well have missed many things.  But here it is written that all men may I understand.

How I desire that this message reach millions.  But I am not fooled by the fact of obscurity.  There are thousands of others who write all manner of things all day long.  And though this post is priceless, it will sit in the garbage heap of words.

Words gather together in this world as if a garbage dump.  They write about fashion, social grace, the beauties (so-called) of this world.  Yet a few testify of what is true.

These truth writers deposit gems in the dung heap of this world’s wisdom; priceless treasures to be found by those who will be willing to sort through the trash.  I place this gem among them.  May God have mercy to direct your fingers as you tear through the stinking garbage to find something beautiful.

Please come eat and taste that the Lord is good.  Only then will you understand how sour and putrid are the things you eat now.  Your tongue is accustomed to waste.  You read what is rotten and the kid sweet. All the while the taste of truth your sour and unpalatable.  You die even as you live.  But God is willing to give you life.

Waiting to receive your angel wings when you die is part of the folly of this world’s greatest lie.  The Lord Jesus has come and sacrificed so that we may have the kingdom of heaven here.  We need not wait. 

He will purify the putrid place of your soul.  He will teach you to love what is good.  He will teach you to abhor the flesh and the wisdom of man.  He will teach you  to detest yourself.  (So much for the teachings of self-esteem) He will teach you to become and overcome.  He will stand with you, within you, and before you, as you are forcibly presented to the Most High God.

I am not permitted to say more.  For even when Jesus was among us, he spoke to the people in parables.  So I have done here. 

Dear friend, if you understood the things of God, while you live in wickedness, you would die.  You cannot fulfill the demands of the Holy Lord of life by yourself.  The sinful nature is at war with God.  And if you will be saved you must be released from your own chains.

Therefore the things of Heaven are spoken in parables to those who do not believe.  Man is not given words that are true and pure.  We are allowed only to speak to men from a man.  And you will find that as you believe, it is revealed to you.  The fullness of wisdom is reserved for the place of fullness.

By His grace I have spoken.  By His grace alone, you will hear.  May the will of God be done forever!  Only God alone is true. Amen.

A Letter From the Least

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Do not mistake the following lines for condemnation.  They are a confession of love from a man who knows God.

I know who you are, my brothers and sisters of flesh, you wicked and adulteress people of this place of testing.  I see what you do.  I know the things you love, and that what you love is unholy.

I know that many of you will die in disrepair.  Even now you complain that life is cut short.  I know that even now through silence you complain against the Holy One.  You turn to sin as if it produces tranquility.  You turn to the pleasure of sin that you may relieve your anxious heart.  I know that you offend one another for the hatred that lives in your bones.  And you glory in a strength that leads to death.

But I do not condemn you.  I do not judge you, for I have done the same things.  By my own actions I know who you are.  Because he has shown me my sins I know what sin is.  Therefore I look at you with eyes that know.

But I do not judge for the sake of condemnation.  I rightly assess because I have been caused to see rightly.  By the work of Christ within me I have come to understand the difference between righteousness and the folly of man.  And I know that with one touch of his hand you too can see.

So I stand here and plead with you.  Go to the Father and receive the peace of his Son.  The throne of God is wide open to those who have the courage of faith to approach. 

This very day is that day of opportunity.  There are two days in which the door of opportunity will be slammed shut.  Which will come first, who can tell.  But one day is your own death.  The other day is when the Father sends his Son to put an end to salvation in this place of testing.

The joy of knowing the Sovereign God through Jesus His holy son is more than a man can speak in full.  So I spoke to you first of the sin that I know dresses you in a black cloth.  Then I spoke to you of open forgiveness from this man.  Finally I gave you the words of eternal peace.

I have written this that you may live.  Consider, if he has touched me so that I might forgive, how much more power does he hold in his hand for you?

I am the least of his people.  Yet the strength of his love lives within me.  Many who now living in sin are greater than I.  How much greater can these be if they receive the love of God?

By His grace I have written.  By His grace, what I have written is true.  By that same grace life stands ready to embrace you.  All that is necessary is that your humble yourself and pray. 

Pray with ernest heart.  Pour out what you know to be true.  Confess your sins and beg for life.   Do not cease and you will receive.  The kingdom of heaven is not given to those who are not earnest.  But salvation belongs to the weak who will call out in truth.

God is faultless.  His ways are pure and Holy.  He has sent his Son as a seal of his desire to save.  This is a promise he has made and sealed with the very blood of his own Holy Son.  It is impossible for God to lie.  Yet who will believe?