Cutting the Difference


Christmas is coming.  Many will now turn to a false religion.  From their daily life of caring nothing for the things of God, they will now act as though the gospel belongs to them.  They will quote a portion of Scripture that says, “Peace on earth and goodwill to men”.

Smiles on peoples faces, music of God will fill the air, and winter will force a certain diminishing of wickedness.  Ungodly behavior is but a seed planted in late fall.  A treasure of the wicked waiting to sprout in spring.

Christmas is a time of year when the word of Jesus gets passed around rather fluidly.  But what about the other 11 months of the year?

Consider these tidbits  from the Bible.

1 Peter 4:
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Proverbs:
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
31 If the righteous receive their due on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

Luke 2:
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

2 Timothy:
19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

____________________
Seek the Lord’s favor while it is still called today.

Prove Yourself


We all assess by what we perceive.  What people do and say means a great deal.   Such things tell everyone who they belong to.

I assess the world by the people who belong to its constructs.  Are you a good representative of the world’s expectations?  Do you believe all the hype about what “righteousness” and mercy are?  Do you perform the appropriate hypocrisy demanded by the life you choose to lead?

There are only two camps in all creation and heaven.  One is of satan.  The other belongs to Jesus, the Christ of God.  If you belong to the world, then do the things of satan.  Show your allegiance diligently.

Why should I not expect this from you?  You readily expect holiness, pure righteousness, uncompromising mercy, and godly love from Christians.  Why do you think expectations are only one-sided?

Teach me what the world believes.  Show your true colors.  But you don’t.  You hide behind all kinds of shifting beliefs.  Who can nail down what the world believes?  Who can point at satan’s kingdom and say, “That’s what he believes forever”?

But what the Lord Jesus is, remains plainly seen.  You chide us because we don’t perform according to your expectations.  What is that to us?  You don’t even know what’s expected from you.

I challenge the entire world to prove what’s true among all men.  Remove the Holy Law of God, and prove what’s true to me.  You won’t be able to do it.  You’ll find yourself full of doubt before you begin to speak.

Why don’t you stop pointing your wagging finger at Christians, and consider your own beliefs?  You’ll find hopelessness, but isn’t that why you currently despise those who seek after the Holiness of God?  Your ways are hopeless.

The only thing you can rely on is chaos.  And you’ve been taught to thrive within that construct.

The Gospel remains among you.  Seek it out.  Take a long and hard look into it.  Expose your very soul to its teachings.  There you’ll find the truth you are currently missing.

Hypocritical Honor


If I speak to receive the praise of men, can those words be words of God?  Yet if I am to speak words of any value, they must belong to the One who is eternally valuable.

I have seen how men praise one another for gallant and faithful action.  As if what is good can be borne among men.  If I join them in this praise where is my allegiance?  For anything that is truly good is born and borne of God.

Let the world praise their heroes.  I will honor, with worship, God’s hero: Jesus The Christ.

I say the following, knowing there will be misunderstanding: ‘I have come to despise the honor of men”. 

Men honor the ones who do good to and for them.  As a man may lay down his life (to whatever portion) for his fellow brother, he is honored. 

All the while, it is easy for them to despise the One who made them.  The One who truly loves them.  The One whom they have murdered.  The One who is shunned among them, even to this day.

Such honor of man is important among men, but only if it teaches us to treat The Living God with severe honor.  But this is not the definition used by men.

Men are paid to do what is good.  They are paid with money or fame; a type of immortality is placed on the mantle.  By this, men purchase honor.  Is it then truly honor?  Or does man hold one another hostage for the sake of reward?

But there is one who came, that he may do the will of the One who is forever Good.  Laying aside all possible human reward, he gave of himself without quarter.  What honor of man can compare?  Yet what distinct lack of honor men give him.

Every man knows this!  It is willing ignorance which keeps it hidden.  Willfully they are led to the pageantry of honor for those who are less than He.

They gladly stand at parades and wave their national flag.  Even a tear or two may be seen.  But mention the Living God’s Christ in a crowd of men and you will see them quietly disperse.  So man’s definition of Honor is defined.

This will not change until the Holy One is revealed.  But I am allowed to despise this hypocrisy of man.

By His Grace

Hypocrisy and Blasphemy


The Grand Stand

The Grand Stand (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I had two dreams I that kind of rattled my cage.  I had been caught in some troubles with another.  And the relationship ended up shattered.  It doesn’t matter who’s at fault.  The result is the object of both dreams.  Though these dreams reveal a rather bad experience, I hope they might be helpful to others.

hypocrisy:

I dreamt I was attending a function with a lot of people, perhaps thousands.  I and a friend sat in the upper row of the stands.  I heard some people singing as they drove along the freeway to my right.  It was a song I have been looking for with great anticipation of finding.  I jumped up and said, “I’ve been looking for that.”  My friend looked at me quite puzzled.

I ran to find the driver of the van.  And when I did find him I asked him where he got that song.  Instead of helping me understand he began to berate me for only wanting a portion of Christianity.  (The song was something to do with the Christian life.)

I looked at him with anger and disgust.  Then I walked away.  That was the end of the dream.

Blasphemy:

I saw in another dream that a leader of a Church was teaching all the truth of the Gospel.  One man was there learning with a vibrant heart.  After that student had learned enough to understand fully, he said to the leader that he was going to open his own class room.  The man didn’t wait for a response, but walked down the hall to another room and encouraged everyone to join him.

The leader watched.  Then he walked outside and called to everyone there:  “Come help me tear this building down!  If we push with unison we can topple every timber.”  As they began to push in unison, I woke.

The understanding the hypocrisy:

Sometimes we are so desirous of other’s understanding of Christianity that we push too hard against their perceptions.  We tend to forget that we too were once flailing about trying to grasp the fullness of Christ.  We often demand too much from those who can only eat the basics.  And this is the meaning of the first dream.  The driver of the van was me.  The man in the stands was the other.  The fault of the destruction of our relationship belongs to me.

As for Blasphemy:

The teacher is Jesus.  And not one student will be allowed to “muscle in” on the Lord’s role in the Church.  It would be wise of all of us to remember to sit quietly and learn.  There is a place of sending.  But it is not wise to bring division to the Lord’s Holy Temple.  The Lord will simply tear down such a building with a rather quick judgment.

I present both these dreams and their understandings for everyone to consider.  I am not any different than my brothers and sisters.  We are all redeemed sinners.  But it is my hope that there might be some value found among us at the revealing of these dreams.