Rise up! Open the Door!


via Flickr”]behind closed doors

Darkness abounds.  Men grope about, touching unfamiliar objects.  Though the Sun rises and light appears to dawn in the land of the living dead, they do not perceive the Light which has shown from eternity to eternity.  To their loss, men continue to grope.  And in this frantic reaching for that which does not last, they live as if dead.  The rot of their greed is a stench which their noses do not smell.  With eyes glazed over with the things of this world, they see nothing.  They speak of things which have no meaning but destruction; to themselves and those who hear their words.  But they do not perceive their plight.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”  Like a man who fears the one who holds death in his hand, the living dead fear the sound of this knocking.  In their dead lives they perceive God’s calling as an omen of tragedy.  Yet, what do they have that is not tragedy?  How can encountering this Beautiful One be more terrible than the life they are now leading?  Still, how very few even ask, “Who is it who knocks on the door of my heart?”

Why do you fear what you do not understand?  What is this smell of fear in your house?  From who does that odor come?  It comes from you.  What do you have to lose that you have not already lost?  What do you have to gain that you have never tasted?  And with what will you redeem even one of your sins? 

Rise up and open the door!  You are already dead before the Throne of the Most High God.  For the sentence is already passed on those who live without the Lord Jesus.  And those who say they serve Him, yet walk in darkness will not fare much better.  There is a place where those who have proclaimed the name of the Lord, but never walked with Him, will be shown for who they were.  And they will be assigned a place with the unbelievers.  Rise up!  Open the Door!

By His Grace.

Beautiful agony


Agony (Garden)

Image by Cajie via Flickr

I am caught up, and that for the rest of my life, in such a beautiful anxiety; an agony of love.  Every person I meet is a possible brother or sister of mine.  Oh how I yearn to see Christ in them!  And this anxiety presents itself in a distinct peace.  For I know that this desire, when fanned into flame, will produce the love necessary to accomplish His Will.

Father, I rest in You.  Through the power of Your Holy Son I rest in You.  Even in this anxiety so tender and sweet, I rest in You.  May Your will be done forever!  Amen.

 

By His Grace.

“The Faith”, Fuel to Drive into Eternity.


Petrol Guage

Image by drocpsu via Flickr

When the Son of man returns, will He find The Faith?  My soul is given pause to consider the meaning of this.  I take note that it is not called faith.  The Lord was speaking of “The Faith”. 

The Faith is not the faith of demons or the wicked men of this world.  To them, faith might mean anything.  Or it might mean an awareness that there is a God.  The Faith, however, is not like that.  The Faith we have in Christ Jesus teaches us to do the will of the Father in Heaven.  It teaches us all things good (The Good of God).  It teaches us to abstain (that is to “not do”) the things of this world; it teaches us to say “no” to sin and “yes” to the Righteousness which comes from God.

Don’t let the world fool you into believing that Jesus will receive everyone because they intended to be a good person.  Only what is God will survive the judgment.  And to whatever extent God’s will lives in you and is accomplished through you, this is the part of you which will survive the coming judgment. 

So I am given pause to consider the things of God within me.   Jesus offers, we receive.  One without the other is no faith at all.

By His Grace.

The Borrowed Three


Faces

Image by lyricsart via Flickr

My ears are searching for their last sound.  That special noise held in the hand of He who made them.  My eyes are closing slowly, searching for that last item they will perceive.  That item held in the hand of He who causes my eyes to see.  My lips are waiting to utter a last word.  That one word which remains reserved by the One who gives them good words to speak.

He alone knows the hour, minute, and second of this revealing.  Yet I search for it to appear.  I did not climb this mountain to hide among the reeds.  I have climbed The Mountain of the Lord’s making.  I have arrived at the top for three purposes; that I might hear His Word, that I may act out His Will, and that I might proclaim the Might of my God.  For this reason, He has given me life.  For this reason, He shall give me death.  For this reason, He has lent me these three.

All men are given an end to their service in this place of testing; regardless profit or demise.  In the end, this is all we own.  In our death, we find the appearance of that search which announces the end.  Announcement is proclaimed upon us all, “Here you shall receive the reward of your service.”

For those who do not love Him, that moment appears as a surprise.  Though they perceive death approach, it appears as no consolation.  They who have hated the Lord, will find that revealing a very disturbing opponent.  Loss is all that remains of what was theirs.  That moment closes all doors of possibility.  An eternal seal is burned into the rock as it closes behind them.  It reads, “This one has missed the mark.” 

Who will open that door?  Who will return to accomplish what should have been done?  None will return to learn to worship the One who made them.  Their feet now walk in a place of their choosing.  There is no longer pity, mercy, grace, or help offered.  They wait to hear their name cursed by the lips of He who desired their blessing.  And in this, His anger is justified.  They have stolen their own joy.  They have robbed God of His intent for them.  They have squandered their own hope, and called what is Holy a wicked name.  They, alone, are to blame for where they now reside.  Has not God provided their salvation in Jesus, His Righteous Son?  Did they not see the proof all about them?  Everything, in this place of testing, points to Jesus  I ponder their fate; if their name will even be mentioned at all.  Bundled together, they receive the word as one.  Woe to them, for there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

Those who have loved Him come to desire that moment.  A silencing of all their earthly senses becomes a door to an awareness, which does not fade.  They enter a door blazing, all through, with these words, “Welcome Home, thou blessed of the Lord.” 

Glory awaits His people, and no sense of man can gather it up.  Regardless their state here, there are ears, which hear unspeakable things.  There are eyes, which see past the edge of the universe; into the very presence of the Most High God.  There are lips, which speak a language no man has ever heard.  All His Glories, will be revealed!  For now, we see as through a glass darkly, but then we shall know in full; even as we are now fully known.

Come over here, you moment of longing.  I will have a word with you.  Step up and hold out your hands.  Take from me; the borrowed three.  You have arrived so that I might give them back to you.  I will not deny you your right.  As surely as I was glad to receive them, I am more than glad to return them to your hands.  The Lord has caused these three to become useful to Him.  All is well with my soul. 

I go to hear.

I go to see.

I go to speak with joy!

With great joy, I will embrace this moment of release.

Give them to another again; His work here remains to in progress.

From dust we are, and to dust we will return.

I depart, to be embraced by He who has embraced these three, and me.

His promise I go to inherit.  He has promised to give to His people a three which will never fade.  Give Glory to God!  Great Glory, Glory to God for what He has done for His people; how He protects them from harm!

By His Grace.

 

Trials.


TRIALS ARE LIKE FIRE

Image by whologwhy via Flickr

What shall we do as times of adversity fall upon us?  If we belong to the Lord, there is only one response to adversity of various kinds:

2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”  (James 1)

We consider such things as from the hand of our Father.  We are being allowed to suffer for the sake of His name.  We are being taught to obey regardless the cost.  And we are to ask to receive wisdom in our plight, so that we might obey with a steadfast heart.

I did not write this as a cute little slice of scripture.  This is a real life answer to real life problems.

May Your Holy Will be done as Your wisdom and understand directs.  You are my Lord, Teacher, Master, Father, and Love.  You alone are God.  And You will purify Your people!

Amen.

By His Grace.

Bablyon Revisited


Official presidential portrait of Barack Obama...

Image via Wikipedia

President Obama and his staff will remain in power until the Lord removes him.  What will be accomplished to the nation will be accomplished, and there will be no avoiding what is coming.  It is God, Himself, who is in control of all things.  Even what appears to man as wicked falls under His final authority.  Either justice will be rendered as we live in this tent of flesh, or the Justice of God will be rendered at the final day of sin.  But make no mistake; God is sovereign.

Personally, I believe the current trend of approaching communism will continue until America, as we knew it, is obliterated.  Man’s version of freedom is to accomplish anything BUT the will of God.  We have been allowed to exercise our sins long enough.  And God will not allow it to continue. 

It is God’s mercy that such freedom to sin is taken from the hand of man.  Do not consider it a loss.  Rather, consider it an oportunity to seek the face of the One who made all men.  I speak as one who is coming to know that the punishments inflicted by God to His people are a loving hand which directs us to become His people; those who know the difference between what is right and what is wrong.

What is coming upon America is at God’s direction.  And those who rebel against His will, will suffer.  Prepare yourself for what is coming by humbling yourself before the Most High God.  Accept His direction and submit that you might receive His gift in Jesus, His Holy Son.  Regardless the tendencies of society or politics, this submission is required for all who will live.  How much more important does this submission become under times of God’s rebuke?

By His Grace.