Tag Archives: Place of Testing

A Test is Waiting for You.

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TEST

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There is a place where we can rest in testings.  Our loyalty will be tested by the Father and Jesus.  And in this testing we are not judged under the law; forgiveness and acceptance is the order of these proceedings.  But there is another testing which has neither forgiveness nor acceptance.  When we are tested by man, we are thrown to the wolves.  The testing of man is a sliding scale of hatred.  We will find ourselves tested if we let it slip that we consider Jesus first in our appreciation of life.  Then we are tested again as we testify to this appreciation.  But a sliding scale is not proportionate to a steady growth.  It’s more like we enter into differing shades of man’s hatred.  It’s not a 1, 2, 3 thing.  It’s more like :

1. we don’t like what you’re believing.  But as long as you don’t voice your belief, we can tolerate you.

2. You’ve voiced your belief in our hearing and we will now push you aside from our “fun”.

3. You’ve continued to, not only voice your belief, but act on your belief in our presence.  We will now try to destroy you because of the testimony you exhibit.

4.  You’ve continued to stand against our social order.  And nothing we have done has caused you to hesitate in the slightest.  It’s apparent you intend to continue down this path of “difference”.  So, as soon as we can find legal means, we will work toward your death.

This “test” of man will be allowed to continue until the Lord returns to establish Peace on this world under His direct control.  This “testing” is allowed because it tests and refines the heart of those who call on the Lord for true life.  Don’t be surprised at the things which encase you now.  But allow yourself to be surprised if you don’t see this progression of hatred coming upon you.  It is an indication that you are not yet where you should be in Christ.  For the Lord has promised that if they hated Him, they will hate you.  And if they desired to kill Him, they will desire to kill His people also.

By His Grace.

A Prayer of Longing

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There are times when we simply can’t see the value of our service to the Lord.  The sadness this short sightedness provokes should never be compared to any sadness common to every man.  It is a sadness the Lord felt as He walked this Place of Testing.  And perhaps, longing, is a better description.  But the longing for one who is deeply loved.  This longing has provoked the following prayer.  May God bless His words inspired by His Beauty.

Lord Jesus, I want to come home.  I know there is work to be done.  Work for Your Glory needs to be accomplished.  You need to work in me.   And I need to work in the world for the sake of Your Holy Name and the souls of the blind.  But I want to come home.

I used to belong here, basking in the darkness.  I used to hate you and my only desire was to be left to my own pleasures.  But You’ve entered and changed all that.  Oh, how happy You make Your people!  How beautiful are the words of what the world calls “doom and gloom”.  You have not given man words to speak of the joys You instill in Your people.  But I want to come home.

I am at a loss as to what to say or do for any one of these who don’t know You.  I speak Your beautiful words.  But they can’t hear.  I show them the hatred for sin You have birthed in my soul.  And they think I am simply an angry man.  Your ways are to be desired above everything in this world, and they ARE.  You have touched my heart with an unspeakable peace and joy.  How deep is the yearning for Your Holy ways!  I have lips, but words fail me.  I want to come home.

But I will stay and love you as from afar.  The sparkle of this world is dimmed to darkness.  The desire to gain what they gain is lost.  And there is no regret at this loss.  You have caused this foolish man to desire what is best.  And all I own is to Your Glory.  I am nothing without You!  And this nothingness causes a vast craving for Your Love.  It is our lot to serve you in this Place of Testing.  And I gladly accept this rule from Your Beautiful hand.  But I want to come home.

by His Grace.

While in the Going.

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Jesus

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When I am gone from this Place of Testing.  There will be a few left here who will miss me.  That is the case for most all people.  And I think of what I would like to leave them with (as a last and lasting thought).  It needs to be said that Jesus is able to lead anyone into a life worth living.  Hope is the only thing men have to lean on in both times of trouble and times of prosperity or peace.  This hope, if it is founded firm in the Lord Jesus, will carry anyone through anything.  This is my last word to leave with the ones who continue on in this Place of Testing.  Remember how I lived among you.  I stumbled and clawed my way through this place.  But in the end I found, or more accurately said: was shown) the Lord Jesus.  This is how you should search your way through.  Listen to Him.  Do what He says you should do.  He will lead the willing.  And remember, cowards have no part in the kingdom of God.  Strengthen yourself for His sake!  Eat what you’re given.  And share what you can.  Be His.  This will be enough.

 

By His Grace.

Any Beating is better Than Death.

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After sleep comes the bowed head.  No tears threaten to well up.  The sorrow is felt in the soul.  Yet the heart hears a different tone.  The Lord of Perfect Beauty is calling.  And He calls to one who has sinned before Him.  I knew better.  Was it stubbornness?  Was it simple weakness?  Was it a lust for things past?  What do any of those questions matter now?  I sit here afraid yet not afraid.  It is the eyes of He who sees which gaze at me and softly scan my heart.  I have transgressed His demands of me.  And I am not misguided in my assessment of the situation.  There will be punishment to endure for the acts done.

After reflection and thanks for the simple things He whispers something odd.  “Yes, there will be punishment to endure.  But you will gladly accept My judgment when you see the alternative.” 

   47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12)

Jesus sits enthroned in Heaven.  The oil of joy is poured upon Him by the Father in Heaven.  He rules all eternity and is willing to share His joy.  For those of us who are being humbled by a collision with Holy and foolish sinful tendencies:  Consider yourself for a moment.  If you had a million dollars and were standing in a great place of poverty, would you help those around you?  Of course you would.  And would you judge those around you while you gave them food and clothing?  Of course you wouldn’t.  If that is how you who are full of sin would handle riches, how much more will the Lord of Glory share all good things with those who call out to Him for help?

Let your back be bent and your head be bowed for a time.  It is good to ponder the seriousness of your offences before the Most High God.  Allow yourself to really listen to Jesus’ calling, however.  Listen to what He is saying.  He knows your plight.  But He also knows where He is now enthroned.  He calls to all men to humble themselves before Him that in due time He might lift them up.  Only submit to the Lord of Love and consider yourself dead before the foot stool of the consuming fire that is God.

By His Grace.

Hell is Big Enough to Receive the Humanist

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There is a difference between doing good  acts of righteousness and doing the Father’s Good and Holy Will.  There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death.  A man might go about doing what he thinks is good all the days of his life and still miss the promise of eternal life in Jesus.

Want proof?  Consider the following:

We see men and women all over the planet busily convincing others that doing good for their neighbor is the proper way to lead a meaningful and “godly” life.  Yet how do they know what good to do?  Are they, perhaps, stepping on the “toes” of God’s will?  When I was a willingly sinful man, I had no right to claim help from anyone.  Yet these people helped me.  What did they do to bring me to God’s will for my life?  Didn’t they enable me to remain in my situation?  I don’t say that I didn’t appreciate their good deeds.   But were their good intentions simply promoting a life I was willing to live?  Since I knew I could get help from men when I needed it, I continued in my willing sin.

Another aspect of this error of doing good to all for the sake of doing good is the reality of limits.  A man with a loaf of bread must feed his family first.  If there is something left over then he is allowed to feed the needy.  This limit of resources extends to everything man has at his disposal.  Sometimes we see men giving from their basic necessities for the sake of doing good for others.  But eventually the resources run out.  So by limits placed on man he can only give of what is available.  After that we see promises and hopes dashed.  This is not so when it comes to the will of the Father in Heaven.  To God there is no limit to His resources.  And if a man chases after God’s will in Jesus the Christ, he will find enough to satisfy the needs of God’s will.   And only God can truly change a life.  Man’s efforts are only a bandaid over the sinful nature within the man.  God, through Jesus, comes in and removes the necessity to live a sinful life.  That man’s ways become godly by virtue of the unlimited resources of God.  Not the limited resources of man.

In short, we see man trying to do good yet failing because of the limits God has placed on him.  These limits are in place that we might recognize our need to rely on God alone.  But man, without the Spirit of God,  does not see the need to rely on God as long as there are still resources left.  Politicians are in demand for every resource the people under them can generate.  They are seriously damaging their own household that they might provide for their own greedy minds and hearts.  Yet they don’t take into account the dwindling resources under their control.  God will judge with eternal wisdom.  And every man will give account of his willingness to serve the God who made him.

Do not be fooled by the “Good Doers of this age.  Serve God first then all things good will be provided.  You will find your resources expand where others watch them recede.   Become God powered doers.  And this is done by accepting Jesus’ perfect desire for your life.  This is the reason we are given life in the first place.  In this Place of Testing, we are put to a choice; serve God or serve man.

By His Grace.

It is Finished.

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In the way of the Christian life we are required to war against all manner of enemies.  But what exactly are our enemies and by what means shall we conduct this war?  We do not war with implements of bodily damage as does a soldier on a battle field of this world.  How often I have wished that I could just face my enemies and do a physical battle once and for all.  But this is not the lot of a Christian. 

From the point of view of the physical, we swat the unseen around us.  We thrash and churn the air against what is not apparent.  We have dreams of our sins and wake upset.  We speak a lie without thinking and regret that sound had come from our lips.  We find ourselves thinking of something we know is wicked and loathe our brains.  We see the ungodliness of those around us and ponder the difference between ourselves and those who hold themselves accountable to no one.  Then we are doused with regret that we should compare ourselves to anyone.  We notice, in retrospect, that we have omitted an action which should have been accomplished.  And we hate ourselves for being so blind to what is right and good.  And we note that all these things and more are the nature of our war.

In citing the “more”, we consider the onslaught of temptations toward ungodly evil.  All day long and even into the night, we are tempted as is any other man.  Greed, hatred, slander, idolatry, doubt, and godless thoughts assault the Christian every moment of every day.  Sometimes they are brought about by advertisements we witness around us.  The media (TV, magazines, billboards, bumper stickers, window dressings in a store, the actions of others, and even the memories of our sinful and godless days) press us with temptations toward unfaithfulness toward our God, Jesus.  In citing the “more” there is not enough paper or time to mention every aspect of temptations.

And what are we tempted to do?  We are tempted to do two things:

We are tempted to sin; to ignore the holy life God is calling us to live and pursue selfish gain which we cannot keep.  We are tempted to satisfy the lust of our bodies by chasing after a certain fulfillment of desire we experience in the now.  Anything which is not eternal or offends our conscience before the Most High God is sin.  And we are tempted to consider the Lord of Life a liar.  In this we are most viciously tempted.  When Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished”, He did not intend that anything was left to do.  We are tempted to allow ourselves to give in to regret for sins we commit.  And in this particular temptation we are set to task in a ferocious manner.

If the Lord of all creation is not complete in His sacrifice on the cross, then we war in vain.  But this is the central point in all our warring.  We live as if to testify that Jesus is complete and that His word is absolute, final, true, and Holy.  We war to prove the Lord correct.   We do not war to be saved from certain condemnation before the Father God.  We war to prove the effectiveness of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.  It has been mentioned by many that we do not live as Christians to become saved.  This task is done for us.  No man can please God on his own merit.  Instead, we war to bring glory to Jesus by believing what He has said and done for all men.  And we war in this Holy battle to be considered by Jesus for a promised reward and place in His heavenly kingdom. 

Now, this brings the very point of the pin into view.  If we fight the battle with the glory of Jesus in mind, we are more than conquerors, as Paul has said.  For in the sacrifice of Jesus, we have already won.  And all that is left is to secure our standing before Him.  This will release the child of God to live.  This way of fighting will release the man of God to live a victorious life.  A life filled with hope and free of shame.  When we become aware of sin and temptation in our lives, we submit ourselves to God through prayer through confession and requests and believe as we have heard Him testify, “It is finished”. 

Hope is the result of His work.  We have no hope without Him.  Yet we have the right to hope.  For He who cannot lie has promised!  We war with the very essence of our beings as a people without hope.  And we war against what we cannot see by believing He who we cannot see.  This will be foolishness to anyone who does not believe.  There are no bruises, no blood, no cuts, or broken bones.   There is nothing to prove that a war is even necessary.  Yet we who believe are constantly aware of the war against us. And the closer we get to Him the more the battle rages.  Curiously, however, the closer we get to Him, and the more the battle rages, the less fear we experience.

In all things Jesus will be glorified, and that to the glory of the Father in Heaven.  For He has performed our righteous for us!  He has spoken in a body the perfect will of God for all who would dare believe.  As He has said, “It is finished”.  Believe and live!

By His Grace.