Tag Archives: willingness

This is the Judgement

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Truth, faithfulness, the righteous expectations of God, prayer, holiness, glorification of God’s Holy Son, willing obedience to heavenly things, and a daily renewal of all these things.  This can be expected for those who willingly submit to the leadership of Christ Jesus.

But pleasure of this world’s desires, chasing after everything that is not God, short and useless prayers (such as God bless america), powerless religious observances, and oh so many other things, this is the nature of a man without Jesus.

19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”  (The Gospel of John chapter 3)

How incredibly sad that this should be our epitaph; that at the moment of our death, our pursuit of anything but God is all we bring to the Holy Throne of the Sovereign God.  All the while he offers freely so very much to any who will purposefully place him in his proper position.

By his own nature man is lazy.  Oh he’ll provide for all the things he wants.  But is he willing to let God cause him to provide all the things that God wants?

Those who diligently seek the truth of God in Christ Jesus will be granted God’s desires.  There is no need to qualify that statement.  But those who only desire the things of this world, such people will not find the things that God is willing to offer so freely.

By His Grace

Fear Constrains. God Releases to Boldness.

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I woke to be with the Lord this morning.  In our time together, he revealed a mystery to me.  I will try to relate it as best I can.

Why are people so reluctant to grasp a fearless doing of the Gospel?  What cuts some apart to boldness, while most live out the Gospel as if in secret?

The answer is simple, they fear.

Fear of man compels most to withdraw from public displays of Holy Truth.  Desire to “profit” among men drives most into a life of subdued worship and expression of God’s Holy Will among men.

They hear what the bold disciples say.  But they also see how such bold men are treated.  They quickly weigh the prospects of shunning, and make the determination that such travail is not worth the effort.  They must make a living.  They must eat.  They must compete in this wicked world.  And a bold proclamation of the Gospel will surely diminish their chances of survival.  Men will certainly hate them and exclude them from “prosperity” among men.

But what makes the difference between those who fearlessly proclaim the Gospel, and those who believe yet hide (to whatever extent)?

Two things play within the bold.  It’s hard for me to describe which one comes first.  Perhaps they come in unison.  One provocation to boldness is the blessing of God in the way of knowledge.  God causes the bold one to understand that the way of God is absolute, true, and sustaining no matter what.   The other provocation is that the bold perceive the wickedness of man as endless chaos.  No matter what they do, man will never protect.  Man is incapable of sustaining.  Man is full, and endlessly so, with lies and empty promises.  And the riches of man, that so called  “profit”, can provide nothing eternally valuable.

It is written, “They hated me for no reason”.  The bold receive the same treatment.  Their brothers and sisters in Christ see this treatment of the bold and withdraw to secrecy.  It’s that simple.

There were only 12 Apostles.  There were only 72 that were sent out.  And of the mass of men, there are (in my personal estimation) less than 1 percent of the population that will give all to God for the sake of His Holy Son’s Honor.  And it’s quite possible that I have over estimated the number of those who are bold for Christ.

I have seen many rise up to boldness.  But I have seen very few remain bold.  Usually, when a man stands up for Christ, the world around them beats them back into submission, and quickly.  They sink back into the “profit” of man and never rise up again.   Let no one misunderstand the power of the world to destroy.  This even happens, often, to men who wear the titles of pastor, preacher, evangelist, and so on!

If you would be bold for Christ, then be bold.  But first it would be wise to learn to hate the ways of man’s “profit”.  For they will surely use it against you to drive you back into their slime.  But if you would be willing to loose all for Christ, then, by all means stand!

Who is willing to die for Christ?  Who is willing to receive the beatings that man is all too ready to dispense?  Is it you?  If not, then ask yourself, “Why do I fear”.

God will sustain the willing heart.  He will feed the wicked, why won’t he feed you?  And if they come and take all you have, what have you lost?  These sayings are readily available among  Christ’s people.  But the key to making the decision to be bold lay in a fearless belief.  Are the promises of God TRUE?

A Purposeful Tongue Lashing

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How many times do the people of God need to be encouraged before they will take the mantle of the Gospel upon their shoulders?  How easy it is to encourage them to be lax in the things of the Most High God.  They readily embrace social peace.  But war against what is wicked is relegated to a tiny few.

As a child abhores spinach, yet craves the sweetness of sugar, so the people of God have sought peace with the wicked.  And as the sugar will rot the teeth of the child, so this craving for peace has rotted the Church of God.  Where is the healthy mouth?

It is ridiculous to make a call for action for the entire Church.  But let those with understanding mount up for the sake of the Gospel!  To prayer with all of us!  To the things of God, with godly zeal, with every willing man and woman of God!

Let us open our eyes and look around.  Witness the compromise!  Take note of what is unholy.  See how the things of the Glorious Lord Jesus have been brought to such a small affair.  It is considered a trophy to attend church twice a year!  It is considered holy restraint to keep your lips sealed among the wicked!

How near the end of things must it be, that the church has become so complacent?  Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Valentine’s Day, and so many more, have taken the place of the crucifixion and the resurrection.  And suffering for the name of Christ Jesus has become an abhorrent obsession of a few.

So many Bibles in the world, yet so very few read and understand.  So much time for prayer, yet there is hardly a flake of callus on the knees of God’s people.  So many opportunities to speak out against wickedness, yet you would think Christians are mute; at baptism God rips the tongue out of the man!

If now is not the time to rise up for Christ, tell me when it will come upon us.  What are the signs I should look for, that I might see an explosion of zeal for the Living God’s Christ?  Who, among the children of God, will rise up and embrace the things of Jesus?  And do we need to wait another 7 days for this to happen?  Is it necessary to wait even another 10 minutes!

Who will come and die with Christ?  Who will render his life to prayer, a serious and diligent study of the Word of God, and become an ambassador to the Holy Lord Jesus in this wicked and adulterous place?

Is it true that it takes imprisonment to wake up a soul for Christ?  Will you wait for a house to house search before you commit to a boldness for Christianity?  What are you waiting for?  Define the obstacle so that we can speak of it openly!

Look how foreign these words are among what is called civilized Christians.  So very well dressed on Sunday.  But so putrid against holiness throughout the week. 

The debate among God’s people is not directed at how brightly we should burn.  It is more the focus of what can we get away with.  Where is the holy and burning fire of obedience among Christians today?  Has it not been replaced by wealth, social integration, and dedicated complacency?  Unholy lies dance in our streets!  Children murder one another!  And if one man is caught spreading the Gospel, all Christianity feels vindicated!

Decide for yourself if this is right.  Why should we listen any longer to words of restraint?  Who elected the cowards as our leaders?  Will God not support and catch those who step out from the cowering crowd?  Or has faith in Christ really become such a rare and elusive animal?

I am so tired of watching us hide.  It is sickening to the stomach to see the Glorious Lord Jesus hidden like some abomination among men; as if he had been a rapist, a thief, a murderer, and every other wicked thing!  Do you really think God will honor such purposeful obscurity?

By His Grace

The Fullness

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The Wisdom of God among men is that they should have faith.  The miracle among men, from God, is that there are many who do have faith.  The Faith from God believes (with a certainty) that Jesus is the Christ of God.  The Faith from God among men believes that Jesus is risen from the dead, for death had nothing with which to hold him.  And The Faith does more than remember that history was made.  The Faith becomes the Love of God, which is the Holy Will of the Father in all creation.

Yet Love does not appear without dressings.  Fear of God, knowledge of the Holy Word he sustains among us, right assessment of the fruit of men, and that specific “doing” that comes only from the power of the Holy Spirit among and within us.  With the appearance of these things within us, we can define the Love of God.  Yet our definition of the Love of God is limited to the wisdom of God to send his knowledge among men.

There is a fullness in heaven, regarding what is revealed of the nature of God.  There is a fullness on earth, regarding what is revealed of the nature of God.  In heaven, the fullness of revelation is embraced without question or reserve.  But on earth, the fullness of revelation of the Love of God is restricted by our willingness to believe to the “doing”.

Who, then, of men, are willing to throw off restriction?  Who, among men, are willing to embrace the fullness of God’s wisdom of revelation to Man?  Who, among men, finds the will to “Become”?

Left On the Table

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The man stood there ready to banter and barter.  What kind of creature faced him at this moment?  What kind of thoughts did his opponent allow to run free in his mind?  The question was not looking for weakness.  It was looking for possibilities to grant.

At the end of the session, the man had in his possession, great and wonderous wealth left untapped.  Though his opponent went away, he  lacked for that day.  He had left more unstruck than he gained.

Truth stands to banter and barter with us.  But the master of truth is mercy.

What kind of men are we?

The truth will sure yet see.

He regulates his offering,

According to our heart.

By His Grace

Bring Out the Will

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Where is the astounding fruit of the Most High God among us?  It is hidden in our unwillingness to obey.  It is as if we have secreted His Holy Words into the thicket of our rebellion. 

Too many have hidden His treasure away, as if a thief might come and steal their riches.  As a result, many stand guard at their doorway; judging others as they perceive from their own darkness.  Where is the freely flowing Gospel of Peace and Joy?  Where is their vial of Living Water?

Who will go retrieve the Holy things he contains?  Who will reach into his thorny will and bring his obedience out of hiding?  Who will bloody his own hands to retrieve what is best for all?  Who dares “become”, that he might lead his siblings in Christ to what is best?

What is the will of a man in Christ Jesus?  What power does it receive if it is brought out of hiding?  What blessings are the Holy Lord of Life willing to bestow on the man who diligently gives Him what is rightfully His?  As obedience comes, so the prosperity of God appears.

In case my words are not clear enough to provoke specific action, let us read what the Lord has spoken to all who desire to serve Him.  Let us remember: the generation that serves the Lord with faithfulness, is the generation that passes down what is good and valuable before His Holy Face.  It is the blessing of their “children” to inhabit the better land. 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 5)