A cancer update-the glory of God!
Posted by appolus on April 18, 2024
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, healing, Jesus, manifest presence, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 4 Comments »
Falling and rising!
Posted by appolus on April 11, 2024
Heavenly seeds are sown in the shadows of winter
Where the only light to be found is but a flicker
Yet come the spring, that which fell and died
Rises with the summer sun and is glorified
Tribulation may be the soil beneath our feet
Yet the glory is the blossom and the fruit
And storms and trials may be our lot
But Christ Himself is our very root
We can glory in the cross and in the shame
And we can do it all for the sake of His name
Yet the seed that falls and dies in the ground
Shall rise again in glory, and in Him shall be found
So cry aloud with all your might beneath the soil
For neither principality nor power can despoil
The coming glory of the day that follows night
And the saint who praises God with all their might!
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, Latter Rain, poetry, revival, spiritual growth, spiritual poetry, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
To behold His glory
Posted by appolus on April 7, 2024
If I could capture the light from a million sunbeams
And grasp every falling star from the sky
And be filled with the light of a thousand suns
Then I'll be ready when the time comes
When the time comes to walk into your glory
Where the brightest sun simply hides its face in shame
And the universe itself bows down in humble adoration
And we leave behind the very edges of our imagination
A place where the ocean is rendered to but a single tear
And all the heavens above cry out in resounding glory
And a million upon ten million incorruptible saints
Sway in the wind of the Spirit and know there are no restraints
No eye has seen nor has any ear ever heard
Nor has it entered into the hearts of those who love Him
Of the glory and the majesty of this heavenly place
Where we gaze upon His throne and look into His face.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Daily devotional, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
If I ever have to leave you.
Posted by appolus on April 6, 2024
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, worship, worship music | 4 Comments »
Oh blessed Grace.
Posted by appolus on April 6, 2024
He is crowned with righteousness
We are crowned with grace
And by the Blood of Calvary
Of sin, there is no trace
He is crowned with Holiness
We are crowned with Love
From the depths of His dwelling place
His grace shall be enough
His grace floods every part of me
In the depths of the midnight hour
Yet more still, shall it surely be
Come the dawn with all its power
It was grace from the very beginning
And its grace to the very end
And the love of God sustains me
Upon which I eternally depend
His grace, His grace, is sufficient for me
It saved me and keeps me each day
And throughout the span of eternity
Its forever on display
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, Christian poetry, Daily devotional, God's love, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Entertain or enter in?
Posted by appolus on April 3, 2024
I could not sleep last night, a mixture of the chemo and the prednisone no doubt. It has happened many times since I began treatment, but last night I awoke with the phrase “entertain or enter in.” The Lord was laying something on my heart. It occurred to me that if you take the letters “ta” out of entertain you are left with enter in. And yet, the definitions could not be more different. The Greek word for entertain is “psychagogia,” meaning “amusement-diverson-distraction.” The Greek word for”enter is “bo,” meaning “to go out or to come in.” The choice seems clear, be amused, diverted or distracted, or enter into His presence.
Interestingly enough, if you look at the two letters “ta,” in the Greek it means “the third person,” meaning “when you are speaking ( or singing) about someone else rather than directly addressing that someone.” Speaking in the third person you remain detached. Are we remaining detached from God in our modern day version of worship? Are we merely being entertained, an amusement or a distraction? A distraction from what? From actually entering in. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise (Psa 100:4) Enter into the joy of the Lord (Matt 25:23) For He who has entered into His rest has himself rested from his works (Heb 4:10) Not everyone that says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter in (Matt 7:21)
It makes my heart long for stripped down, simple/profound congregational worship, something the modern day worship ” team,” has wholly set aside for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is to entertain. We don’t need to be entertained and sit by as mere spectators/fans, we need to enter in. Enter into what some might say? Enter in by the only door available, Jesus and Him high and lifted up. And let every voice sing as unto the Lord and face heavenwards and not towards a “stage,” a place for actors. Let us take the “ta,” out of entertain and let us who know Jesus, enter in.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, False Prophet, Jesus, manifest presence, praise, prosperity gospel, revival, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, worship, worship music | 2 Comments »
Love who wears a crown.
Posted by appolus on March 28, 2024
The love of God has taken me
From the miry clay and set me free
Tis all consuming it knows no end
My Lord, my Master and my friend
A love that barely sees through tears
A love that lasts throughout the years
A love in which there is no doubt
A love in Christ is paramount
A love that sets my heart on fire
A love that takes me ever higher
A love that's never let me down
A love that ever wears a crown
My heart is fixed on Christ alone
Who ever sits upon His throne
He also dwells within my heart
And we shall never be apart
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Devotions, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | Leave a Comment »
Redefining blessed.
Posted by appolus on March 27, 2024
I think we need to redefine the word “blessed,” in the Christian world. The scriptural word means to “be fortunate,” “to be well off.” Now this has long been associated with material things. Yet as always, context matters, it gives meaning to the words that we use. Consider the most famous of all uses of this word, when Jesus uses it in the Beatitudes. The context gives us the meaning. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who hunger, blessed are those who thirst. Blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers. Blessed are the righteous who are persecuted. Blessed are the reviled. Given who Jesus says are blessed, do you still want to be blessed?
 If it means “drawing closer to God,” then to be blessed is to walk the narrow path that leads through the valley. To shine like the morning sun in the midnight hour is to testify of God’s blessing upon your life. To look upon material gain as a measure of God’s blessing is to find ourselves in the same ranks as Job’s friends. That’s not to say the Lord cannot bless us materially for His own purposes, it’s just to say that it carries no particular anointing. Consider the words of Peter when he says “silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give to thee.” Peter gave to the cripple out of the abundance of what he had. There are very few today who could say the same as Peter, perhaps that is just one of the reasons we see so little of the miraculous.
How long have we associated the word blessed with some kind of material increase? How far we have fallen from believing we are blessed when we are hungry, thirsty, hated and reviled. What blessings fell upon Paul and Silas in the midnight hour having been hated and tortured and imprisoned for His name sake. See the blessings pour forth from heaven and shake the earth. How blessed was brother Stephen as the cruel stones rained down upon his mortal body and the heavens themselves parted and he was caught up in his heavenly vision. Where are the men and woman of today who count it all blessing and all joy when they fall into various trials, knowing just how much the testing of their faith produces. It produces glory to God as they stand upon their faith and become a living testimony to the power of their heavenly Father.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, healing, inspirational, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
The latest cancer update.
Posted by appolus on March 26, 2024
Posted in cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, healing, Jesus, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 2 Comments »
Thy grace is not exhausted.
Posted by appolus on March 25, 2024
The grace that I've found is not exhausted
It rises still like the incoming tide
And my heart is flooded to overflowing
From the fountain that comes from deep inside
There is a fountain in the depths of me
The Father, the Son and the Spirit three
Who came to forever set me free
All glory to my King.
Our fountain-head of blessing here is grace
And is our strength, and strength alone to run the race
For on no other hand I can rely
but the hand that stretches down from up on high
I fall into His arms that are surely everlasting
And to never leave this place is all I'm ever asking
Even the sparrow and the swallow are found within this place
My prayer is that I am found in your glorious warm embrace.
Posted in bible, cancer, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, healing, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Feeding upon His faithfulness.
Posted by appolus on March 18, 2024
Cancer update.
I wanted to address something. Many people have messaged me and told me how strong I am in the midst of this cancer and how they admire my faith. I do not want to give the impression that going through cancer is easy and “all you have to do is,”……….fill in the blanks. A test is a test, a trial is a trial, not because it is easy but because it is not. Jesus is the star of this story of mine. He is strong, He is faithful, He is my high tower. I run into Him. I cry out to Him, I rely upon Him for the little strength and faith I do have. It is an honor and a privilege to represent Him no matter what my circumstances are. Consider these verses from Psalm 37. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD; and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:
In this portion of Scripture we are instructed how to walk in the power and strength of the Lord. We are to trust Him and do good. We are to delight ourselves in the Lord. We are to commit all our ways unto Him. We are also told (NKJ) to ” feed upon His faithfulness.” I left that to last because this has been my primary source of strength. I feed upon His faithfulness. It edifies my very soul and gives strength to me physically.I have been through enough trials in my life that I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that He is faithful. He has never left me nor forsaken me. It is His faithfulness I celebrate, it is His strength in me that makes this weak vessel strong. I am nothing without the Lord and would have crumbled and fallen into the sea of life a long time ago without Jesus. I feed upon the faithfulness of my heavenly Father and I am well fed. It is well with my soul because of His residency there. In and of myself I am weak, yet, His strength is only highlighted in my weakness.
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, revival, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Peace in a noisy world.
Posted by appolus on February 25, 2024
In the quietness of peace and in the beauty of Holiness we should make our way through this noisy world. Like an elegant sailing ship making its way through calm waters with a beautiful fresh wind in its sails, we should walk through this world as peacemakers, drawing men and women to Jesus. We must not simply be a believer in doctrines but rather we must be a manifestation of such doctrines. Living epistles read of men. If men could read aloud the story of our hearts would it draw them to the Father? The narrative of our spirits should be like manna in the desert and water that bursts forth from rocks. In short, we should be life among death and light that pierces through the gross darkness of this world. A lighthouse that stands tall upon the Rock.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, manifest presence, revival, Spirituality, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence | Leave a Comment »
To look into the depths of who you are.
Posted by appolus on February 24, 2024
Your presence fills me with great joy
And turns every shadow into light
Great consolation is mine
Which feeds the deepest part of me,
and sustains me though the night.
Oh blessed joy is mine divine
The eternal longing of my aching heart
For the day when the morning star rises
And then, forever, we shall never be apart
To look into the depths of who You are
Even for a moment, gives life unto my weary soul
The one who took the many broken pieces
Before the throne and the Father made me whole
I will awaken the dawn with the praises of my King
You will hear, from the ends of the earth, heavenly choirs sing
Look through the door of your heart that He has knocked upon
And hear the angels singing their golden heavenly song
Then shall heaven and earth be one together
And we shall abide before His throne forever
I in him and He in we
Cast upon an eternal holy sea.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, inspirational, poetry, praise, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Knowing Calvary.
Posted by appolus on February 16, 2024
Sometimes life can be just too much and it threatens to overwhelm us and drown us beneath the waves of afflictions and trials. Many times in my own Christian walk I have fallen to my knees and cried out to my Father in heaven. And He heard me and He “knows.” And just knowing that He hears and knows begins to lift our heads above the waters. Sometimes we are called to walk upon the waters, other times He takes us in the palm of His hand and lifts us above the fray, lest we lose our very minds.
He will not let us go under. He lifts us up to higher ground. The Lord intercedes for us before the throne. The Holy Spirit strengthens us and enables us to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint. To rise up on wings like eagles! Glorifying God and praising Him and testifying of Him gives us strength and promotes in us joy and that joy is our very strength. We have joy where there should be no joy. We have peace when all around us is in turmoil. We love even when we are hated. We stand immovable upon the Rock that is higher than us. When life makes our head hang low, then He calls us to look up. Look up into the heavens from where our help comes from.
In all of these things we have choices. We choose to worship Him, not because we somehow are trying to manipulate the Lord, but rather from a deep wellspring of love. From out of the depths of this love we cry unto God with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a mark of the saint. A heart that is full of thanksgiving is a heart that has encountered the presence of God and in that encounter peered into the depths of Calvary. And the vision that we see infuses itself into our spiritual DNA. The “knowledge,’ of Calvary informs every part of who we are. Without this “knowledge,” we can only be, at best, two dimensional. The head knowledge of Calvary can only promote the soulish elements of religion. Yet to encounter Calvary is to “know.” And it is from this “knowing,” that our hearts are primed.
Posted in bible, Christian, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, healing, hope, intimacy, Jesus, manifest presence, revival, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | Tagged: Calvary | 2 Comments »
An update on my cancer journey.
Posted by appolus on February 15, 2024
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, healing, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 2 Comments »
Learning to forgive.
Posted by appolus on February 15, 2024
There is a process of sanctification and it takes the wisdom of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to discern and navigate our way when we are dealing with others. Are they babes in Christ? Are they immature? Are they our weaker brothers?
Forgiveness should always be readily available from us, given what great forgiveness we ourselves have received. Yet oftentimes, as the flesh is being killed daily, by the cross we take up daily, we exhibit its characteristics until, slowly but surely, little by little, precept by precept, death upon death, we become more Christlike.
The process never ends, we never arrive, but the genuine saint is always making forward progress, even when he stumbles, the very stumbling becomes one more lesson to him. He hates the stumble, he agonizes over the failure. And in the agonizing, in the fire, we are being shaped and molded. The great impetus for it all is the burning love of God that blazes at the center of who we are. Our love for Jesus, our love for the Father is so great, because He first loved us, that our singular desire is to never let Him down, never disappoint Him.
When we inevitably do, the work of the cross and the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit comes to bear upon us and we are changed. This is the genius of His love for us, we who are mere wretched creatures outside of Jesus. This is the astonishment of principalities and powers when the gaze upon us mortals and declare “What is man that you are mindful of us, and the son of man that you visit him?” ( Psalm 8:4)
They are astonished that our Father in heaven pays us any mind at all and visits us and loves us, even while we were yet in our sin. Astonished that He would sacrifice His very own son for us. We deserved nothing but hell and yet through His love and through His grace we received forgiveness and an eternal place in the heavenlies.
How indeed can we not forgive others in the blazing light of such forgiveness? Today is the day to forgive anyone, it’s such a thing of beauty and a reflection of the very God who forgave us!
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, church, Daily devotional, Devotions, healing, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 3 Comments »
Jesus pick me up.
Posted by appolus on February 8, 2024
Trouble came knocking at my door
And a voice inside said don't let it in
I opened it
And it knocked me to the floor
I got backup on my feet
And it knocked me down once more
Chorus
Jesus pick me up so I can stand again
Jesus pick me up, I so dearly need you friend
You are my Lord of Lords and King of Kings
The man of many sorrows
If you do not pick me up today
Then there will be no tomorrows
I came to a bridge over troubled waters
But the bridge was swept away
I went down into the waters
And in the darkness I heard Him say
I will be with you as you pass on through
And suddenly the waters withdrew
Then I came upon a mountain high
To scale it I would surely die
I asked the Lord to remove this thing
So that I could rejoice and praise my King
No My son, ask of me to give you power
To climb every mountain and to scale every tower
Bridge
I'll be with you as you pass on through
I'll be with you in all that you do.
Trouble came knocking at my door
And a voice inside said don't let it in
I opened it
And it knocked me to the floor
I got backup on my feet
And it knocked me down once more
Chorus
Jesus pick me up so I can stand again
Jesus pick me up, I so dearly need you friend
You are my Lord of Lords and King of Kings
The man of many sorrows
If you do not pick me up today
Then there will be no tomorrows
I came to a bridge over troubled waters
But the bridge was swept away
I went down into the waters
And in the darkness I heard Him say
I will be with you as you pass on through
And suddenly the waters withdrew
Then I came upon a mountain high
To scale it I would surely die
I asked the Lord to remove this thing
So that I could rejoice and praise my King
No My son, ask of me to give you power
To climb every mountain and to scale every tower
Bridge
I'll be with you as you pass on through
I'll be with you in all that you do.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | Tagged: faith, poetry, prayer, writing | 7 Comments »
When the stroke hits the soul
Posted by appolus on February 3, 2024
When the stroke goes down to the soul
And the billows they begin to roll
When the lightening fractures the sky above
Shall we be found to be anchored in His glorious love?
When the ship is swamped and going under
And the rain so loud and the clashing thunder
Cause you to cry out and look up towards heaven
Shall we stand upon God and not be so driven?
Surely goodness and mercy despite our afflictions
Will follow us forever without contradiction
And a table before us, a feast for a King
Will cause our troubled hearts to sing
Of His majesty and glory and joy without measure
As we gaze upon His righteousness, His heavenly treasure
He maketh me lie down in pastures so green
And beside the still waters eternally serene.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual growth, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Blessings from the night.
Posted by appolus on January 31, 2024
It has been a night of grief, yet a night of blessing. A night in which there may have been many things which we would wish forgotten., yet many more which we should wish to be remembered for ever. Often during its gloom, we called it “wearisome,” and said “When shall I arise and the night be gone? (Job 7:) Yet how much was there to reconcile it, rather, to fill us with praise because of it! It was then the Lord drew near, and the world was displaced and self was smitten, and our will conquered, and faith grew speedily, and hope became brighter and more eager, and the things that are unseen were felt to be real and true. (H. Bonar)
Brothers and sisters, suffering draws us close unto the Lord. The long night of illness or trial draws us closely to the fires of heaven. We see with eyes that can peer through the night and give us sight to see our heavenly Jerusalem. The fading parchments of this life become somewhat crude in the light of heavenly fires. What comfort the children of Israel must have garnered as the fire by night nestled above them in the calm assurance of His presence. The cloud by day that would shelter them from the blazing desert heat. Our songs in the night give birth to sight. Out of darkness there comes a sure knowledge that He is with us. To not just follow Him closely along the narrow pilgrim way, but rather to walk hand in hand with Him and hear Him so sweetly that our hear burns within our chest……bro Frank
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian quotes, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 1 Comment »
When hope gives way to presence.
Posted by appolus on January 27, 2024
I wrote this poem yesterday while I was having chemo. It was a long day but I very much sensed the presence of the Lord, in divine appointments and also a message from a dear friend who had just recorded the message in the middle of their prayer meeting in Estonia. He prayed for me and then his dear wife prayed for me and I could hear the other saints praying in the background. I was quite overcome to think how honored and how privileged I was. I was humbled, shed a few tears, then wrote this poem. You will notice that I use the word infused a couple of time 🙂
When hope gives way to presence.
When the desire comes, it's a tree of life to me.
And the tree nourishes the parts you cannot see
Hope deferred causes my aching heart to long
And in the longing creates in me a song.
Sing my heart, sing of all His glory
Create in me the desire to tell Your story.
To scale the highest mountain, just to shout your name
Consumed by your majesty, ignited by your flame.
Come to me, draw me to your throne
To that place I know that I am truly known
And the tree of life infuses me with peace
And your glory, from the depths of me, released.
Beyond the falling leaf there lies the pastures green
And a heavenly river infused by glorious streams.
Beyond the troubled waters you have surely come to me
And you take my spirit over, to that place beyond the sea.
Posted in cancer, Christian, christian blog, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, healing, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 