Archive for June, 2015
Posted by appolus on June 27, 2015
The ruling of the Supreme Court will challenge every aspect of our faith and we will be the better for it, stronger refined and more confident in what we believe. For those whose faith is built upon anything less that Christ Himself, then they will be swept away by the flood and the cultural winds that are now blowing at hurricane strength.
Now why would I say that the cultural winds are blowing at hurricane strength? Has there not always been societal pressures in the West, cultural aspects of who we are that challenge our walk with God and our witness to our communities? In fact, the subject of marriage is one aspect of the culture in the west that has continually brought shame on what is known as Christendom. The truth is, the Christian community has remained silent to a great extent on the fact that in so many churches up and down the land, 40-50% of their congregation are divorced. That alone disqualifies us from speaking from a position of authority on the subject. We do not hold the moral high ground on this subject and ours sins have found us out. God is not mocked, that which a man sows or winks at, he reaps. We are reaping today.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: Christ Jesus, Christendom, persecution, visible church | 8 Comments »
Posted by appolus on June 27, 2015
It is not a pleasant thing
To walk into the wind
To walk in shades of grey
To dwell where all have sinned
It is a pleasant thing
To walk with you each day
To fellowship , to honor
To worship and obey
Each day the wind grows stronger
And the proud are standing tall
Each day the tide is coming in
And the pillars begin to fall
Truth lies broken in the street
And the structures are on fire
The Vandals and the Visigoths
Draw men into the mire
Sinking, slowly, unaware
Into the miry clay
Rebellious men without a prayer
Sinking deeper every day
When did the day become the night?
And all around is falling
When did the darkness quench the light?
And drown out God’s own calling.
Godless men rejoicing
In the darkness they call light
They are singing and they’re dancing
And arming for the fight
Oh children of the Living God
Find refuge neath His wings
Run now into your Tower
For we can see what this night brings
The hordes of hell are massing
The wolves are circling round
And evil is surpassing
With a mighty rushing sound
Yet Christ in all His glory
Is coming for His own
The culmination of His story
Ends with Him upon His throne
Stand fast ye children of the light
For though the day has come the night
We shall prevail and overcome
For Christ the battle He has won!
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, poetry, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on June 25, 2015
Psa 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
We live in days where one may hear the sentiment of this Scripture over and over again. We saints could look around the world and see it burning in the flames of sin and ungodliness. We could have ears to hear despairing thoughts as our eyes behold the ever-increasing darkness that is enveloping us like a creeping fog that rises up from the lower reaches and seems to level everything in wickedness. We undoubtedly live in times where in the secular world and in so much of Christendom the foundations of truth and life and light are being replaced by lies and death and darkness. Yet, what is the foundation of the righteous?
The foundation of the righteous is trust in God. When Davids friends or enemies tried to persuade him to ” Flee as a bird to your mountain,” he starts out by reminding them ” In the Lord put I my trust.” This is our testimony to the world is it not? That we have put our trust in God, in Christ alone for our eternal souls. Now, no matter what is coming upon us, no matter that the pillars of truth and the foundations of righteousness are being torn apart with every passing day with increasing speed and venom, still out trust is in the Lord. This is our testimony. We shall not flee to the mountains but rather we shall stand, even as the whole world is falling around us, for the righteous foundations are ours and ours alone to stand upon.
When the ungodly and the religious can no longer stand then we shall stand. As the world descends into moral and unholy chaos then it is our time to truly stand upon the foundation that belongs to us, Jesus Christ our Lord and the Word and the Spirit which He gave us. When Paul told the folks that he was headed to Jerusalem, they pleaded and prophesied to him not to go there for surely great harm would come to him. What was Paul’s reply?
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Posted in Charisma Magazine, Christian, christian living, Christianity, Church history, church of scotland, churches, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, inspirational, Jesus, new wineskins, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on June 18, 2015
Wayne Jacobsen writes in his book Finding Church ” I’d been living in church most of my life without recognizing her because I was too busy trying to create a version of my own. I’d tasted her reality in the closer friendships of virtually every congregation I had ever attended but because this was not part of the official program I didn’t see them as Church, it was a classic case of missing the forest for the trees and explained why we allowed the needs of the program displace those friendships.”
Now Wayne was a Pastor for decades. He has seen countless programs come and go and the conclusion that he has come to is that the needs of the programs over-ride and displace the creating of true fellowship. This has been my experience. If you have ever been involved in organizing anything, you will know that the reality of what you’re organizing takes over and the thing itself becomes the central focus. If there is one thing that I have learned in all my years as a Christian is that whatever distracts us from Christ Himself is the enemy of coming into His presence. Even as we go about our daily business, there is a reality of this world and there is a Kingdom reality and the reality of this world demands first place. It is immediate, it can be seen, it presses upon us and ignites our senses and demands to be attended to. The Kingdom reality is always there but never takes second place. If ignored, it simply fades into the background, retreats away from the noise of this world.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: Body of Christ, the words of Jesus | 17 Comments »
Posted by appolus on June 10, 2015
” Some of us have already left institutionalized Christianity either because we were pushed out for asking the wrong questions or because we could no longer continue to serve the demands of an institution that seemed so at odds with the passion growing in our hearts. None of us did so easily, having spent decades serving in local congregations and engaged in multiple efforts to reform them. In the end we left not to abandon our faith but to explore that faith on a more vibrant journey than those structures would allow.” ( Wayne Jacobsen, Finding Church)
There is nothing more important for each saint than His journey home. This journey with the Lord is a vibrant unexpected one where we never really know what is around the next corner. The wind of the Holy Spirit blows where it will and none of us truly know from what direction it will blow next and where it will lead us. Many years ago the Lord gave me vision. It was as if I was hovering over the land of America. I could see the States kinda mapped out below me. There was a great migration taking place. People from the Midwest were striking out in a great journey westwards in wagon trains just as they had in this country 150 years ago. They were leaving everything they knew behind and were fully committed to the journey ahead. They knew some of what lay ahead from others, but still there were many unknowns and dangers. None of that put them off. They were committed to the journey ahead. So they struck out from a place called Independence.
They struggled over many different landscapes and each landscape seem to represent some portion of their sanctification. There were rivers and mountains and valleys and storms and deserts and so on. And they represented pride and independence and lust and anger and un-forgiveness and all the many sins and deficiencies of the human nature. As they got further away from Independence, their dependency upon God grew. Each mountain climbed, every river forded, every storm endured drew them closer to the Lord. They were being shaped by their journey and by their dependence upon God. Finally I saw them arrive at the Pacific Ocean. Now shortly after arriving there, a ship approached and the captain urged them to get on-board. They shouted to Him, ” where are you headed, where will the ship takes us?” The captain pointed at the horizon. They asked Him if he had any maps or charts to show them what lay beyond the horizon, He did not. A few decided to get on board but the vast majority decided to stay. They had had some ideas and maps of how to get to where they were now, but to get on this ship and sail into completely unknown territory was simply asking too much and they were not prepared to risk it all.
Their temporary wagons were broken down in the beautiful place and they began to set up permanent structures. Each day the ship would re-appear and each day the captain would beckon to them to get on board but His voice grew dimmer and dimmer and suddenly the ship and the captain appeared no more. With the journey over and the permanent structures erected the people grew weak and had no vision. While on the journey the storms had made them strong and drew them closer to the Lord but now the storms were weakening them and they withdrew from the coast. Yet each time they fell back and restructured they became weaker still and had to continually fall back. They eventually arrived back at the very place they had left all those years before, Independence.
I don’t want to expound too much on the vision. I would simply like you to reflect upon it and see if the Lord would speak to your heart through it…………………bro Frank
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Visions | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on June 9, 2015
Our God holds the universe in His hands and yet not a sparrow falls from the sky without His knowing it. He knows every hair of our head, every secret tear, every unseen moment. He surrounds us with inpenatrable light. The children of Israel’s darkest nights were guided by a pillar of fire and a cloud to protect them from the heat of the day. Jesus is the fire of our life, He is our overarching cloud that shields us from the heat of the day. We abide under the shadow of His wings.
In the Old Testament, God poured out fire from heaven and we were touched by His presence. Two thousand years ago He sent an all consuming fire to walk the earth. And although our Lord Jesus returned to His rightful place at the right hand of our Heavenly Father, the fire of life came and dwelt in the very midst of our new hearts. If we will take this fire of our hearts and cover it with the lens of the Holy Spirit then the fire will be magnified and we will send up a beam of light that searches the heavens. And our heavenly Father says this, “I will be found by those who search for me.” What a magnificent sight, if we could see with our spiritual eyes, a million beams of light all pointing up to the heavens from whence our help comes from. And so when once the fire came down and we were undone in the presence of the almighty God, now, the fire is sent up from the hearts of believers to the throne of God Himself, and we commune with Him. This is the very essence of life. It is for this purpose that we were created in the first place. This holy union, man and God united in perfect harmony by the conduit of the Holy Spirit who has magnified the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts.
How many of us know that the old pagan temples were magnificently ornate with marble and gold and jewels and rich hardwoods? Now the rich live in their own temples filled with their own idols. The richer a man is, the more elaborate are his surroundings. He fills his house with symbols of his wealth and this gives him status among men. In order to gain riches men will literally move mountains in their pursuit of gold. They will mine the depths of the sea to drain it of its oil. They will decorate their mansions with treasures from all over the earth.
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Posted in Daily devotional, Devotions, the remnant, Uncategorized | Tagged: Lord Jesus, treasures | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on June 8, 2015
We are living in strange days I am sure you will agree. Days in which folks no longer listen to sound doctrine. In 2:4 Tim we are warned of such days and rightly so of course. Paul tells Timothy that people will look for teachers who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. The old phrase sola scriptura is latin for scripture alone. It was the battle cry of the reformation. It was the sword that sent a tremendous blow into the heart of religiousity. The traditions of men had swamped the truth and religious leaders made the people bear heavy external burdens without any regard to their internal spiritual state. All that mattered was what was seen on the outside.
And so, we often regard this warning from Paul as pertaining to the last days meaning perhaps the last of the last days for surely we have been living in the latter days since the birthing of the Church. Yet in this chapter Paul says “ for the time will come.” What time? Our time? His time? After he dies? A progression or better still a regression of all of these? Listen to what Paul says in Acts 20 to people he would not see again, his last words to them so to speak…..
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. (Act 20:28-31)
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: holy spirit, Word of God | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on June 6, 2015
I will see you in the rain
I see you in my joy and pain
As in every 
drop that falls from the skies
You are in every tear that falls from my eyes
I will see you when I gaze upon the sun
You’re in my heart when the mornings first begun
I have seen you in the refining fire
I can hear you in every Godly choir
I will see you in the flood
Covered by your precious Blood
Mountains high and valleys low
I see you everywhere I go
I see you in the babies smile
I see you in the extra mile
I see your face in every storm
In cold dark nights you keep me warm
And when my days come to an end
My Lord, my God, My Christ my friend
I will see you as you see me
Unshackled unbound and finally free!
For when the grain falls to the ground
Is covered by dust and cannot be found
New life arises this is true
My God my King I will see you!
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, spiritual poetry, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on June 5, 2015
Click on picture to purchase this latest book from Frank McEleny
The phrase perfect is the enemy of good is commonly attributed to Voltair. Perfect may be the enemy of good but if we lose sight of the perfect then the good begins to wane. Perfectionists tend to come in two types 1. The high achiever. 2. The dropout. The high achiever is driven by his desire for perfection, it is a goal he can never achieve but it does not stop him from chasing that goal. The drop out has figured that to some degree or another he will fail at what he does therefore, because he is a perfectionist and knows that perfection cannot be achieved then he simply does nothing. And in between these two characters there is a sliding scale.
And so what does Scripture say about this subject? Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Paul is in effect saying that he had not arrived but was still running the race so to speak, still on the journey. Paul knew well his imperfections and it is right here that we run into much trouble today when we try to blend a theological truth with our practical imperfections. What do I mean by that? Well, in Christ, under His Blood, we are found to be justified. When God looks at us, in terms of salvation, He sees His Son. This is true. Yet, He also sees us as we are and loves us individually. He chastises those He loves and brings about their sanctification through the mortification of the flesh. Just as a good earthly father disciplines his children, so does our heavenly Father. If we as earthly fathers could look into the future and see our children as they will be in 40 years, and what we see is good, we would not then abdicate our roles as fathers now because we know at some point in the future the child is going to turn out to be good. It behooves us to train up our children in the way that they should go and part of this process adds to the final result. This is how God deals with us. Yes He knows we are justified, He justified us, and yes He knows that we shall join Him for all eternity when we pass over. Yet, in none of this does He abdicate His role as our Father. It is all part and parcel of the one thing, it cannot be separated out. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: Apostle Paul, perfection | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on June 4, 2015
2Co 3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
The ministry of condemnation. That is quite a phrase is it not? This ministry that Paul is talking about is the ministry of Moses under the Old Covenant. Yes it had a glory, one that was fading away and veiled. Those who have not experienced the new birth will labor under this ministry of condemnation, their hearts veiled to the glory of the risen God through Jesus our Lord.
Now, if you are walking in condemnation, it makes sense that you will share what you know. You will share the condemnation that you yourself labor under. Your words will bring death for the letter killeth but the Spirit gives life. The Spirit of God that dwells in us who know Jesus and have been born from above brings life to the hearers. The Scriptures tells us that” if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” So it really all comes down to whether one has the Spirit of God in them or not.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: holy spirit, religious spirit, spirit of god | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on June 2, 2015
Exo 33:7 And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
The tabernacle was outside of the camp, it was at a distance from the people. The people had sinned greatly and publicly in their worship of the idols of this world and now the tabernacle was taken outside the camp. It is comforting to note that the tabernacle, simply meaning dwelling place, could still be seen by the people. It was right there, within sight of them and they were encouraged to seek the Lord. ” And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.” Now before doing this we learn that they stripped themselves of their “ornaments.” These ornaments were rings and ear-rings and so on, riches from the world they left behind that had been used to create an idol which they had bowed down and worshiped and had corrupted themselves with in the sight of God.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, God's love, Jesus, manifest presence, new wineskins, pentecostal, praise and worship, revival, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: manifest presence, presence of god | 4 Comments »
The ruling of the Supreme Court will challenge every aspect of our faith and we will be the better for it, stronger refined and more confident in what we believe. For those whose faith is built upon anything less that Christ Himself, then they will be swept away by the flood and the cultural winds that are now blowing at hurricane strength.
A Call To The Remnant 