Archive for August, 2015
Posted by appolus on August 31, 2015
My dear sister passed away this weekend. She was just 52, a year and a half older than myself. I will miss her very much. I will be heading for Scotland tomorrow for the funeral and will be gone a couple of weeks so probably not much writing, but you never know. Please remember my family in your prayers. I wrote this poem below that day she died, it is entitled ” For Heaven’s higher ground.”……bro Frank
When my heart is overwhelmed
And grief comes flooding in
I lift my eyes to higher ground
Where there’s no pain or sin
Yet deep within my heart
Amidst the savage waves
There is a calm repose
That’s with me all my days
I lift my eyes amidst this storm
That’s raging all around
He lifts me up above the waves
To stand on higher ground
And in the light of glory
That pierces every night
I catch a glimpse of majesty
And what a glorious sight
I see my sister dancing there
Amidst the saintly throng
Hands raised in heavenly splendor
And singing a heavenly song
The night has passed, the dawn has broke
There’s no tears to be found
For those who’ve left this world behind
For heavens higher ground.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, poetry, revival, testimony, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 21 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 28, 2015
And the word of the Lord was rare in those days;there was no widespread revelation. (1 Sam 3:1)
In the days of Eli when the glory of God was in Shiloh the word of God was rare and indeed there was no widespread revelation throughout the land. A simple reading of the 1 Sam tells us that the priesthood was defiled and the overseer looked the other way. We see that the Israelites began to suffer defeats and finally in desperation they try and use the ark of the covenant like some kind of talisman. God will never allow Himself to be used. He did however allow the ark to be removed from Shiloh and fall into the hands of the Philistines. As this unfolded Israel was defeated, the priests, Eli’s wicked sons were killed and Eli himself fell over dead. Judgement had come to the house of the Lord and the glory of God had departed. Yet even in the midst of all of that God was already raising us Samuel.
Can I argue that the word of the Lord is rare in our days? Can I further argue that there is no widespread revelation today. The circumstances that we find ourselves in are similar to that of the days of Eli. The priesthood is in large part defiled and God has for the most part removed His glory from Christendom. Now what is ” the word of the Lord?” Is it merely the preaching of the Scriptures? If that were so, then the ” word of the Lord,” is not rare at all in America. What about ” revelation,” or as it says in another translation ” open vision.” Open vision would be something that would be heard in public, not secretly in the prayer closet or bedroom. The exhortation of the prophet whether to encourage or to rebuke, is a precious thing. Indeed the word ” rare,’ in the opening Scripture is also translated “precious.”
Go into almost any Church this coming Sunday morning and you will not hear an open vision, nor will you hear ” the word of the Lord,” in the context of 1 Sam. You will surely hear preaching and you will hear the Scriptures expounded but you are unlikely to hear a ” word of the Lord,” nor hear an exhortation, whether an encouragement or a rebuke. It is indeed rare today and for the same reasons as in the days of Samuel. Yet can I encourage you today brothers and sisters. Even in the midst of defilement and wickedness and silence from God, God was raising up Samuel. Now at the same time He was raising Samuel He was in the process of judging the Israelites. While the Ark was still in Shiloh, God was silent and in fact would soon remove the token of His presence altogether from that place.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, God's voice, Jesus, manifest presence, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, spiritual gifts, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: the word of the Lord, Word of God | 14 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 25, 2015
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. (2Sa 12:13)
This is a quote from a well know passage of Scripture. Prior to this confrontation with David and Nathan, David had slept with another man’s wife gotten her pregnant and killed her husband. It is reckoned that the whole sordid episode took place over a period of about a year. When David was confronted with his sin by the prophet of God he repents. Now we know that David was a man after God’s own heart. He is perhaps, outside of Jesus Himself, one of the most notable and heroic people in the Bible. So we can learn a lot from how God deals with David.
We can see clearly that the Lord has put away his sin because of his confession and in that we should draw much comfort. In 1 John 1:9 we see that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Praise God, this is His promise to the saints. Yet what of the consequences in the natural? And as we consider this I believe it brings to bear the motivations of the heart. For there will still remain the natural consequences of the sin that was committed. Sin is like a stone thrown into the pond, it ripples out and its concentric circles affects every part.
Now what did David suffer despite his genuine repentance? Well we see in the preceding verses that the sword would not depart from his house and this proved to be true. And this was specifically “because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.” David did not just commit adultery and murder, he then benefited from the results of these acts by marrying Bathsheba. Now the Lord said to David that He would raise up evil against him from his own household and of course we know that this comes to pass with the rebellion and death of his own son. We also know that the child that Bathsheba gave birth to also dies. These are the natural consequences of the sin of David despite the fact he had found forgiveness from the Lord. And if we are honest we can see in our own lives and the lives of our own families the natural consequences of our sin.
Now if there are natural consequences for our sin and there are, whether we are forgiven or not, how can we tell who walks in genuine forgiveness? We can tell by the life that they lead. The man or woman who finds forgiveness of sin will have a resurgence of joy, not because he has avoided the consequences of his sin for many times he will not but because he has re-established his intimate relationship with his lord which sin had interrupted. The joy and the love and the peace that we now see in him is much more powerful because it is in no way is dependent upon his circumstances, for often they are dire,but depends wholly upon the fact that he is reunited in an intimate way with his Lord. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, consequences of sin, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, The Psalms, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: natural consequences | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 22, 2015
To stand or kneel with head bowed in the presence of a Holy God. A place of infinite glory, of quiet surrender , a place where all things are possible and a deep inner peace glows with some kind of heat in the innermost parts of who we are and radiates out in concentric circles of glory and majesty. This holy heaviness bows our heads and at the same time raises our hands towards heaven like the open mouth of a baby bird longing to be fed ,expecting to be fed. Come Lord Jesus come and fill the vastness of my spirit so that it spills out as living waters in a dry and thirsty land. Rivers in the desert. Fruit on the vine. Manna from above, sweeping down from heaven in a river of love.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, faith, God's love, healing, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, manifest presence, pentecostal, poetry, revival, Spirituality, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 21, 2015
I wrote this back in 2010, I thought it was worth reposting.
A Call To The Remnant
There is coming a time, and we may be there already, when God is calling His people, His remnant people, who have experienced the presence of God, to rise up and testify to it. To testify of what they know of Him. Of how they come into the presence of a Holy and majestic God, of how it ruins them and changes them, of how they tremble before the throne of the almighty God. This is what the people are starved of, this is what they are dying of thirst from. There is a famine of the Word of God in the land, not the Word preached, but the Word preached with the power and the presence of God. The crisis of the age is a lack of God’s empowering presence in our assemblies.
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Posted by appolus on August 20, 2015
The deepest lessons on faithfulness come in the midst of the fires and the tribulations of life. The basic accusation of the enemy against God is ” they only love you and follow you for what they have been given or what they can get.” Therefore the greatest expressions of faith, trust in God, comes in the midst of endurance, a less than popular word. Yet think of Jesus, our highest example. From the glories of heaven where the host bow down and cry Holy, to the lowest depths of the earth where He stripped and hung naked on a cross and mocked and humiliated by mere mortals. He endures all of this and never denies His Father and stays right there on the cross because of His love and obedience. This is trust in God in action. The Word becomes flesh and light conquers darkness.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, faith, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: faithfulness, trust in God | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 19, 2015
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. (Isa 60:1-2)
In Exodus 10:22-23 we see that there was a thick or gross darkness that covered the land for three days as a judgment on the land of Egypt. It was so dark that men could not see each other “but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” Even in the midst of gross darkness that covered the land, all of God’s children had light in their dwellings. God caused their dwelling place to be full of light. In verse 17 God said that He would beautify the place of His sanctuary for those who had been forsaken and hated and that He would make them an ” eternal excellence.”
Now I want to encourage you if you are hated and forsaken. God has not forgotten you and He loves you with an everlasting love. We all dwell in darkness right now and the darkness is getting thicker. Gross darkness is approaching and will surely cover the whole earth! Yet, we, the sons and daughters of the Kingdom, the remnant saints here on earth are the dwelling place of God and He has promised that we would be full of light and that this light would arise, for the glory of our God will rise up within us as the enemy comes in with a flood of darkness.
Hab 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Even in the midst of tremendous judgement and great darkness we see here a promise from the prophet that all of the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. All the earth shall see the glory of God as He arises in the hearts of His people. The glory of God shall rise out of the darkness of sin and judgement. Gods children will be a witness, a light unto all the nations of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and then the end shall come.
Lord I pray that you revive the work of your saints in the midst of gross darkness. Lord in your wrath remember your mercy. Let your light and your glory arise in the hearts of your saints and lift the heads of those who cry out to you. And though the fig tree shall not blossom nor fruit be in the vines and flocks shall be cut off from their folds yet shall we rejoice in the Lord. Our joy will flow from our salvation, you are our strength and you give us feet that can cause us to walk in the high places of your presence. Your glory covers the heavens and may the earth hear the praises of you from the saints upon whom you shall fill with your light. Arise and shine and let the glory of the Lord rise above and penetrate the gross darkness. Thank you Lord, be glorified.
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: gross darkness | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 19, 2015
The man or woman who waits upon God with patient endurance and does not fall back upon his own strength or power is living the life of faith. Our own strength and power and abilities tend to puff us up and we can lose sight of our dependence upon God. Short term gains often cause us to believe in the strength of our own arm yet leads to weariness and fainting.
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: patient endurance | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 17, 2015
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. (Gen 15:5)
We all know that God had promised Abraham that his seed would be more numerous that the stars in the heavens. We know that Abraham, or Abram as he was known at that time, believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Yet, it must be noted that from the beginning of the promise until its fulfillment was a span of some 25 years. Somewhere near the middle of that time Abram and Sara come up with their own plan using their own common sense in order to try and bring Gods plan, His promise to pass. This of course had disasterous consequences, consequences that the world is still dealing with 3000 years later. Ishmael is the way of the world, Issac is the plan of God.
Now before we are too hard on Abraham, how often have we despaired when God does not seem to answer us? Waiting on God is perhaps the hardest part of our walk. Or lets put it another way for clarification, how often have we despaired while waiting upon a direct promise of God to us? Now prayers and seemingly unanswered prayers are one thing but a direct promise from God is quite another. We know that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts but do we really know that or truly consider that?
And so the temptation is to take matters into our own hands to bring about the promises of God. This typically does not end well. The promise is good and the final results are good but how we get there is of equal importance. To try and force the timing and get to the final destination of our promise by our own means typically finds us fallen into a ditch. Or, to put it another way imagine that I sit high above the earth and can see above the mountains and the valleys and the great forests. I can see where you are and I can also see your final destination. You shout up and ask me if I can see where you are going and I tell you I can. You ask me to direct you there and I say that I will and begin to direct you.
Now, I tell you to go directly west even although you know that your final destination is due north. Yet what you cannot see is that if you went due North right now, it would lead you to a raging river that cannot be crossed at that point. You would eventually have to turn back to where you started or follow the river west which turns out to be long and torturous path. What I can see is that if you go west for a month and then head back north you will be able to cross the river easily and find a valley that will take you between two mountains and allow you to find your way north. How many of us have destroyed ourselves trying to cross a raging river? Or even if we manage to cross it we find ourselves in a place that is insurmountable because a huge mountain lies straight ahead.
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: (Isa 40:22)
He indeed sits high above us and He sees the beginning from the end. We can fully trust in that. He knows the way ahead for His children and even when it seems to make no sense to us we must remember that He sees it all. The path that He picks for us may be difficult but not so difficult as the path that we would forge under our own strength. He will be with us when we pass through the waters. He will be with us in the midst of the fiery furnace. He is an ever present help in time of need. He is a cloud to us by day and a fire by night. We may still be in the desert but in that place of death He keeps us as we move towards the fulfillment of His promises to us. So many have created their own Ishmael’s in an effort to bring to pass what is or is perceived to be God’s will for our lives. It can only end outside of the anointing of God.
There is a small narrow path that often makes no sense yet it is the narrow path of life. So often we have to give up common sense and natural abilities and simply take His hand and shut our natural eyes and move forward with the eyes of our heart trusting in our God who not only knows the way but is the Way. Will you trust Him today. He sits high above it all, He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and He laid the foundations of the earth. Who is like unto Him? Is there any? Is there anything too difficult for Him? He sees it all, the beginning from the end for He is the Alpha and the Omega. You can trust Him. Trust Him today saints and stand fast.
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: Abraham, final destination, Ishmael, promises of God | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 8, 2015
Faith delivers what Grace provides-Don’t measure your faith, measure your God-David Legge.
It’s worth considering those quotes for a few moments for the truths that they speak to can transform your walk with God. So, if faith delivers what grace provides, what does grace provide? And if faith is so important then why should we ignore faith, s to speak, and rather consider the vastness of God?
If faith is the evidence of things not seen, and it is , then it is first and foremost the evidence of God. We see God in the man who walks in faith. We see God in love and hope and mercy and forgiveness. We see Him in joy and peace and self-control. We see Him in all of these attributes distilled in us and we see Him more clearly the darker the background. The more difficult the circumstance of our lives then the greater the canvas for memorializing God in the hearts and minds of the world.
And so, if the unmerited favor of God first and foremost provides salvation, justification, then it also provides us with the means of how to live out that justification. Grace gives us access to faith and faith is the evidence of the man or woman who walks in close proximity to God. The closer the walk, the greater the faith. The greater the faith, the deeper the love. The greater the faith the more abundant the hope. The greater the faith the more abounding the mercy and forgiveness. And finally, the greater the faith the greater the expressions of joy and peace and self-control. And all of these add up to an expression of the reality of God seen in us, and expression of the reality of the unseen God. A light that pierces the darkness of this world, the hope of this world.
If faith is that important. If it is the deliverer of what grace provides then how shall a man increase in faith? Shall he pray more? Shall he tithe more? Shall he live a more holy life? Shall he increase in the rigors of religious life and then somehow earn more faith by denying himself? Now obviously praying and tithing and holiness and even denying oneself are not inherently wrong. Yet they become disastrous if they are flowing from the heart of one who is trying to earn faith by their own efforts. Everything must flow from the presence of God. What is begun in the Spirit must abide in the Spirit and walk daily in the Spirit. The key of faith, given to us by Jesus that unlocks the door of salvation is also the key which unlocks every other door.
I have seen men trying to kick in the doors of mercy and peace and joy. I have seen groups of men with battering rams trying to break down the doors of love and forgiveness and holiness. I have been that man at times, I have held that battering ram at times. Yet no door that opens deeper into the heart of the Father can be strong armed open. It is not by might or any power it is by His Spirit alone. And it is by weakness and an understanding of our weakness that draws us near to the Father and deeper into His heart. As we draw near, faith is increased. As our faith is increased then it delivers what grace has provided. As we receive what grace has provided then we share with others with what we ourselves have been freely given. As we share this with others, faith is increased and the evidence of God walking amongst us is evident to men and He and He alone is glorified.
Will you draw near today? Will you enter into His rest and cease from your own works today? In His presence there is fulness of joy. In His presence there is a peace that surpasses understanding. In His presence there is forgiveness and restoration. In His presence there is purity of heart. In His presence there is mercy and love beyond measure. In His presence there is strength for the weak. In His presence you can run and not grow weary, you can walk and not faint. In His presence you can mount up with wings as eagles and soar to unimaginable heights. Will you draw near today saints?
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, faith, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 4, 2015
Isa 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
A desert is a place of thirst and hunger. Can I suggest that Christendom finds itself caught up in a great desert? There is starvation and people are dying because they have no living waters. The desert is a place of death. It is without form and the shifting sands that are at the mercy of the wind simply gather where the wind blows it. The very landscape is shaped by the direction of the winds. This landscape is inhabited by jackals and scorpions and snakes. Without water, everything dies in the desert. In this desert it is every man for himself and each man is a law unto himself, he is lawless.
There is another kind of wilderness desert. It is the desert that the Lord calls us into. Prior to Jesus’ ministry, he is called away from his life and into the desert. In this place He fleshes out fully depending upon His Father. He suffers from hunger and thirst and He is tempted time and time again. In a sense, this was the Lord’s baptism of fire. He was there for forty days. Moses spent forty years in the desert. The children of Israel later spent forty years in their own desert prior to entering the promised land. There is a spiritual principle at work here. Moses had to learn to die to his own ways before he encountered the burning bush. He then fully enters into his ministry. The children of Israel only enter into the promised land after forty years of desert. Jesus ministry begins after a symbolic 40 days in the wilderness.
I write this to my brothers and sisters who are in their own wilderness. I consider most of the Body of Christ to be in the wilderness right now. I want you to consider what the Lord is preparing for you. You see, in a real desert the only thing that matters is life itself and what gives life. Water. It must be found. It must be sought out. It’s importance must be fully appreciated. Trivial matters do no exist in the desert. The entire focus is upon that which gives life. This kind of preparation is vital because of the darkness which even now approaches. The greatest storm of evil ever known is already gathering strength and it is taking direct aim at the Body of Christ.
When the Body of Christ emerge out of this desert by the power of the Spirit of God, they will be prepared for ministry for such a time as His coming back. Every Christian that emerges from the desert has and will discover that it is He and He alone that sustains them. When everything was stripped away, they discovered a source of water, the fountain of life, the river that makes glad and they discovered it where no water should exist. Now they have an inexhaustible supply, they always had it but now they know it. They are now equipped to follow in the footsteps of the prophet who walked out of his own desert and pronounced “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The Body of Christ is being prepared to come out of the desert and into the teeth of the storm pronouncing ” Behold the Lion of Judah comes.” Stand fast brothers and sisters, there is a purpose in your suffering and it will soon be revealed.
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 | 9 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 