Archive for September, 2016
Posted by appolus on September 25, 2016
Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. (Heb 13:13-14)
Speaking of the outpouring at Azusa street in Los Angeles in 1906, before the scourge of denominationalism got a hold of it Frank Barltleman writes the following………….
The spirit of the song given from God in the beginning was like the Aeolian harp in the spontaneity and the sweetness. In fact it was the very breath of God, playing on human heart-strings, or human vocal chords. The notes were wonderful in sweetness , volume and duration. In fact they were oft-times humanly impossible. It was indeed “singing in the Spirit.”
We had no pope or hierarchy. We were brothers. We had no human program;the Lord Himself was leading. We had no priest class nor priest craft. These things have come in later, with the apostatizing of the movement. We did not even have a platform or pulpit in the beginning. All were level. The ministers were servants, according to the true meaning of the word. We did not honor men for their advantage in means and education, but rather for their God-given gifts. He set the members in the Body.
The services ran almost continuously. Seeking souls could be found under the power any hour of the night or day. The place was never closed nor empty. The people came to meet God. He was always there. Hence a continuous meeting. The meeting did not depend on the human leader. God’s presence became more wonderful. In that old building with its low rafters and bare floors, God took strong men and women to pieces, and put them back together again for His glory. It was a tremendous overhauling process. Pride and self-esteem could not survive there.
No subjects or sermons were announced ahead of time, and no special speakers for such an hour. Know one knew what might be coming, what God would do. All was spontaneous, ordered of the Spirit. We wanted to hear from God, through whom whoever He might speak. We had no respect of persons. The rich and the educated were the same as the poor and the ignorant, and found a much harder death to die. We only recognized God. all were equal. It had to start in the poor surroundings to keep out the selfish, human element.
We were delivered right there from ecclesiastical hierarchism and abuse. We wanted God. When we first reached the meeting we avoided as much possible human contact and greeting. We got our head under some bench in the corner in prayer and met men only in the Spirit, knowing them ” after the flesh,” no more. All obeyed God, in meekness and humility. IN honor we preferred on another. The Lord was liable to burst through anyone. One would finally get up, anointed for the message. It might be from the back seat or from the front. It made no difference ( Frank Bartleman) Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, Church history, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Frank Bartleman, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 7 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 24, 2016
When you reckon the words of the Lord to be true, when you believe what He says about you, when you begin to walk in that knowledge, when you combine that with the presence of God and the ability to come before the throne of grace, then you are changed from glory to glory. You mind is transformed, your intellect is enlarged, your wisdom flows from God, people are amazed at your walk, especially if you’re an unlearned man and they wonder how that all happened. They see a former broken man, a man from a broken background, a man from a generationally broken background and they see a new creature in Christ. Not a perfect man but a man who walks in the light of heaven. Who walks in the shadow of the Almighty, who now walks down the narrow path having been taken from the broad path of destruction and they cannot help but wonder and say to themselves ” surely there must be a God.”
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Posted by appolus on September 20, 2016
I have flown in heavenly places
Yet still confined to earthly spaces
There’s a part of me that has touched the skies
And with each touch another part dies
Two forces yet only one eternal part
One love that has forever filled my heart
The glory of the crimson tide forever changing me
Lifts me up then takes me down into the glassy sea
I stand enshrined in this mortal coat
Yet the Love of God itself keeps me afloat
Adrift and carried by the crimson tide
The Bridegroom ever beckons home the bride
In this world but surely not a part
To another Kingdom belongs my longing heart
This other Kingdom burns inside of me
As it carries me into the glassy sea
As I approach the glory to be found
I find myself once more on Holy ground
A place where I will find eternity
A place that lies in the midst of the glassy sea
Oh longing heart with wings you must take flight
And lift me from perpetual fleshly night
And deliver me to where my Saviour reigns
A place where at my feet lies broken chains
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 16, 2016
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Heb 11:13-16)
Brothers and sisters, what have you seen afar off? Have you glimpsed the glory of the living God? Have you seen behind the veil into that eternal place, the eternal holy of holy’s? Have you lifted up your spiritual eyes and saw beyond the limitations of this world? These are the things that can only be seen by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. If we only had eyes that could see only this world how miserable a creature would we be. Surrounded by fears and anxieties, wars and divisions overseas and at home. A corrupt political system that has culminated this year by backing us into a corner where the only way out is through people like Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. What a mess this world is in. Aren’t you glad you don’t belong to this world? Does your heart long after that heavenly homeland, that heavenly country yet to come? We know that God has prepared a place for us. A place without sin, without darkness, without weeping. A place that we come to by passing through the impenetrable light, made penetrable by Jesus.
The hymn says that because He lives we can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone. These are true sentiments. It is because He lives that we know that the ground beneath our feet is solid ground. We stand upon the reality and the promises of the living God. And even though the world tries to press into that with its own reality, stand still brothers and sisters and do not be tempted to wander into the sinking sands of a world that is going down. In such times as we live, with the ever closing storm of affliction and persecution closing in, it is all the more important to lift up our heads and see the glory of the Living God. Not only should we lift up our heads, we should also lift up our voices in these days in which we find ourselves.
Every day the world grows more hostile to the Body of Christ. Yet the glory of God is eternal. The blessed hope of our Savior never changes. His power, His glory goes on forever and He draws us and beckons us to come up higher. As our enemies come in like a flood all around us, He says to us to come up higher. Lets take our eyes of the world and the storms that are raging all around us and lift them up to Him. Lets lift up our thoughts and our prayers towards that heavenly city. Close your eyes and see with Spirits eyes your destination. Go neither to the left nor the right but continue on that straight narrow path that leads us home. It awaits us saints.Glory to God.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 16, 2016
This morning I was having a very unpleasant procedure. I was getting shots in my spine, in the neck and lower back. Before the procedure the doctor asked if he could pray with me if I did not mind, he said he prays for all of his patients and went on to acknowledge the Lord as the great healer. When I was laying face down there was music in the background on the radio. It was some noisy heavy rock stuff. The doc made the comment that it was not very relaxing music. So someone turned it of and then, all of a sudden a women, one of his nurses began to sing a hymn. I am lying there, knowing many people were praying for me, and here was this woman singing a hymn. The doctor said to her ” you have worked for me for 11 years and have never sung for me before.” When the procedure was over I got up and asked who had sung. The nurse came over and identified herself. I hugged her and told her that many people had been praying for me and that she had blessed me by singing. In the other room, another nurse was watching over me and we began to talk. She had had a troubled life and she shared with me some of the details. I shared with her a little of my own troubled background and shared with her how I had found healing and wholeness with the Lord. So, a day that was unpleasant physically was a a day that the Lord could use, first to reassure me and then to reach out to the nurse. Thank you Jesus.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 8 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 11, 2016
One of the candidates used the word “irredeemable,” this week to describe countless millions of Americans. The definition of the word irredeemable is “being beyond remedy, hopeless.” I want to tell you that this statement pronounced on millions of human being comes from the darkest side of our human nature. I want to warn folks to remember the lessons of history. Once a class or a group of people are branded as irredeemable, beyond hope or remedy, then bad things typically happen to that group as a consequence. Black people in this country were once considered less than human, two thirds human. We know well of the terrible carnage released in regard to the Hutu and the Tutsi in Rwanda which began with one group reducing the other group to less than human and calling them ” rats.” Obviously we know what happened to the Jewish people in Germany when they were classified as people of no worth or consequence. The very heart of Christianity is redemption. The enemy of redemption, the one entity who would pronounce people irredeemable, is the devil himself. There is great danger that faces humanity in the days in which we now live. My hope lies in the great Redeemer of my soul who never considered me irredeemable but loved me so much that while I was yet in my sin He died for me.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 10, 2016
Hi Saints, been writing this devotional for many years, kinda stalled out at the end of April, it may never be finished but here is what I have. I am starting at January 1 🙂 ….bro Frank
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Perhaps you have a family member or friend or loved one that seems to be in a hopeless situation, you may even have given up all hope for that person. Yet Our Lord is Hope itself. Hope is the wellspring that all of our joy flows from. We have two choices in this life, even as a Christian, we can live in hope or we can despair. Hope gives birth to joy and to life and to strength. It is because I am in Christ that my hope springs eternal. It is awesome to know that our Heavenly Father is willing to go to enormous lengths to fulfill His plans.
You can only see a snap-shot of your life but the Lord sees it all, from beginning to end. Keep on seeking the Lord with all of your heart. He will bring you out of this place that you find yourself in. Lift up your eyes today and see where your help comes from. Your help comes from the Lord. He sees the afflictions of your heart and He knows your pain. Be encouraged today saint, the Lord your God is with you and He wants you to know that. (January 1,My Highest for His Glory)
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 7, 2016
How many times have you invited someone to church? Its kinda what Christians do. You meet someone who is not a Christian and maybe you say ” you should come to my church on Sunday,” or ” you have to hear my pastor,” but perhaps you don’t say anything. Given most reliable stats, you don’t say anything.
I suppose asking someone to come to church is better than not saying anything at all, maybe. If the whole thing is a cop-out then perhaps we need to search our own hearts? Sharing your faith is something that should come naturally. Can I ask you, when was the last time you meaningfully shared your faith with anyone? Now, I don’t ask this question to put a snare on anyone. If the stats are correct, then 92% of us never share our faith. I want to suggest that this is a tragedy.
In the day and age that we live in it has become increasingly difficult for people to share their faiths. I want to suggest that this is not simply because of the shallowness of what currently passes for Christianity, although that certainly plays a part. Neither is it simply that the generation we now live in has been preceded by more than one generation of cheap grace conversions but of course that also plays into it. No, we are now living in a society where one of the high crimes is to offend someone. This is a generation that is hyper sensitive to being offended. They would rather surround themselves by like-minded shallow people and create an echo-chamber where no difficult different idea has to be dealt with.
Society has new rules and new ways of dealing with anyone who steps outside of social norms. Let’s say you had some legitimate concerns about illegal immigration. To voice them is to be punished with the new whip. It used to be the cat of nine tails now it is the label. Voice a concern about a politically incorrect subject and you are branded a racist or a bigot. Voice a concern about gay marriage and you are branded a hater. So, in any number of subjects you can be shut down simply by being branded, pigeon-holed and at the very least, ignored. Now why would the enemy of our souls seek to create a society that is hyper sensitive to being offended?
Gal 5:11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.
You see, the cross, the central tenet of our faith, is an offense to those who are perishing. When shared and preached by the power of the Holy Spirit the fundamental aspect of who we are in Jesus and what is required of men by God becomes utterly unacceptable to men. Now we live in a day and age where offending someone is rising to the level of criminality. We are only a few steps away from the central truth of Christianity being criminalized. That central truth that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but through Him.
If you cannot share your faith now, in any meaningful way, if the best that you can do is say to someone that they should come to your church next Sunday, then can you see the trouble that you are in? If you cannot do it now, when the only ramification is an offense to someone, how will you be able to share your faith when it will be against the law? By overly relying on the one man system in our churches, where only a few get to exercise their gifts, we have effectively starved the Body of Christ of edification. We are a mal-nourished group of people barely able to share even the most basic aspects of our faith, but rather all we can do is feebly point towards someone else and hope they tell them the truth.
When we encounter someone and the Holy Spirit creates an opening for us to share the Gospel, it should be our our life-blood, our passion, to take that opportunity and share whatever the Lord lays on our heart to share. Not passively hand them off to someone else with a feeble invite that they may not even take you up on. The world has a phrase” Carpe diem,” seize the day. We, as Spirit filled Christians, must seize our moments. I believe we shall give an account to the Lord for the moments He created. Now every tear will be wiped away from our eyes no doubt, but how much better to hear these words ” well done good and faithful servant.?
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 