As a young boy watching western movies I was always impressed by the sheriff who was willing to lay down his life for the despicable bad guy he had in his jail. The screaming lynch mob were outside demanding he be handed over to be hung without trial. The sheriff would say something like”your gonna have to shoot me first.” I remember wondering what I would do in such a situation. Would I be the sheriff or would I be part of the mob? Justice or anarchy? I think it is the path of least resistance to be part of the mob. Then the very evil that was personified by the despicable bad guy triumphs and justice lays dying on the streets.
Archive for May, 2020
Who wears the white hat?
Posted by appolus on May 30, 2020
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
Running with the mob
Posted by appolus on May 30, 2020
Anytime you’re running with the crowd you’re running away from God. It does not matter what side of the issue you are on, if you are running with the crowd, you are running with the world. You could be running towards a riot. or running with the virtue signalling crowd, the crowd are cowards and cowards look for cover among their own. There is but one antidote to this, speak the truth in love regardless of the fear or favor of man.
The world is descending into chaos and there are no statesmen. This is part and parcel of the judgement of God. We are in the throes of Matthew 24:7. “For nation shall rise against nation.” The Greek word for nation is ethnos, it is where we get our word “ethnic,’ from. People groups are rising against people groups. If you get caught up in that, if you cannot see that and get involved with that then you are running with the world. There is a scheme going on here. It’s design is to tear society apart.
So saints, now is not the time to see the battle lines that are forming and to choose a side. This is not the work of God, this is the work of man and man is bent on destruction. There is the world and all its many divisions and there is the Body of Christ. We are not called to be a sub-culture but a counter culture. The hated Romans who ruled with complete arrogance over the Jews were hated by the Jews. Jesus told them when they were compelled to walk one mile, walk two. When they demanded taxes, give it to them.
Paul told them to respect the authorities. Now think about the rulers of that day. Caligula and Nero, just two examples. The latter would dip Christians in tar and hang them upside down and set them alight to light up his parties in the evening. The evil the saints suffered not only at the hands of the Roman authorities but also at the hands of the Jewish authorities is hard to describe. What did Jesus command? Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.
Will you be sons and daughters of your Father in heaven? It is a heavy burden and a rugged cross we bear who actually follow Jesus. Hear these words in mind from a statesman who is no longer with us.
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate…Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
A grand obsession and a revolution
Posted by appolus on May 29, 2020
Are you weary of externalism, and do you long after God? I long after God. This is not old age talking, and this is not the results of anything I have been reading, except the Bible. This has been growing in me through the years. The only gratifying thing I have apart from my communion with God is the knowledge that I am not alone in my journey. God has His people everywhere who are in revolt against pretense, textualism, externalism and tradition. They want to seek God for Himself, as He is in the Scriptures, as revealed by the Holy Spirit. God has His people, but there are not many of them. Are you one? ( Tozer)
The question is, are you weary of trying to change from the outside in? It is simply not possible to change from the outside in. All spiritual change comes from the inside out. It has to begin in the deepest parts of who we are. To be changed from the inside out requires an encounter with the Living God. Only this can change you. You cannot turn over a new leaf, try harder, read the Bible more, follow the traditions of your church, you have to encounter Him. This encounter takes place in the realms of the heart and soul, not in the head. It is the most dangerous thing in the world to encounter God. Why is it dangerous? Because your life will never be the same.
Your desire will be for Him and no matter what other interests you have, they will give place to Him. He consumes the soul. He fills us in ways that nothing else that exists can. Are you ready for that kind of mad passion? A passion with such intensity that it relegates all other things to second place and beyond. This kind of passion is dangerous to normal natural living. When that which is supernatural invades that which is natural then it overflows the soul. The soul is huge and not able to filled with anything that exists. Yet God is vast beyond our ability to understand. It was once said that if everything that exists, this universe and all universes beyond with all of its trillions of planets could be placed in a five gallon bucket, and we compared a five gallon bucket to the Indian ocean the Indian ocean would be God.
This of course is a limited analogy because God is more vast than that. Yet here is a thing…….That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Eph 3:17-19)
You see that brothers and sisters, we might be filled with all the fullness of God!!! The fullness of God. Somehow in our spirits we might comprehend the breadth and the length and the depth and the height of the fullness of God who is vast beyond our ability to comprehend in our heads. But the Spirit of God communicates the fullness of God to the spirit of man and that man is captivated and forever ruined for the things of this life and his drive is to continually seek out this God and know Him in His manifest presence. You will be like the deer who pants for the waterbooks but you can never be like this deer unless you encounter the reality of God in the depths of your spirit. This is where the fire is set, this is the fire that spreads to the bones and possesses all of who we are.
It is from this place that we are changed. This fire that He ignites through His Holy Spirit, this baptism of fire makes us lovers of God. It makes us avid readers of His personal diary, His word. It makes us lovers of men and women for we love what He loves for He has melded our hearts with His in the fire that He ignited at the center of who we are and that fire radiates out in every direction and changes everything and it changes those around us. It may drive people from us or it may draw people to us but it is not passive for it is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself burning in the center of who we are. He has lit up His saints so that they would be a light that shines in the darkness. And the greater the darkness the greater the light shines.
As Tozer says, God has His people and it is true that there are not many of them. The reason that many are called but few are chosen is that there is a price that comes with such an encounter. Is there something in you that is willing to forsake all? Very few saints ever have to pay that kind of price but in the depths of who they are God knows they are willing. Just like Abraham on his way up the hill with his son and the means of sacrifice. Willing to sacrifice all of his ambitions, all of his dreams, all of his future just for the sound of the voice of God speaking directly into his life. Encountering God and continually seeking after Him is grand adventure and motivator of the saints. Stand fast saints, this hard journey that you are on, this narrow path leads eventually to the glories of heaven and along the way God gives us glimpses of that glory and fills us to beyond capacity. He fills us to overflowing and sustains us on our journey.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Rejoice in the Lord always
Posted by appolus on May 27, 2020
Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
It can be very difficult in times of peace and prosperity to stay as close to God as we should like. I wonder if it might be near impossible? I think about the Scripture ” My grace is sufficient for you.” There is, it seems, a unique grace to be had in times of trouble. The memory of that grace, the knowledge and the experience of knowing that no matter how difficult our situation was, the Lord never left us nor did He forsake us, is an attribute of the mature saint who has learned to be content whether in the stormiest of seas or tranquil windless days.
The closeness and the dependency that we discover in the midst of troubles and sufferings is a resource that we carry with us as we move along the narrow path. When we come across others in similar situations we are then able to comfort them with the very same comfort we ourselves were comforted with. Living waters flowing through us, through tried and tested vessels, brings life to those who receive it. Broken vessels cannot withhold living waters, it simply, by nature of its brokenness, allows waters to flow freely from the depths of who we are and who we have been shaped to be by the one who dwells in the very depths of us. From whom all living waters flow.
Then what is our part as we walk down this narrow pilgrims path? A desire to be used. A willingness to be broken. A perseverance that stands firm in the midst of the flames. A knowledge that God is with us as we pass through the waters. A deep desire to please our Lord and be obedient to Him. Perseverance and overcoming. Having this at the center of our heart ” Even if He slays me, yet will I trust Him.” Even if He does not deliver us from a certain situation, we will never bow down to the gods of this world. These, I have discovered, are all attributes of the saint who walks the narrow path.
So, whether we are full or whether we are hungry we shall praise Him. Whether we are rich or we are poor we shall adore Him. Whether we are naked or we are clothed we shall sing of His praises. Whether in sickness or in health we shall lift our eyes unto the hills and see where our help, our grace comes from. Whether life works out the way we had envisioned or takes a totally unexpected turn we shall trust Him. Whether we feel His presence or not we shall love Him. Whether our prayers are answered in a fashion that we expected or not we shall testify of Him. For in Him is our all in all. In Jesus is our very life and sanity. He exists outside of our imaginations yet fills every part of who we are. Eyes have not seen nor ear has heard nor has it entered into our hearts the plans of God for us yet we know Him and more importantly He knows us and He beckons us to move ever closer to Him.
Be encouraged today saint. The Lord is with you no matter what your circumstances are. In the fire, in the flood, on the mountaintop or on a windless still ocean where it appears that we are dead in the water and making no progress. Be assured that today you are one day closer to coming into the fullness, one day closer to coming into a place that the Lord has prepared for you that you have not even imagined. One day closer saint. Every day we are one day closer, one day further down the narrow path that leads to the fullness of life and the completion of the work the Lord has done in you. Celebrate your journey today and celebrate the faithfulness of God in your life. It shall release power into your spirit.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
Living and walking in the presence of God
Posted by appolus on May 25, 2020
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2Pe 1:5-8)
Life and Godliness. Do you have life? Do you have an abundant life in Christ? Do you have Godliness? What is Godliness, have you ever considered what that means? The Greek word for godliness was used by ancient pagans to describe those who kept in close contact with their gods. When Peter uses this word here he is talking about the need for Christians to be constantly aware of God’s manifest presence.
Now Godliness is the abiding knowledge of God’s presence in your life, the constant awareness of God in you and before you and behind you. It is different from experiencing God’s presence for a moment in time, or moments, it is to literally walk with the full awareness of God daily. If you are not walking virtuously and coming into the presence of God that produces self-control and cheerful endurance, then you cannot expect to walk in Godliness.
It is Godliness that leads to true brotherly kindness, for how can we claim to love God if we cannot love our brothers and sisters in Christ? And of course at the end of it all is love, which over-arches everything that we do, without this we have nothing. Everything ends, just as everything began, with love.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
The only heavenly melody
Posted by appolus on May 23, 2020
When God ordained the casting of lots for the ministry of song in the house of the Lord, He made no distinction between the “small and the great” or between the “teacher and the scholar.” So does God harmonize the expression of the living Christ in the house of God. He , that master musician, knows how to strike the chords of many hearts as they assemble together to behold the beauty of the Lord. And with the striking of the chords in hearts that are in tune with Him, whether they be great or small, whether they be teacher or scholar. One sound is heard in the congregation of the Lord, as it was in the early days of the ministry of song of Solomon’s temple. (see 2 Chron 5:13) The harmonious strains of the Lord will find a response in the heart of God’s people no matter what instrument may be used;and many voices will blend together as they are orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to magnify and to glorify the Lord Jesus in our midst.
Our modern musicians in the church are masters at this, as far as their musical talent is concerned. But we are not talking about that. For the musical instruments in the Temple were themselves but types of the people of God, who are fined tunes by the Holy Spirit and who become very sensitive to the fingers of God as He plays upon the strings of their heart and causes them to show forth in the congregation of the Lord some aspect of the glory of Christ for which the Spirit has tuned them true to His own heart, and set them in the Body as “members in particular.” Would to God that His people would have the same diligence to be tuned into God and His truth, as they are to have their musical instruments tuned to the sensitive ears of the musician. Then we would have a vital expression of the Body of Christ in the earth, showing forth the praises of the Lord.
Without that expression of Christ in our midst, our musical renditions become mere entertainment, and serve only to soothe the hearts of God’s people, rather than to pierce them with the sword of the Spirit. Without this expression of Christ in our midst , the beautiful music must sound like clanging symbols or like sounding brass in the ears of the Lord. And the heart that is soothed by the beautiful music of the minstrel will soon be lulled to sleep, rather than awakened to hear the clear, pure Word of the Lord. I fear it is happening in our churches, as happened in the days of the prophet. (George Warnock)
Can you see what George is saying? And bear in mind this was written in 1989. The congregation, the gathered, the called out ones are, in themselves a set of instruments. Each a vital part of the assembly and without such there is no genuine praise and worship. All there would be would be is professional music and a professional speaker. The true instruments would remain silent. And the one who fine tunes each and every one of these instruments would be devastated to see that they were all shelved. The people would hear beautiful music that would lull them to sleep and forget that they had been shelved and God would simply hear a noise, clanging symbols and sounding brass. Only as the full orchestra plays, conducted by the Holy Spirit Himself, can the hearts be pierced rather than be dulled and lulled into a state of slow death. For the melody to rise to heaven itself all instruments must be engaged. This is the Body, all moving together, conducted by majesty and producing a magnificent holy sound that brings down the weight of heaven’s glory….. bro Frank
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
The demise of a nation and the world.
Posted by appolus on May 22, 2020
America is a country that struggles with the notion of being Christian. But in truth, there are no, nor ever have been, Christians nations. In the end all nations are secular. Yet nations can be influenced by the majority culture. This influence can be for good or for ill. If the culture is predominantly Christian in nature even if not in actuality, it will still be a force for good in the world.
It will still be a secular entity but will be somewhat restrained by its Christian influence. As that influence wains, then so does the actions that are taken simply because it is ” the right thing to do.” In the last administration we saw a radical departure from the Christian influence. So many of the tenets of our faith were challenged and undermined. We saw the establishment of gay marriage and the rise of transgenderism. We also saw the undermining of institutions and an attempt at something akin to a coup. We were always very proud of our peaceful transfer of power after an election. We looked down our noses at “banana republics,” and how they would seek to undermine anyone who beat them at the ballot box. In the last election we saw the audacity of power shine through. An unwillingness to relinquish power. A desire to destroy and undermine democracy in an act of self-righteousness.
The world has taken for granted the goodness of a superpower that is influenced by a majority Christian culture. As the Christian influence wains in the highest corridors of power in America then the world becomes a darker place. For in the end the true Christian will do what is right and not what is expedient. When that aspect of influence is lost to America then the world will slide more rapidly into darkness. In the last unholy administration that was an enemy to all things Christian, we saw how that darkness effected the world.
I am not arguing for more Christian leadership in politics. My observations are of a Christian culture in decline and what effects that has on a secular world. As the world seems intent on ridding itself of any vestige of Christian influence, it cannot at the very same time mourn the coming darkness of mankind. Only in Christ is there light, all other roads lead to darkness. Only in Christ is there hope, all other roads lead to disappointment. I am writing this piece this morning because we have an upcoming election.
I want to remind the saint to trust only in Jesus. Do what you must at the ballot box and follow your conscience. I have no doubt if a certain party wins then the world will hurtle all the more rapidly into the abyss. More babies will die, Christians will come under severe attack and the corruption of the children will accelerate. I have no doubt about any of that. I also have no doubt that this is, no matter when it happens, the fate of every true saint in the world. You will be hated by all nations for His sake. They will despise you. And the reason for this is that we are not part of this world. No matter how “good,” or how evil it is, we are not part of this world. We are pilgrims traveling along a narrow road fraught with dangers, distractions and dilemma.
The answer, as always. Keep your eyes upon Jesus. Look full into His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. Beautiful old chorus that captures, with simplicity, the profound nature and power of keeping our gaze firmly fixed on Jesus and all the more as the storm rages. I sense in my spirit that the narrow road ahead for us is getting more narrow. And as traumatic as that will be, the by-product of that is that we, the saints, will become closer. Like the animals that came from all over the world, heading towards the ark, as they get closer to the ark they will begin to encounter each other in ever increasing numbers. Christ is our ark and the rain is coming. Let His Holy Spirit lead you to places you have never been as that day approaches. Stand fast in the faith and know that the Bridegroom cometh.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
The good Samaratin
Posted by appolus on May 22, 2020
Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
A minister friend of my parents back in Scotland was Pastor of a church in a small Scottish town. One of the “characters,’ of this town was “Dundee Annie.” No one really knew how she got her name, but everyone knew she must be avoided at all costs. She was always drunk and cursed and abused anyone that happened to come into her path.
The townspeople knew to avoid her and keep their heads down as they passed her on the other side of the street. The Pastor friend had learned to cross to the other side of the street well in advance of passing her and to keep his head down, thus avoiding a verbal onslaught.
The Pastor received news that he was to have a young minister in training from Australia come and stay with him for about a year. He was glad to have the company and on his arrival he made him very welcome. The day after his arrival the young minister said he would like to walk into town and perhaps meet some of the townspeople. The Pastor said he would accompany him but the young minister asked if he would mind if he went alone. Several hours passed and there was no sign of the young minister. It was only a couple of miles into town and he should have been back long ago.
So the Pastor, slightly irked for it was raining hard, got his raincoat on and headed into town to find the young minister. He arrived in town, and walking down the main road, saw in the distance two figures sitting on the sidewalk, or the gutter as it is called in Scotland. As he got closer he realized that it was his young minister with his arm around the shoulder of Dundee Annie. When he got there she was weeping. She was weeping, it turns out, because the young man had shared with her that Jesus loved her very much and that He had come to earth to save her. She looked up at the Pastor and then back to the minister and said “nobody has ever told me that before.”
In a famous parable, the Lord tells us of the good Samaritan. We all know that the religious men hurry on by and it is the “Samaritan,” that aids and comforts the unfortunate man that lay bleeding and beaten and robbed beside the highway.
Who is your “Dundee Annie,”? Who do you go out of your way to avoid because they are nasty or unapproachable? It is a spiritual fact that we are surrounded by those who are bleeding, beaten, dying, victims of this world. Seriously wounded men and woman are all around us, in the world and in the church. What spirit do you have?
Is yours the spirit of the religious men? Do you hurry on by, not wanting to get involved? We are here on this earth, to aid and comfort those who need it. In the darkness of a wounded world, we are the light which brings comfort and healing to those who are wounded.
Perhaps you walk on by because you are wounded yourself. To touch the pain of others is to touch your own pain. If you seek to save your life, Jesus says, you will lose it. If you lose your life you will gain eternal life. The word life here in the Greek is not “bios,” meaning our actual life, but rather it is ,”psyche,” which is referring to the soul or our very heart.
If we are to be people of God, we must let go, let die, the image that we have created for the world, and discover ourselves at the very heart of our being. Our own wounds will be exposed in the process, but as we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to Him, then He will change us from the inside out. Next time your tempted to walk on by the guy nobody likes in the office, die to yourself and be bold in your love and just see what unfolds. This will require His wisdom and love. It will carry with it risk, but everything worth fighting for carries danger, go on, take a chance today and in doing so, your own healing will begin to take place.
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, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Wearing another mask.
Posted by appolus on May 21, 2020
I think one of the great upcoming ironies will be when folks return to “church” they will be wearing masks. Think about that for a minute. How often was the complaint made that folks in ” church” wore masks? They smiled and told you everything was OK when it was not. They asked you how you were but would run a mile if your answer was anything other than ” I’m fine.”
For the most part that was “fellowship.” Never really getting to know the people because they wore their ” Sunday go to church,” masks. Fellowship so shallow that it would barely wet your ankles. Now people will actually be wearing masks. Another layer of anonymity.
God is not a hundred miles wide and an inch deep. Neither is the fellowship that He forges among His children. His depths are unlimited. So is the potential for fellowship among a people that He calls out. A transparent people who are willing to be “seen.”
The heights and the depths and the length of His love has no measure. It is pure and undefiled. He calls us into this fellowship with Him and with each other. A place of trust, a place of transparency, a place without masks. Here I am. This is who I am in Christ. Can you see my heart? Can I see yours?
We stand, unlike the world, unmasked before men. What you see in the genuine Body of Christ is what you get. While the whole world is donning “masks” to protect itself from unseen dangers lurking in the darkness. The Body of Christ is being unmasked to the world in His marvelous light. He is building His Church for all the world to see. And they shall be totally immersed in a river so deep that you must give yourself to its current.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 4 Comments »
Fiery trials
Posted by appolus on May 20, 2020
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trial which is to try you, as though a strange thing happened to you, but rejoice according as you are partakers of Christ’s suffering, so that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of God and of glory rests on you. Truly according to them, He is blasphemed, but according to you He is glorified.
God is raising up, making ready a people on whom the “Spirit of God and of glory rests,” on. This is a people who have learned to rejoice that they too were counted worthy to be “partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” Oh how this flies in the face of today’s heresies. And the purpose of it all? That God might be glorified on the earth. Do you want the Spirit of glory to rest upon you? Do you want to ready yourselves brothers and sisters? Then reject all self-serving religion. Reject every voice that would tell you that there is no need to ready yourself, no need to humble yourself, no need to repent and ask for forgiveness.
Reject every voice that would encourage you to live your best life now, who would encourage you that God wants to enrich you with the treasures of this world, that you do not have to suffer, reject them all for in doing so you will counter the enemy who is disarming the people. You will stand strong in the armor of the Lord so that you may stand in that evil day. God is arraying His people for battle, He is calling and He is equipping. The time is drawing close brothers and sisters, be vigilant and do not be deceived.
Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me. And Jehovah, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may be offerers of a food offering in righteousness to Jehovah.
He is building a temple, not by human hands, we, His called out children are that temple, who can endure the day of His coming? Those whom He has readied.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, revival, the crucified life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
He touched
Posted by appolus on May 19, 2020
Mat 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him,
I have realized just how much I miss this thing called touch. To take someone’s hand. To put an arm around someone’s shoulder. To hug a friend, a grandson, a baby. Touch. You know, I would not survive in a world without touch. My life was birthed by a touch, Jesus touched me. He touched my heart. He touched my soul. He touched every part of who I was and He transformed me. Just one touch from the Masters hand. The end result of the above Scripture was that the man, the man who had leprosy, was healed. There is healing in the touch of God. There is healing in the laying on of hands. There is something about touch. To reach out and touch someone right where they are. To reach them through the darkness of loneliness. To connect with them through the fog of alienation. To break through the invisible barrier of space and distance and connect with another soul. If distance is the price for saving my life going forward then I am not going to make it. I dont want to make it under those conditions. I want to touch just as I have been touched. And if there is a willing and needful recipient, whether he has leprosy or some virus then I want to touch that one. I want to, in a very limited way, convey the touch of God that changed me. In the end, I will not be told, not to touch or to keep my distance social or otherwise. I will follow the God who touched me and the God who heals. Saints, let us follow His lead and reach out and touch someone.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 5 Comments »
Orator or prophet?
Posted by appolus on May 18, 2020
The Christian minister, as someone has pointed out, is a descendant not of the Greek orator, but of the Hebrew prophet. The differences between the orator and the prophet are many and radical, the chief being that the orator speaks for himself while the prophet speaks for God. The orator originates his message and is responsible to himself for its content. The prophet originates nothing but delivers the message he has received from God who alone is responsible for it, the prophet being responsible to God for its delivery only. The prophet must hear the message clearly and deliver it faithfully, and that is indeed a grave responsibility, but it is to God alone, not to men. (A.W.Tozer)
Can you see what Tozer is saying here? God does not speak through the orator. The orator has skills and he employs them. We in Christendom are awash with orators in the pulpit. So many would not miss a beat if they were not ministers, they would be motivational speakers. Their sermons, as good as they can be, would not be out of place at any time through the last 2000 years. Take a good preacher today, and let him go back in time a thousand years, and he would still be a good preacher and almost all of his sermons would be appropriate for the most part. Yet the prophet does not deliver a sermon, he delivers a message. I know that these two words have been used interchangeably, message-sermon. But they are not the same. Can a sermon speak to someone and therefore be a message? Yes. But a prophet does not deliver sermons he delivers messages which are appropriate to the time in which we live and the state in which we find ourselves. Now can these messages have application to a future generation? Of course. Broad and general applications, yet God speaks to each generation individually and He does so through prophets.
Is God speaking to us today? He is indeed. Is He giving us warnings from prophets from all over the world? He is indeed. Will we listen to the prophet? If history is anything to go by, we would have to say that the ears of the people will be closed to God and they will hate his messengers, it has always been so. Yet, as always, God has a remnant and they hear their Lord’s voice. If He tells them to flee to the hills, they will flee. If He instructs them to stand up and be heard they will stand up. If He says draw a line and hold it, they will hold the line. There is a fire in their bones and a sword in their hands. Through their veins runs molten truth and it melts everything else as it courses through their body and is the very beat of their heart.
I want to encourage you today oh remnant saint. You may live in a day and age of darkness but you walk in the light. You may be surrounded by lies and error but you are guided by the truth. You may be hated by the world and all those around you but you are loved by God. You may believe that all have forsaken God but God has a remnant who have not nor will bow the knee to the gods of this world. You may think you are all alone but you are not. God has His children everywhere, in every tribe and every tongue and every nation. And He speaks to them and they speak as they hear Him. They do not speak as an orator but a prophet and the word originates with God. Stand fast saint, the Bridegroom cometh.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Rooted and grounded
Posted by appolus on May 18, 2020
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:17-19)
There is 250,000 miles to the moon and 93 million miles to the sun. There is just under 6 trillion miles in a light year. Apparently the nearest star in our solar system is Proxima Centuri at just over 4 light years away, which would make it 24 trillion miles away. The furthest known galaxy from here is 14 billion light years away, that’s 14 billion times 6 trillion. That number boggles the mind. Despite the immensity of that scale, none of that contains God, He contains all of that and holds it in the psalm of His hand . And the amazing thing is that this immense God has deemed to make Himself known to us. When the Scripture says that eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor has it entered into the hearts of man what God has prepared for those who know Him, then this is totally mind blowing.
Brothers and sisters, we can know that which surpasses knowledge and be filled with the fullness of a God who is immense beyond our capability to even imagine. This is no mere theology, no wistful dreamings, this is the reality of the saints. Men have stood on the top of Everest and saw the curvature of the earth and gasped. Men have stood on the moon, looked back at the beauty of the earth and gasped. But the man who has stood upon the horizon of eternity and glimpsed the majesty and immensity of God, his gasp is the sound of him being ruined for this life.
There has been a fragrant army which has walked the earth in the last 2000 years, and everyone of them has stood upon the horizon of eternity and gazed with wide open spiritual eyes at the glory and the majesty of a God that has filled them. They long, with the Apostle Paul, to be with their Lord. It burns at the center of who they are, it consumes them and drives them on down the narrow path of life. Even when they walk through the darkest valleys, even when they are beset with trials and tribulations, even with the weight of their cross bearing down on them, they remember that horizon, that glory, that majesty that immensity, that place where words have no meaning. They lift their eyes to the glory of the Living God and cry out that they are coming home soon, that every trial is another step closer to home.
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, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Ishmael and Isaac cannot dwell together
Posted by appolus on May 17, 2020
Gen 21:10 Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
There must be a separation from Hagar and Ishmael. Ishmael and Isaac cannot dwell together. One is the promise and the other is the result of fleshly pursuits and a mixing of bondage and freedom. God will have His people, He will have His Bride and she will be a Bride that is faithful and true. He is coming for a Bride that believes in Him and seeks after Him with her whole heart. He is not coming for a Bride that rises up and plays when the Master is gone and makes an idol out of the treasures of this world. He is coming for a Bride who believes, who obeys, who quietens herself so that she can hear the Bride-grooms voice.
There is a hush over God’s legitimate children right now. They are listening for the still small voice. They are diligently seeking His face despite their circumstances. Yes they see the giants, but the same Spirit that dwelt in Joshua and Caleb, that dwelt in David, that dwelt in the Hebrew Children, that dwelt in the heroes of the faith of Hebrews 11, that dwelt in the martyrs down through the ages, dwells in them.
In the rest of Christendom there is a great noise. Somehow they believe that there is anointing in volume, there is no anointing in volume. There is desperation in volume, there is distraction in volume. There is a stirring of the soul in volume. Yet none of that moves God. God is wearied at the noise that He hears. There is a rushing to the “altar” , as if by their speed of motion they can stir up the anointing of God or prove their desire to come to God. Yet they run to an idol’s altar where they seek to gain. Yes they run to their god, but his name is Baal. God is not presumptuously rushed towards.
God is found by those who search Him with their whole hearts and who bring sacrifice to Him, the sacrifice of humility and brokenness, a sacrifice of all that they desire that is not God. All of Abraham’s life was tied up in Isaac yet he takes him up the hill and prepares to sacrifice him so that he may be obedient to the word of God. Is that your heart today? Are you willing to lay it all down in order to come to Him? This is the heart of God’s remnant children in the desert.
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 | Leave a Comment »
In the lofty heights of Gods embrace.
Posted by appolus on May 13, 2020
Isa 57:15 For so says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity; whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, even with the contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Shall we cast our eyes upwards? Shall we lift our eyes and holy hands to the Lord our God who is high and lifted up? Who dwells in a high and holy place? Brothers and sisters, Christendom has lost its reverence and awe of its most Holy God. We have striven so hard to make known a personal God who has called us friend that we have lost the awe-full majesty and glory that is He. In the above Scripture we see the correct balance. Yes He is high and lifted up, yes He is majestic and glorious and awesome.
I use that word in its proper sense, not the modern word which could apply to a hamburger, I mean ” full of awe,” yet here He dwells with the contrite and the humble heart. And those who dwell there, those who enter into this magnificent court, this throne-room, they are revived. Is there any other way to be revived? And by revived I mean able to run and not grow weary, able to walk and not faint, able to rise up with wings as an eagle in the updrafts of His presence which carries us higher and higher into the lofty place of eternity.
Who else could “inhabit eternity?” Think about that phrase. Just stop for a moment and think and ponder what it means. It is a place that is outside of time and space. This is where God “dwells.” We dwell in house that can accommodate us, a place where we can live and lay down to rest. Sometimes we dwell in small houses where we are cramped, other times we dwell in larger houses where we have our own space, but God, He dwells in eternity. Where else could God dwell but in a place that has no beginning neither has it end, it simply is perpetuity.
And it is into this place He bids us join Him. Not after we die, now. Jesus says that those who drink of the waters of life shall never die, and so the life that we now live, albeit in this body, shall never end. What life is this? It is the abundant life of the kingdom of God that already dwells in us. You see the above scripture talks about the humble and the contrite spirit. And we know that the spirit within us is eternal and its proper place is dwelling with God in eternity, His dwelling place, a place where He inhabits, just as He inhabits the praises of His people.
Brothers and sisters, there are two competing realities that we struggle with in the flesh. One is the true reality which is the kingdom of God, the eternal, that dwells in us. And the other is the reality of this world and it’s very physical and emotional demands upon us, bolstered by our senses. It takes a very deliberate act to bind the reality of this world, to set it aside, and to allow the reality of the eternal world, the place that God dwells, to come forth. It takes a deliberate focus where we must take our eyes of the things of this world and cast our eyes upon the kingdom of God.
What we see with our eyes floods our souls. What do you see? What is your soul flooded with? The cares of this world? Circumstances? Or, in your situation do you see God, high and lifted up? This is spirit and flesh. This is our path of sanctification, taking up our cross, walking the narrow path. To humble ourselves in the sight of God, to have a contrite heart which the Lord loves, so that we may dwell and walk in a high and holy place. Come brothers and sisters, He bids you come.
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, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
America the beautiful
Posted by appolus on May 11, 2020
The Lord gave me this word, a hard word to be sure. My only charge is to deliver it. –
In Lamentations chapter four we see a very different Jerusalem. That once tremendous city, shining like gold above all other cities, is now tarnished and under siege. It is slowly starving and its once proud stones that made up the temple now lay scattered in the streets like common rubble. Zion was about to fall. Impregnable Zion, on the verge of utter ruin. They were surrounded by the world outside in a siege that would only end in its utter ruin. And in the greatest horror of all, the women would cook and eat their own children. There is no lower state in all the world. This was worse than Sodom for Sodom fell in one day, there would be no such luxury for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The symbols of their God lay ruined and they were about to be devoured by the world. Matthew Henry asks this question of the women in Jerusalem who cooked and ate their own children. This act, was it “the power of necessity, or the power of iniquity.” Such a powerful question, ponder on it for a moment reader.
In a secular sense America was the shining light for the nations. It shone like gold in comparison to old Europe that had grown tired and dim. It took the world’s huddles masses. It gave hope to people from all around the world, like a city set on a hill, it drew them to herself. In two word wars she fought and in the second war she saved civilization itself and the name of God was never far from the lips of her citizens. Now look at America if you dare. Her institutions have been corrupted. Over ninety percent of all the porn in the world spew forth from her bowels. Her merchants and statesmen sold her out to the highest bidders and she became the whore of the world whereby many became rich by her. Yet her greatest iniquity lay with her mothers. Now the question Matthew Henry raised about the mothers of Jerusalem. Was their horrendous act born out of necessity or iniquity? Can I argue that a righteous woman would never cook and eat her own child. Only the hardest iniquitous hearts would ever contemplate such an act never-mind carry it out.
I asked a question recently, a rhetorical one. What is more horrendous, to slaughter an infant in the gas chambers or in their mothers womb? What human being would allow their wombs to be so violated and their child to be so mutilated? A woman, a generation, ripe for judgement. Ripe to be surrounded by the world and put under siege. Ripe to have the stones of their temples torn down and scattered in the streets like rubble only fit to be buried. Sixty five million babies slaughtered and dedicated to the world. A world that would consume them, darken them and ultimately destroy them. Zion was impregnable, yet it fell. America the proud, you will fall. Not like Sodom, not like Gomoragh but you will slowly starve to death. Most definately spiritually, but perhaps even physically. In the history of the world, no nation has sinned to this extent. God has sent His warnings. The towers fell and the cry was not one of repentance, but “we will rebuild.” The whole world has come to a standill and the cry is not one of repentance. From their ministers it is ” soon it will be business as usual for we have not missed a beat.”
The real tragedy we are facing right now in Christendom is a blindness to the need for repentance. The virus that causes this blindness is wilfull ignorance. They choose not to see. Not only no repentance, but a doubling down on wickedness, and most of the world cheers, or peeks out from behind the curtain and says nothing. Our silence is our guilt. The cheers from the world we should expect, the silence from Christendom is a deafening roar. We stay behind our curtains, our walls, as the world spirals downwards. Our highest ambition is to get back to “normal.” God help us. So saints, if you abide in such a place, can you stay there? It is time for the saints of God to step out of the boat, step into the storm, lift your eyes and fix them on Jesus, our soon coming King. Where will He find you when He comes? Behind the walls? Hanging onto the boat for dear life? Shall you not walk upon the water? It is there that you shall find Him, we must go to where He is and leave behind where He is not.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
I have learned
Posted by appolus on May 8, 2020
Phil 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
Paul is a great example to us when he tells us that he had “learned” to be content. There is no magic wand to arrive at this position. We must “learn” And we learn by walking through the fires and the floods. Giving ourselves over and surrendering in every situation so that we can find the freedom that is found in the darkness. What do I mean by that? Well the greatest freedom ever wrought was formed and delivered to us from Calvary.
It is on the tree that Jesus set us free from the laws of sin and death. Gethsemane, Calvary, the cross, the resurrection, this is the path. There has to be a willingness to take up our crosses and die. I do not believe it is every forced upon us. Well I remember the day in 1995, four years after I came to Jesus, that I cried out to my heavenly Father” whatever it takes Lord for me to be useful to you.” One of those prayers that you know that you know that was heard before the throne.
The next 20 years there was one trial after another. The kind of trials that make you fall to your knees. Over and over again. Yet, I began to discover deep truths in these trials. After so many of them it occurred to me how faithful God was to me in the midst of them. How He was always there. How disappointed I was by my lack of total trust in Him as I walked through them. How I was determined in my spirit to walk through the next one, which I knew was coming, with more faith and trust in the faithfulness of God. I discovered that this journey was a journey not about my own faith but about discovering just how faithful the Lord was to me. It was all about His faithfulness!! And the light bulb began to come on. I was “learning.” And my own faith was strengthened in the midst of it all.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 7 Comments »
Clergy/laity disaster
Posted by appolus on May 6, 2020
One the clergy/laity distinction is removed the concept of ministry changes. It ceases to be the proprietary right of the few and becomes the privilege of all. ( Arthur Wallis.)
This point made by Wallis is the beating heart of religion. The clergy/laity system is a perpetuation of the ancient religions and is a death blow to a royal priesthood. Imagine a system where is everyone is a priest in a spiritual priesthood set up by Jesus Himself. It is a shame that for the most part we have to imagine that. One thing is for sure, where this clergy/laity system exists, there is no functioning priesthood. One may say there is and fool oneself, but where the clergy/laity exists then the royal priesthood has been reduced to a mere mental assent to an abstract truth.
It is one or the other for it cannot be both. Men want to lead or be led, most want to be led. They want a mediator between them and God and there are plenty of men willing to play that role. The rewards of the role is status and power. There is hierarchy and talk of authority and submission. Yet the leadership model of the priesthood is a bottom up servant leadership where one washes the feet of the others.
Diotrephes rejected the Apostle John. Think about that. The Apostle that Jesus loved was rejected by a “leader,” and why? He loved the preeminence. He wanted to be the leader, he was jealous of any other voice. This is absolute evidence that Jesus was not preeminent in the church that Diotrephes “ran.” How often we ask the question “who runs your church.” If the answer is anything other than Jesus, if 95% of the time only one man speaks, you can be sure the spirit of Diotrephes roams the corridors of power in that place. Jesus has been dethroned and is now as unwanted as the Apostle John was. The question is, how welcome would the Apostle John be in your gathering?
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Two kinds of brokenness
Posted by appolus on May 5, 2020
There are two kinds of brokenness. One kind leads you to Jesus, and the other causes you to take up residence before the throne. Many find the first one but not many the second. The first is a desire to be saved and a grasping of the hand that reaches down. The second is an embrace of death, death to self. One encounter with Jesus does not the disciple make, there are nine healed lepers that prove this. Taking up the cross that He provides and walking out the gate never to return is the path that leads to the throne.
It takes many years to know just how narrow the road can become. The promises are made to those who overcome, to those who endure. Not alluring words in the natural, but when driven by eternal love, theses words and the situations they represent are but obstacles to be overcome. We watch the salmon in its incredible journey up the river, back to its place of birth. Nothing will stop it and it will die before it ever gave up. It is driven, as those who walk in the Spirit are driven.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
A dry river bed?
Posted by appolus on May 4, 2020
Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High
There is much noise in the land brothers and sisters. There is much professional worship that makes a great noise. In the world’s eyes it sounds great and is somewhat familiar to their ears because much of it is fashioned after the music of the world. It is designed to entertain. Yet can I suggest, that if the Lord does not inhabit it then it is merely noise and it actually drowns out the still small voice that would whisper to us “He is beautiful beyond description, too marvelous for words, to wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard, who could grasp His infinite wisdom, who could fathom the depths of His love. He is beautiful beyond description, majesty enthrones above.”
As God gathers His people together, a hush will fall upon their hearts. They will catch their breath as the King of glory comes in, comes in in all of His fullness. As He begins to flood the dry creek beds with a mighty rushing river then the saints will begin to rise up and minister in the overflow of His presence. There is a fresh wind beginning to blow in the hearts of Gods saints. There is a fountain rising in their hearts. And the source of this fountain is God Himself in all of His majestic glory. And out of this river flows an everlasting abundant love. It fills us with light and this light is the life of men. Look unto God and see what it truly means to live an abundant life in Christ.
Perhaps you can relate to the dry river bed? Perhaps it has been a long time since you have experienced the river of God that makes glad the hearts of men? Is the Lord calling you today in that still small voice? Will you call down the weight of His glory on your life today? Can you seek Him out in the silence? Remove all of the distractions of life, the noise and the clamor and the demands. In the end, without His presence, what does any of it mean? Outside of Jesus and His presence all we are doing is marking time until our final day. The Kingdom of God is found when we seek it first above all things. Seek it out today brothers and sisters. The horse must go before the cart, God must be first and when He is then everything that we do finds purpose. Make Him first today.
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, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
A Call To The Remnant 