The desire of my soul is for your name And with my soul I have desired you in the night With my whole heart I have longed for you For the one who restored my very sight Just one single touch and I fall down One word from your precious lips sustains me I am whole and complete when you are near Your perfect love in me casts out every fear. For when I stand in the shadow of my King My heart bursts into flames and begins to sing Of your glory and your majesty that makes me whole I remember the very moment that you took my soul. Oh take me now and forever Lord I pray Every day with you is a brand new day I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forevermore No eye has seen nor ear heard what thou has in store Cast me upon the ocean of thy great love Where I am consumed by the one from up above Adrift forever on thy eternal endless sea I who once was captive now sings, for I am free I shall sing of all thy glories until time comes to an end And then I'll sing again the eternal song that thou has penned The song of love that forever changed my heart That carries me to that place where we shall never part.
Archive for May, 2023
The song of love.
Posted by appolus on May 31, 2023
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
You are our open door.
Posted by appolus on May 30, 2023
You are our majesty, this and so much more You are our bright and morning star, to us an open door An open door to glory that leads us to your throne So as we walk this lonely road we are never quite alone You are our refuge from the storm, A shade from the searing heat And if the world had spiritual eyes They would see us at your feet For we have been forgiven much So we love you all the more You to us who are our King Forever an open door Let us step into Your glory For you are high and lifted up And in this place of glory No man can interrupt.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Daily devotional, Devotions, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
The light prevails.
Posted by appolus on May 29, 2023
No matter the darkness the light prevails Just as we saw in the thorns and the nails Victory in Jesus as the darkness drew near Victory over hell and death and fear The world may languish and be spiraling down Yet victory belongs to the one with the crown Glory and majesty with the dawns early light Filled with His strength and ready to fight The proud shall fall never more to rise His glory shall be revealed in magnificent skies The sun shall flee and the moon disgraced The stars in the heavens are violently displaced The King of kings, the Lord of all ages Steps down once more as the devil rages The victory is complete, the darkness no more The ravenous lion has given his last roar
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', God's love, poetry, spiritual poetry, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Living in the eternal now.
Posted by appolus on May 29, 2023
Mat 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Due to my still healing hip, my wife helped me this weekend with painting the deck. It occurred to me in the process that there are two broad categories of people. There are those who only believe that there is a job to be finished. And there are those who believe there is a job to be done. It may seem that these two statements represent the same thing, but they do not. Oswald Chambers writes “The test that Jesus gives us is not the truth of our manner, but the temper of our mind. Many of us are wonderfully truthful in manner yet our temper of mind is rotten in God’s sight.The thing Jesus alters is the temper of the mind.” Lets say you sin against someone and you know that you must ask forgiveness from that person. You believe you have to finish the job. The purpose is to do what you know you have to do, And you do it. Yet, your heart in the matter was not changed, you merely did what you knew you had to do. It is very likely that you will sin again against this person and others. This is the flesh. It is not altogether different from Catholic confession.
The Lord did not come to teach us how to live with good manners, He came to change our very hearts and minds. By the power of the Holy Spirit, and only by the power of the Holy Spirit, can we live out the changed life. The changed life is not doing things right, doing things right is the consequence of a changed life. We live our lives not in order to achieve something, to get the job finished, no, we live our lives as unto the Lord, daily. The job to be done is to follow the Lord. We are the project. There is no finish line so to speak, there is only being rightly shaped. Now does that mean we cannot have an eternal perspective, not at all, we must have an eternal perspective, but eternity must be lived out daily in our lives and this should be our perspective. Doing the job for the jobs sake is very different from doing the job just to get it finished. It’s a subtle twist that can change the very nature of how we live. Living in the moment is living in eternity. The job is still going to get finished yet getting to heaven is the furthest thing from the saints mind because getting to heaven is not and end in and of itself, its just the outcome of the work of the Lord and those who take up their crosses daily and follow Him.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Do not follow your heart.
Posted by appolus on May 23, 2023
1Sa 27:1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.
Let’s be very honest here, David is just wrong. We have the advantage of time on our side to look back and know that he is wrong. He would not perish by the hand of Saul. David said in his heart or to his heart that he was going to die. How many of us have come to the wrong conclusions based on how we feel? Our emotions begin to drive us, like a mighty wind drives a sailing ship in a storm onto the rocks. Fear is the low depression that builds in the atmosphere. Low depressions in the natural lead to storms and high winds. When we speak to ourselves and not to God we convince ourselves of a bad outcome, or perhaps even a good outcome, but rash actions based on unhinged emotions leads to storms and failures.
David knew that he was anointed. David knew that God had delivered him time and time again. David let exhaustion and depression and fear lead him. He came to the wrong conclusions. In John chapter 6 the disciples went down to the sea. Jesus was nowhere to be found. Yet these fishermen knew that the light was fading fast and decided to head of into the open sea where they would find themselves in the darkness, and now, of course, a storm blows up. When we head into anything without Jesus, when we are led by our state, whether physical or emotional, we are heading towards a storm. Much better to wait where we are, on the Lord and pray. David would have better off to stay where he was. This anointed man of God was not going to die, that was a lie he told to himself undoubtedly embellished by the enemy of his soul.
Where are you right now saint? Are you ready to rush of into something? Is that something motivated by God? Have you heard from the Lord? Are you keeping in step with the Spirit, meaning, is He walking with you in this? The disciples should never have left the shore, David should not have tried to escape. David would find himself in Ziklag. This town will not be remembered well by David. This is the place where he lost everything and he cried “until there were no tears left to cry.” Yes, the Lord came to him in the storm so to speak, yes he took back all that was stolen by the power of the Spirit of God. How much better to have never found himself in that position in the first place? Wait upon the Lord brothers and sisters, lest you find yourself in urgent need of rescue. Move when you are told to move. Silence the voice of fear that urges you to act right now. Just because others have went a certain way, does not mean that you should follow. Follow the Lord and His word rather, and the still small voice. Following your heart is the way of the world.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian quotes, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, revival, scripture, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
He is surely coming.
Posted by appolus on May 23, 2023
I will shake the heavens and the earth shall move out of its place For fear shall fall upon the world as they begin to see my face Wail O inhabitants of the earth for the day is soon at hand You will see my unfolding judgment and know that it was planned. The sanctified ones who greatly rejoiced in my exaltation Shall march across the earth, there will be trembling in every nation Behold the day of the Lord comes, the end of all the ages And sin shall be no more as it collects its final wages. And when its said and done joy shall come in the morning Peace and love and joy shall replace tears and fears and mourning Prepare your hearts O saints for the day of the Lord is at hand And only the righteous, covered by His Blood, shall stand A banner is set on high for all the world to see It flutters in the wind above the ones that He set free An army of Gods righteous saints, there they stand as one And at the head of this mighty army rides the only begotten Son.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
All men are drawn by God.
Posted by appolus on May 21, 2023
Joh 12:32 If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.
Jesus came to earth to fulfill the will of His Father in heaven. His Father asked Him to be a Living Sacrifice. He was sent down like bread from heaven to bring life to the world. To be the Light that shines into the darkness of a world already condemned. All men could see the light and all men knew what that Light meant. It was brighter than any lighthouse standing high upon a hill. And it shone out to mankind who was caught up in a storm of gross darkness. The Life came down from heaven so that it would be as a light shining in the darkness of death. Love sent the light to those who had no light. While they were yet in their sins. The great love of the Father for a world caught up in darkness. While they were yet in their sins life came to the dead. To the crushed and the broken-hearted the light shone for them and drew them and they were healed.
To the captives the light shone into the very depths of the deepest dungeons and they came forth delivered and free. Who will come to the light? The proud? The haughty? The self made man? The strong? No, they shall run from the light. You cannot run from what you cannot see. The world saw that light and the life that came down from heaven. Most ran from it, most still run from it. The few are drawn to it. Let it never be said that God did not desire to draw all men to Himself, He did. There is nothing beyond Jesus. What more could God give? He gave His all in the greatest sacrifice ever made. There is no sacrifice beyond this. All men are drawn by the light, but you have to come to the light and believe, in order to be saved. Jesus is the light, and in Him alone is life, and in Him there is no darkness.
The phrase “If I be lifted up,” signifies what kind of death the Lord would have. Yet the Greek word for the phrase also means “to be exalted,” If the Lord Jesus Christ is exalted above all things then the power of Calvary and His resurrection flows into the life of those who exalt Him. There is power in the exaltation of Jesus. There is light in the exaltation of Jesus. There is life in the exaltation of Jesus. There is healing in His exaltation. There is love and mercy to be found as we exalt the name of Jesus. There is forgiveness in the exaltation of Jesus. There is salvation in the exaltation of Jesus! Let us exalt that name today, Jesus, which is above every name. That at the exaltation of that name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. For there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, neither is there salvation in any other. Jesus is the first and the last and He is the light which, when He was lifted up, drew all men unto Him. What will you do with the drawing?
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, intimacy, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 4 Comments »
Inexhaustible fountains.
Posted by appolus on May 17, 2023
Thank you for inexhaustible fountains
That flow down from the highest mountains
Higher still and then again
We find the source of the falling rain
Living waters whose source is the King
By their refreshing we hear angels sing
Sing to the Lord for He has done excellent things
Cry out ye saints for He is greatly to be praised
Deep in unfathomable mines there is treasure
And at His right hand forevermore there is pleasure
Refreshed by the waters that flow down on me
They carry me onward towards an eternal sea
We shall draw water from the wells of salvation
Upon the Rock we shall stand, our eternal foundation
We shall raise our sails high and be carried along
By the breath of the Spirit and a heavenly song.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, manifest presence, poetry, spiritual poetry, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Eternity lies within.
Posted by appolus on May 16, 2023
Those who hear His still small voice
Lie down in the night in peace and rejoice
Even in the midst of the midnight hour
There is glory in His praises and with them brings power
He leads us beside the eternal still waters
into lush green pastures He has surely brought us
Goodness and mercy follow all the days of our lives
To a banqueting table we can barely describe.
His table to us is His manifest presence
By the Spirit of God we speak with great eloquence
Words that flow from the Kingdom within
From the beauty of Holiness that lies therein
Evergreen trees give their fruit in all seasons
There are a million ways to praise Him and a million reasons
To rise up and with the morning sun and cry holy
To walk in humility, to be contrite and lowly
He has planted us beside His holy river
He has established us in His heart forever
And forever and a day and forever it shall be be
For into our very hearts He has placed eternity.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
It’s all about Saul.
Posted by appolus on May 14, 2023
1Sa 20:31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.
We see here a complicated truth. What Saul says to Jonathan is actually true. Unless David dies, the kingdom of men, the kingdom of Saul, the future kingdom of Jonathan can never be truly established. There is enmity between what man wants and what God wants. They are diametrically opposed to one another. Jonathan sought to persuade his father on behalf of his beloved friend and it results in Saul now trying to kill his own son with a spear. The same spear, the same javelin, the same anger, the same rage that was all directed towards David, in a mere moment, was directed towards his own son. In the end it was never about David or Jonathan or even a kingdom, it was all about Saul. He cared more deeply about what people thought about him than he did about any other thing. Its the kingdom of self and many many men have destroyed everything around them in their worship of their own self destructive flesh.
Why is the cross so important? Why does it lie at the center of our faith? The reason? It is the one and only weapon that can take the flesh down. Jesus conquered the flesh on a cross. Jesus told His disciples that in order to follow Him, in order to be worthy of being His disciple, they must take up their cross daily. The battle against the flesh rages on. Its only means of death is a cross. Not a spear, not a javelin and not the weapons of this world. Our fight is against the flesh that raged within Saul. And on every occasion there is a lurking enemy ready to back up your flesh with very deliberate persuasive arguments as to why your flesh is correct. The sermon on the mount is the sword of God relentlessly and without mercy exposing and dispatching the real enemy. It slashes away at self preservation. It runs though self determination. It cuts asunder self promotion. It turns on its head self-ishness. All of this is useless to the man or woman who has not been born again. The dead man must be put in his grave and up from it must rise the man who is born again. Only he can walk the walk of the sermon on the mount.
Jesus says to Pilate “My kingdom is not of this world.” The kingdom of God is not established by men but rather it is established in the hearts of His saints. The Kingdom of God exists collectively and individually within us. There are forces that forever are trying to invade the Kingdom. They know what Saul knew. While there is a single “David,” that exists on the earth then the kingdom of men, the kingdom of darkness can never be established. And the tactic of the enemy has not, nor will it, change. It must eliminate the saints. It will not even be good enough to neutralize them from society and chase them into the wilderness. It will come looking for us in the wilderness. And it will look, for a time, times and a half a time to completely eradicate us. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (Rev 13:7 ) Yet, we know, that the forces of darkness will fail. And just like Saul, the forces of darkness know it too. For the victory was already won on a day, 2000 years ago when Jesus announced “It is finished.”
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, prophecy, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
Will they pin you to the wall?
Posted by appolus on May 9, 2023
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. (1Sa 18:10-11)
Jealousy and envy lie at the heart of many a murder or a murderous spirit. Once it is given in to then they are given over to a spirit far worse. Murder rises from the darkness of our hearts and meets a spirit willing and able to take us down roads we would normally never go down. It becomes cold and calculating quite apart from the heat of passion. Saul knows fine well he is going to murder David and he sets about lulling him into a fall sense of security by “prophesying,” out of his distress. He is speaking, not on behalf of God but rather he is speaking from a place of jealous rage. It is so well controlled and so religious in nature that David takes up his lyre and begins to worship God having no idea what lurks in the heart of his his king. Then Saul, with all of his might mind you, with everything that is in him, unleashes the javelin in an attempt to not just injure him, but to run him through and pin David to the wall.
This spirit has manifested itself down through the ages. Jealousy and insecurity has been its primary motivator. How the Pharisees must have bristled by the multitude that followed after Jesus and would make Him their king. Murder rises in their hearts while all the time portraying themselves as men of God. And in every century since Jesus arose, religious men, men, jealous of those who actually know Jesus, who actually have a relationship with God, who actually enter into worship with Him, plot their downfall. Hangings, stonings, dismemberment, torture and vicious treatment all in the name of God, all flowing from the distress in their hearts when they encounter a man or a woman who actually know God. Even today we see the same spirit at work. The once born man becomes the all out enemy of the twice born man and often times all done under the same roof and under the name of God.
David’s attitude towards his primary enemy is outstanding. Jesus’ love for His enemies is the reason we now live. He forgave the ones who cruelly and with malice aforethought designed His downfall. Stephen cries out the same message while he is in the midst of being stoned to death. It breaks the chains of hell. One of the audience that very day at the stoning of Stephen would go on and write two thirds of the New Testament. And all down through the following 2000 years, men and women of God would face the same enemies with the same spirit and they would follow the dictates of the most High God. They would speak the truth in love. They would never relent, never capitulate yet never render hatred for hatred. They would stand strong in the worship of God and that worship would be first measured by their lives. Let us stand strong brothers and sisters in a day and age where tolerance is worshiped as a virtue but never actually lived out. Our enemies design is to pin us to the wall and do it all in the name of something that sounds very religious, tolerance. We know better, therefore we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.
Posted in Babylon, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Church history, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, religious, religious persecution, revival, Spiritual warfare, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
Rain down upon me now.
Posted by appolus on May 9, 2023
Fire from heaven rain down upon me now Open the eyes of our hearts that might see and bow Go forth before me Lord with your fire and you're rain Burning all the dross and breaking every chain. By your presence let all the mountains tremble And rain down glory from above, from your eternal temple Let the skies break forth that they may split asunder When the lightening flashes and the earth shakes with thunder The clouds are His chariots and He walks upon the wind He broke the chains of hell and death and delivers those who sinned His glory endures forever and He fractures the sky above As the whole earth is filled with His eternal love. He is our shelter from the storm, our precious strong high tower He has filled us with His love and His everlasting power Though worlds may fall to pieces and begin to crumble We follow Him who walked before, and never did He stumble. Take hold of His precious truth in a world that's full of lies Raise your hands and lift them up, lift them up unto the skies Look up and testify that our Redeemer lives And that His mercy is still flowing and He surely still forgives
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, End Times Eschatology, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Are you insipid?
Posted by appolus on May 7, 2023
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
This is a very well known passage from the sermon on the mount. Upon reading it in my study from Matt 5 something occurred to me that made me think about it in a different light. I looked up the meaning of the phrase ” have lost its flavor.” in the Greek, it is “moraino.” It means to become insipid. So I looked up the definition of the word insipid. It is “without distinctive, interesting or stimulating qualities. Without sufficient taste to be pleasing as food or drink, bland.” For most of my Christian life I have heard men preach on this in regard to preservation. How salt preserves food. Yet the word is clearly flavor. I would imagine that almost every household in America has salt in it. We use it, not to preserve anything but to flavor it. If it did not flavor it then we would not buy it, what good would it be?
Have we, Christians, become “insipid.” Are we “without distinction,” in the world? Have we ceased to stimulate society but rather do we strive to simply blend in? For much of Christendoms it is almost entirely impossible to tell us apart from the world. If that is indeed the case then what are we good for? Are we not called to be distinct? A people clearly called out from the world? A people that would, by our lives and by our words, stimulate and convict and interest the people around us with our Godlike qualities? The definition of the phrase “have lost its flavor,” goes on ………From G3474; to become insipid; figuratively to make (passively act) as a simpleton: – become fool, make foolish, lose savour. And the word G347 is “moros.” Here is the definition of that word is …..”dull or stupid, absurd or foolish.” In a world of foolishness, foolishness meaning that they have rejected God, are we any good to anyone if we simply just blend in with the world? Are we then “good for nothing,” have we also become like fools?
In the context of this scripture salt has a purpose as does light. We are salt and light. Light brings illumination to darkness, but if we cover up the light that is in us, then what purposes do we have? Light is likened to a city set upon a hill. A lamp that is put on a lamp-stand that lights the whole room. If it is covered up then what purpose do we serve? We have been called to let our lights so shine before men that they may see the works of God in us. We have been called to be salt in every situation we find ourselves in, family, neighbors, workplace. We should stimulate people by our words and by our deeds. We should be clearly distinct in a world that is more and more walking in lockstep, allowing for no distinction. And our distinction should be in no way contrived. I’m not talking about wearing a cross, I’m talking about changing the very atmosphere around us by the power of the light that dwells in us. Do you change the atmosphere that surrounds you or are you simply swallowed up by it?
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, intimacy, Jesus, new wineskins, revival, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | Leave a Comment »
Latest book from the remnant.
Posted by appolus on May 6, 2023
In the last days the prophets of old still speak to us. None more so than the prophet Isaiah. The prophetic word of God echos down through the ages. It spoke to its first audience and it has continued to speak down through the corridors of time. God has always had a remnant in the land and in these last days they still remain. They have ears to hear what the Spirit says. God is still instructing His sons and daughters through the prophetic word from thousands of years ago. In Ecclesiastes we are told that “to everything there is a season.” We are further told that “He has put eternity in their hearts.”
The Lord our God is doing a work in this, the last season and He is calling out to His remnant saints, the ones who have eternity in their hearts, to come forth from the world and stand. Isaiah stepped forth and cried out with a loud voice “send me.” He took the prophetic words from God to a sinful Judah who were surrounded by sinful nations. Today there exists a sinful Christianity which is surrounded by a fallen world. Shall you stand? Can you hear? Can you see the fallen world and the state of the church? In Christ alone there is truth and we stand upon His word which never changes.
This book journey’s through many of the chapters of Isaiah that stood out to me. The Lord spoke to my spirit and I put pen to paper. As the world grows ever darker and shakes it angry fist, the prophetic word of God becomes all the more vital. What is God saying to His remnant saints? What is He saying to those who refuse to bow the knee to the gods of this world?
Posted in Babylon, bible, Charisma Magazine, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church, Church history, churches, Counterfeit Jesus, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', Extreme Prophetic, Jesus, leaving the church, new wineskins, prophecy, prophet, prophetic movement, revival, scripture, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
Don’t touch the honey.
Posted by appolus on May 4, 2023
1Sa 14:6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.
Here was a real declaration of faith! It is so simple yet so utterly profound. Jonathan quite simply believed. He completely understood who God was and how great He was and how nothing is too difficult for God. He could destroy the Philistines by a single man, by an army or all by Himself. That day Jonathan’s enemy held the high ground and Jonathan “climbed up on his hands and knees,” and his enemies fell before him. Two men killed twenty men in an are less than half an acre and it put the fear of God into the enemies camp. When God moves, the world notices and His enemies notice and the principalities and powers shake and tremble. He is the same God today as He was then. When God moves in your circumstances, against all odds and against nature itself, the world notices.
Now, compare Jonathan to his father Saul, the classic religious man. A man who does not have the Spirit of God but rather a troubling spirit. He does not have the same faith as his son therefore he has to make his own plans, he has to try and do it in his own strength and without the council of God. His directions cause chaos in the ranks. He refuses to allow them to eat honey that is literally dripping from the trees to such and extent that it is piling up on the ground all around them. The religious man refuses to allow the Holy Spirit in his midst. He would watch the people starve and be terribly weakened rather that go back on his traditions and his own ordinances. Think about the extent of Saul’s reasoning, he was ready to kill his own son, the very son who God had worked through that day to give them the victory that they wanted.
God alone works His works. The battle belongs to God. He will not share His glory with anyone and He certainly does not need the council or the wisdom of men. The wisest man in the world is as a fool unto God. When God gives you resources you must take them. True spiritual strength comes from being endued with power from on high. We are edified by the gifts and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. In no other way are we edified. We must have His wisdom. We must have His strength. We must have His glory. We must see His majesty. We must yield to Him in everything. Traditions must fall by the wayside if they get in His road. The vain works of men must cease and we must be about His works. Imagine a starving people being ordered to ignore the food that God has so clearly provided. Its almost as mad as the Philistines turning on their own and destroying themselves.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, consequences of sin, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, new wineskins, revival, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 3 Comments »
Rejecting God and choosing man.
Posted by appolus on May 2, 2023
1Sa 10:19 And you have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said unto him, no, but set a king over us.
It seems very obvious what God is saying to His people, by choosing a man to lead them they were actually rejecting Him. What pain this must have caused the Father’s heart. He had made a people out of nothing and had delivered them time and again from trial and tribulation, hunger and captivity. He had opened up the sea before them and destroyed the most powerful army in the world for them. He had fed them in the wilderness and led them out. He had given into their hands the promised land. Yet all of these things were forgotten by a people who refused to look to themselves to see where the problem was. And before we are too judgemental, isn’t that exactly what we often do? We find ourselves in some kind of dire straits and we cry out and look for deliverance. We typically look to the world first.
We run to man. Who do you run too? Do you run to God? Is the Lord your Alpha and Omega? Is He your first choice? Or, is He often your last? We want a king. We want a pastor, a healer, a seer. We do not realize that when we depend on anything other than God we are in a very true sense rejecting God and choosing our own way. We look and see how the world handles it problems and we try and imitate them, how tragic. Whatever we give ourselves over to, it will certainly reign over us. God told the people that if they go down this road then a king will “take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots.” How many countless young men have died down through the ages fighting for a king? Not King Jesus mind you, but for a worldly king for worldly purposes. God told them that a king “will take the best of your fields, your vineyards and your olive groves.” Think of the poor share croppers barely scratching out a living while the “landowners,” become very wealthy.
God told them that a king will take your young men and your young women and your donkeys and he will put them to work for his own purposes. He will take a tenth of your sheep and you will be his servants. And in that day when your are totally oppressed you will cry out to me, God says, and “the Lord will not hear you in that day.” We live in a world today that is totally given over to its own systems. A world that has totally rejected God in favor of themselves. They work but they cannot get ahead. They are taxed at every turn. Wars have consumed whole generations of young men. There have been more killed in wars in the last 120 years than in all the wars down through the corridors of history, combined. We are seeing the ultimate conclusions of men rejecting God and choosing for themselves their own ways. The tower of Babel has risen and stands so much taller than the ancients could ever have imagined………and great will be its fall. And yet, in the midst of all of that, God has a people not given to the world and Jesus is their King.
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', God's love, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 3 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 