Cry out you heavens and sing O mountains For the Lord sustains you from inexhaustible fountains He comforts His people and has mercy on the afflicted He is never wrong and never contradicted High above the trees in desolate heights He warms us with His fire in the blackest of nights And in the darkest depths of the valley below He leads us and guides us in the ways we should go In winters discontent when the days are dreary He elevates His own and gives strength to the weary Hope when no hope and joy everlasting Clarity to confusion and deep understanding We may well have troubles on every side Yet are not cast down but we surely abide In His glory, in His mercy in His very palm The Lord our God the spotless Lamb.
Archive for the ‘christian living’ Category
His endless favor.
Posted by appolus on July 28, 2023
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, 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 | 1 Comment »
Renew a right spirit within me.
Posted by appolus on July 25, 2023
Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
These are words from the man who is “after Gods own heart.” A man that the Lord loves greatly. Does He not love you brothers and sisters? Could we not pray the same prayer as David many times in our lives? Cleanse me for thy sake oh Lord and I shall be clean. Wash Lord and I shall be whiter than snow. The bones that you have broken Lord, heal them within me that I may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out my transgressions. Create in me a clean heart oh Lord and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence oh Lord and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation. Deliver me from my guilt oh Lord for I acknowledge my transgressions, for it is against You alone oh Lord that I have sinned.
This is the heart of a broken and a contrite man. This is what the Lord loves. A man who has glimpsed into the depths of his own soul and found himself so very wanting. Yet he does not go and hide behind a tree and a fig leaf, rather he stands there, naked before the Lord, nothing hidden. While he was hidden the joy of the Lord was hidden to him. While he deceived himself the wisdom of the Holy Spirit was removed from him. The presence of the Lord had fled away and only as he emerges from behind the tree and from behind the fig leaf is David restored. Are you hiding today brother or sister? Shall you not come out from behind the tree and stand naked before the Lord? God does not require your sacrifice. He already required that of the Lord Jesus. He simply requires a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These things God will not despise. He will surely usher you back into His presence and He will restore the joy of His salvation to You. Goodness and mercy shall follow the broken and the contrite heart all the days of their lives.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, Jesus, revival, 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, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
How to triumph in Christ.
Posted by appolus on July 22, 2023
2Co 2:14 Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
Can you say, with all honesty brothers and sisters, that through you, the fragrance of Jesus is made known every where you go? By His presence in you and your presence in, say, your marriage, you “diffuse the fragrance,” of Christ? That phrase means to make manifest. Is it manifestly evident that you carry the presence of Jesus? How about at work? When you are driving? Interacting with your family? Interacting with people who do not like you? Is there still a fragrance that emanates from you? Are you like a flower? Beautiful to behold, something that others want to draw near to them and just breath you in?
Atmosphere, it is something we can control. We can control it because God has given us everything we need for He always leads us in conquest. He leads. He goes before. Shall we step back or shall we get out in front of Him? When we are wronged do we rush forward with our carnal weapons of warfare and then pat ourselves on the back because it was “self defense.” The clue is right in the words. We are defending “self,” therefore we add to the blackness of the atmosphere rather than allow the light to shine forth from our innermost being which causes the darkness to flee. The flesh demands to be defended and when it is the atmosphere grows darker. We must infuse into the situation the rarified air of heaven.
In one year, the average mature tree will absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide and in exchange release oxygen. We saints are the spiritual “trees,” in this world. We are uniquely designed to triumph over the toxic nature of humanity and the world in which we live. The one vital difference is this, what the trees do by nature and design, we must do by choice. We can exhale out both spiritual oxygen or more hellish carbon dioxide. In every single occasion it is a choice. The power resides within us. Shall we follow God? If we do then He always leads us to victory. If we follow the dictates of our own flesh then we shall find ourselves wallowing in the toxic nature of defeat.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Fresh Fire, inspirational, intimacy, 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 | 2 Comments »
When you pass through the waters.
Posted by appolus on July 20, 2023
You shall rise up with the wings of an eagle And meet Him in the air You shall shout with a voice of triumph A shout that is beyond compare. Jericho shook and the seas fled away When all of God's people assembled As the Lord our God came down from on high And the inhabitants of the earth all trembled Fear not says the Lord our God Almighty For I am surely at the door Wait upon Me, be still do not faint In my presence there is so much more I give strength to the weak and to the humble I lift up the hands that hang low I light up the way lest you fall and stumble I am the way you should go. Walk through fires, you shall not be consumed And the rivers shall not take you down On islands of despair you shall not be marooned And no man shall take your crown Stand in the depths of Christ alone Stand strong and do not falter Come now and worship before His throne Rejoice before His altar.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, 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 | 1 Comment »
I desire truth in the inward parts.
Posted by appolus on July 18, 2023
Psa 51:6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden parts you shalt make me to know wisdom.
Part of wisdom is to know who you are. The outward appearance is of little value other than it is a reflection of the inner man. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but true beauty God sees clearly. In 1 Sam 16:7 it says ” the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” To truly be a witness for Jesus, the world must see Him when it sees us. In order for that to happen we must have truth in the inward parts. The hidden parts must become visible. The true essence of who we are, in Christ alone we make our stand, must be seen. This is why we must decrease and the Lord must come forth in every part of who we are.
This is our calling. The Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached as a witness. What does that mean? The world must “see,” the truth as well as hear it. Anyone can parrot the truth, but only the saints can live it out for all the world to see. Jesus says in Matt 24 that this Gospel must be preached as a witness to all nations and then the end shall come. Its not good enough for the gospel to be preached to all nations, it must be preached “as a witness.” A witness brings forth evidence. What is the evidence of your salvation? Is it but words? Or, is it the life that you lead that gives flesh and blood to those words? “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be a witness to Me in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
A man called Witold Pileski, a survivor of the Auschiwitz concentration camp wrote this ” some slithered into a moral swamp, others chiseled themselves a character of finest crystal. We were cut with a sharp instrument. Its blade bit painfully into our bodies, yet in our souls it found fields to till. We had all become just our bare essence. A man was seen and valued for what he really was.” When we are stripped down to our bare essence what shall be seen? Who are we really? Shall not the fire reveal the gold? Shall not suffering chisel away the worthless? Shall not our souls be tilled and there the fruit of the Holy Spirit spring up? Fruit that people can see. Fruit that brings glory to God. Fruit that feeds others. Shall we resist the sharp cut, the stripping down? Let us not brothers and sisters but rather let us yield our fallow ground to the till that is held by the hand of God Almighty and pulled by the Holy Spirit. And then, and only then, Jesus bursts forth!
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, Jesus, new wineskins, revival, sanctification, 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, theology | 3 Comments »
Every valley exalted.
Posted by appolus on July 14, 2023
All flesh is grass and its beauty Is like the flowers of the field We are here today and still we sow Yet tomorrow what shall we yield? The world and all who dwell therein Shall surely fade away Yet those who stand in Christ alone Close to the cross they always stay And though all things shall fade away His Word shall remain forever And we who remain and are yet alive Are taken by the crimson river This river that flows from Calvary Is an inexhaustible fountain It carries us across the sea And summits every mountain To the lofty heights of heavens glory His people shall surely ascend And there in the sky they shall meet their Lord Their King, their Master, their friend And there He dwells with the truly contrite With the lowly, the humble, the broken Who stood beneath that Bloody cross And who stood upon every Word spoken They shall run and run and not grow weary They shall walk and shall not faint They shall rise up with the wings of an eagle And there shall worship without restraint.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, healing, Jesus, poetry, revival, 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, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Coals of fire and fish thereon.
Posted by appolus on July 13, 2023
Joh 21:9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
In the last chapter of John we see this very well known encounter. Peter and six others decide to go fishing, it is Peter who makes the suggestion and the others follow. This was the disciples falling back on what they knew. They were to be fishers of men but now they were going back to their old trade. They needed food on the table no doubt. They had followed Jesus for three years and now Jesus was not walking with them. All night long they fish and come up with nothing. From the shore Jesus shouts to them to put the net down on the other side. And of course, as we know, they landed an enormous catch. Yet it is important to note that the moral of this story is not how to catch fish.
When Peter realizes that it is Jesus on the shore he throws himself into the water. The others stayed with the catch. In life there will always be those who plunge into the waters at the call of Jesus. Those who drop everything, even the biggest catch of their lives. Peter was such a man. Now, the moral of the story begins to come into view as Peter makes his way towards Jesus. He sees that there is a fire of coals burning and fish already cooking and there was bread too. Jesus had shouted to them earlier “children have you any food?” He did not ask them if they had caught any fish, they were obviously out there looking for food for themselves as opposed to working for money. Yet here, on the beach, Jesus had already prepared a meal for them.
Jesus was calling the disciples to be shepherds, not fishermen. Fishers of men perhaps, but shepherds. “Feed my lambs…….Tend my sheep….. feed my sheep……follow Me.” Obedience to the call and trust in the Lord. Jesus knows our needs, He has fires of coal and fish there-on and bread to eat also. Come to Jesus. If you have to plunge into the ocean, come to Jesus. If you have to lay down burdens, lay them down. If you have to do any casting, cast your cares upon Jesus. The One with all the resources says “follow me.” Seeing Jesus, knowing Jesus, encountering Jesus, this is our calling………….and all these things shall be added unto you. Seek Him first though the ocean lie between you and Him. Come to Him though the mountains stand in your way. Watch them crumble before you. Rise up, cast caution to the wind along with Peters garments and run to Him. “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” The life that we live shall express our love for Jesus far beyond words.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, 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 | 1 Comment »
Walking through the trials of life.
Posted by appolus on July 9, 2023
There is a kind of heady rush when one faces a severe challenge. The greater the severity the greater the “rush.” The middle of the challenge can often be difficult. The first flushes and shock of it all settles down and the day to day reality of it settles in. The adrenaline winds down There is also a kind of post phase when the challenge is over and we have to return to “normal,’ life. For me, in the past, there is a great intensity of relationship with the Lord when I was squeezed and my back was against the wall so to speak. Perhaps not unlike a soldier from WW1 who goes home for r&r and finds it almost surreal and difficult to navigate due to the intensity of his experience on the battle-fields.
As saints we face this, and undoubtedly, given the nature of your circumstances, you too will deal with this. I suppose in the end the words of the Lord ring clear and true “therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own troubles” I have had much difficulty in my life trying to live this out. I know the truth of it. I know the weakness of my own flesh in addition to my own particular dysfunctions. I know that in this flesh of mine I can do no thing. The older I get the more apparent this is to me. Only in the Lord Jesus can I even begin to stand. I can do nothing without Him. I don’t want to do anything without Him. I want to walk in His peace. It’s akin to walking upon the water, and of course, when I take my eyes off Jesus I begin to go under.
And when a particularly severe trial comes to an end then I must know that the grace that filled up the valley to meet me in the depths, recedes. His grace is sufficient for me. It lifts me from the valley floor to heavens heights. It holds me, it sustains me then it gently sets me back down again and the walk continues down that narrow path that leads me home. In every situation, in every trial, in every season we are called to trust in Jesus. When the storm rages and when there is not even a breeze. When the snow falls and when the summer sun shines. When the spring rains come and when the leaves begin to fall in the Autumn. The seasons belong to the Lord. We belong to the Lord. Our walk belongs to the Lord. Our circumstances belong to the Lord. Our very hearts are His and for His own good pleasure He will mold us and shape us and finish what He has begun in us.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Mat 6:33-34)
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, praise, revival, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, the crucified life, the deeper life, 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 »
I will be your husband.
Posted by appolus on July 6, 2023
Hos 2:20 I will even betroth you to Me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
My father died a few months ago. He was 83. My mum is 82. They were engaged for five years and married for 62 years. And just days after my father passed away, the Lord spoke to my mothers heart. He said “I will be your husband now.” It brought her so much peace. To know that every aspect of her earthly husband, protection, provision, companionship would be met by her Lord. It is not that she did not know the Lord in these ways before my father died, but in the absence of her husband here on earth, she would suffer no loss, quite the opposite. He is more than enough. He betroths us in His faithfulness and in that we become intimate with Him in the deepest recesses of our hearts. This is His vow to us. And if we know one thing about the Lord, He will do what He said He will do. And in that sure knowledge we rest, our troubled hearts lie down in His arms. Is there anywhere more secure than that?
Perhaps you have suffered such a loss? Perhaps your husband or wife is far from perfect and your hurting heart cries out to God? He knows. He sees. He cares and He listens to the heart cries of His own. The vows we make to our spouses last a lifetime. The promises we have from our Lord lasts for all eternity. In the following verse it says this “It shall come to pass in that day that I will answer says the Lord. I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth.” Is that not some of the most beautiful language you will ever hear? Though the heavens may have been silent, now they respond. The long lasting drought comes to and end and the heavens open wide and there falls a glorious soaking rain that quenches the dry and thirsty land. And oh how the land responds by bringing forth its fruit. God is the heavens and we are the earth. The rain, the deluge after the drought is His presence and His fruit in us is manifested in love and joy and peace and thanksgiving. Praise the Living God for He has betrothed us!
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 Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 3 Comments »
The Valley of tears
Posted by appolus on July 5, 2023
Hos 2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
In the first part of this chapter we see that Israel has ran after other lovers, just like the wife of Hosea. It would seem certain then that God would, and should be finished with them yet He says this “Therefore behold I will allure her, I will bring her into the wilderness.” His ways are certainly not our ways. He calls us back to Himself, so great is His mercy. He loves us still when we should not be loved, so great is His passion for His people. He draws us into a place where He has all of our attention, a wilderness place, a place of no hope perhaps that we might cry out to the Lord our God. And from that place He says he will give us vineyards. Grapes growing in the desert places. Fruit coming forth where there should be no fruit. And all of them watered in the valley of Achor, that is to say the valley of tears. These tears become a wellspring of hope and not despair. A door that opens where no door was. It suddenly appears to us and beckons us to pass through. It’s the door of His presence, its the joy of our youth, its our coming back to the our first and only true love. Jesus.
Even now, Jesus stretches out His hand and stands as an open door and invites us to come to Him. He should judge us, He should reject us, He should destroy us for running after other lovers. He calls Hosea to forgive his wife, to redeem His wife, to even look after her in the midst of her harlotry. Oh, what love is this that would redeem us from the marketplace and that would cover our nakedness? Is He calling today to a wayward people to come to Him before it is too late? Yes indeed. His faithfulness to a stubborn unfaithful people is beyond us. It is too high for us to understand. It is too deep for us to plummet its depths. Yet, there He stands, an open door with open arms. Who will come to, and through this door of hope that appears in the depths of the valley of tears?
Posted in Babylon, 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 | 4 Comments »
Just take the Horse already!
Posted by appolus on June 23, 2023
In Mark 11 Jesus speaks to His disciples and gives them precise instructions. They are to go into the village and as soon as they get there they will find a horse, a colt to be precise, tied up. Untie it and take it. Now, it was not that long ago in America that if you stole a horse you could be hung, it was a capital offense. Yet here was Jesus telling His disciples to just take it. I don’t know about you, but as someone who has dealt with lots of fears and anxiety over the years, and overthinking things, my mind would have been racing as I walked towards the village. “What if there is no horse there?” Now I would actually be hoping there would be no horse there, then I would not have to deal with it. I turn the corner and there is the horse. Ooh no, now I have to deal with it. Anxiousness and thoughts begin to assault my very soul like a swarm of angry bees intent on stinging me and doing the most harm that they could.
Of course its all a part of my unbelief. I don’t really trust God who has spoken to me. I am falling back on my flesh and my flesh is not my spirits friend in fact it is its sworn enemy. It counters the words of the Lord. It wants to rule over me and protect itself. It wars against my spirit and If I am not careful it will wear me down and make me sick. The flesh wont mind that, as long as its in charge. It would rather be dying than controlled. What my flesh does not know nor cares about is that the Lord has already spoken to the horse’s owner either in person or in a dream or a vision. The way of the Lord is already paved. We just have to walk down it and follow His instructions. Whose report will I believe? Will I walk according to what the Spirit says or will I walk according to what the flesh says? We know that in Romans 8 we are told that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
Therefore we must know, we who have the Spirit of the Lord, that any condemnation, any doubts and any fears come not from the Lord but from the flesh, the domain of sin. We must pursue and keep our eyes upon Jesus and trust Him and trust His word and the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Torment is not from the Lord. Anxiety is not from the Lord. Fears in all its many forms are not from the Lord ( not talking about the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom) We have an enemy and it will lie to us. We have our Lord Jesus and He will never lie to us. Peace comes in knowing that. Peace comes in obedience. Peace comes when we reject what the flesh that is screaming in our ear and listen to the still small voice. The Word of God draws us near to the Lord. It points us towards the truth. Let us determine in our hearts to just take the horse already!
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, intimacy, 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 »
Are you surrendered to surrender?
Posted by appolus on June 19, 2023
God finds us like the wild donkey, our nostrils wide and our eyes blazing and our ears laid back, hating the touch of leather, hating the touch and smell of people. The Holy Spirit comes, takes over, and starts, as we say on the farm, breaking the colt. After that the whole nature of the animal changes. He perks his ears up and whinnies when he sees you coming. His eyes are calm now. Lay your hand on his neck and he will lean over and nuzzle you. The Spirit of God wants to do that for you. He wants to domesticate you, humble you and make you meek. The Christian who has been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit into a docile, obedient, meek, trustful person has more treasure than all the wealth of the world (A.W.Tozer)
Brother Tozer uses an analogy that most of the world would hate. I can hear the protests now (mainly because my own flesh raged against the process) “what do you mean, breaking the colt.” The truth is we are much worse that any horse or mule. We rage against the light because it brings us to heel if we indeed surrender to it. The horse is broken, yet we, unlike the horse, must first surrender to the process. And if we just had to do it once that might be ok. Yet just like everything else in the Scriptures that brings life it must be abided in. We must abide in His word daily. We must abide in the Holy Spirit daily. We must take up our cross daily. We must be filled over and over again. And so, just like that, we must surrender over and over again.
Brokenness is a process of surrenders. Stronghold by stronghold, high ground by high ground, well defended positions must fall. Jericho walls must come tumbling down and it wont be by might and it wont be by power, it will be by the Holy Spirit. We cannot cause the walls within us to fall, only Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit can do that. We cannot form the cross that we take up daily, only Jesus by the power of the Spirit can do that. Just like it is not possible to strangle yourself, we could never create crosses strong enough to break us. The flesh would not allow it That is uniquely the work of the Spirit and every step of the way must be surrendered to it. We are called into the river, not up to our ankles nor our knees nor even our waists, we must be fully immersed in the river of life. We must surrender to the current. We cannot be standing on our own two feet.
You may believe that you are walking in the depths with Jesus. Yet ask yourself this saint. Are you still standing on your own two feet? Do you think you are doing good because the water comes up to your neck? In the final analysis you will be no better off than the fella that is only ankle deep. The real changes come when you are swept away by the river, everything else is religion and vanity and ashes in the wind. We have to come to the point where we are simply not in control, we are not in charge. The River, Jesus, the Holy Spirit is. He can only take you to where He wants you to go when you are fully surrendered. And now, just like the broken horse, we fall deeply in love with our Master and long to see His coming. We nestle into His loving arms and when the storms rage all around us, we see Him and we know we are safe. Will you surrender to the river today?
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, Spiritual warfare, Spirituality, 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, Uncategorized | Tagged: Christianity, Jesus | 1 Comment »
Vanity and ashes in the wind.
Posted by appolus on June 12, 2023
Jesus Christ spoke rugged truth. He was never ambiguous, and He says it is better to be maimed than damned-better to live your life lame in the people’s sight and lovely in God’s than to be lovely in humans eyes and lame in God’s. We may look all right in the sight of other people, but we are remarkably twisted and wrong in the sight of God. (Oswald Chambers)
It is amazing how many folks only care about what other people think about them. Victory to them is looking good to other people. Its a shallow human problem and also the problem with “religious.”folk in general. To really know God is to really only care what God thinks about us. The deeper the relationship we have with Him, the less we care about what other people think. Offense is not easily taken and is quickly forgiven. We only care about not offending Him. If we let Him down we are deeply wounded. Its a mark of the depth of love we have with Him. And so the superficial and shallow, run all the way from not knowing God at all, to immature babes in Christ. If you find yourself after 10 or 20 or 30 years of professed Christianity to only really care what people think, you must examine yourself to see if you are even in the faith.
In the end, the man or the woman of God, who is deeply in love with Jesus and who can cry out Abba Father, strives to please the Master. If they are fools in the eyes of the world then they do not care. If they are rejected by the religious then they do not care. The Pharisee only talks about love and forgiveness but he or she actually knows nothing of it. I have personally offended men who preach love and forgiveness yet who do not have the capacity to forgive me. It is two dimensional theology as opposed to a living vibrant relationship which actually does the things that Jesus commands. And along the way we often forget this simplest of all truths, Jesus sees. He sees our heart and the condition of it and in the end that is all that counts. Everything else is vanity and ashes in the wind. When we stand before Him we shall have no standing among men. It will just be us and what we did with the word of God and the direction of His Spirit.
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, christian living, Christianity | Tagged: Jesus, Vanity | 3 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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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A Call To The Remnant 