Archive for the ‘Christian’ Category
Posted by appolus on May 14, 2021
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
When we suffer for His sake brothers and sisters and rejoice in the midst of it, then we disarm principalities and powers. We “prove,” to that old ancient liar that this is exactly what he is and we do it all by the indwelling power of the risen Christ. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. His perfect love demonstrated through us casts out all fear and makes a public spectacle of principalities and powers.
It diametrically opposes the powers that be who lie and would have us believe that force must be met with force, that evil must be rendered for evil for good to triumph. Jesus overcame them on the cross and He cried out to His Father to forgive His enemies. The first martyr Stephen cries out even as He was being cruelly stoned, that this would not be held against the ones stoning Him. This is the power of God that breaks ancient chains of evil and establishes the witness of Christ to the world and to the principalities and powers.
You have been called to this brothers and sisters and it is a high and noble calling. It is a calling that requires our old man and woman to die. For in the flesh we are no different from anyone else in the world. We would simply be frail creatures who could laugh only when the going is good, who could be happy only in the midst of prosperous circumstances and who could praise God only as long as He “blesses” us. Yet in this higher ground that we have been called to, we praise God not only from the mountaintops but from the lowest valley’s. We praise God whether we walk as free men on this earth or chained with fetters of iron.
We praise God for better or for worse. We praise God in sickness and in health, we praise God whether rich or poor. We who love our spouses know that this is our commitment we make to them, we who love God know that His calling is on another level altogether. The marriage of the flesh is one thing and it is noble, the marriage of the Spirit is high and lifted up and it is holy. We are one flesh in our marriages. We are one spirit in Jesus. When we walk according to that spirit we walk in power and in love and with a perfect peace that triumphs over principalities and powers for all the world to see. Your light is the life that draws the world to Jesus.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on May 12, 2021
And the remnant… shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. (Isaiah 37:31)
In the very depths of winter, spring can seem like a long ways away isn’t that right? This is also very true for our spiritual seasons for all of us will go through dark winters of our souls. Perhaps you are there right now? I would like you to consider the tree in winter. It loses all of its foliage. It stands stark and naked and bare against the cold winter sky. There seems to be no life in it at all. Yet there it stands.
All activity seems to be suspended yet the root system continues to grow as the ground temperature just a few feet below the surface is warmer. In the depths of winter, the roots grow deeper. This is the season of the remnant. We are in the midst of a long winter which will only end with the return of Jesus. This long winter is by design. God is establishing a people who cannot be moved. He is allowing everything to be stripped away. All the foliage, all the pretty adornments that we have added over countless centuries are simply being stripped away.
The traditions of men appeal to the world, it compensates for a lack of reality. Yet God has a remnant who simply must have Him. A people who, no matter what happens, will follow God and stand upon His Word. Stand firm brothers and sisters, be encouraged. You are not alone. Your trials, your tribulations and your feelings of isolation are by design. God must have an end time people who will follow Him no matter how fierce the storm. His people must have deep roots and these roots must be developed.
Yes we are surrounded by a hard freeze and all things that have no depth is perishing, but be of good cheer brothers and sisters, you have depth. That depth is the Lord Jesus Himself and He gives and sustains life even in the harshest conditions. When winter finally breaks we discover the tree has grown taller because the root system with its life-giving sap has been able to focus on that which remains. Branches and leaves, the circumstances and situations of our lives come and go but the root, the very depth of who we are remains forever and it alone is our strength.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, healing, Ignited Church, inspirational, Jesus, new wineskins, revival, Spiritual warfare, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on May 10, 2021
Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being,
If we are passionate worshipers of Jesus, then everything else is secondary. If Jesus is the primary object of our passions, then everything else becomes the by-product. If we ever get that wrong, we cease to be effective. If soul winning is our primary object, we cease to be effective soul winners. If faith is our primary object then we cannot be faithful. If Holiness is our primary object than we cannot be holy. If revival is our primary object then we will never see revival. Outside of Jesus being the primary object of our lives then we immediately begin to lose ground in every aspect of our walk, whether we are pastors or teachers or whatever role we have in the Body.
I would argue that the saints who have rocked this world for Jesus are the saints who have walked in intimate communion with Him. He is the source of all love and majesty and glory and power. Only by abiding in Him ( Him being our primary object) can we walk in forgiveness and mercy and grace. Out of the abundance of the passion that we experience as we walk with Jesus as our grand obsession comes the overflow that changes those around us and brings light into a dark world. Are you being ineffective in your walk? Have you wondered why? Is Jesus the primary object of your life? Is there joy in you life? Is there glory in your life? Are you an over-comer? Do you have a thankful spirit?
Listen saints, if Jesus is truly the primary object of your life then what flows from that is love, joy, peace, faithfulness, thankfulness, forgiveness and so on. How often have I heard a saint say, on any one of the aforementioned issues “I need to work on that.” That is quite exactly wrong. No amount of “work,” can muster up joy nor thankfulness nor love nor any of the issues of the heart. He must be our all in all. In Him we live and move and have our being. Jesus Himself is the answer to any problem you are having, any problem. The answer lies in Him alone, the answer lies before the throne.
Whatever you seek to achieve in the Kingdom of God comes directly from the depths of your relationship with Him. Find a man who is passionate about sports and he will bore your pants off speaking about it. Find a man who is passionate about politics and he will rip your shirt of telling you all about the latest policies and issues and the state of the world. Find a man who is truly passionate about Jesus and you will find a man who is changing the world. Out of the abundance of our passion flows the power of God.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, inspirational, revival, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on May 9, 2021
The Holy Spirit does not become my spirit. He invades my spirit and lifts my personality into a right relationship with God. That means I can begin now to work out what God has worked in. The Holy Spirit enables me to fulfill all the commands of God and I am without excuse for not fulfilling them. Absolute almighty ability is packed into my spirit and to say “I can’t,” if I have received the Holy Spirit is unconscious blasphemy. (Oswald Chambers)
What Chambers is teaching here flies in the face of most modern Evangelical teaching. He reaches up to the highest mark and tells us that we are without excuse when we cry that we cannot reach it. Compare that to modern Evangelical teaching that reaches down into the lowest mark by telling people that they are merely sinners saved by grace. Can you see the difference? Chambers makes the bold statement that those who say they can’t are unconscious blasphemers. I might say that he is being generous by using the word unconscious.
The Holy Spirit, when he enters into a man or woman, invades them. We understand the word “invade.” It has violent connotations. It is a takeover. And as with every successful invasion, all rebellion must be put down. It is the same with us. The flesh wars against the Spirit. Our own personal spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak. The Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome the flesh until we understand that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus through the power of His Spirit.
If we indeed have been invaded by the Holy Spirit and delivered out of captivity, captivity from what? We have been delivered from the power of sin. This teaching, in all its many facets, that Jesus came to deliver us from hell is not true. That might be a byproduct of our salvation, but it was not nor is the primary object. The primary object is that we were delivered from the power of sin and its consequences, it’s consequences being death, eternal death. We were guilty of sin and we were already condemned. The crime was sin, the punishment is hell. The gift is deliverance from sin and the reward of that is eternal life with God.
Imagine being delivered from the power of sin and you go right on sinning and you excuse it by saying “I can’t stop it.’ If that is your mindset that I would have to question whether you have actually been delivered. I would question whether you have been invaded by the Holy Spirit. I am a city boy and I know nothing about trees. For the most part, I cannot identify them other than them being green and having branches. Yet, I know what an apple looks like. If I see apples hanging from a tree, then I can, with all the confidence of a tree expert, tell you that it is an apple tree.
If you have been delivered from sin, I will know that by the fruits I see. In otherwords you will be known by your fruits. If you have no fruits and all you have is “I am just a sinner saved by grace,” then I would consider you to be on very shaky ground. Listen to what Chambers follows up with to the above quote……………
“Do you mean to tell me that God can search me to the innermost recesses of my dreams, my innermost motives, and find nothing to blame? That God Almighty can bring the winnowing fan of His Spirit and search out my thoughts and imaginations and find nothing to blame? Who can stand before God and say ” My hands are clean, my heart is pure”? Who can climb the hill of the Lord ( see Psalm 24:3-4) No one under heaven, saving the one who has been readjusted at the cross of Christ. That one can stand before the scrutiny of God and know with a knowledge that passes knowledge that the work of God’s Son in her or in him passes the scrutiny of God. No soul ever gets there except by the sovereign grace of God through the Atonement.”
When was the last time you heard that kind of preaching? You have everything that you need in Christ Jesus through His work and by His Spirit to live an exemplary life and to be an extraordinary witness for His glory. You can walk this walk with clean hands. You can walk this walk with a pure heart. Psalm 16:3 speaks of the saints of the earth, they are describes as the excellent ones, the magnificent ones, the noble ones on the earth. This is our calling and this is what we have been enabled to be. To deny this is blasphemy. you are denying the power of God that has invaded and conquered your willing hearts.
And now that we have been conquered, He enables us to be conquerors, in fact more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. The question in Romans 8:35 is “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ”? The context comes in the next few words. Shall tribulation? Shall distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? These are the battles of the noble ones, the saints on earth, and yet in spite of all these things we conquer, in fact we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. We are saints on the earth, we are God’s excellent ones and nothing that exists, whether angels or principalities of powers nor anything in your life right now nor anything to come can change who we are and who we love and who we are loved by. No matter how high we ascend or even if we found ourselves in the depths and death has come knocking at our door, nothing can separate us from the love of God which has, forever taken up residence in our hearts through Christ by His Spirit.
Your calling is a high one brothers and sisters. Never let anything persuade you otherwise. Will you walk according to your calling? Will you walk in the nobility of Christ who lives and reigns in you? Will you present to God clean hands and a pure heart? What would stop you from doing so? Whatever it is you have been empowered to overcome it and walk in the beauty of Holiness. Begin today to walk in the holiness of God through Christ our Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, inspirational, new wineskins, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Posted by appolus on May 8, 2021
Once 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 are 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 bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, False Doctrine, False Prophet, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on May 6, 2021
Luther did not invent a new doctrine when he announced that we are saved by grace through faith and not of works. He rediscovered it and presented it to a church that had long ago forgotten this most fundamental and vital aspect of what it means to be saved. This most basic fundamental truth was lost in religiosity and liturgy many centuries before. The clergy had robbed the laity. Century after century Christendom slowly drifted away, each generation losing something from the previous generation until they were totally adrift from the Truth. Once they were totally adrift from the truth then with every passing century the errors solidified and grew in strength. Walls like Jericho rose up and stood, formidable.
Then comes Luther and as he hammered that nail into the door, the whole of Christendom shook. A bloody revolution then ensued as the clergy, keepers of the error and the status quo, fought with all of their might against this upstart priest of no account who was challenging their religion and their liturgy. I believe a similar revolution would have to take place today in order to rediscover the truths of 1 Cor 14 and how we interact in gatherings. The sign gifts and their purpose of edifying the saints and the unsaved and the unlearned have fallen into disuse and have been forgotten. God help this starving and dying generation. If we do not have eyes to see then we cannot be fed. The walls of Jericho were rebuilt after the reformation. Brick upon brick, stone upon stone, error upon error.
We need to rediscover, once again, the fundamental truths of our faith as it is plainly written in the Scriptures. Who has dared to bypass or take away from the Holy Word of God? Do they not know that they shall be removed from the book of life? The walls of religion and the devastating clergy/laity divide need to come down. And if they will not then the saints need to abandon those strongholds. We need a mass exodus from behind those walls. We need to allow God Himself to be a wall of fire around us. Dear saint, you must follow the fire by night and the cloud by day and not the doctrines of the Nicolations. You cannot be immersed in the culture of religion, which is a mere reflection of the prevailing culture around us, and serve God at the same time.
Posted in Christian, Christianity, church of scotland, False Prophets, False Prophets and Teachers, false teachers, healing ministry, hope, intimacy, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, spiritual gifts, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on May 4, 2021
There is a great gulf between our perception of provision and what we think of when think of work. The Lord makes provision for His children. Does He have expectations? Yes. Yet, the context of duty must be in light of a proper understanding of His provision. As in all things, the Lord is interested in why we do a thing rather than what we do. Two identical actions, with different motivations, can be to one a blessing and light, and to another a curse and darkness. Let me try and illustrate.
I grew up in what is known as a tenement. It was a large Victorian stone building. My American friends would call it an apartment building or block but to me that seems much to modern a name for something rather dark and foreboding as a tenement building. Thick damp stone walls. Big families crammed into tiny one or two bedroom apartments, some only having one room, we would call that a “single end.” They were cold and drafty and full of mice, often times there would be mushrooms growing out of the walls. Outside toilets meant “pots,” under the bed. Old metal baths pulled out on a Sunday night for bathing. Now, that was when I grew up, imagine what it was like one hundred and fifty years before that?
Imagine living like that for generations and then making your way across a vast ocean and finding yourself in the new world. Now imagine that you find out that you can get 160 acres, for free! You could homestead. The deal you would make is that you would work the land. You would cut down trees, remove stumps, remove all stones,till the land, plant the seed, tend the fields, bring in the harvest. Store the harvest and sell what you could in town after having made provision for your family.
If that was me in those days, you would wonder what that singing was, even when the weather was terrible. It would be me, as I chopped down tree and dug up stumps. It would be me as I tilled the land. And every day I would be in wonder of how I came upon such good fortune. I would remember where I came from often. I would remember that I had been delivered from drudgery and poverty. My work would be a joy as I kept in mind where I came from. In that sense it would not be work at all, it would all be provision.
Now consider the lazy un-thankful man. Would you hear him singing in the field? Would he be angrily carrying out his “work?” Would he be constantly complaining about the nature of his work, the weather and his aching bones? In all, the homestead act in America would offer 500 million acres of land. Only 80 million acres were ever taken and of those who did take it, in many areas the failure rate was as high as 60% Now of course there would be multiple factors in the failures, but in the end it was, for many, simply too hard.
The saints of God do not fail. They know where they came from and they never forget. They know they were dead in their sins. They know they were bound and captive to them. They know that countless generations before them died in their sin. They know they have been delivered. They know how good their God is. And so, even on the hardest days, through the toughest trials, it’s all provision for the saint. He has been given this new life and no matter what, he knows it. None of it is “work,’ to the saint, rather it is a labor of love. Your life itself is a labor of love as unto God, your redeemer.
What spirit do you have saint? Is your life a labor of love? Even when it rains, even when it snows, even when the stumps are refusing to yield as you labor to remove them? It is good to remind ourselves often of just what we were delivered from and who delivered us and gave us what we have now. Glory to God in the highest. He gives good things to His children and He knows how to train them and raise them for His will and His own good pleasure. Everything becomes a good thing when we see that it is all God’s provision.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, inspirational, Jesus, revival, Spiritual warfare, Spirituality, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on May 2, 2021
Recall the conception that you had of holiness before you stood, by the grace of God, where you stand today. It was the conception of a breathless standing on a pinnacle for a second at a time but never with thought of being able to live there. Yet when the Holy Spirit brought you there, you found it was not a pinnacle but a plateau, a broad way, where the provision of strength and peace comes all the time, a much easier place to live that lower down.
The security of the position into which God brings His saints is such that the life is maintained without ecstasy. There is no place for ecstasy and manifestations in a normal healthy spiritual life. The emotions that are beyond the control of the will are a sign that there is something not in the secure position, something undisciplined, untrained. (Oswald Chambers-Biblical ethics)
Brother Oswald just said a lot. And it would be worth just re-reading it a few times to see where he is coming from. It is in the context of the will and what part the will plays in our lives. If the emotions rule the will, or over-rule the will then there is a problem. Emotions are wonderful things and I fully embrace them. Yet, more often that not, they are like the waves of the sea driven by winds that we cannot see. The ocean becomes broiling and heaving and destruction is never far from hand in the midst of this kind of sea.
So brother Oswald contrasts a pinnacle to a plateau. A plateau or a Mesa. A mesa is an isolated flat topped elevation or ridge which is bounded from all sides by steep hills or rock faces and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. It stands above the plain. It is not so high as a pinnacle, but it is still high enough to separate it from its surroundings while still in the midst of its surrounding. You cannot last long on a pinnacle but you can live on the broad plain flats of an elevated plateau.
Jesus is our plateau. When our eyes are upon Jesus then we are elevated above the noise and the din and the waves of the roiling sea. Peter discovered that it was not good enough for Jesus do walk upon the water, to be elevated above the storm just for a moment, we were born from above to occupy the high ground. And our focus on Jesus is the answer. Consider these things from Scriptures that describe Jesus. He is our High Tower. He is our Rock and our Fortress. These are all places of deliverance. The righteous run into these places and they are safe.
Can you say that you live above the fray of your emotions? What wind drives you? The gales of insecurity and fears? The hurricane force winds of disaster and persecution and loss? Or are you driven by the wind of the Holy Spirit? Do you stand upon the plateau, the broad place that elevates you above the storms of the plains below? You will notice that Chambers is talking about the way that our lives are “maintained.” The everyday life. He is not denying that people have emotions or that even men and woman can have ecstatic moments in their lives, but he describe them as pinnacles as opposed to plateaus.
The Lord Himself said in John 14 that He would not leave us as orphans but rather He would send us the Holy Spirit. He begins the chapter by addressing the troubles that we would undoubtedly face in our lives. “Let not you hearts be troubled.” And again in verse 27 He says ” Let not your hearts be troubled, neither be afraid.,” because “my peace I give unto you, not as the world does.” Jesus gives us His peace. His peace is our plateau. It is quite apart from anything the world has to offer and it is very much apart from the troubles of this world.
If you find yourself without this peace brothers and sisters, then look up. Look up into Jesus. Come away with Him above the troubles of this world. He has prepared a place for us, not just in eternity, but now, it is the plateau of peace. It takes discipline and obedience and trust to climb the high walls that lead to this place. It is not for the faint of heart and it is not for the nominal Christian, whatever that means. The will, your will, must yield to His will and you must trust Jesus implicitly.
Every foothold is a victory. Every ledge is a place of rest. Looking up and not looking down is a must. Who will find themselves scaling these heights? Who among us will master their emotions by the power that the Lord has given us? When we come to this place we will find that the emotions have found their proper place. The broad place of God’s peace that surpasses all understanding gives us standing on a firm foundation, on the Rock, upon the mighty fortress of our God. High atop the high tower in the midst of the plains for all the world to see. In it, but not of it. This is our place saints, this is our place, this is His peace. Journey on my fellow pilgrims.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, discernment, God's love, healing, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, new wineskins, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 30, 2021
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.(Joh 1:1-5)
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All praise to God, the Word was made flesh. The love of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, the mercy of God, the glory of God, the plan of God, the long suffering of God. All of this and much more manifested in the Word made flesh. The very representation of the God-head, manifested in the Son of God and walking among us. God commanded that light would shine out of darkness, and so into the darkness of our world stepped the Word of God made flesh, Jesus. Life, overcoming death. In death He would bring forth life. Out of the darkness of Calvary, the greatest darkness ever known, shone the greatest light ever known. The culmination of the sin of man was overcome by the one without sin.
This great light than shone out of the darkness of Calvary is the life of men. Men may be dead in their sin but the light that shines in the darkness brings life to those who are dead. This is the work of the Lord and it is a marvel to behold. In Him is life and those who know Him walk in the newness of that life and it dwells within them. This light beckons to those who are dead in the darkness of their sin to come to Him and let His light shine upon them. Man will do one of two things, he will run to it or he will run from it. Those who run to it are consumed by it. It overwhelms them and transforms them and fills them with unspeakable glory. They have penetrated and have been penetrated by impenetrable light. The glory of God and the redemption of man, purified as His own special people.
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Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, new wineskins, religion, revival, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The Psalms, the remnant, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 29, 2021
As Jesus faced down Satan in the desert he told that old liar that “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Every word brothers and sisters that proceeds forth from the mouth of God. Man needs bread to live, he has to eat otherwise he will slowly starve to death. What a ghastly sight it is to see someone in the latter stages of starvation. They lose all of their characteristics and begin to resemble one another as they waste away and gauntness takes over. As we sit in our pews week after week, no one dares disturb the sound of silence.
Despite the richness of our gifts and our callings, despite our ability to give and receive words of knowledge, to hear heavenly songs sung in a heavenly language, to hear prophecy’s and exhortations that can speak directly into the heart of what we are going through in the moment, we dare not disturb this established silence.Have we made a neon god? Do we sit in pews and worship a god of our own making? A god that has to dim the lights and break out the ice making machine to create an “atmosphere,” that was long ago lost to slick professional worship teams and men with programs.Listen brothers and sisters, if entertainment brought them in, only entertainment will keep them. Yet how long before they grow weary of the entertainment? Where do they go after the dimmed lights and the religious concerts fail to move them and the smoke dissipates?
If we could see with spiritual eyes as we sat in our pews and looked around, would we see well fed people living on the fat of a land flowing with milk and honey, living abundantly in the life of Christ, edified and well fed? Or rather would we see a people gaunt with hunger, starving for the Spiritual edification that the Lord Himself provided for us. He promised us that He would not leave us as orphans but send the Holy Spirit to lead and to guide us. What happens when the Holy Spirit is silenced and men have decided that they know best?
Mar 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Is this what we have done brothers and sisters? No longer can we have the Lord speak to us how He pleases in the midst of the congregation. We have rejected these gifts so that the traditions of men may be kept and we now must not disturb the sound of silence, that silence being the words and the wisdom of man. And in the midst of that darkness we sit, only ever wondering what the power of God truly looks like, and the smoke slowly drifts away.
Posted in Charisma Magazine, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, delusion, discernment, end times, faith, false teachers, gifts of the spirit, God's voice, healing, heresy, inspirational, intimacy, manifest presence, new wineskins, pentecostal, praise and worship, revival, spiritual gifts, Spiritual warfare, testimony, 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, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 28, 2021
Psa 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
When David left the Ark with Obed -Edom, it was reported that all that pertained to his house was blessed of the Lord. Our modern day prosperity teachers would convince us that God enriched Obed-Edom but Jewish history shows that Obed-Edom’s family were enriched by the birth of many children in the short time the Ark was there. Women of the household giving birth to multiple babies. There was life in the house of Obed-Edom and that more abundantly. The presence of God gives us life and that more abundantly.
Life in God, life in the Spirit, the overcoming power of God that comes from walking in His Spirit. Obed-Edom would later be found as a guard of the Temple treasure and involved in the worship in the temple. It seems he followed the Ark, he followed the presence of God and dwelt there as a door-keeper. Have you been touched by His presence? Would one day in His presence be better than a thousand elsewhere? Will you follow Him where He leads? Has the presence of God taken hold of your life?
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, inspirational, new wineskins, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 26, 2021
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Imagine you are crossing a great river. The world is on one side and you are headed toward the other side, the heavenly side. Each time you are obedient, each time you turn your back on sin, another stepping stone appears before you and you move forward towards your goal. One step at a time on the road to glory. It is by obedience that we make forward progress towards a deeper walk with the Lord and we overcome.
Now, there are two main categories of obedience. One is a legalistic obedience and the other is glorified obedience. Brokenness, submission, surrender and love must be the building blocks of our obedience. If we simply try to be obedient without first taking these steps, revealed to us through the word and the Holy Spirit, we will discover that there is an obedience that binds us in chains and the weight of these chains will drag us down and drown us. Yet, obedience born out of love and a desire to please the one that we love frees us and fulfills us and propels us on.
Glorified obedience, one motivated by love and awe of a righteous holy God and a revelation of Calvary is like the watering of a tree. There can be no fruit produced unless that tree is watered by the living waters of obedience. Striving to be obedient without the fruits of brokenness will lead to a desert landscape in which nothing can live. The motivations of our heart, the seat of our affections that sets our eyes upon Jesus and the Holiness of God takes us from glory to glory.
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Posted by appolus on April 25, 2021
What does it mean to rob from yourself? In the natural, it would be quite impossible to rob from yourself for after all, everything that you have, according to this world, is your own. So quite naturally you cannot rob from yourself. Yet in the realms of the Spirit, in the Kingdom of God, you can most certainly rob from yourself.
Let us say that God has gifted you in some way. Denying that gift is robbing from yourself. You are taking from yourself what was given to you by God. You can rob yourself of peace. You can rob yourself of joy. Contentment, self control, holiness, all of these things you can rob from yourself. We like to blame the devil for a lot of stuff, but most people that I have ran into with this problem are simply robbing themselves. Do not get me wrong, the devil will take full advantage of the circumstances. Yet, when we take from ourselves that which was given to us we are robbing ourselves of the good gifts of God.
We can even rob from ourselves by taking what does not belong to us. Now that does not seem to make any sense, right? Bear with me. When you look into your future, whether it is tomorrow or next week or next month and you take from it and add it to your reality today, you are robbing yourself of today’s peace with tomorrows troubles. Tomorrow does not belong to you. In the realms of your imagination you have created any number of scenarios for yourself which you have no possible way of knowing if they will ever come to pass. Your taking out a loan of fear and paying a huge amount of interest on a debt that should not exist. Foolish man or woman, how do you even know you shall be alive tomorrow?
You are not only robbing from yourself but you are robbing from God, He alone holds your future. It is disobedience. Repent of that and give that borrowed/stolen burden to God right now. Take what you have been given and live it to the fullest today. Live in the glorious gifts of joy and peace and grace and forgiveness. Live in contentment with thanksgiving. Understand and know what the Lord sees when He sees you. Do not take from the past and steal from the future and nullify your present. If you do, you will be robbing from God and robbing yourself of the promises of God that are enjoyed through obedience.
In the days in which we live, that grows darker with every passing moment, we must grasp a hold of who we are in Christ. Is it any wonder that identity is front and center in society and in politics? Identity is under attack across the board and now where is this more true than among the saints. Yes, saints, that is what you are. We have to understand about His righteousness and how we have been called to walk in it. Lift up your eyes and look upon Jesus. To look upon anything other than Jesus in your life is to magnify everything that is not of Him. Do not identify yourself as a sinner saved by grace. That is not your identity. You are an adopted child of the living God. You are not a sinner you are a saint. If you do sin, the Lord Himself has made provisions for that. Do not aid and abet Sin in robbing from you that which God has provided.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8)
Do you see what Jesus is saying there? He is not primarily giving you power to witness( although you will have that) He is giving you the power to be a witness. Can you see the difference? It means that by your very life, Christ in you, the hope of Glory, will shine out into the darkness of those around you. They see you, they see your changed life, by the power of God, and they see the reality of what God can do. How He has truly overcome hell and death and sin.That is the victory, that is the promise, that is the hope to a dying mankind. Talk is cheap, any religious man can do that, but a life that exemplifies the Word of God is the power of God and the testimony of God.
Therefore, by robbing from yourself you are robbing from God and robbing a dying world that is all around you. Let the power of God be seen in you. The very least that we can do as saints is to live an exemplary life before God and before men. Quit running to the lowest common denominator and pronouncing that to be your title. There is only one entity that wants that and it is not God. The world already understands what it means to be a sinner. It is your changed life, the victory over sin that causes them to reflect upon their own life and know that there is something more, there is hope, hope for the hopeless. Live out your title, you are a precious child of the Living God. Live your life by the power of God and be His witness. The kingdom of darkness already has its representatives. Let the Kingdom of God be seen in you among men.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of scotland, deception, discernment, faith, False Doctrine, gifts of the spirit, God's love, God's voice, healing, healing ministry, heresy, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, new wineskins, pentecostal, revival, spiritual growth, Spirituality, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 23, 2021
There has been a deadly virus since the dawn of time. It infects its host and begins the process of death. It impacts every part of its target. There is no human cure, no scientific vaccine, no possibility of shaking of its side-effects. It can often times brilliantly hide within its host and to the outward eye, all seems well. In other cases the host is ravaged, but in both examples, the end result is the same, death.
There is one antidote and unless the person receives it he or she shall surely die. The antidote has two thousand years of test studies to show its effectiveness. It has never failed. It has 100% efficacy. The person that provided the antidote had the virus put upon Him, and while He carried it, it never infected Him. And now, His antibodies, found in His Blood, is the cure. It does not matter where you come from, what color you are, whether you are rich or poor, all have equal access to the vaccine.
The cost? It was paid for you by another. His name is Jesus.Your part is to present yourself to Him and acknowledge that you have the virus and that rather than death, you desire to live, you desire the gift of eternal life. The name of the virus is Sin. It is master over you and controls you. If you desire a new Lord, He is waiting for you to reject your old master and to cry out to Him. You will take man’s vaccine, will you take God’s?
Posted in bible, Charisma Magazine, Choo Thomas, Christian, christian blog, Christianity, church, church of scotland, churches, consequences of sin, deception, end times, God's voice, healing, inspirational, intimacy, new wineskins, pentecostal, religious, revival, Spirituality, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on April 23, 2021
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
Perhaps you have a heavy spirit this day. You may be having a hard time imagining that things will ever change. It seems to you that tomorrow will inevitably be like today because today was just the same as yesterday, and on it goes. For whatever reason you cannot seem to shake this of. The Lord has provided us with a solution and a way of escape from every situation. He says that we should put on a “garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” If you will begin to praise Him right now, even although you do not feel like it, then the spirit of heaviness will flee.
He will lead and guide you through this difficult part of the journey. In the world, when a person is most at risk and in great danger, they rely greatly on their five senses. In the Spirit it is not so. As you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, as you negotiate the most dangerous parts of your journey, the Lord asks that you would suspend your senses, close your eyes and let Him lead you. He will lead you step by step, minute by minute, day by day and far from feeling vulnerable because you have closed your eyes, you will feel more secure than you have ever before because you have surrendered your ability to cope, and you are completely dependent upon Him
I know it can be difficult when all you can see is trouble. When all that you know is heartbreak, when everything that can go wrong seems to be going wrong. Yet if we had spiritual eyes we would see an innumerable host of angels, a cloud of witnesses, a host from heaven and most importantly, the Holy Spirit making sure that you are not crushed, that you are not overwhelmed with despair. We have, within our broken vessels, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God and we see this as we gaze upon the Lord Jesus in our hearts. For we that live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
Out of the darkness of our situations, God Himself has commanded light to shine forth. And so we know that all things in the lives of those who are called according to His purpose, work together so that the grace of God may abound, through the thanksgiving of the saints even in the midst of many trials, to the glory of God. These affliction that you are suffering through, while you are going through them, seem so very long, are working in you to produce an eternal glory of great significance. Lets close our human eyes and lift our spiritual eyes and look upon the things that cannot yet be seen, for they are eternal.
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Posted by appolus on April 20, 2021
To be chained in Christ
Is to be free indeed
Free to die and free to bleed
Free to walk the pilgrim way
Free to die to self each day
To be lost in Christ
Is to be found
To feel His presence all around
To plunge into the Father’s love
To walk with Him with grace from above
To be dead in Christ
Is to truly live
To truly love and to forgive
To live this life and so much more
To honor, worship and adore
To live in Christ
Is to surely die
To walk with Him who dwells on high
Alive to Christ and dead to sin
Gloriously filled from deep within
To reign with Christ
Is to surely serve
A testimony to preserve
Of the glorious King who reigns on high
Whose glory fills the earth and sky
To walk with Christ
Is to surely run
To know the journey’s just begun
To run and run and never tire
To soar with wings and ever higher
To dwell with Christ
Is to surely roam
We’ll never settle till we’re home
Pilgrim saints along the way
Ever closer every day
The paradoxes that we find
In Christ alone renews the mind
The way that seems so right to man
Is opposite to our God’s plan
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, healing, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, new wineskins, poetry, praise and worship, revival, spiritual growth, spiritual poetry, Spiritual warfare, Spirituality, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 18, 2021
A poem for all the people who grew up in less than perfect households
.
He who walks upon the sea of tears.
I am fragile I can be broken
Broken by the words spoken
Can't you see your words are clawing me apart?
Can't you see how you're crushing my heart?
How my heart longed to hear warm words spoken
To be warm and whole and not to be broken
Why didn't you just reach out and touch me?
And cover me and hold me in love.
The broken child in you
Now breaks the child that you can see
Two broken children collide
Only wanting to be free
I am fragile I can be broken
Broken by the words left unspoken
And this brokenness is now a void in me
That is deeper and wider than the deepest sea
What can fix a broken heart?
And fill this vast expanse in me
What can fill an endless void?
That's deeper than the deepest sea
So many tears, enough to fill an ocean
Shed by all the children, broken
A Saviour comes and walks upon this sea of tears
He calms the stormy sea and quells the fears
I have come to mend the broken heart
To heal the wounds where you were torn apart
I have come to set the captive free
To dry up every tear that fills the deepest sea
I hold the universe in the palm of my hand
I cause the blind to see and the lame to stand
And all the stars in the heavens, I know them all by name
And I will touch you and you shall never be the same
The words I speak they are life and they are love
I know every sparrow that falls from above
I created the sun and the moon and the pouring rain
I still the stormy seas and I take away the pain
Come and bring your emptiness to me
And I will fill you with a love that's deeper than the sea
Come all you that are broken and contrite
And I will heal you and set you free this night
And so I came and took my Saviour's hand
Out of the pit on the solid Rock I stand
A broken heart replaced and reconciled
Standing whole and new, I am my Father's child
And every word spoken, they are life to me
Your love and Your kindness, they have set me free
And by thy Spirit my eternity is sealed
And by thy love my broken heart was healed.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church, church of scotland, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, healing ministry, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, manifest presence, new wineskins, pentecostal, poetry, religious, revival, spiritual growth, spiritual poetry, Spirituality, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 18, 2021
There is a voice that penetrates the veil, that pierces the darkness of my flesh and my mind. It is amazing how something so still and so gentle, can be heard above all the noise. In a storm it is almost impossible to hear anything, as the mind is tossed by wave after wave of thoughts that comes crashing down. Then suddenly through it all, through the darkness of the storm, comes a piercing shaft of light that illuminates a treacherous sea. Life and light has penetrated darkness and death. The still small voice of God almighty says “peace be still,” and the wind ceases and suddenly there is great calm. Thank you Father for that still, small voice that rescues me.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, churches, God's love, God's voice, inspirational, intimacy, manifest presence, new wineskins, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 16, 2021
Can you imagine what it would be like if we witnessed 20 year olds being breast fed by their mothers? Consider how offensive it would be to see adults being breast fed. We would recoil back from that in horror. Yet we have, for the most part, a never weaned church. Here is the definition of weaned-accustomed to managing without something on which they have become dependent or of which they have become excessively fond, or-accustom (an infant or other young mammal) to food other than its mother’s milk.
Most children by the age of one, have been weaned from the breast. In the past and in some cultures it could be two or three years olds, but certainly young children have begun to eat solids early on. They develop a stomach for solids, for meats. Imagine only ever drinking milk gleaned from your mother. If you can imagine that and the undoubted physical and psychological problems that it would create, then you can imagine a building full of people who are reliant upon one man, other than the man Christ Jesus. This is the un-weaned church.
First and foremost, we as Christians must be completely reliant upon Jesus our Lord and the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to teach us and to bring us into all truth. The Holy Spirit would never feed one of His children on an all milk diet. As babes, yes. As children, as young adults, as mature saints, no, never. Getting meat is a far cry from drinking milk. In the natural our milk comes from our mothers breast, a cow or a goat. Getting meat requires a hunt. One must track something down, patiently employ skills across a broad spectrum, endure weather and deprivation, and all that just to trap or kill the animal. It then has to be skinned, broken down and carried back.
The church has become dependent on something they are very fond of, and is in and of itself the path of least resistance. To sit week after week and allow another to feed you and make no efforts to feed yourself is akin to being a baby. The notion of getting meat and devouring it is alien to this modern day church. It is also alien to society in general who rather than have to hunt for food, simply go to the supermarket. Or to the fast food restaurant, and even then, the drive through. If this system ever breaks down, tens of millions of people will starve to death. If the one man system of church ever breaks down, the same would happen spiritually. I would argue that it is happening, a long slow starvation on a vast crowd of adults who have no “protein,” in their diet.
A man needs to know how to hunt. A man of God needs to know how to communicate from and learn from and hear from God. If the man cannot hunt, he is reliant upon the systems of this world to feed him. If a man who claims to know God but cannot hear from God, cannot learn from God and His Word, does not have the wherewithal to desire to diligently seek out His Truth, then he is reliant upon the one man systems of churches to feed him.
If you have only ever had milk, then you cannot stomach the meat of God. You must wean yourself from the milk and go out and hunt for the meat. If you only know milk you will undoubtedly be carnally minded. You will say you are of this church or that church. You will elevate a man up onto a pedestal. That man, probably your pastor, will become preeminent in your life. When you meet other people and have a chance to share about Jesus, you will share about “your pastor.” You will say things like “you have to come to my church,” or “you have to hear my pastor.’ Your milk diet will exclude the possibility that you simply share about Jesus. Whoever is preeminent in your life, that is who you will share with others.
God calls people out from behind the walls of their strongholds. Outside the camp. Out into the wilderness. Places that require you to be dependent upon Him alone. He will teach you how to catch fish and you will rejoice and praise God for the fish on the line. He will teach you how to trap meat, and you will rejoice that He will bless you with meat. You will become strong and dependent upon Him. You will help to feed others with meat and show them and share with them how you caught it and how they too can get this meat.
None of this will happen while you reside on your mothers breast. None of this will happen when you are dependent upon another to do your hunting for you. Will you diligently seek Him and where He may be found? Or will you sit, week after week and be fed on fast food? Even it were not fast food, the fact that you would become dependent upon another to feed you would mean that you would become atrophied in your spirit man. Overweight or starving, an eating disorder all the same. Stand up, be a man, be a woman and allow God Himself to teach you how to find meat and how to eat meat.
Posted in Charisma Magazine, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, controlling churches, discernment, God's love, God's voice, intimacy, new wineskins, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 16, 2021
Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Oftentimes when things become more accessible they become less desirable. There is a fundamental flaw in humanity, you can call it the Adam and Eve flaw. We desire what we cannot have and oftentimes take for granted what we do have, until of course we do not have it. The object remains the same, what determines the attitude depends upon whether we have it or not. The ability to be thankful for what we have is a gift that must be learned practically. It can only be learned in the classroom of life. Many never learn , a fortunate few discover that there is great peace and contentment within the heart that is full of thanks.
The great danger is that we take our relationship with the Lord for granted. Time and time again we see Israel drift away from the Lord in times of prosperity. When we are in battles in life, or struggling to survive, we have a high dependency upon the Lord. We stay close to Him and we cry out to Him to keep us. The key for our walk with Jesus is to stay close to Him whether we are full or whether we are hungry, whether we are clothed or whether we are naked. In short, we must learn to be content in whatever situation we find ourselves in.
Staying thankful, staying intimate, spending time with the Lord lies at the heart of our relationship with Him. Thankfully we have been called to a battle-field and not a playground. If we are living Godly in Christ Jesus we will experience persecution and this persecution keeps us close to our Lord. That is why it is important to thank God in everything, to rejoice in Him at all times and in everything. Not for everything but in everything. For the steps of a righteous man and woman are ordered of God. We are His servants and it is He who keeps us. He keeps us when we go through the waters, He keeps us in the midst of the fires and He keeps us in quiet tranquil days when there is not a cloud in the sky. If He is the center of all things then we shall be grounded and centered in Him no matter what the circumstances of our lives.
When all around us are being devastated by circumstances and tossed like waves in a sea overcome by storms, we can stand above those waves when we fix our eyes on Jesus. Rather than the circumstances of life tearing us apart, with the right attitude of our heart, they become elements which make our faith deeper and stronger and actually propel us further into the heart of God. It is the will that keeps us. The will rules the emotions. Jesus in the garden, by an act of His will, submits to the will of His Father. It brings Him great peace when the matter is settled. Indeed it brings Him joy. You must settle in your mind if you will trust Him in all things. If you do that and then put it into practice, put flesh on the bones of what you believe, then you will be able to say with Paul that you have learned to be content in every situation.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
A Call To The Remnant 