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.
Archive for the ‘Christianity’ Category
He who walks upon the sea of tears.
Posted by appolus on April 18, 2021
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 »
That Still, Small Voice.
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 »
The never weaned church.
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 »
I have learned.
Posted by appolus on April 16, 2021
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 »
You snatched me from hell.
Posted by appolus on April 12, 2021
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid because I know that your Spirit goes ahead of me. A fire by night and a cloud by day. This fire that burns at the center of my soul, consumes the all-consuming darkness and lights the way in the blackness of my many deserts. It warms me against the night cold that would sap me of my strength. And your cloud oh Lord covers me from the searing heat of my many trials and afflictions that would drain me and cause me to stumble and fall.
You are the very essence of my life. You are the wellspring of life itself. You are my Jesus. Itβs at the name of Jesus that the demons flee. Itβs at the name of Jesus that the world shakes. The thunder roars and the lightning flashes at the name of Jesus. Mountains fall down at the name of Jesus, the birds themselves sing of your fame. Even the very darkness is light to you my King.
Even if I make my bed in hell, even there the name of Jesus is high and lifted up and all shall bow their knees. Where could I go oh Lord, where could I flee from your Spirit? In the darkest moments of my life, when my downcast soul cried out, all seemed lost and gone and suddenly,suddenly you are there in all your glory. The seas that roared and the winds that blew, they bowed their knee to you and all was calm.
Even when I lay bloodied and defeated in the battle-field of life, it was you Jesus, who rode on a mighty stallion through the debris and the fire and the destruction and plucked me from the jaws of total defeat and Calvaryβs victory won the day. When I had fallen to the bottom of the bottomless pit and cried out with all that was left within me, you came for me, right where I was, the gates of hell itself. You picked me up and you lifted me out of the darkness of hell and you put me down and made my feet to stand in a sure place. Praise you today Jesus and be glorified.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, inspirational, Jesus, pentecostal, religion, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Business as usual.
Posted by appolus on April 11, 2021
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of scotland, churches, consequences of sin, deception, end times, intimacy, Jesus, new wineskins, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
That still small voice.
Posted by appolus on April 11, 2021
Ride and ride with all your might
Push the horse into the night
Towards the dawn thatβs straight ahead
Fleeing darkness fleeing dread
I have swam in violent seas of chaos
I have been caught in the lightning storms of life
Pushing mighty boulders up perpetual hills
I have baked in the sun and shivered naked with the chills
I have been a starving man
With my nose pressed against the window pane
I have wrestled with this world and sanity
And know something of what it means to be insane
And now I listen to the silence
Tis a table before me fit for a King
A glorious feast of beauty and peace
An immovable Spirit dwelling deep within
And in this silence where there is no noise
Can you hear it? Can you hear that still small voice?
A feast indeed to a starving man
To remember in your heart where it all began
In Christ alone I stand or fall
Tis a starving man who canβt hear His call
His silence His peace tis manna to my soul
For distractions and noise surely take their toll
Till thereβs nothing left but a valley of dry bones
And tortured men with hearts full of stones
Starving and dying and withering away
They have long since forgotten how to listen and pray
Oh Christendom how often I would gather you in
Away from the world with its noise and its din
Those who can hear, in that day they shall stand
In the beauty of silence in the palm of My hand.
God is calling, He is calling today
Learn how to listen, to listen and pray
Distractions must cease and an end to all noise
Till once more you hear that still small voice.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, inspirational, pentecostal, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
The long narrow path home.
Posted by appolus on April 9, 2021
We hear a lot about the glory of God and encountering God. I have written much about it over the years and it has radically transformed me. His manifest presence is overwhelmingly glorious and jarring, and powerfully transformative. No one can encounter God in such a manner and not be fundamentally changed. If you are not changed, you did not encounter God. Every saint must encounter God and His manifest presence.
Yet, in the span of this life and by the way we measure our lives, these encounters make up a very small part of our time on the narrow walk home. They are vital, but they are like landmarks along the way. The vast majority of our time as saints is spent in the wilderness, the deserts, the high mountain plains. We journey through trials and tribulations. We spend seasons in silence. We have many times when we cry out to God. We pass through doubts and fears and deep flooded valleys.
I watched a documentary once about the Pacific Crest trail. It runs for 2640 miles from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington State. One of the hardest and most arduous parts of the trail is right at the beginning where hundreds of miles of desert have to be traversed. You will be hungry, thirsty and very cold at night and then suffer the heat of a blazing desert sun through the day.
When you eventually come out of that terrain, you will hit the mountains. The hikers stated that if they had not been conditioned by the harsh desert hike, they would never have had the stamina to make it up and over the mountain passes. Can you see how that works brothers and sisters? Without the great spiritual trials of our lives we would not be conditioned to make it up into the mountains and over them.
In a show called “Running with Bear Grylls,” the host takes celebrities on two day hikes through very difficult situations. On one of the shows they were in Norway, a very cold and rainy country, not unlike my home country of Scotland. He wanted to show his guest an exercise they do in special ops training. He made him create a burning ember on some bark from a tree. He then had to enter a freezing lake up to his neck and tread water for several minutes with this burning ember held aloft.
Now this is a test of endurance. The fight is against the body which is beginning to shut down. The burning embers will be his salvation when he gets out of the freezing water. When he gets out, he needs to have the wherewithal to take that burning ember and make a fire. After he makes the fire he has to get his compass out and set his bearings so that he knows which way to go when he is warmed back to life.
All of this is to test the ability to continue to think when all around you is in chaos, when your mind and body are in full rebellion against the circumstances that it finds itself in. Saints, we are regularly tested like this. I put it to you that the ember that is held aloft is the burning Holy Spirit and the Word of God. No matter what, it has to be held aloft. The compass is the same. No matter what the circumstances are we have to be able to set our compasses and know which way to go, the compass is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
And then, all of a sudden, we encounter the Living God again. It can be on the mountain top, but it is just as likely to be in the depths of the valley. The Mountain will manifest itself in the valley. Suddenly the Sun rises in the depths of the darkness and warms our cold hearts. Suddenly I know He is there. Suddenly I feel strength coming back into tired and worn out limbs. My waiting has not been in vain. Like a long lost lover, He returns. The one for whom my heart ached for is there.
And for some glorious moments I am revived in every part of who I am. The journey which I thought I could not complete suddenly becomes possible again, all things are possible when my Lord visits me. And from that place I take the lingering embers of His presence and they are life to me. The Word of God is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, the long narrow path home. And I keep going, knowing that there will come again this oasis of His glory. Again and again, until I am home. Keep going saints. I love my fellow sojourners.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, manifest presence, new wineskins, pentecostal, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, Uncategorized | 8 Comments »
A great multitude!
Posted by appolus on April 9, 2021
Posted in christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, religion, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
From the valley to the glory.
Posted by appolus on April 8, 2021
How many times can a heart be broken How many tears have to fall How many times do I have to forgive Or perhaps not forgive at all When my steps grow tired and weary And my sleep has vanished in the night How can I go on living day by day And not simply give up the fight Where can I find the strength to go on When it seems I have lost my way How can I lift my head from the pillow Even if itβs for just for one more day Then all of a sudden I know He is here My waiting has not been in vain He comes to me through the fire and the flood Through the heartache and through the pain And suddenly I have the strength to carry on I rise up on the wings of His love Who knew I would rise o'r this valley of death And find myself far far above. I soar on the glorious splendor of Love On the wings of the eagle I fly I feast on the banquet He prepares for me As I revel in the endless sky There is a place where the setting Son Merges sky and endless sea, A place where different worlds collide A place where you and I are free. In God alone we find this place, Where everything else is stripped away And there I look into your face Where endless sky meets ocean spray Will you sail beyond horizons In endless seas of blue Will you fly in boundless skies above You can as long as you are true.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, gifts of the spirit, God's voice, healing, healing ministry, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, manifest presence, new wineskins, pentecostal, poetry, praise and worship, spiritual poetry, Spirituality, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
The heavens declare His righteousness.
Posted by appolus on April 7, 2021
Psa 97:5-6 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
No one stands in the presence of God, all are silent before His majesty, all are hushed as awe descends like a blanket upon the heads of His people and their heads are bowed and their hands raised up and trembling. Not because they were instructed to bow their heads or raise their hands , sit , stand ,or jump . No, no, not in the presence of God. One assumes a position before the living and the mighty God just as a natural instinct. No instructions are required as one is prostrate in His holiness. Every part of who you are is penetrated by light. It is glorious and traumatic all at the same time.
And the oil that dwells within your chest is set aflame by this light, this fire from the throne itself. βDid not our hearts burn within us as we walked with Him?β Yet we are not walking now, we are in the throne room itself, God has come down. Our whole body burns with a beautiful warmth. All things are possible, eternity stretches out before us and we never want to leave this place. The candlestick burns. God speaks, sin melts like wax, refining, yes refining. We offer ourselves and the dross that lies within and the Lord says βCome.β
What we have today bears no resemblance whatsoever to what God initiated. We have man centered church. Programs of men. Teachings of men. Musical programs. None are bad in and of themselves, they are just not God ordained. Religious social clubs. I believe that shortly, Godβs people will come out of the social clubs because they will be desperate to rediscover the glory and the majesty of God and they will seek Him where He can be found.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, gifts of the spirit, inspirational, intimacy, leaving the church, pentecostal, praise and worship, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Where is your desperation?
Posted by appolus on April 2, 2021
Would to God that we would raise up a battalion of wet eyed intercessors for this hour of unprecedented grief and spiritual peril. …Denominational segregation must go;barriers must be eliminated and group prayer meetings formed. This is the crisis hour of the Church as well as the world. We must obey the Bible command to fast and pray..If we face up to our calamity of this hour, we shall get our faces down into the dust to cry “Arm of the Lord, awake and put on strength.” Out of those protracted prayer times would come a people glowing and growing, plus a whole new crop of last-day prophets. Let’s make no mistake, they will come (Ravenhill-Meat for Men)
Now consider this brothers and sisters. Ravenhill wrote that over sixty years ago. Has anything changed? No! It is much much worse. If we were not desperate then, how about now? Let me tell you what else has not changed. Denominational barriers must come down. The whole world is ablaze and the members of the Body of Christ is fragmented. And before you write to me and complain that the mystical Body of Christ is one, let me save you the time, don’t. They are scattered to the wind of denominations and non denominations. How can we raise up a battalion? How can we raise up an army?
If you have five different churches on your street or one hundred different churches in your town, and your town is going to hell and its children are being swallowed up by a Satanic flood why have you not banded together to pull them from the fury?. Why are you not crying out to God together in holy desperation!Β Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD (Joel 1:14) It is our singular lack of unity that greatly strengthens the arm of Satan in his divisive purposes. We talk about a divided society. Are they not merely a reflection of the Church? As goes the Church, so goes the world.
Pastors and leaders are to blame. There, I said it. The sheep are scattered. And while they wander the hills without effective leadership (yes, we are all led by the Holy Spirit) their leaders are worrying about how to get warm bodies back into the churches. They are worried about the divisions in society and the great cracks that are appearing , and they see the very same cracks ion their own congregations. That is because Pastor, your church is no different than the world. You go as the world goes. It is all upside down. Do you even have a solemn prayer meeting once a week? And I am not talking about praying for Aunt Flo’s big toe. I am talking about crying out to God with tears and prayers and fastings for the state of the world, the state of your community, the state of your “own,” church.
Do not be surprised dear Pastor when you begin to lose those who fear God the most. Those who can no longer stomach the lukewarmness. Those who would rather stumble into a desert and cry out to God for life itself than to be back in Egypt in slavery. It is not too late although the hour is late. Will you repent Christian leaders? Will you call solemn assemblies? Fasting and prayer meetings? Will you step off your platform and give it back to Jesus? Its not too late but the darkness comes. Its not too late but even now the gross darkness licks around your feet. Will you cry out to God in heaven who dwells in impenetrable light that He may rend the heavens and come down? What is stopping you? You know in your heart that there will be an accounting. God save us from this day and from this hour.
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Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, Church history, church of scotland, end times, End Times Eschatology, False Prophets and Teachers, false teachers, God's voice, new wineskins, pentecostal, prophecy, religious, revival, Spiritual warfare, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
A fire of coals, some fish and bread.
Posted by appolus on April 2, 2021
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, inspirational, Jesus, Ministers, new wineskins, pentecostal, religion, revival, sanctification, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
The crisis of the age!
Posted by appolus on March 31, 2021
The church in the west is starving to death and they are dying of thirst. The tragedy is, that for the most part, the majority that are called after His name do not even know that they are in the midst of a famine and a drought. I thank God for His remnant people who do know, who agonize over the state of the church. Who cry out to God and who want nothing less than for the multitude of people to experience the majesty and the glory and the anguish and the joy of falling down before the throne. Who desire all men to be ruined for this life and to walk with the grand obsession of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is coming a time, and we may be there already, when God is calling His people, His remnant people who have experienced the presence of God, to rise up and testify to it. To testify of what they know of Him. Of how they come into the presence of a Holy and majestic God. Of how it ruins them and changes them. Of how they tremble before the throne of the almighty God. This is what the people are starved of, this is what they are dying from. There is a famine of the Word of God in the land, not the Word preached, but the Word preached with the power and the presence of God. The crisis of the age is a lack of Godβs empowering presence in our assemblies. May the glory of the Lord fill His house.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, Church history, church of scotland, churches, end times, End Times Eschatology, False Prophets, false teachers, Fresh Fire, god, God's voice, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, New World Order, pentecostal, prophecy, religion, religious, revival, Rhema Church, spiritual gifts, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
Despising God?
Posted by appolus on March 31, 2021
2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
King David is in a very bad situation. He has committed adultery with Bathsheba, he tried to cover his tracks when she got pregnant, but a foreign convert , Uriah the Hittite , the husband of Bathsheba was more honorable that David. Therefore Davidβs attempts to cover up his adultery was foiled so David had him killed. This is such a low state for the man after Godβs own heart. And after Nathan the prophet comes to David and exposes him, God speaks. God speaks brothers and sisters, one should be very afraid when God speaks, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. And here is the charge that God levels against David, His beloved. β You have despised me.β
Now this word despised in the Hebrew is β baw-zaw,β meaning to disesteem, to think lightly off. It is the same word used in Gen 25:34 to describe Esauβs selling of his birthright for some bread and some soup. Can you imagine selling your birthright just simply to satisfy your immediate needs? Can you imagine that food on the table would be thought more highly of than the Living God and the birthright that He has given to us? And yet, do we not live in a day and age where our immediate needs, meaning the basic needs of this world and our day-to-day living are thought more highly of than God?
Are we not encouraged to live our best lives now? Have we not allowed our desires and hungers to be elevated above our love and desire for God? And are we not blind to it, so terribly blind to it? If David needed a prophet to reveal his wickedness, and this a man after Godβs own heart, beloved of God, are we so proud as to think that we would not need this level of rebuke?
Christendom today has despised God in the fullest sense of that word. They are as blind to their sin as David was to his. And unless they hear God directly and acknowledge and repent of their sin as David did, they will be hopelessly lost to, and be entangled by the cares of this world. I praise God that He never leaves us without a witness, whether it is one crying in the wilderness or a remnant that refuses to bow the knee to the gods of this world. God will have a spotless bride, He will raise up a generation that will follow Him and Him alone.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, god, inspirational, new wineskins, pentecostal, religion, revival, scripture, Spiritual warfare, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Conscience
Posted by appolus on March 30, 2021
Conscience diminishes a man as he pushes against it. It is like the turning of the lathe. The turning is the circumstances of life. You are the wood and your conscience is the blade. It will whittle you down to the nub. A man becomes less of a man in every way when he ignores his conscience. You cannot run from it and you cannot hide from it. You can try, and many men have tried, all have failed, all have been diminished in their efforts. Great loss sweeps over a man like the raging waves of a storm tossed sea. You can sear it and you can drown it out with alcohol and drugs. When you sober up, it will still be there. You can fly to the uttermost parts of the sea and you will find that it is there. You can travel lands and traverse mountains and there it is. You could even make your bed in hell and hide in the shadows of darkness and the voice of your conscience will still speak to you.
It will be the High prosecutor as you stand before God or it will be your Chief defense. When the books are open it will, with great clarity and eloquence, speak for you or against you. Your conscience is your greatest gift outside of Christ Himself, although many men find it to be a curse. To the man of God it is a blessing. It holds him steady within the veil. It is like an anchor for his soul. It is mysterious , no doubt, but the voice of God speaks to every man and therefore every man is without excuse and on that great an notable day it will be a very familiar voice you will hear as you stand before God almighty. The voice of God that has echoed through your soul all of your conscious life. Listen today and live.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Fresh Fire, god, pentecostal, scripture, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Be of good cheer
Posted by appolus on March 30, 2021
There is a growing movement around the world of hungry and thirsty children of God that He has driven into the desert. I believe this will be the last great move of God. There will be new wine poured out, but not into old wine-skins. This remnant saints will come from every kind of background. The common denominator will be their hunger and thirst for the genuine presence of the Living God which promotes a prayerful obedience to the revealed will of God.
If you are a saint in the wilderness, hang in there, God is teaching you complete dependence upon Him by stripping away every form of support that you know . Do not be discouraged by your situation or your circumstances, yield to them. You know that you are lonely, you know that you do not seem to fit in anywhere. You get no pleasure from anything anymore. You have lost your interest in the things of the world. What passes for βnormal,β church has become a foul stench to you.
You can see with your spiritual eyes that there is a crisis, but few seem to see it. Business as usual is no longer an option for you, but you do not know where to go. No one seems to understand you. When you try and explain they just look at you like you are mad. You are not mad. God is calling you out. God is calling His people out. The Lord is beginning to gather the saints together for His purposes. So stay close to God, stay in His Word.
If you can find like-minded brothers and sisters, that is good, because even where two or three are gathered, He is there in our midst, but do not be discouraged if you cannot, just wait upon the Lord. He is doing a new thing. Read all of Isa 43, but know this. Isa 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
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Without love, what would I have?
Posted by appolus on March 29, 2021
What is nearness to God? We hear that a lot dont we …”are you close to God?” Well we know it has nothing to do with time or space, the Lord transcends both time and space. Time and space cannot contain Him for if it did, He would not be God. A certain Scripture tells us that men can draw close unto God with their mouth but their “hearts are far from God.” If far in this context is not distance then what is it? Another Scripture tells us that David was a man after Gods own heart. In this context the word “after ,” means like or touching.
So, if your heart is far from God it can mean that you are not like Him. There is no communion, no touching, no encounter, no emotion, no joy, no love. The words may be there but the reality of the love of God is not present. A heart after God is expressed by obedience and by love, primarily love. Primarily love because love is the primary motivation for obedience. We can be obedient to God, at least outwardly and with our our words but our hearts can be “far from Him.” But we cannot love Him to any degree and be disobedient to Him.
Dont get me wrong, we can be disobedient to God and still love Him and be like Him, King David may be the perfect example of this, but we cannot stay in that place of disobedience for long. It will not be what we are known for. On the grave of King David they would not write ” here lies a disobedient man,” because even although he had certainly been disobedient to God in many of the things that he did, ultimately that was not who he was and he proved that by having a broken and contrite heart. In 1st Cor 13 we see all the things that we can have. We can speak with tongues, we can have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, I could be mighty in faith so much so that I could speak to a mountain and it would crumble and fall and yet, all of these things would be without meaning if I did not have love.
I could give every penny I had to the poor and even become a martyr for God yet without love none of it would profit me. Yet, if I am close to the heart of God then I will gladly suffer long, I will not envy my brother or sister, I will not think highly of myself but rather regard others higher than me, I will not be easily offended and I will think the best of others.I will rejoice in the truth and be saddened at my enemies downfall, their downfall will promote love in me for them and forgiveness. If I am moving in these areas then I am close to the heart of God because the Lord Himself came down and humbled Himself and took on the likeness of man and walked in all of these truths because He was acting according to His nature. If we would be close to Him we shall endeavor to be like Him.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, god, God's voice, inspirational, intimacy, pentecostal, revival, sanctification, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Despair gives way to hope.
Posted by appolus on March 29, 2021
Rom 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
In this particular case we see that Abraham and his wife are well beyond the age of bearing a child. Sarahβs womb was dead, it could carry no life. And so in life we oftentimes run into situations that defies hope, that stands diametrically opposed to hope. All the evidence of the rational world and the finest expert opinions dash any worldly hope upon the rocks of hopelessness and despair. Yet brothers and sisters, it is a glorious thing to remember that our hope is not the hope of the world. Our hope is founded upon our God and His word, His promises. His word is not broken, His promises cannot be broken. And it is this hope that is a wellspring of joy and peace and love and a sound mind.
Abraham, the father of faith believed God that life would spring forth from death. Now from the first promise until the fulfillment it took 25 years. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when Issac was conceived. This defied all the evidence of the rational world. In the world Abraham would have had no hope. In the world we too would have no hope, yet praise God we may be in the world but not off it. We walk according to the Spirit of God, we stand upon the Word of God. we believe in the promises of God and we walk in the Kingdom of God. This kingdom is and always has been a place of miracles and a wellspring of hope.
The birth of Issac is the birth of a nation. It is this line that would give us Jesus, the seed that would bless all the nations of the world. It sprang forth from the impossible which is the realm of the miraculous. This realm has a throne and upon that throne sits our heavenly Father. Can hope come forth from hopelessness? Yes indeed. Just as Jesus came forth from His heavenly realm and stepped into our world, then sight can come forth from blindness, joy can come forth from despair and Lazarus can come forth from the grave. Jesus is my blessed hope, all other ground in sinking sand.
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