Archive for the ‘church’ Category
Posted by appolus on November 30, 2021
Habak 1:4 For the wicked surround the righteous, therefore perverse judgments proceed.
When the law is powerless and justice never goes forth, we know that we are living in similar days to Habakkuk. The nation of Judah was in its “death throes,” having been warned repeatedly and having ignored every warning. I put it to you brothers and sisters that we are in similar death throes. Our nation and indeed the nations of the world sink deeper. And the Lord says that “I will work a work in your days which you would not believe though it were told you.” This work will be a terrifying work.
This vision was yet for an appointed time. Woe to the earth when the Lord marches across its lengths. Yet in the midst of this great wickedness that brings this vision into being we are told that the just shall live by faith. We shall trust the Lord brothers and sisters as we see these things unfold. Our lives shall be lived solely in trust of Him. When all the world is shaking, then the just shall stand on solid ground. And all the world will be amazed to see such a people living in such a manner. The whole earth shall “be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Christ will manifest Himself through His people, the people who dwell in great darkness shall see this light. In wrath He shall remember mercy.
When God comes forth in such a manner then the heavens shall be covered by His glory and the earth shall be full of His praise. Before Him goes pestilence and fever follows at His feet. He measures the earth and it is found wanting and the nations are startled. In a moment of time their millennia of delusions vanish away and the everlasting mountains are scattered and the perpetual hills bow down. The deep utters its voice and lifts its hands on high. In indignation the Lord marches through the earth. Yet, the just shall be found trusting in God and standing on Holy ground. In the day of troubles they shall be at rest.
Though the fig tree may not blossom in that day, nor shall their be found fruit on the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food and though the flock may be cut of from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls , I will yet rejoice in the Lord, I will find joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, He will make my feet like the deer’s feet, He will make me to walk on the high hills (Hab 3:17-19) Brothers and sisters, let us walk on the high hills of His presence and lift our eyes to the heavens for they are covered by His glory as the earth too is covered by the same glory as the waters cover the sea.
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Posted by appolus on November 29, 2021
Have you ever fallen from grace? Have you ever just “blown it?” You have fallen on the battle-field and been wounded and lost ground. The wound, the loss, the injury, all relates to having let down your Lord. It is a unique crushing pain that strikes at the very heart of who you are. You’re burning in a fire that you set yourself and your enemy encourages you to stay right there in the fire. It takes very little to heed his word. In your heart you know you deserve this and in fact you want to be punished. It somehow relieves your pain while at the same time it does not.
It washes over you in waves. If you turn to the left it is there, turn to the right and there it is. You feel like you have lost 30 years of sanctification in a moment of time. And the whole time the enemy of your soul is telling you that you’re finished. Brothers and sisters, let me speak to you a wee bit. Obviously I am not speaking hypothetically. I know the wound and I know the pain of it. Agony is probably a better word. And the depth of your love for Jesus will be the measure of the depth of the pain that you feel. I have laid out the problem, let me speak a bit about the solution and let us start with a Scripture.
“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy. When I fall, I shall arise. When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him (Him alone) until He pleads my case and executes judgment for me. He will bring me to the light. I will see His righteousness (Mic 7:8-9) John Bunyon had a vision one day. He saw the righteousness of Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father. And the truth of Christ’s righteousness exploded in his heart. He knew that on his best day his own righteousness was not good enough and on his worse day that that Christ’s righteousness was more than enough. He danced all the way home that day, literally danced.
What was true for John Bunyon is true for you dear saint. You shall not be measured by your worse day, you shall be measured by the righteousness of Christ and your contrite heart. So when you have fallen, as soon as possible you must get up. The Scriptures say that when you fall you shall arise. Rise up saint, take back the ground that you ceded to the enemy. When you sit in darkness, the Scriptures says the Lord shall be a light to you. Rise up and walk in the light as He is in the light and you will have fellowship one with another. He will plead your case for you, He has executed justice for you.
A little later in Micah 7 we hear this question “Who is a God like you?” Who indeed saint, can you see Him even now sitting at the right hand of the Father in all His glorious righteousness? Pardoning iniquity, passing over the transgressions of His remnant. He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in mercy. He loves a broken and a contrite heart. He will have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. These are His promises to His children. Never to be presumed upon, God forbid. Those who truly love Him could never presume upon His mercy, its not possible. The depths of His love for us and our love for Him renders that an impossibility.
One more promise from Micah 7 “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Into the depths of the sea saints. Buried and dead. And the Lord our God never goes fishing in that sea, He shall never cast up to you that which He has forgiven. You have bore His indignation because you sinned against Him, now arise. Ignore the enemy and rise up by the Grace of God and the righteousness of Christ. Take back the ground, strike down the enemy and advance forward once again. A war is filled with many battles and in the midst of these battles we suffer wounds of many kinds, the most grevious being the self inflicted wound. Yet one battle does not determine the outcome of a war. In our case, the war is already won! Christ won the war! Arise saint and move forward in victory!
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Posted by appolus on November 28, 2021
Micah 4:6-7 In that day says the Lord I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast, and those whom I have afflicted. I will make the lame the remnant and the outcast a strong nation. So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion, from now on, even forever.
Who are the lame, brothers and sisters? Who are the outcasts? Who are the afflicted? God’s children. Who wants to join that club? Surely we shall not be stampeded on by the masses yearning to take their place with the lame, the outcast and the afflicted? It’s the genius of God. He will identify with those who identify with the sufferings of Jesus. For you see brothers and sister how not many mighty are called, not many wise, not many noble shall take their place with the lame, the outcast and the afflicted.
And yet we are on a headlong collision with a set of circumstances that will put all of that to the test. Will be willing to become lame for the sake of Jesus? Will we take our place with the outcasts in a world that daily is becoming more and more restrictive? And the greatest challenge of all, shall we take our place in the ranks of God’s afflicted? Yes, God afflicts His people for His own purposes. Yes, this is violently opposed by the flesh. Yet the same God who allowed His only beloved Son to be afflicted, for the worlds sake and for His glory, will allow His servants to be afflicted for the same reasons. Shall you glorify God?
This is the mark of the remnant people of God. God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the mighty. Shall you yield to the Spirit? Will you surrender to a God that very possibly shall call you to Martyrdom? We have raised multiple generations to believe that the Lord’s design is that we should live our best lives now. Oh saints, is not the opposite true when we consider the world’s definition of what it means to “live your best life now?” Our best life now is to serve and glorify God in the midst of a wicked and adulterous generation. If suffering brings glory to God shall we not rejoice in our sufferings? If being an outcast from this world brings glory to God shall we not take our place with the ranks of the outcast? If being afflicted by God for reasons known only to Him brings glory to God shall we not glorify God? It is these saints that the Lord shall reign over from now on, even forever.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, End Times Eschatology, Jesus, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on November 25, 2021
Jonah 1:5. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
The madness of sin. The satanic lullaby that deadens a mans soul to his imminent danger. Sin can cause all kinds of chaos. Someones life can be falling to pieces and everyone around that person can be in danger of being destroyed. Yet the surrounding storm is unnoticed by the man intent on running from God. He is as one who is fast asleep to his impending disaster. Turmoil of soul causes exhaustion and that exhaustion leads to sleep.
Now consider another One who lies down and sleeps in the boat. The Lord Himself sleeps with perfect peace when the enemy sends a storm His way. He arises and rebukes the waves and the waves obey. He is Lord of the storm. And this Lord has sent this particular storm after Jonah and it takes him into the deep and swallows him whole. When you are running from the presence of God you will find yourself engulfed in darkness. When you are running to the Lord you will see the storm rebuked. The key is to cry out to God. and run to Him.
The floods had surrounded Jonah. The waves crashed over him again and again. The waters surrounded him even to his soul. He was drowning in a sea of darkness and was going down and was swallowed whole by his situation. His solution was to raise his eyes towards heaven.. He looked to the Lord who alone could raise him up from the bottomless pit. When his soul had fainted within him he remembered the Lord and he prayed with all of his heart. He gave thanks unto God and acknowledged that salvation belonged to God. And he was delivered. The Lord’s desire is to deliver. Who will call upon the Lord?
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Posted by appolus on November 23, 2021
Psalm 4:8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
You alone oh Lord cause me to sleep in perfect peace. Its the kind of sleep that our Lord slept in the back of the boat in the midst of a storm. When all the world, it seems, comes against us, when we seem to be all alone, we are not alone. When the waves crash over the sides of our boat and it seems that we shall be swamped, we shall not. In Christ alone we dwell in safety. He is our rear guard. Even in the darkest night the Lord will lift up the light of His countenance upon us. He fills our hearts with gladness. The world shall peer into the darkness and see the light of Christ burning deep inside of us and shining forth from our faces and they will stand amazed.
Those who trust in the Lord shall not be put to shame. He is yesterday and forever, always the same. His peace is the burning wall of fire that surrounds our camp, His Spirit is the burning oil that fills our lamp. He is the solid Rock upon which we stand and the wind of His Spirit is the means by which the fire is fanned. Oh brothers and sisters what fortunate people we are. Our very hearts are protected by Jesus Christ Himself. If God is for us, who can be against us? What trial shall prevail? What storm shall destroy? Nothing, no one, no trial. Lay your head down this night and know that the Lord Himself is with you and He shall never leave you.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on November 21, 2021
Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Jesus is speaking to His followers who are just about to be scattered. Persecution and tribulation was coming straight at them. And Jesus says “in me,” you may have peace. “In the world,” you will have persecution. There is one thing certain in this world, you will have tribulation. There is one thing we need above all other things in the midst of this tribulation, peace, His peace. And if we are “in Him,” then we have access to such peace.
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you;not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid (John 14:27) Jesus has left this peace for us, He has given it to us, yet like every other gift, it must be possessed. We must abide “in Him.” We must be “anxious for nothing.” We must “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” We must give thanks in all things (not for all things) We must rejoice in all things ( not for all things) If we do these things, then we shall possess the peace that we already have.
This is the key to overcoming, being obedient to the Word of God. “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free(John 8:31) Free indeed brothers and sisters. Free from the cruel task master of fear. Free from anxiety. Free to love your enemies. Free to walk in the peace that the Lord has given you as a most precious gift. The gift given must be received and then it must be exercised by the conditions laid down. Today is the day to begin.
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Posted by appolus on November 14, 2021
Psa 133:3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
There is such a beauty in unity. The phrase “together in unity,” means to be alike all at once. There is also a root word from that phrase meaning to gather. There is a mystery involved when we gather together and we are alike all at once. To stand, covered by the same Spirit, all at once is to be covered by oil from head to toe. It is to be soaked to the skin by the dew that covers everything. Walk through a field of long grass in the morning and despite the fact that there has been no rain, you shall be soaked by the mist that falls upon everything in the early watches.
There is but one place in all of the scriptures that we read that the Lord “commanded a blessing.” And that blessing was life. And the fruits of that blessing are eternal. In the charlatan world of the charismatics they refer to “the soaking.” This has nothing to do with the actual soaking of life, and that more abundantly, that we see when brethren dwell together in unity. No, the blessings of life and unity come as we gather together in the Spirit and under the name of Jesus. There, life floods forth. We see just glimpses of it in revivals as men, for a mere moment, forget about their divisions and denominations and lift high the banner of Christ.
As the day of the Lord fast approaches, this ancient commandment from God that cannot be revoked, will come into its own. God’s people will gather together as one in Christ. Persecution shall strip away all pretense, all superficial differences. The genuine saints of God shall come forth from the wilderness of disunity and find each other in the beauty of Holiness. They will indeed be soaked by the blessing of life, even in the midst of a world under judgment. This life will be unmistakable to all who see it. The glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Life, and that more abundantly, shall stand out radiant in the midst of darkness and death. There will be no mistaking the unity of the saints. It will be like earth itself, a blue jewel of life in the vast darkness of space.
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Posted by appolus on October 26, 2021
Hos:5:6b But they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
It is one thing to fall into iniquity, it is another thing to fall in your iniquity. To fall from the grace of God is to seek another hand to raise you up. When calamity falls upon a person or a community or a nation, whom shall they call out to? To those who call out to God alone He shall lift them up. If you seek the Lord with a divided heart you will not find Him. He will have withdrawn Himself. The world has not sought God in the day of their calamity, they have sought to walk in the precepts of their own humanity. What a tragedy. This is the prelude to judgement. God withdraws.
Saint, we must not go down that road. We must trust in the Lord our God. We know that in our lives there has been times when we have quenched the Holy Spirit. David cries out to God in that most holy of Psalms “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” What an anguished cry from David in psalm 51. Only those hearts who know the Lord in intimacy and who are baptized in His Holy Spirit could ever understand what it means. To lose the joy of His presence, to consider eve for a moment that we have displeased the One that we love causes us great anxiety. In those situations we have to seek Him out with everything that is in us and fall down before Him in that most Holy of places, the throne of grace and find our restoration.
The nations that have named the name of Jesus have dealt treacherously with the Lord. Their condemnation is just and the judgement that shall begin with them is just and Holy. As for the saints of God there is healing in His presence. We draw near to Him and He draws near to us. We humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and He raises us up. We seek only Him. We have no other lovers to run after unlike those who declare His statutes and hold His covenants in their mouths in unrighteousness because they hate His word and despise His correction. Yet, His children shall call upon Him in the days of their troubles and He will deliver them and cover them under the shadow of His wing. The dwelling place.
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Posted by appolus on October 19, 2021
Psa 139:1 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
This is one of the most intimate statements in all of the Scriptures. So very personal. Can you say this? Have you been searched by God? This word “searched,” is from the primitive root to “penetrate.” Has God invaded every part of who you are? Are you known by God? This, of course, is no abstract truth for of course God knows everything and everyone. No, this is a very intimate form of the word. Have you ever looked into the eyes of another human being, one who is being deceptive and say right to that person “I know exactly who you are.” Its a declaration of a knowledge that goes beyond anything to do with outward evidence. This is do with the inner man, the inner woman. David is declaring that God “knows,” him in the most intimate way. He says that “even from afar you understand my thoughts.” It is something akin to a husband and wife who are “one,’ and knows the other ones thoughts in ways that only they can.
This is the kind of relationship that every genuine saint has with the Lord. We walk in the sure knowledge that He “knows,’ our every thought. This is far beyond any human intimacy. To be one in spirit is far beyond being one in flesh. It is the ultimate intimacy. And of course the trouble with this kind of intimacy is that on the one side is perfection and holiness and purity, and on the other side is us, very much flawed by our flesh. This is why intimacy is such a difficult issue. It may be the most difficult of all the issues. At the root cause of all failings in the saints is a lack of intimacy with the Lord. Jesus of course knew this. Time and again he told us to abide in Him, to continue to abide in Him. To take up the cross, not once, but daily. Abiding in the Lord and in His Word, while carrying the cross is one sure way to stay very close to the Lord, to maintain that intimacy that can be so easily lost. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, on a daily basis, on a moment to moment basis, and draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to us. And in that nearness there is intimacy and out of that intimacy flows the beauty of Holiness.
There are two very different kind of men in the Kingdom. One man shies away from this intimacy. He sets up camp at a safe distance and there he dwells. He stays within that camp and looks on from a distance, not unlike the Israelites who watch, from their camp, the tent of meeting. They worship God from afar but Moses and Joshua come to that tent of meeting and entered in. They have come to seek that intimacy. Men like Moses and Joshua could just as easily cry out to God what David cried “search me O God and know my heart, try me and know my anxieties and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” We have taught men from when they were boys, to guard their hearts, to pretend that they are fearless and to be independent. All of that works against intimacy, deliberately so. The only answer is surrender. Surrender into the hand of God and allow yourself to be consumed. Allow yourself to be searched. Seek to be known. This is the way of everlasting and He desires to lead us in it.
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Posted by appolus on October 12, 2021
Psalm 119:126 It is time for You to act, O lord, for they have regarded Your law as void.
Is that not your hearts cry dear saint? In a fallen world where gross darkness is covering the land and the name of God is blasphemed everywhere. In a time and place where day has become night. Right has become wrong and truth is trampled in the streets. What used to hide away among the shadows and the alleyways now marches down Main street with its banner held high. And if the enemy would have his way then it is the saints who would have to hide among the shadows in the dark-lands of the alleyways.
Can you not here this Scripture ringing out from Romans “for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ , for it is the power of God unto salvation………………for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness ………for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead , so that they are without excuse, because although they knew God, they did not glorify God.” O Father in heaven, glorify your name in all the earth?
And of course our Father in heaven glorified His name in all the earth through the name and the power of the Lord Jesus and we cry “glorify your name again Lord.” In verse 136 the psalmist says ” Rivers of water run down from my eyes, because men do not keep Your law.” Those rivers, brothers and sisters, are still running deep for our Lord Jesus is mocked and ridiculed and rejected. Shall we not cry out to God with our whole hearts? Shall we not rise before the dawning of the morning and seek the one whose tender mercies are great? Many are out tormentors and enemies yet we shall not turn from His testimony. Verse 161 says “Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your Word.”
Lord, we stand in awe of You. We look to the heavens and know where our help comes from. The foundations may be destroyed and the Princes of this world may hunt us down but we trust in you that you may glorify Your name through us. Christ in us, the hope of glory! Behold, the nations are as a drop in the bucket. To whom shall our God be likened to? Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? He shall bring the Princes of this world to nothing. They shall not keep root. For we shall lift up our eyes on high and behold the One who has created all things. And we who are weak are made strong. Even the youth shall faint and be weary. And young men shall utterly fall, but we who wait upon You shall renew our strength, we shall mount up with wings as eagles. we shall run and not be weary, we shall keep on walking and not faint (Isa 40)….glory to God
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Posted by appolus on September 16, 2021
Psalm 64:1 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
It is better to die by the hand of your enemy than to be taken captive by fear of him. A man dies just once, but someone taken captive by fear dies daily. And the death we are talking about is not the death of the old man so encouraged by the Scriptures, it is the opposite. To die daily to the flesh means that the spirit rises up. We decrease and the Lord in us increases. To die the death of a coward daily is to die spiritually. To be taken captive by fear is to be paralyzed spiritually. To be a prisoner to fear is to have your very thoughts taken captive. The ultimate distraction in this life comes when we are taken captive by fear in mind and body. The spirit man begins to die and the flesh rises up.
I would argue that this is what we are seeing all over the world right now in the midst of a pandemic. Fear has run amok. It has paralyzed us, literally, by shutting down everything. David cries out to the Lord in Psalm 64 verse one to “preserve my life,” from fear of the enemy. He does not asked to be spared on the battle-field. He is not asking for God to protect his physical life. No, he is asking that his life be revived in him, that his strength would be maintained in the midst of such troubling times. He wants his inner strength preserved, he wants it restored.
And so brothers and sisters. Be vigilant against fear, for it is the opposite of faith. Be diligent when it comes to your heart for out of that heart flows the issues of life. Do not let it be taken captive by fear. Be wise in these matters and see the strategy of the enemy of your soul. Ask the Lord for wisdom for He will give it to you. And in the receiving of this wisdom you shall have understanding. Remember, you have an ornament of grace that hangs upon your heart. You have a crown of glory that awaits you in the world to come. Fear the Lord in all of your ways, lean not upon your own understanding of what is unfolding in the world around you, but trust in Him. I say again, trust in Him and acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.
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Posted by appolus on August 12, 2021
Psa 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
What a wonderful promise we see here. God will light our candle. He is speaking to His own. He is speaking to those who walk humbly before Him. Who honor His word in all that they do. Who are merciful and gracious and kind. To them, He will be merciful, gracious and kind. He will honor those who honor Him. He will bring light to our darkness by reviving out spirits. This tells me many things. It tells me that God’s people get discouraged. It tells me that their candle, metaphorically speaking, can go out. And when it does it causes the darkness to press in and surround them. And yet even then, when we sense that our candles have gone out, yet shall we still honor God. Even when the darkness presses in on us from every side, we shall never deny our God. Even when we do not hear from Him, we say in our hearts ” I will honor Him till the day I die even if I never hear from Him again.
This, brothers and sisters, is overcoming. This is enduring. This is our manifestation of our own love for God and it is not conditioned upon anything. We know in our hearts that we worship God, not for what He does for us or will do for us. Not because we desperately desire to be relieved or delivered from our circumstances. Not for any other reason other than He is worthy to be praised. If this is indeed your heart brothers and sister, He will come to you in the night watches and all of a sudden your candle is lit. Your lamp explodes into light and the darkness is held at bay. The way ahead becomes clear and you you put one step in from of another and you keep walking down the narrow path. It is He alone who arms us with strength. He alone is our Rock. He alone is a shield to us and His word is always proven true. We can stand upon it and it is a lamp unto our feet.
Lord, your right hand has held me. You have armed me with strength for the battle. You give me feet like the feet of a deer and you set me on high places. You lift my spirit from the depths of the valley and you raise me up above the darkness. The Lord lives! Blessed be the Rock! May your name be exalted in all the earth. If your candle has went out brother or sister, keep on walking in faith. Keep on honoring Him. Lift Him up, praise Him, be merciful to others. Love as you have been loved. He will light your candle and you will burn again. The way ahead that has been so obscured with darkness will give way as He lights up the darkness, for even the darkness is light to our God. You will find your way forward. God bless you on your journey today and be encouraged.
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Posted by appolus on August 10, 2021
Psalm 13:1 How long will you forget me, O LORD?
How long will you hide your face from me? Have you ever asked this question of the Lord? If not, might I suggest you have not experienced the hottest parts of the furnace as of yet. In the middle of a prolonged trial we can often have the same thought as king David did.. David’s trials were not fleeting or even seasonal, but often lasted for years. David has taken refuge and shelter in caves and embraced the darkness of having found a reprieve from his trials. We can do the same. We can run into dark caves and shut our minds away from the troubles that we find ourselves in. That dark cave can look like many differnt things. It could be mindless television. It might even be alcohol or pills. Distractions of any sort can form the basis of a cave. And yet, just like David, the cave that promised safety and a place of refuge, always turns into a place of bondage.
David, in the midst of this, cries out “Consider and hear me oh Lord my God, enlighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death.” This sleep, this cave, this place that we can find ourselves in, in the midst of troubles and trials, can very easily turn into the “sleep of death.” And the first step to awaken us from this place is to cry out to God with everything that is in us. To fall down on our faces and rend our hearts and seek His face. To remember the faithfulness of our Lord and how He has always delivered us and how He alone is trustworthy. His mercy prevails in the midst of trials. As we remind ourselves of these things we begin to rejoice in the God of our salvation. Sing to the Lord brothers and sisters, sing today of His goodness and His mercy. Sing praises unto our God. Awaken the dawn with your shouts as you step out of the darkness, into His marvelous light.
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Posted by appolus on August 4, 2021
Hos 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
There is a time and a season for breaking up the fallow ground. There is a time to sow seeds into that ground and there is a time to look to the skies in anticipation of the rain. I would argue that for the saint that time is every day, this is our lives and the life that we have committed to. Yet, there are also particular seasons. And there is the end of ages. It is time, while there is still time left, to seek the Lord with our whole hearts. Christendom, the Lord is calling to you, He is whispering to your heart that the time is short. Just as the planting season can be short, the sands of time are running out and so the window of opportunity is closing. Seek the Lord while He may be found. While it is yet day.
In order for us to sow righteousness we must first seek it, daily. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Live in the paradox of having found yet continuing to seek. And in doing so the seed comes forth and is planted into the broken up ground, the ground that the Lord Himself has plowed. And in this we reap a harvest of mercy and grace upon our lives. Let it rain Lord God, let your rain pour down upon those who panteth for your presence. Who seek not the blessing but the Blesser, who seek not the sanctification but the Sanctifier. Let the rain of your righteousness soak us to our very core and water the seed that comes forth only from you. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
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Posted by appolus on July 26, 2021
The heart of those who receive the word with gladness, in whom thy seed finds a ready and deep soil, is the tree planted by the rivers of water. The good tree is good in any season by virtue of its closeness to the eternal resource of the river of the living God. Dear saint, do you meditate on the Word of God every day? Do you hide it away in your heart and absorb it into your very soul until it becomes a very part of you? Are you like the branch abiding in the vine? Jesus tells us in John chapter eight that if we continue in the Word, which means to abide in it, remain in it, stand on it, endure with it, dwell in it, then you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.
The word “know,” here is of particular interest. In order to be free we must daily walk in and with the Word, and when we do that we shall “know.” To know Christ is to be free. It does not say to know about Him or to know off Him, it says to know the Truth. We must be intimate with the Lord if we are to walk in the freedom that He had gained for us on Calvary. Jesus gave us many instructions. We were to take up our cross daily if we were to be His disciples. We were to abide in His word daily if we were to be His disciples. And so, when we do these things we begin to grow in maturity. We are able to draw from an inexhaustible source of power and love and mercy and forgiveness. We are able to draw from it because of our proximity to this power for we are like a tree planted by the rivers of life.
Because of this, we become a source of blessing for others in season and out of season, for we are evergreen trees. In the darkest coldest winters we still retain our foliage. We saints whose delight is in the Lord and His Word and His commands, become vessels that hold and retain grace and love and mercy and forgiveness because it is flowing in and through us directly from Christ Himself. He waters us that we may water others. He comforts us so that we may comfort others with that very comfort He comforted us with. It is the cycle of our Spiritual life in the Kingdom. He invests in us all these things, not to bury them or greedily keep them to ourselves, but to gladly and with great joy share them with others. Freely you have been given and now freely you must give.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
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Posted by appolus on July 19, 2021
Hi saints. In my mind’s eye I can see the Holy City far and deep into a mighty desert.I know that in my flesh I would avoid deserts. The vision in my mind’s eye would, I suppose, be metaphorical for the narrow path that leads to life. It makes no sense to think that if I was seeking life that I would go seek it in the desert. Yet there it is, the church of God, surrounded by a mighty desert.
The only way to the heart of it is by beginning the journey and heading deep into a place where my only resource will be God Himself and I will surely die without Him. If He does not go before me I will die, if He is not my rearguard I will die. If He does not feed my I will die. If He gives me no water I will die. If I have not His cloud over my head I will die. If there be no fire by night, I will die. Death is the prominent theme, all is death, only God is life.
We are told that Lot chose the well watered plains of Jordan which was in close proximity to Sodom and the cities of the plains. Well watered? Yes. An abundance for his cattle to graze? Yes. Did it make practical sense to dwell there? Room to grow his business and prosper there? Yes. Yet, he would find spiritual famine there. He is in a place of abundance and yet he is dying spiritually. What does it ultimately cost us to live with a soul that is perpetually vexed?
Does the choices that we make have consequences? We may not lose our souls in the process but can it be that we would lose our intimate walk with Jesus because of the cares of the world? The cares that inevitably come by living in proximity to Sodom, or being caught up in the systems of Babylon or remaining within a denomination or a church that has embraced the wickedness of the world that is was sent to seek and to save.
Can there be life in the desert? Would we willingly choose to enter into such a place where all flesh dies but for the Lord? Can we be drawn into a place where unless we encounter God Himself as we are stripped of all of our resources then we would surely die? God is raising up such a generation that will find abundant life in the desert. Who will find that water flows from Rock at the hand of God. That God Himself can make rivers in the desert. He can make a highway that leads to life.
Will you journey there? To journey anywhere you have to leave somewhere behind. What do you have to leave behind? Is there a desire in you to find God in such a deep way that He is life itself to you and that without Him you would surely die and have no desire to live? Can I encourage you today saints? God has made such glorious and mighty promises to those who hunger and thirst after Him with their “whole hearts.”
God has made glorious promises to those who will seek Him with their whole hearts. Desert places? Yes. Yet a burning bush and some sand can and will be transformed into Holy ground, for where the Lord is, that is Holy ground. He is not found within the structures of man but He is found deep in the heart of the longing sacrificing heart. There are sacrifices to be made to come into this place. Do you desire to make such sacrifices to come into this place, for this is the place where vessels are filled with oil.
There is a generation of desert dwellers being raised. A generation of wilderness dwellers ready to rise up and come forth. A generation of saints who have counted the cost. A generation whose only desire is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. A generation that shall be hated by the whole world. That very same world will see a manifestation of His glory through His called out saints.. The saints will behold His glory and His majesty. And they will make declarations from that place.
This is the purpose of God’s saints. There will be a glorious noise of worship in the desert to our King. We will sing hallelujahs to His glory. Paul and Silas sang such praises in the midnight hour. Despite their scourges, despite their fetters and chains, despite their location in the depths of a dungeon they sang out the praises of the living God. As they did, all of the prisoners listened in awe that men who should be most miserable were in fact encountering the glories of God. And suddenly the power of God fell to such a degree that the whole building shook upon its foundations.
Now imagine the whole world shaking upon its foundations saints! Shaking because the praises of the persecuted saints have caused the heaven to be rended, the skies to split open and the power and the glory and the presence of God to come down. The anointing of the anointed one will be upon us and the world will look into the desert, the prisons, the wilderness and hear a strange and glorious noise, a noise such as they have never heard before and a light that shines out of a place where no light and no life should exist, and they will be perplexed and be confounded.
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Posted by appolus on July 13, 2021
A wise man once said that discontentment in the mind puts discontentment in the mouth and discontentment in the mouth puts a shackle on the neck. In America and Europe you are seeing divided populations which has led to violence in the streets. In Haiti we see an unfolding civil war. In South Africa stores and business are burning and open looting is taking place. I want to tell you brothers and sisters, a much more transmittable virus than Covid is spreading around the world. It has an incubation period that spans the human life. Discontentment rises up and sweeps over cities and nations and populations like an unseen tsunami. It has a critical mass. For the most part is is contained to local regions and smaller groups of people. Yet there was always coming a time when people would rise up and destroy themselves.
Jesus tells us in Matt 24 that in the beginning of sorrows that nation would rise up against nation. The word nation here is the word “ethnos,” it’s where we get our English word ethnic or ethnicity from. I want to use South Africa as an example. One would have thought that Apartheid was the root cause of all the South African problems. It was not. It was a problem, but not the problem. The virus runs much deeper than obvious societal problems. It is a fundamental flaw in our humanity. It awaits critical mass. It awaits to try and seize what it can never have, contentment. Once the levels reach critical mass it then needs a spark. It needs a way out. Once it is out it seeks the company of its own and garners strength in numbers.
George Floyd was a such a spark in America. His death was the spark that caused the virus to come forward. It will not be the last spark as the fire has not fully taken hold. Yet the fire is coming and we shall be consumed by it. Jesus said it and it will come to pass. In any inequitable society (every society that ever existed) the virus of discontentment is loose. There are certain forces that can contain it, for a while. Men rise up and champion its cause. Examples of its rise is without number down through history. The Chinese so called cultural revolution is one. The Russian revolution is another. The two great wars. The French revolution. The American revolution. Every war ever fought, the virus of discontentment lurks just underneath the shadows of such event.
Saints, it is a deadly enemy and will eat away your soul from the inside out. It will cause you to join its ranks, for it cannot truly exist on its own, its great strength comes in numbers. The human experience is to either be striving for riches and more riches, or to be striving to hold on to those riches once gained. It can never acknowledge any gain, it can never acknowledge that it is indeed rich or better off, lest its deadly enemy, contentment, the antidote, destroy it. A reflective heart that is bathed in thankfulness for what one has, perhaps simply the food on ones table and the roof over ones head is a highly effective counterpart to discontentment.
And so, the enemy of our souls, through his champions, must always have our eyes fixed upon what we do not have. In this scenario the glass is undoubtedly and eternally half empty. See it in every aspect of our lives. Our relationships, it is the major cause of divorce. Finances, it is the major cause of our anxieties. Politics, it is the major cause of our hatreds and divisions. Religion, it is the major cause of our divisions. A perpetual state of discontentment is perhaps one description of an eternal hell.
Now, the man or woman who has found Godliness with great contentment has found great gain. Paul tells us this in 1 Timothy 6:6-6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. Consider Gods advice to all men in regard to riches and the desires of it ….(1Ti 6:7-10) For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
And what does God say about all men who stir up such discontentment?(1Ti 6:4-5) He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. Withdraw brothers and sisters, from all men who promote discontentment with your lot in this world. That would cover just about every politician and also those who promote the ills of society for their own gain and advancement ( almost all men and women)
Thanking God in everything is the remnant’s stand at the end of the ages. It will protect us from the deadly disease of discontentment that is rising up in the world to levels we have never seen before. The “ethnos,’ are attacking the “ethnos.’ The peoples of the nations are destroying themselves as they drown in their own dark hearts. And according to Jesus, this is but the beginning of sorrows. Content in Christ, quite apart from our circumstances, is the key to an abundant life and is the solid Rock upon which we stand, all other ground is sinking sand. Can’t you see that the world is sinking? Come up and dwell together on higher ground brothers and sisters.
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Posted by appolus on July 10, 2021
I have often thought that the best of Christians are found in the worst of times. And I have thought again, that one reason why we are no better is because God purges us no more. I know that these things go against the grain of the flesh but they are not against the graces of the Spirit (Bunyan)
Brother John here speaks of something I have long since argued. The Body of Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. How can the Body not be the Body? What do we saints lack today to our disadvantage? Opportunity. Opportunity to suffer for the cause of Christ and it does not help us that we find ourselves in such a situation at least here in the west. It is to our severe detriment. What, in the natural, causes hunger and thirst and atrophy, paradoxically in the Spirit causes the Body to be full and to be strong and vital. When we are weak then we are strong, strong in the Lord and the power of His might. He is glorified in our infirmities. We have a good testimony if we bear the marks of persecution with joy and gladness.
Paul says that if he would glory in anything, he would glory in his infirmities. He goes even further and says that he takes pleasure in his infirmities in 11 Cor 12:10. Now why would he say such a thing? In verse nine lies the key not just for Paul but for you and I. God had spoken to Him in the midst of his afflictions and infirmities and Jesus Himself says to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you for (because) My strength is made perfect in (your) weakness.” This is beyond paradoxical, this truth lies at the heart of the Kingdom walk and turns the world upside down. When Paul walks in such a way, the very power of Christ rests upon him. What kind of power is this that transforms the weakness of man into the power of God? The enemy of our soul is altogether rendered powerless in regard to the saints in this matter. For the more horror and darkness that he rains down on the saint of God, the greater the revelation of Christ to the world.
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Posted by appolus on July 8, 2021
Rom 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
John Bunyan said “let us learn like Christians to kiss the rod, and love it………many of our graces are kept alive by those very things that are the death to other men’s soul.” Speaking for myself, I can imagine, perhaps, on my best day, kissing the rod, but loving it? It is just as well it is not my best efforts that empowers me to truly love my enemy. To walk in such a way, empowered by the Spirit of God, is to know that we have truly turned the corner on this world and see only the Kingdom perspective.
You simply cannot be walking in the world and be dictated to in anyway by the flesh if we are to kiss the rod that wounds us and greater still, love the unrepentant one who wields that very rod. Yet Bunyan would argue that many of the graces we enjoy and walk in are empowered by the very testing of our souls by the cruel actions of our enemies. Outside of the Spirit of God the actions of such cruel enemies engender rage, hatred and revenge and leave the soul embittered and dying. So to one it means death and to another, life. Shall we live brothers and sisters or shall we die? Our chains were broken and our fetters loosed on the cross, let us cling to that very cross and say with Christ “forgive them Father for they know not what they do.”
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Posted by appolus on July 8, 2021
My wife and I know something of the pain of losing. Our first child lived only for two days. In the end it was God’s unfailing healing love that brought us through. He gives, and He takes away, blessed be the Lord as Job would say. None of that negated the pain nor stopped the tears, but it did restore my broken heart. He wipes away the tears and catches them in a bottle as a memorial. And my pain ebbed like the slow receding tide as the world continues to turn. I have a firm assurance that when this tide rises again one day, and takes me up into my eternal home, there I will see the child of my youth. The why’s of it all are really just a faint echo of the world as I lay down wrapped in the arms of the one who ever weaves this tapestry of life.
In the end I had “two” funerals for my son, Stephen. The first was on an overcast rain soaked day in Scotland, which perfectly matched my darkened closed down unsaved heart. The second would come fifteen years later, many years after being saved. It came from nowhere and broke over me like a violent thunderstorm. Thunder and lightening and a torrential rain of tears. Healing, never saw it coming. God was working His way into every chamber of my heart, and everywhere the waters of life flowed, there was healing, and there was healing for me. These are the mysteries of life and a God who works in mysterious ways whose thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours. As you ponder your own loss in this world, it is very likely that no answers will ever come as to the why. When we learn to put aside the why and live this life rather than die, then once again we shall surely fly.
Great loss is a clipping of our wings. Here is the definition of wing clipping …..”Wing clipping is the process of trimming a bird’s primary wing feathers or remiges so that it is not fully flight-capable, until it moults, sheds the cut feathers and grows new ones.” I have had my primary wings clipped many times over the years as I am sure that you have dear reader. The moulting and the shedding of cut feathers and the growing of new ones takes time and comes with its own unique pains. And then one day………we fly. We live again, fully restored. A process full of mystery and undoubtedly unique to every single person.
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A Call To The Remnant 