Archive for the ‘Daily devotional’ Category
Posted by appolus on April 3, 2020
Hab 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
There is a great multitude today who are desperately hungry and thirsty. All over the world the people dwell in great darkness and the darkness increases every day. Hell has opened up its vaults and is beginning to spew forth its contents with increasing speed and urgency because it knows its time is short. There is a desperate darkness coming and it is coming at us with alarming speed. Yet just as in the time of Noah, the world is ignorant of the impending disaster about to befall it.
Like the children of Israel when Jesus says “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!β Jesus wept because He knew that less than forty years after His death and resurrection that the whole system would come tumbling down. The Temple would be destroyed and the Israelite’s would be no more as a nation and they had absolutely no idea.
In those days, it was unimaginable that their Temple, their country, their way of life would be swept away and that they would be scattered to the four corners of the world. It is equally unimaginable to so many that the church system as we know it today, will be completely consumed by Babylon and turn on Godβs remnant children. Yet brothers and sisters, that is exactly what is coming as this great Babylonian whore church evolves and worships the anti-Christ. And despite all this, Godβs children will shine brightly in the darkest days the world has ever known. Full of the Holy Spirit and walking in the presence of God.
A blood bought remnant people whose desperate desire is to follow Him to Calvary and beyond. Their eyes will see the Glory of the Living God cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. This persecution upon the saints will rend the heavens and the glory of God will fall upon them. Because this persecution will be worldwide therefore the glory that falls will fall all over the world and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God. Jesus will be manifested to the world. It will be clear to the world what they are rejecting and then He shall appear. Oh for the day of His appearance when every eye shall see Him and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God.
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Posted by appolus on April 1, 2020
Heb 9:3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place.
For anyone who has experienced the presence of God everything else will inevitably fall short. In many ways it is a double edged sword. Itβs not good enough to stand outside the door, itβs not good enough to remain in the courtyard, one must enter in. And the only way to enter in is to pass through the altar, the brazen alter. What will we bring as a sacrifice? How will we humble ourselves? What state are we in? Are we able to look at ourselves?
The only way we can humble ourselves is to be like David. When the prophet identified David as the man who was guilty, he was broken and contrite. He knew that against God alone he had sinned, it started there. He may have committed adultery and murder but his real crime was against God. And so the sin has first to be identified and after that it must be recognized and then it must cause a realization in the depths of our heart that we have fallen from grace.
If the Galatians had fallen from grace in that they sought to complete the work that was begun by the Spirit by the works of the flesh, then are we not today fallen from grace if Christ is no longer the preeminent one in our lives and in our gatherings? How would those who had went down a wrong road find themselves once again on the right road? They would have to repent, do a 180 and go back to the fork in the road. Could the Lord ever justify continuing down the wrong road? This is not only true in our personal life, but also in our corporate settings.
The Holy place is the Holy place. God is God and He never changes. He must be worshiped in Spirit and in truth. In truth, not just in Spirit, but in truth. Outside of truth there is no Spirit. Without truth there can only be religion, that is true personally and corporately. Oh foolish Christendom. Where is Jesus Christ our Lord? Can you complete that which was begun in the Spirit when you walk in the flesh? Can routine and liturgy and programs, the traditions of men complete you? Would you not exchange all of that for just one moment in His presence? One moment behind the curtain? Today is the day to turn away from whatever keeps us from entering in to His presence. No golden calf is worth the price of standing outside in the courtyard and not behind the veil in the Holy place before His throne.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 30, 2020
2Ch 5:14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.
The world has such a low view of God. Some kindly grandfather? A benevolent Santa Claus? A buddy? Of course He is none of these things. For the most part Christendom also has a low view of God. Can I ask you a genuine question? The last time you went to church, were you actually expecting to encounter the Living God? I am not talking about singing loud and jumping up and down. I am not talking about being really interested in a sermon and taking notes. I am talking about meeting God almighty.
The God that is high and lifted up and the train of His robe fills the temple. The God that is majestic in holiness. The God that is full of awe and marvelous. The God that is so overwhelming that He floods our spirits with His glory and those around His throne can only cry out Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Is that what you were expecting? If not why not? Unless the people have an encounter with such a God, they will continue to have a low view of Him and worship some weak anemic cultural god of their own making.
What cannot be learned by a thousand excellent sermons can be learned in the genuine presence of God. Just one moment in His presence is better than a thousand elsewhere. If all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.” (1 Cor 14 24-25)
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.
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Posted by appolus on March 26, 2020
Psa 23:4Β Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
As I prayed this morning the Lord laid the above Scripture on my heart. The Holy Spirit spoke to me. From the moment we are born our life is the valley and death is the shade. As we walk through the valley, death is rendered to but a mere shadow to the saints. What is a shadow? What substance does it have? Is it the real thing or is it but a trick of the light? Death itself has lost its sting, where oh grave is your victory? And how could this be? “For thou art with me.” His presence destroys the power of sin and death and renders it to but a mere shadow. We often say that a man is a mere shadow of his former self. This is what it means when we speak of death for those who walk in the presence of God, for those who can say ” for thou art with me.” Can you say that?
Moses refused to go on in the desert unless the Lord was with him. The Lord said to Moses that He would do this thing because he had found grace in His sight and that He knew him by name. Brothers and sisters, our names are written in the Lambs book of life. We who know Him know Him by grace, through faith. We found grace in His sight, glory to God. Paul counted all of his trials and his impending death as mere rubbish, because? He was found in Him. Paul could go on in a perilous and persecuted journey because death was but a shadow. What creates a shadow? Light. We who stand in the light of Christ have rendered death to but a mere shadow of its former self. This is why we can walk through the valley. This is why we look not to this world but to the next. For thou art with me oh Lord through every valley. Every trial, every tribulation even death itself is but the means that draws us ever closer to the one who is with us.
We are more than conquerors in Him. When we suffer with Him we shall be glorified together. This is when all things work together for good to those whom He walks with who are called according to His purpose. What shall separate us from the love of Jesus? Trial or tribulation? Persecution or nakedness? famine or even the sword? For His sake we are killed all the day long, like sheep for the slaughter. Shall a virus or any pestilence or even death itself separate us from the one who is with us? No, nothing can, quite the opposite, it compels us to press on in. Saint, no matter what you are facing today, press on in to the One who is with You. He will see you through the fire. He will hold you in the flood. No matter how fierce the fire or how deep the flood, nothing can separate us from the Love of God which is in Jesus our Lord. –
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Posted by appolus on March 23, 2020
Mat 7:24Β Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Jesus speaks of two kinds of houses in Mathew chapter 7:24-27. One is built upon the Rock and the other has no foundation. When the storm comes, when the flood rises and the winds blow with hurricane force,come dawns early ligth the house on the Rock still stands . The house without a foundation is swept away. Now consider this, the first word in Matt 7:24 is “wherefore.” The word wherefore means the answer or the explanation to a statement given. What was the statement Jesus had just made? In verses 21-23 Jesus says that not all who call Him Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, only those who do the will of my Father. So He will say to them “I never knew you, depart from me you who work iniquity.” He is talking to people who cast out demons and did many wonderful works in His name.
The test saint, is not the works that we do nor even the miracles that we are associated with. No, the test saints is how we stand or if we stand in the storm. It’s the storm that does the work. Who will praise Him in the storm? Who will do the will of the Father in the midst of the storm? To weather the storm with joy, with perseverance and with endurance is to prove which ground we stand upon. For those who stand upon the Rock, they shall not run from the storm, they shall not hide from the storm they shall stand tall in the midst of the storm in the might and the power of the Holy Spirit.
There is a huge storm raging around the world. It is the first of many such storms to come. The world will get over one storm and the next will quickly come. Yet those whose feet are planted on the Rock shall never be moved. They shall be able to enter into His presence, they shall go deeper into His heart, they shall stand upon the Word of God and the light of heaven shall shine through them like a beacon to a dark world. The Lord says that His kingdom is not of this world. We are part of His Kingdom and we do not belong to this world, we are merely passing through. We walk in the Spirit along the narrow way and He ever goes before us. Let not your hearts be troubled but rather rejoice. The praise of the saints from the depths of the dungeon is of so much greater value than those who praise His only from the mountaintops. A man can praise Jesus in the midst of good circumstances, it takes no foundation to do that. Only a saint standing on the solid Rock of Christ Himself can praise the Lord from the dungeon. What lies beneath your feet?
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Posted by appolus on March 20, 2020
Heb 13:13-14 Therefore let us go forth to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
Jesus was found outside the camp, outside the walls, outside the gates. We are told to go to where He is. In those days, the walls represented security and belonging. To be outside the camp was to be outside of fellowship with the rest of society and to be in a dangerous place. Yet, Jesus was found in a place called Golgotha, outside of the gates. To leave the security of the walls behind us, we must be willing to find all of our security and belonging in Jesus.
If any part of our heart belongs to the city, we will be tempted to look back with longing as judgment begins to pour down upon it, just as Lots wife looked back. It is an eternal city that we seek and we have been called to be sojourners and pilgrims in this voyage of life. Jesus alone is our anchor and only in Him can we find our place of refuge, He alone is our high tower.
The distance from where Jesus hung on the cross was not very far from the temple. Those who dwelt within the walls were convinced that the presence of God was within the heart of the temple, in the Holy of Holy’s. Yet tragically for those who clung to their place of worship and who ignored what Jesus had told the woman at the well, would die in their religion.
Jesus told the woman at the well when she questioned Him about where the proper place to worship should be that a time was coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24) The presence of God was not in the Holy of Holy’s, the presence of God, the word made flesh, Emmanuel, was hanging from a tree outside of civilized society on a garbage dump known as Golgotha.
The saints of God are sojourners. We are pilgrims in a strange land who are merely passing through. We bear His reproach from the world and from the religious. Do you worship Him in Spirit and in Truth? Can we ignore the truth and still be obedient to the words of Jesus? If we are to walk in the Spirit then we have to walk in the truth, you cannot have one without the other. In our ever changing world it is getting more and more difficult to justify staying behind the walls. We have to be where the truth is. True worshipers will follow the Spirit and will follow the truth, even if none go with them and despite the ridicule and the reproach. Remember we are bearing His reproach for here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come
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Posted by appolus on March 18, 2020
Rom 8:8Β So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.Β
In another Scripture, Heb 11:6 we are told…. But without faith it is impossible to please him. You see the connection? Walking in the flesh is the same as having no faith in the Lord. In Romans 8:5 we are told…. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. Now if we look at two words here it is instructive for us. First the word “mind.” This word means to set our affections on, the thing that captures our thoughts. So, if we mind the things of the flesh then our affections are set upon the things of the flesh and our thoughts are taken up with the flesh. Now, it is important to identify what the word flesh means here. The Greek word is sarx and means in this context “the symbol of what is external.”
So if you are walking in the flesh then you are taken up with the external things of this life and not the interior life, the life of the Spirit. Now the external things can mean a multitude of things. It can mean our outward circumstances, our careers, our position in life, our cars, our houses, our politics, our appearance and so on. If these are the things that occupy our minds then we cannot be walking in the Spirit and we cannot be pleasing to God. Rather, to be walking in the Spirit is to be seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. This pleases God and He is a rewarder of those who follow this path. His reward is His presence and in His presence there is fullness of joy. Peace and love and forgiveness, contentment and holiness is the landscape of the Kingdom. Wont you walk in the Spirit today? Put away the things of this world and mind the things of God and His Kingdom and possess what the Lord has delivered to you.
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Posted by appolus on March 16, 2020
Mat 16:24Β Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.Β
How deep the love that cries βforgive them Father?β How dead to the flesh a man must be to cry βhold not this charge against them.β How transformed must his flesh be that he has a vision in the midst of being stoned by his countrymen? And brother Stephen was taken home loving those who bore the stones.
Would I respond in such a manner?? I pray that I would. I pray that every trial and tribulation I now suffer is a mile run by one who trains for a marathon. Can I see my trials as blessings? Can I walk counter to modern Christendom and count my trials as I count my blessings? This is the deeper life brothers and sisters. This is the counter-culture. This is the way of the cross.This is the narrow path. Can we arrive at such a place as to rejoice in our sufferings? How can a man rejoice in his sufferings? Well, a man cannot, only a saint empowered by the Holy Spirit can.
There is no key or magic wand on how to rejoice in the depths of suffering. There is only encounter, there is only desire, there is only that thirst spoken of by David when he spoke of the deer that panteth after the waterbrooks. Make no mistake brothers and sisters, this place, this walk of the saints, this place of peace that surpasses all understanding is born out of fire. We have to encounter the Lord Jesus in the depths of the fiery furnace.
Is there another way? No. Itβs the narrow path, itβs the taking up of the cross, itβs the decision made in the garden of Gethsemane and even that is not it, there is still the death, even the death of the cross. Many men will die for the cause but how many are willing to die for the cross?
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Posted by appolus on March 13, 2020
1Pe 5:10Β But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
None of us enjoy suffering. That might be something that is common to every man and woman on the earth. We often go to enormous lengths to avoid suffering. It is our natural state. Yet here we see that in the process of being sanctified, there is indeed suffering to be dealt with. How we deal with that suffering is a vital part of the sanctification process. We cannot hate it, we cannot fear it, we cannot run from it and we cannot battle it. Yet that is what most of do. Yet we are not natural men brothers and sisters, we are supernatural. One pastor said that your salvation is either supernatural or superficial. The word superficial is defined as “existing or occurring at or on the surface.” Suffering goes deep beneath the surface. There are many things that we can replicate in a superficial manner, being at peace in the midst of suffering, having great joy despite our circumstances is not one them.
Paul says in Romans 5:3-4 …..but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Can you imagine that? He glories in his suffering because of what he knows that it is producing. It is producing the very elements that we need to endure and overcome. We are being shaped by the Lord. Resigning our lives into His hands is our reasonable service. A superficial faith cannot abide the thought of suffering or any kind of deprivation. The notion that one could end up in a dungeon whipped to within and inch of our lives and yet still be praising God and thanking God and glorifying God in the midst of all of it rather than begging God to be relieved of our circumstances is an offense to many.
Paul says that the power of God rested upon him as he gloried in his infirmities in 2 Cor 12:10. By the grace of God, His strength is made perfect in our weakness. This is why Paul would rather glory in his infirmities. He was so sold out to the notion of glorifying God that no matter what it took, then he was ready for that. This is the high water mark for us saints. To follow Jesus in such a manner is to have totally abandoned the flesh. Push on in deeper saint, may we decrease and may He increase.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 12, 2020
Matt 6:19-21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth
What are the riches of our dwelling place with the Lord? Out of the beauty of dwelling with Him do we have the finest gold of unconditional love? Are the walls of our dwelling place encrusted with the jewels of forgiveness and mercy? Are the windows of our dwelling places draped with meekness and humility?
Do trophies of grace hang on every wall? Are they framed with the finest materials of patience and kindness? Do we pursue the riches and the glories of heaven with the same vigor and single-mindedness that men here on earth pursue gold and silver? And the treasures that we have attained in Christ, do we protect them with all the resources that we have?
Do we value the treasures of our heart in the same way men value their wealth? There is a direct correlation between how much we value something and the lengths we will go to protect it. Guard your hearts brothers and sisters in Christ, for we have an enemy who seeks to steal and destroy what we have. Satan knows the value of what we have oftentimes more than we do.
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Posted by appolus on March 9, 2020
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Are you wearied of living in fear? Fears of all kind are the enemies of our soul, indeed oftentimes fear is the opposite of faith. In the end, fear is actually sin. I do not say that to bring condemnation upon anyone, simply to identify it and highlight how it can separate us from our relationship with the Lord. God does not condemn us in this but He would that we would live in the freedom that He has made us free with.
When we run away from a situation or hide from it because of fear, it never solves the problem, it still lies in wait for us as we go around the mountain again. The obstacle must be confronted if we are to pass it by and move on upwards. Every single time we give into fear we are saying βLord, you are not Lord of my life,fear is.β And in this we recognize the fact that we are slaves to sin and not servants of God.
We cannot be slaves and free men all at the same time. If the Lord has set me free, if He has come and opened up my jail cell, what was I doing still in the cell looking out through the bars at the world? Why had I not walked through the door that the Lord had opened? Was it safer for me to stay where I had become accustomed to?
There comes a time in our lives when we decide that we have to get up and get out of that cell. The Lord did not open it and free us just so that we could be technically free, He wants us to be actually free. I don’t know what is keeping you in that cell this day but we both know the Lord who opened the door. He bids us to step out of the shadows of the cell and slavery and to walk out and into the light of freedom. One step at a time, one day at a time, listen and follow Him one word at a time.
Step by step. As you overcome in Him you will be putting distance between you and your former cell or self. There will come a time when you will look back and be astonished how far you have come in Him and how by the power of His Spirit you have overcome. You were called to freedom. Take that first step this day and deal fear a lethal blow by being obedient to the Word of God and His still small voice.
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Posted by appolus on March 3, 2020
Mar 4:39-40 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?
My son Daniel, who has Down Syndrome had Frisbee golf with the day summer camp that he went to many years ago. He was very excited about it. When we got up that morning it was apparent that the weather was not good. As we left for the camp at 9am it got really dark, in a way that you have to live in the Mid-West to really appreciate. It was as dark as night and the rain came on very heavy. It takes about twenty minutes to drive to camp and Daniel and I would typically have a time of worship on the journey there. Half way there he tugs on my shirt. I turn the music down and Daniel says with his broken language skills βIβm gonna sing to the storm.β It just struck me, it was so profound. I turned the music back up.
As we continued to worship (Daniel with his hands raised to God) I began to wonder, βLord, are you going to clear this up?β I began to cry as I considered the very simple faith of my son. Brothers and sisters, before we got to that camp, the light broke through the darkness and the rain stopped. I was quietly shedding a few tears at the Lord’s dramatic response to Daniels prayer , not Daniel. He gets out of the car and he is muttering and he is speaking for God to the storm and he says βsee storm, youβre not the boss of me.β And as soon as he said it I thought of the Scripture, Mark 4:39β And He awakened and rebuked the wind and said to the sea βPeace be still!β And the wind ceased and there was great calm.
I had such a time with the Lord on the way home as I considered who He was. When was the last time that you βsung to your storm?β Maybe you are in the midst of a storm right now. Maybe itβs as dark as it ever has been in your life. Saint, this storm does not have mastery over your life. We serve a God that in the midst of the most violent storms can say βPeace be still.β And suddenly there is peace. Can you sing to your storm today? Can you praise God even in the midst of your greatest trials? When the enemy of your soul says βletβs hear you sing now,β can you confound him and sing out? When your back is to the sea and there seems to be no way of escape, can you, in faith, begin to praise Him because you know that all power belongs to Him?
Praise Him today brothers and sisters, no matter what your circumstance, praise Him today. And the light will break through into the darkness of your situation as you lift Him up above your circumstances and He takes you up with Him. He is high and lifted up and the train of His robe fills the temple. He is glorious in holiness. He inhabits the praises of His people. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, and His banner over us is love.
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Posted by appolus on February 26, 2020
Gal 5:16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Walking in the Spirit is walking in fulfillment of His word. When someone offends me, but I do not take offense, I am walking in the Spirit. When I am insulted, yet I do not care because I am dead to myself and alive to Christ, I am walking in the Spirit. When I love the unlovable I am walking in the Spirit. When I agree with my enemy quickly and he is disarmed then I am walking in the Spirit.
When I look upon a woman, not with lust but with pure eyes then I am walking in the Spirit. When I refuse to be anxious but make a conscious decision to do all things by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving then I am walking in the Spirit. All these things and so many others brothers and sisters is the fruit of my walk in the Spirit.
As I do all these things and the peace that is beyond understanding fills me completely, then I know that I am walking in the Spirit of the Living God and my heart literally burns within my chest. And as it burns, it gives off a light that men can see and they are drawn to Christ in me. When this happens, I know that I am walking in the Spirit! My part is to surrender and yield to the Spirit that is within me. I must also be able to hear that still small voice that leads and guides me.
I must also be genuine in all that I do, my outward actions must be a reflection of my inner life. That right there is the difference between life and death. I must cultivate my relationship with Jesus because my ability to walk in the Spirit is directly tied to Christ in me and my relationship with Him. I must be able to come into His presence. It is only by walking in His presence, which is walking in the Spirit, that I can be used of Him to be light in the darkness.
Experiencing His manifest presence as opposed to having a faith in information is life and manna to your soul. Giving a mental assent to an abstract truth cannot feed us, we can only be fed in the Spirit. If we are walking in the Spirit we can be fed, it is then that not only are we fed by bread alone but by every word that proceeds forth out of the mouth of God. It is in the context of His leading and His guiding that our souls are edified. It is in this walk that the desires of the flesh begin to recede and Christ in us begins to increase. May He increase in your life as you walk out your life in the Spirit for there is no other way that He can increase and be lifted up.
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Posted by appolus on February 21, 2020
Mat 25:21 His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
The seasons of God are good. One of those seasons is a time for weeping and mourning. Yet, if that is all that we have, if we live forever in a perpetual winter of weeping and mourning then nothing will ever grow. We will not grow and neither will our effectiveness for His kingdom. Neither will we grow in the knowledge of God. There is a time to rent our clothes and throw dust on our heads, yet if this one season becomes the whole then we render ourselves weak and ineffectual. Our real strength comes in the Joy of the Lord. If we cannot put on a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness then we will not be able stand in the evil day. We will be overcome by trial and tribulation and persecution.
When the Israelites were captured and taken from Jerusalem, their captors sat them down by the river of Babylon and taunted them. They said to them, “letβs hear your songs of Zion, let us hear your songs of victory now.” And the Israelites who were famous for their songs of praise to God, hung their harps on the willow tree, unable to sing, overcome in spirit in their defeat. The enemy had not only robbed them of their earthly freedom, they had robbed them of their joy, their essential core. They no longer had a song in their heart or on their lips. The willow tree upon which they hung their harps represented weeping. Their praise was silenced and only their weeping could now be heard.
Can I ask you something? Have you hung your harp on the willow tree? Have you suffered a loss or a defeat that has robbed you of your song? Do you find it impossible to praise the Living God? Has your mourning went on too long? When our mourning and weeping goes beyond what is natural we will find ourselves in trouble. Now, our hearts will be filled with something. If we have lost out song or our joy then our heart will be filled with some level of anger or bitterness or cynicism, perhaps all three.
The Apostle Paul and Silas shows us the way when we see them praising God in the midnight hour. They had been whipped and scourged and found themselves in stocks in the lower reaches of the dungeon. When they seemingly have nothing to praise God for they begins to sing His praises. And we see something very spectacular happen. The whole building shakes as the power of God falls upon that prison. The doors are supernaturally opened. What God done for Paul and Silas he can do for you. Will you praise Him today? Despite your circumstances will you praise Him today? If you do, you will see the doors of darkness open before you and you will be able to step out into His marvelous light.
You see brothers and sisters, we have been called not only to be a witness to the world but we also testify against principalities and powers. In the opening chapter of Job we see God boasting about His faithful servant, and right away the accuser of the brethren fires back that Job is only faithful because God has blessed him and protects him. The accuser tells God that if the circumstances were different Job would curse Him to His face. Right there brothers and sisters, can you see it? Can you see why it is so important to praise the Lord our God even in the depths of out trials and difficulties?
When we do that we shake the universe for we not only prove by our actions that no matter what, our God is worthy to be praised and we will praise Him. We also prove, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, that the enemy of our soul is a liar and that our love for God is unconditional. There is something really big playing out in your lives brothers and sisters even if you cannot see it or you think your life is insignificant, it is not. Join the hosts of heaven as a witness against the enemy this day and praise the Lord your God.
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Posted by appolus on February 17, 2020
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Most of us have a concept of prayer that is all about talking. We start of by giving thanks, then we make our requests, we pray for family members and before we know it has become ritualistic and barren. Prayer should be much more like breathing. When was the last time you thought about breathing? Youβre probably not even conscious of your breathing yet you do it continually and it sustains you and gives you life. Prayer is our relationship with God. They are one and the same. If we attempt to separate them then we will get lost. There are no formulas, no secret methods, prayer is being in the presence of God.
Prayer times and quiet times are good. For many this is our moments when we connect with God. In the morning and in the evening before we go to bed. Yet if we have neglected His presence all day, our prayer times will not be as effective. In our minds we must take God every-where we go, whispering to Him all through the day as we face the challenges, trials and temptations that come with life.
Begin to see God everywhere. Don’t simply walk out the door and leave Him behind to pick Him up again in the evening. Let the Lord invade every part of your day. You will be amazed at how this will change everything. You will not just be talking to Him in your prayer times and quiet times, He will become an integral part of everything that you do and think and say. Remember, He is the reality, the world we go out into every day is but the shadow, walk in the reality of God.
Each whisper, every God-ward thought, every word spoken, each moment of silence spent in His presence is like a musical note to the Lord. The Scriptures refer to the Lord as βHe who sits above the circle of the earth.β And so He who sits above the circle of the earth sees each and every one of these musical notes from around the world from the Body of Christ rising up in a majestic symphony of love and worship and it is a sweet, sweet sound in His ears.
Wont you become part of that symphony today? Let your day be filled with thoughts of Him. Release whispers of love to add to the music of prayer. Simply whisper the name of Jesus all throughout the day. Remind Him of how much you love Him and thank Him continually for the day, no matter what kind of day that your having. Rediscover that bond of love and joy and peace that comes simply by being in His presence. When you do this brothers and sisters, your prayer life will change dramatically, but not only your prayer life, life itself.
For when we walk in continual prayer we begin to see the beauty of the Lord everywhere. If it rains, we see His beauty in the raindrops. If the sun shines then we see His beauty as the flowers turn themselves around to face the glory of the risen Son. If it is cloudy we can see his beauty break through the clouds in beams of light that remind us that despite the momentary darkness, He is not finished with us and that His light is ready to break through the darkness of our situations and this world. When we fly above the clouds we discover that there is a perpetual blue sky. In the same manner brothers and sisters there is a table set before you. Can you see it? Goodness is the meat to the hungry soul found in the Word of God and mercy is the living waters of life to the thirsty saint found in His presence. It is His promise that these shall follow you all the days of your life.
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Posted by appolus on February 14, 2020
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.(Eph 3:17-19)
If itβs the moon they say 250,000 miles or if itβs the sun they say 93 million miles. But after that they start talking in light years. They say that there are bodies millions of light years awayβsay 10 million just to get a start. So if you want to know how far it is from earth to that body Iβm talking about, you multiply 5 trillion, 862 billion, 484 million by 10 million. Doesnβt that stun you? It makes my head ache! Seen over against this, you and I are terribly small (A.W.Tozer The Attributes of God)
Can you see what Tozer is getting at? He is showing us just how vast the universe is and yet how infinitesimally small it actually is in comparison to God almighty. This is beyond our ability to comprehend. It is too big. Yet right there in the Scriptures it says that those who have Christ in their hearts, and are rooted and grounded in love can indeed comprehend God. Think on that a while. Comprehend God. We can know the breadth of His majesty. We can know the depths of His love. We can know the heights of His glory. In short, we can know that which is beyond knowledge. We can be filled with the fullness of our God who is infinitely vast. This is astonishing that we can enter into and be filled with His fullness. It’s is an invitation by our Lord who owes His creation nothing. And yet He beckons us to come into the glory. Our God wants to share this with us. And there is purpose in it.
For this purpose Paul bowed his knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus, his Father and our Father. The purpose is that we faint not in the midst of tribulations. When we apprehend His glory we comprehend His glory. When we comprehend His glory we are strengthened by His might in His Spirit in the inner man. On the outside we may be in prison, we may be hard pressed on every side, perplexed and persecuted and struck down but we stand fast and we are not overcome. We stand and do not fall because He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or even think according to His power that is in us, the fullness of His power. Glory to God in the highest. He causes us, whose heart He dwells in by faith and who are rooted and grounded in love, to stand.
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Posted by appolus on February 12, 2020
Itβs not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth (Matt 15:11)
Isnβt it interesting that Jesus would say that it was not what man takes into him that defiles him, but it is what comes out of him that can be defiling. As I was praying I caught a vision of tall trees, a vast forest. It occurred to me that trees soak up the carbon dioxide that we as humans breathe out, and in turn the trees turned this poison into life giving oxygen.
We, the children of God are the trees of the world and we move in harmony to the wind of the Spirit. We take upon us the offenses of this world. The hatred, the bitterness and the false accusation and we do this all in our every-day lives whether it is with coworkers or family and friends or even brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to this brothers and sisters.
Do you have the grace and the faith and most especially the love to be able to fulfill your role? Are you dealing with difficult people right now? Have you been hurt and offended? Breathe deeply brothers and sisters, yes take it in and breathe out life giving love in response. The closer these people are the more difficult this will be. Who can hurt us more than our spouses and our children? Yet the degree of difficulty only magnifies the love and the power of God in us. Nothing tills the soil of our hearts more than this. Nothing removes the stones in our own hearts more than this. It is power in the Kingdom and weakness in the world. What Kingdom shall we walk in saints? How then shall we grow?
You have been supernaturally created to be able to take this poison and darkness and expel love and light in its place. It is our calling. When we stand before the Lord, I am fully convinced that this will be our offering to Him. For what reward will the world give you to take the insult? Where is the pat on the back for returning love for evil? There will be no recognition, no standing ovation in this world, but the Lord will see and what He sees is pure gold. And this is the treasure that will meet us in the world to come.
Into the darkness of this world we shall bring the light of Christ, for we are the bearers of the light. The love of Jesus our Lord, the love of God the Father, poured out upon us who deserved nothing is a monumental thing. In the light of this love we have been called to love the world. We who have been forgiven for so much have been called to forgive. Will it tear the flesh from your back? Will it scar you? Certainly it will. Look to Calvary and see the scars upon our Saviors back, see how they pierced Him and hated Him. You scars tell the story saints, it tells the story of His glory. Not on some majestic mountaintop but down in the mud and the mire of the deepest valleys. This is how we share His glory. Treasure in the Kingdom and garbage to this world. Diametrically opposed worlds separated by paradoxes. Jesus sees your scars, and the secrets that He sees He will one day reward you openly for. Maybe not in this world but certainly in the next.
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Posted by appolus on February 10, 2020
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
Only that which flows from an uninterrupted gaze on Him is real. Everything else is the shadow of the object. Granted, the shadow of the Lord is more powerful than all that can be seen, and one can even enjoy the heat from the sun in the shadow. Yet the glow from the face of Moses was not the glow of a man who stood in the shadows. I believe that the Lord can pour out his unadulterated light if it is not diffused by the efforts of middle men or intermediaries.
Can it be that simple? Can we simply come into His presence and be changed? Does everything begin and end with the Lord Jesus? How does one continue to look to Jesus? It is a conscious act of the will to take our eyes of our circumstances and cast them upon Jesus. This is the great battle of our lives, not our circumstances. Our circumstances can simply be doors that if walked through lead directly into His presence. It is in that place, looking unto Jesus, that we are changed. Trust is the key that opens the door. To trust in God is to walk through the opened door of our circumstances into the throne room of God.
There are two Kingdoms. The kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of God. One is seen and affected by our senses and circumstances. The other is unseen and if walked in, relegates our circumstances to mere opportunities to go deeper into its depths. Now these two kingdoms compete for our attentions. You must cry out to God every day to bind up the reality of the kingdom of this world and to loose the reality of the Kingdom of God in your life. Cry out to God to give you eyes to see what He sees and how He sees it. Can you imagine the prospect of every situation you face being an opportunity to grow in grace and power? This is the Kingdom reality, will you walk in it today?
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Posted by appolus on February 7, 2020
1 Cor 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you have the victory saints? What is “the victory?” In verse 54 it says that “Death is swallowed up in victory.” There are many kinds of death just as there are many kinds of victories. There is of course physical death and for those saints who “have the victory,’ then every aspect of death’s power, fear and dread and darkness are swallowed up by the life of Christ. For we know that because He lives then so shall we. The darkness of this world shall be swallowed whole by the light of Christ that is brighter than a thousand suns. Let all you suns of the universe hide yourselves in shame as mere candles in the wind when my Lord appears.
And because we “know” Him we have already been touched by the glory of His light. Can you feel it’s glow even now deep within your heart? It burns at the center of who we are. There is life in this light of God. There is power and there is victory and because there is we can say with full authority to death- where is your sting? Oh grave where is your victory? You have been defeated and you have been swallowed whole. The victory belongs to Jesus. His very life is our victory and His eternal throne means that out victory is eternal.
And therefore if death has been overcome and we ourselves have died to this world then we are now alive to walk in His Kingdom. And in this Kingdom we walk in victory. In every situation we have something that belongs to Jesus and was created by His very life. The light of Christ. It overcomes every darkness saints. When you apply this light to whatever battle that you are in you will find the victory. There is victory in the glory. Just as the glory of God fills all of heavens chambers that are vast beyond imagination, then it also fills you. His glory is your victory. For it’s release from your spirit lights up the darkness of every corner of your soul. When the deer pants for the waterbrooks and finally finds the fresh springs that flow from heavens throne then she rejoices.
Victory. That is what you have today saint. It lies within you for the Lord rules and reigns in your heart. You are a single tear drop away from His glory. No matter your situation today saints, search, like the deer, for the waters of life, the glory and the victory that lies within you. There is a fountain, an eternal spring and its waters have life and they have been prepared for your use. Desperation is often the key that opens the door of humility revealing the source of life and victory. Jesus is the life and the light , the watererbrooks, the eternal springs and the glory and the victory.
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Posted by appolus on January 30, 2020
Ex 33:15β¦ And he said to Him, If Your presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here.
We all know and would agree that God is omnipresent. This means that He is everywhere at the same time. This is an indisputable fact. Yet, the manifest presence of God, the felt presence of God is something entirely different. Moses had no desire to go anywhere unless God was with him and he could commune with Him. How long has it been since you have communed with God in the midst of His manifest presence? Perhaps you never have? Or perhaps you are going through a dry spell? In the midst of one of these dry spells I remember, in my distress, on my knees, just reaching my open hand up to the heavens and crying out to God.
And very silently, without any warning, He was holding my hand. And all of a sudden that world was there again. The world of endless possibilities. In this world it does not matter if there are dark skies or endless blue ones when I am holding His hand. Whether it rains or whether brilliant shafts of light break through ominous clouds, itβs all the same to me when I hold His hand. If I can barely see through my tears of if I wear the most illuminated smile, it matters not when I hold His hand. In the depths of trials or when all is right with the world I am at peace when I hold His hand. If I mourn the loss of a loved one or or cannot see my way ahead, I am never lost when I hold His hand.
The sweet all-consuming joy of His presence. This heart of a lion that beats within the chest of a lamb. This all-consuming power of love that rises victoriously above all the battles of life. This is life when we are walking in His presence. What battle field do you find yourself on today? Do you battle the unseen enemy of unforgiveness? Or has someone wronged you and bitterness bangs on your door? Is depression seeking to overwhelm you? Has the power of darkness in all its many forms come to challenge you today? Perhaps the darkness comes from the outside, or maybe there is hidden darkness from deep within?
Today, right now, close your eyes and reach out your hand into the darkness of your situation. Cry out to Jesus, tell Him how much that you miss Him and ask Him to take your hand. Your situation may not change, but the darkness will flee. You will be blessed in the midst of your circumstances and you will stand upon the Rock which is higher than your circumstances. He will carry you on eagles wings as the updrafts of His presence hold you and keep you. Where could we flee from His presence?
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A Call To The Remnant 