Archive for the ‘Devotions’ Category
Posted by appolus on February 5, 2021
1 Cor 16:13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
There is a great tide of evil rising up against Gods people. You know it, you sense it in your spirit, no one needs to tell you. And yet you also know that God has a people that He has established and strengthened in the fires of affliction. He has separated a people from the system of the world and called them to Himself. A people who love God and Him alone with their whole hearts. They have been hardened and tempered to the things of this world by trial and by affliction.
They come from every walk of life, every traditional background. You are not alone. The Body of Christ is shortly to face its greatest test. Indeed the Word of God tells us that there is such a time coming, that if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived and for the electβs sake God will shorten those days. Will you stand in the evil day brothers and sisters? Has your own independence from the world been forged in the fires of affliction?
Are you wholly dependent upon the Lord? Now is the time to be forged in the fire, to be purified, to be purged of the dross of this world. For if this world has a place in your heart, a foothold in your life, then the challenge will be so much more difficult. Are you truly ready brothers and sisters to stand in the evil day that is almost upon us? Itβs time to take up the armor of the Lord. For our battles are not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the worlds rulers and the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
So let us take on Truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness. Let us walk in the Gospel of peace and shield ourselves from the enemyβs blows by our faith in God alone. And always remember that we have salvation in Christ Jesus that can never be taken from us and the Word of God that delivers and defeats all of our enemies as we walk in the Spirit.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 3, 2021
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
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.
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 Psalms, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 1, 2021
Mat 7:24 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, 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 “therefore.” The word therefore 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.”
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 does not take a foundation to do that. Only a saint standing on the foundation of Christ Himself can praise the Lord from the dungeon. What lies beneath your feet?
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Posted by appolus on January 29, 2021
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.
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 Holies. 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 Holies, 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.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on January 27, 2021
Mat 16:24 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.
I pray that every trial and tribulation I now suffer is a mile run by one who trains for a marathon. Men run with heavy backpacks on their backs to train their bodies,to discipline them to, to bring them into a place of strength and endurance. The cross that I bear, the cross that I take up, has been uniquely designed for me and for who I am. It is intricately designed to test me and to bring me to a place brokenness and strength in the Lord.
To follow Jesus is to follow the path that He trod. He blazed a trail, a narrow path through fire and flood. We must be equipped to walk through these obstacles. The cross is the equipping. No cross means no forward progress in the Lord. As we walk along this narrow path, many are the encampments of folks who have no desire to go any further. The road, they found, was too difficult. And these encampments have names. One is called Camp compromise. Another is called Camp indulgence. And again another is called Fall Away Camp.
As we pass these camps the inhabitants will come out and jeer at us. They will attempt to discourage us and tempt us to take up camp with them. Many will be hostile and throw rocks at us as we pass them by and pass them by we shall. Each camp becomes a cautionary tale. Each camp that we see only strengthens our resolve to keep on going. The cross has equipped us with all the endurance and perseverance that we need to overcome the obstacles and the temptations.
Brothers and sisters, do not look to the left nor to the right. The Lord Himself has given us the bread of adversity and the waters of affliction through our own cross. The bread has given us sustenance and the waters of affliction has refreshed our parched spirits. In the midst of our prior adversities and afflictions we have seen the Lord, our teacher. And now this all comes back to us as we approach the beginning of the end of the narrow path that lies before us. Lean on the cross brothers and sisters, take strength from it. It’s victory will carry you home.
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 church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on January 25, 2021
Glorifying Jesus brings down the Spirit of God upon us and can effect our emotions. So glorifying God, raising high the name of Jesus, lifting Him up brings down the glory. In the soulish realm of much of Christendom, emotions are used to create a feeling and then that feeling is called God. Emotions in and of themselves carry no power. If they are the byproduct of an encounter with God they are a marvelous part of the “experiencing,’ His manifest presence. If they are the primary vehicle for entering into some kind of experience then you have entered the soul and not the Spirit.
Christendom is awash with this. Little men and women dancing and twirling and calling it freedom and then marveling at the “move of God.” So many generations have passed for whom the shades of grey have become to them the light of heaven. And if that light indeed be darkness, then how great the darkness? The manifest glory of God will ruin you for life. The changes in you will be profound. The weight of the glory of God will silence you. The majesty and the glory will cause you to be awestruck. You will not dance and scream and shout like you were at some rock concert with the lights tuned low and the volume set high and smoke machine creating a counterfeit atmosphere.
God help us as we drown in the mediocrity of a dying generation of what passes for Christianity. It is amazing that men and women can drown in something so shallow. It is further amazing when this kind of shallowness can rise up and take us down into the endless depths of our own souls. There is but one escape for those caught up in this and the time is drawing short. Find Jesus. Cry out to Jesus. Lift up the name of Jesus. Glorify Jesus. Exalt Jesus. Reject everything else until you have found Him. Whatever distracts you or your gathering from this, get rid of it. Get rid of your “professional worshipers.’ So many of whom are merely living out their dreams of secular success vicariously through the platform that you have allowed them to ascend among you. Let Christ arise and His enemies be scattered, let Christ let Christ arise!
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, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 25, 2021
Rom 5:3Β And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;Β
We see that we are called to 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 ones 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.
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Posted by appolus on January 22, 2021
1Pe 5:10 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 is something that we all have in common. 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 us find ourselves doing in many situations that come our way. We have to remember that 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.
And so if we are truly interested in moving in the deeper things of the Lord, becoming more like Jesus, then our attitude to suffering must bend towards rejoicing in it. It is a difficult arc but then the road is narrow we are told and few their are that find it. Rejoicing in victories is one thing, but to rejoice in seeming defeats, at least as the world would view as defeats, is quite remarkable and supernatural. Who rejoices in the depths of a dungeon? Who glories in their infirmities? Who is overjoyed when they are counted worthy to enter in the sufferings of Jesus? The man and the woman of God. And with this there is a power that rests upon them. A power that few people know much about. Who desires this kind of power that 2 Cor 12:9 speaks of? Not many do brothers and sisters, not many. Let us be counted with the not many, with the few, that God Himself may be glorified.
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Posted by appolus on January 20, 2021
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.
Posted in Daily devotional, Devotions, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 18, 2021
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 wrought for us on bloody Calvary.
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 looking out at the world through the bars? 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 January 15, 2021
Jdg 6:13 Oh my Lord, if the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles which our Fathers told us about saying,βDid not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?β But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
After Gideon gets through with his complaints to God, the Lord speaks to him and says βGo in the might of yours and you shall save Israel-have I not sent you?β (v 14) You see how God refuses to take on board what Gideon has just complained about and again affirms His calling on Gideonβs life? Saints, take heart at this for God has called you. listen to how Gideon replies and see if this reflects your own heart. “How can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manassah and I am the least in my fatherβs house.β (v15) To which the Lord replies βSurely I will be with you.β
The Lord picked the weakest man from the weakest clan. Itβs not about the man brothers and sisters, itβs about the God that goes with the man. If God is with us, who can be against us? This truly represents the remnant believers today. We are the weakest men and women. The reply that Gideon gave to God is the right reply in the right spirit. Without God we are nothing and can do nothing, but by the same token, when God is with us, and He says to Gideon βSurely I will be with you,β then there is nothing we cannot do. This is the spirit of the genuine saints of God today. They acknowledge their own weaknesses.They have experienced failure and they know what it is like to feel abandoned, this has been a journey and it ends with them knowing their utter helplessness without God being with them.
I want you to remember who you serve this day. No matter what situation you face today, the God who created the whole universe and set the foundations of the earth and hung the stars in the heavens above is with you. For His will and for His good pleasure God has been working on you and He is faithful to complete that what He has started. God is raising up an end time Gideon’s army and filling its ranks with the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Genuine saint, you are a mighty man of valour, you are a mighty woman of valour. What qualifies you to be counted in these ranks? God has called you, God is with you and God will equip you.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 13, 2021
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
(Luk 1:79)
The world is a dark place. It always has been. If you dwell in the world there are various degrees of darkness and shades of grey. Various degrees of sin and pain and tragedy that adds to the existing darkness. To live a life in shades of grey mistakenly considered to be light is perhaps the greatest tragedy of them all. There is a great light in which there dwells no darkness at all. This great light came down from the treasures of heaven to walk among the darkness of men. To lead them and to guide them away from the darkness of the sin that shapes them and keeps them from the light. To open up the eyes of the blind. There is only eternal death dwelling in the shadows. One can be found in the depths of darkness or dwelling on the outer edges in shades of grey, yet it is all the one kingdom. There is one kingdom of darkness and one Kingdom of light. Each kingdom has a king. You can only have one king. You cannot serve two kings. When you die, you dwell eternally with the king that you served here on earth.
The Lord has not abandoned us to the darkness. He came from the light of heaven and traveled to the very center of the kingdom of darkness and there confronted its king on our behalf. There He was abused, tortured and killed yet He overcame it all and conquered the power of the kingdom of darkness and took captivity captive. He triumphed and He has given light to those who dwell within the kingdom of darkness. He beckons all of them to follow Him and dwell within the Kingdom of light and of peace. He stands like an immovable lighthouse that illuminates the way for those caught up in the darkness. Though the storm beats upon and ravages the lighthouse, it cannot be moved for it stands upon and is built on solid rock. Christian, you are that light. It is the very reason that you exist. May the light that dwells within you lead many up and out of the Kingdom of darkness into the marvelous light of the Kingdom of God where our God reigns.
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Posted by appolus on January 11, 2021
2Co 4:6Β For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Do you walk in the light of the knowledge of the glory of God? When we speak of knowledge we are not speaking about information. The knowledge of the glory of God is an encounter. It is not information it is an experience. Only by experiencing the knowledge of the glory of God can we be transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord
This is the heart cry of our age. To stand in “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.β Let us lay aside everything else until we have stood in that light and have been transformed from glory to glory. Only then can we share with the passion that inevitably comes from such an encounter. People who dwell in darkness will be drawn to Christ by the light of the knowledge of glory that is in you, that is seared upon your heart, that makes you alive to the Spirit and dead to the world. Dear Lord in heaven pour out your glory into the hearts of men.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 8, 2021
2Co 2:14Β Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.Β
Do you walk in triumph? Do you diffuse the fragrance of His Knowledge in every place? If you have not experienced the knowledge of His glory then how can you radiate and reflect and diffuse the beauty of His presence and the manifest glory of who He is? If you have not stood in the manifest presence of God and been ruined for the things of this world from that encounter then how can you effectively share the reality of Jesus in your life? Those whose hearts are veiled to this knowledge of His glory, who have not yet stepped behind that veil and experienced the glorious majesty of His presence cannot walk in the life of Christ that flows from that place.
The reality of God is manifested in His reality manifested in us. We broken vessels, broken from the things of this world, are changed in fundamental ways by His hand and by His glory. And this is the triumph in Christ. In Christ we are more that conquerors and that living reality, the reality of it seen in our changed lives is the victory. The knowledge of Jesus means the intimate reality of our relationship with Him. By this intimacy, by this “knowing Him,” then and only then are we a sweet fragrance to the world. Are you a sweet fragrance to the world? Can others, by their encounters with you, breathe in the beauty of the Lord? Most importantly are we, the children of God, a sweet smelling fragrance of Christ to our heavenly Father?
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, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 6, 2021
11 Cor 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Have you knowledge of this glory? Can we walk as Christians if we have never experienced the glory of God? We cannot be victorious Christians outside of this βknowledge.β Those who have experienced the glory of God walk in victory. It is this victory that allows for joy even in the midst of suffering. For those who walk in the presence of God cannot help but radiate His glory. It is not something that is achieved by effort.
If I radiate His glory itβs because I am like the moon. The moon is a dead object, yet the light of the sun reflects off the moon and lights up a dark world. And just as the moon, by virtue of its position to the sun and the earth, radiates the light down into the darkness, then those of us who come before the throne and kneel before the King radiate the light from this glorious place into the darkness of this world.
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 persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on January 4, 2021
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. We are not only fed 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 you 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 January 1, 2021
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 lived forever in a perpetual winter of weeping and mourning then nothing would ever grow. We would not grow and neither would our effectiveness for His kingdom. Neither would 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 or any other one season becomes the whole then we render ourselves weak and ineffectual.
To be content in every situation, in every season is the high water mark of the servant of God. We have been called to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. He is our measure, none other than God Himself. This word perfect is to be complete. To find the fullness of the measure, to be mature. We were children and we played as children, now that we seek the fullness that is in Him then we put away childish things.
The fullness comes when we can walk in the Spirit whether the sun is shining high in the sky or whether the storms clouds threaten to explode over our heads. This is the measure of the fullness, to be unmoved from our standing before the throne. To weep? Yes. To laugh? Yes. To mourn with others? Yes. To comfort others with the same comfort we ourselves have been comforted with? Yes. This is the good and faithful servant. To be standing in this world, very much a part of it, but to be breathing the rarefied air of the Kingdom. To walk through this world but to exist in the atmosphere of the throne room.
The atmosphere. Science would tell us that this is the unseen gasses that surrounds the planet held in place by gravity. Ours is uniquely designed for life, made up of nitrogen and oxygen which we breath into our lungs and it sustains our lives and all life. The atmosphere before the throne is made up of holiness and glory and majesty. This is what surrounds the saints. The Holy Spirit holds it all in place. Our gravity is the word of God, our atmosphere is the Spirit of God, and it produces and sustains our spiritual lives.
We are called to be faithful in a few things. Just a few things, a few foundational things. Patient perseverance in doing what is right. Loving God with all of our hearts. Doing what our Lord commanded us to do. Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Glorifying God as we yield and surrender to His work in our lives. Do this brothers and sisters and you will hear those words we all long to hear “Well done good and faithful servant……..enter inot the joy of the Lord.”
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Posted by appolus on December 30, 2020
Isaiah 63:14 As the beast goes down into the valley and the Spirit of the Lord causes him to rest. So you lead your people to make yourself a glorious name.
When you follow Christ into the valley the world will be changed but do not think you were called to change the world, you were not. No, brothers and sisters, we were not called to be world changers, we were called to live a transformed life. We were called to have our own lives transformed and in that transformation the world is changed as a by-product of our primary purpose. Our primary purpose is glorifying God by our own lives. Focus on changing the world and you become a humanist, Christendom is all but lost today to humanism.
We are not called to alleviate the sufferings of the world beyond giving to the poor. We are called to be salt and light, a city set on a hill. If you clothe the naked but share not the love of Jesus then what have you gained? If you visit the prisoner and leave the prisoner a captive then what have you gained? It must always be about Jesus and if not, then one can join the ranks of the social services.
Jesus walked through the valley and it led to the high hill of Calvary. And from that momentary lofty place, we meet Jesus and He asks us to return to the valley. He is not asking us to do what He would not and did not do Himself. He came from the glories of heaven to walk in the pain and suffering of the valley. And in this moment of transfiguration, where we encounter the living God in the high place, we decide to die to ourselves and follow in His footsteps.
Lord give me a heart that even when I am persecuted for righteousness sake, I still go on loving this world. Give me a heart that even when men say all manner of evil against me that I rejoice and am exceedingly glad for your sake. Let me be the salt of the earth. Change me so that I will be a city set on a hill and all those who travel through the valley will be comforted when they see the light that is in me.
And mankind will glorify God when they see what marvelous works He has performed in you. A willing servant to God and a free man and a free woman. Free to glorify God in heaven for all His marvelous works in and through you. It is your work in your children Lord that is a witness to your power. Let us not be ashamed of your work in us rather let it be known to all who would hear that this is your power, the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation. We were called to be witnesses, let us be witnesses and expressions of your power, the power to transform. Let us rest in that,
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Posted by appolus on December 28, 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 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 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 December 23, 2020
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
Only that which flows from an uninterrupted gaze on the Lord Jesus 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 self appointed 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 off 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 leads 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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A Call To The Remnant 