Archive for the ‘God’s love’ Category
Posted by appolus on September 12, 2021
As I was reading Psalm 51 the other day, it occurred to me that we refuse to be a Nathan to the world. We will not tell the world what ails them. We refuse to offend the world with the truth. We refuse to tell them that they are guilty. David has a very painful revelation of who he was and what had become of him. It leads to the restoration of his soul. Imagine going to a doctor who only ever told you that you were fine, despite the evidence to the contrary. He refuses to tell you because he does not want to make you “feel,” bad. Yet, the spiritual reality for most of the world is that they are dying and unless they find the cure for what ails them they will die in their sin, the thing that ails them.
In America we love to stand up for our rights. We are typically more outraged by our rights being violated than we are that the vast majority of those who violate our rights are dying in their sins. Daniel was not outraged at being thrown into the lions den. He was, however, steadfast in his faithfulness to pray, even when there was a law passed telling him not to pray. His boldness was clearly seen when he flung open his windows and prayed as he always had. Our boldness would come as we fought against being taken to the lions den. Daniel knew that is where his faith would lead him. Very shortly, we will have the opportunity for true boldness. The boldness to exercise our faith despite knowing bad things will happen to us as a result. We have to come to the point where we ask ourselves do we care more about our rights or about a dying world. Or do we care more about offending a dying world than we do about their eternal souls.
In psalm 57 we see David in a cave. He had fled to the cave as Saul and others pursued him. He cries out to God that his soul is among lions. He was surrounded by people whose anger was so great that they were “on fire.’ Their teeth were like spears and arrows and their tongues like sharp swords against him. They had put out snares to capture him and dug holes that he might fall in them. We live in such a world brothers and sisters and it is getting worse. Yet, David knows he could not stay in that cave. He says that his heart is steadfast in his love for God. He says that he would awaken the dawn with the praises of God. You cannot do that in a cave. He would exalt God. It is time for the saints to arise from their slumbers, get out of that cave and find their voice again. Be Nathan to the world. Nathan was the voice of the Holy Spirit to David, we have been called to be the voice of the Holy Spirit to the world. Will you fulfill your calling? It has nothing to do with your rights. Yo don’t have any, you only have the right to be obedient to God.
Posted in Babylon, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, God's love, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 19, 2021
Psa 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek ; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
This is the answer to life and to our walk right here in this verse from the 27th Psalm. One thing I have desired. One thing brothers and sisters. This is what my life will be. That I would seek the Lord and that I would dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Its not that I would “get,” to heaven. It has nothing to do with getting anything in that sense, it is all about dwelling. Oh to God that men would seek to dwell rather than seek to get. Get into heaven, get out of hell. Sordid self seeking its own. It is the Lord I shall seek.
I will seek Him to behold His beauty. I will seek Him early in the morning and in the noon day. I will seek Him in the evening and before I retire to bed. I will seek Him as I lay my head upon my pillow. He is my all in all. When we have this singular mind then, and only then, in the time of trouble shall He hide me in His pavilion, in the secret place of His tabernacle. He shall set me high upon a rock.
As I dwell in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, then I know of His grace. I know of His mercy. I have been delivered by His righteous right hand. He has hid me from my enemies. Even when all have forsaken me, even as it suggests in the Psalm, forsaken by father and mother, then the Lord has been a Father to me. These things I have known in my walk with the Lord. I would have lost my heart if I had not seen the goodness of the Lord in the here and the now. My Father is not watching from some far away distant heaven. My Savior did not simply come and then leave. They are here, right here, right now by the power of the Holy Spirit. What is your one desire? If it is the Lord then you will have an open door to heaven which no man can shut.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, hope, inspirational, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 15, 2021
Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Many men and women, down through the ages, have cried out to God in their despair. Day and night David cried out to God, yet there remained silence. Can you relate to this brothers and sisters? Have you cried out to God and the silence only seemed to add to your troubles? What kept you in that season? What keeps you in this season? Matthew Henry says “When we want the faith of assurance we must live by a faith of adherence.” Do you find yourself there today saints? If you have walked through these kinds of valleys I do not have to ask you if you remember. Who can forget the very shaping of their spirits? Who could forget the fall of the hammer upon the chisel that was shaping their lives? If gold had senses, would it ever forget the furnace? It is part and parcel of our creation.
Oswald Chambers says this of the Lord Jesus’ cry which is here foretold and prophesied by David in this first verse of Psalm 22, “The depth of this cry of Jesus is deeper than anyone can go because it is a cry from the heart of God.” No one knows the depths of this cry, no one can ever know. What we can know is that God knows the nature of this cry from His children. He knows it, because He lived it in a way that far surpasses that of any created being. And because we know that He knows this, who better to cry out to? David says this in verse three “but.” But what? “But your are Holy. You are enthroned upon the praises of your people.” He is very near to those who praise Him despite their circumstances. He is just beyond the veil of those who ever trust Him, and who can know when the veil is lifted?
Now listen to David as he nears the end of this psalm…..”I will declare Your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly I will praise you. ……..you who fear the Lord, praise Him! …..for He has not despised not abhorred the affliction of the afflicted nor has He hidden His face from Him. But when He cried to Him, He heard. The poor shall eat and be satisfied and those who seek Him will praise the Lord forever, let your heart live forever.” Let you heart live forever brothers and sisters. Trust in the Lord your God and praise Him for in the midst of those praises lies His throne and upon that throne sits Your God. That is how close He is to you. He hears you, He sees you and He sees your afflictions.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, Jesus, praise, revival, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 14, 2021
The great high point of my life, was my death. When I was born again I stood like Peter , James and John on the mount of transfiguration. And just like them, I mistakenly thought it was time to build something. Little did I know that quite the opposite would be true. It was time to dismantle everything. Or to say it more accurately, for everything to be dismantled. And this would take place in the depths of the valley floor, not on the top of a mountain. Chambers writes “Before sanctification we know nothing, we are simply put in the place of knowing, that is, we are led up to the cross. In sanctification, we are led through the cross.”
Can you say that you life is one of being “led through the cross?” Has it been a process of being crushed and broken in the darkness of the valley floor? Have you spent much of your life trying to scramble up unattainable mountains? Supernatural joy and likeness to our Lord comes not in the building of structures in high and beautiful places. It comes in the midst of surrender to the dismantling process in the depths of the valley of the shadow of death. And the purpose for it all is to transform us into useful servants of the most High God. We too often think of the cross as a place of deliverance, rather than a place of transformation. The transformation is indeed the fruit of our deliverance.
The cross is not the beginning of the life of Jesus, it is the culmination of it. Our transformation begins the moment that we take up our cross. Being brought to the cross is one thing, being nailed to it is quite another. Staying there is one thing when you have no power, staying there when you have the power to come down is quite another. Between the two positions lies a great gulf, on one side is life and on the other side is death. To live in Christ we must die. The mountaintop will come in good time, when He lifts us from the valley floor and takes us home. In the meantime, our business is the business of dying, its the business of the cross. Our calling is to die daily.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, inspirational, Jesus, Manifestations, revival, sanctification, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 11, 2021
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm. God’s judgment is unfolding. The sense of sacredness, the manifest presence of God is so elusive today. In part it is because the locusts of Joel have eaten everything, so to speak. And in their wake there is a devastating famine. I would argue that the locusts have done their work. And here we stand starving to death. Add a drought to the famine and its a double calamity. Most of Christendom cannot repent because they are still blind to what ails them, this also is part of the judgment. For water one must now dig down very deep. And for food one must wander far from the reservation so to speak. Famine scatters people much like persecution.
The darkness Joel is talking about is spiritual and it is literal. There was actually locusts devouring everything. How terrifying to stand and watch everything you have, everything that you need to survive, being devoured before your very eyes. The clouds of locusts blackened out the sun in the midday. In our own day, the days are darkened by the smoke from wildfires. Year after year the fires continue, they grow larger and they darken the land and pollute the air. The sun is turned to darkness and the moon to blood as we watch on helplessly.
Go into your average church this coming Sunday. Where is the sacredness in their midst? Where is their sense of His holiness that causes the people to only speak in whispers, even if they dare to do that? Are holy trembling hands raised to heaven in the glory? Are our heads bowed low by the weight of His presence? Has the locusts devoured everything and left us with nothing? I am afraid that is the truth. We cannot hold a solemn assembly to ward of the disaster, the disaster has already befallen us. All that is left for us to do now is to rend our hearts and not our garments. We must return to the Lord our God with weeping and with fasting and mourning.
This word, of course is to His remnant. The great falling away has completed its task. This thing called Christendom, with all of its garments, its buildings and its programs and its careers now stand barren in the strange noonday darkness. They stand emaciated under a blood red moon. The darkness only grows darker and the hearts are destined to grow more faint until the people will writhe in pain and all the color drains away from their faces. Yet for those who will rend their hearts and seek the Lord their God with all of their hearts, they will find Him, for His own namesake.
The locusts may have devoured the spiritual land but like a refiners fire it has done its work and will do its work. It identifies and marks out those who seek Him with their whole hearts. Whether from the early morning or from late in the day, no matter, the Lord’s hand is open and He is well able to heal that which He has wounded. He will rain down the latter rains of His Spirit upon them. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord with their whole hearts He will hear from heaven. He will pour out His Spirit upon them in a dry and thirsty land. “There shall be a deliverance as the Lord has said among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”
Posted in Babylon, Charisma Magazine, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Church history, church of england, church of scotland, churches, consequences of sin, discernment, end times, End Times Eschatology, God's love, God's voice, Jesus, Latter Rain, manifest presence, new wineskins, New World Order, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 10, 2021
Psalm 13:1 How long will you forget me, O LORD?
How long will you hide your face from me? Have you ever asked this question of the Lord? If not, might I suggest you have not experienced the hottest parts of the furnace as of yet. In the middle of a prolonged trial we can often have the same thought as king David did.. David’s trials were not fleeting or even seasonal, but often lasted for years. David has taken refuge and shelter in caves and embraced the darkness of having found a reprieve from his trials. We can do the same. We can run into dark caves and shut our minds away from the troubles that we find ourselves in. That dark cave can look like many differnt things. It could be mindless television. It might even be alcohol or pills. Distractions of any sort can form the basis of a cave. And yet, just like David, the cave that promised safety and a place of refuge, always turns into a place of bondage.
David, in the midst of this, cries out “Consider and hear me oh Lord my God, enlighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death.” This sleep, this cave, this place that we can find ourselves in, in the midst of troubles and trials, can very easily turn into the “sleep of death.” And the first step to awaken us from this place is to cry out to God with everything that is in us. To fall down on our faces and rend our hearts and seek His face. To remember the faithfulness of our Lord and how He has always delivered us and how He alone is trustworthy. His mercy prevails in the midst of trials. As we remind ourselves of these things we begin to rejoice in the God of our salvation. Sing to the Lord brothers and sisters, sing today of His goodness and His mercy. Sing praises unto our God. Awaken the dawn with your shouts as you step out of the darkness, into His marvelous light.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, inspirational, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 4, 2021
Hos 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
There is a time and a season for breaking up the fallow ground. There is a time to sow seeds into that ground and there is a time to look to the skies in anticipation of the rain. I would argue that for the saint that time is every day, this is our lives and the life that we have committed to. Yet, there are also particular seasons. And there is the end of ages. It is time, while there is still time left, to seek the Lord with our whole hearts. Christendom, the Lord is calling to you, He is whispering to your heart that the time is short. Just as the planting season can be short, the sands of time are running out and so the window of opportunity is closing. Seek the Lord while He may be found. While it is yet day.
In order for us to sow righteousness we must first seek it, daily. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Live in the paradox of having found yet continuing to seek. And in doing so the seed comes forth and is planted into the broken up ground, the ground that the Lord Himself has plowed. And in this we reap a harvest of mercy and grace upon our lives. Let it rain Lord God, let your rain pour down upon those who panteth for your presence. Who seek not the blessing but the Blesser, who seek not the sanctification but the Sanctifier. Let the rain of your righteousness soak us to our very core and water the seed that comes forth only from you. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, God's love, Jesus, manifest presence, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 2, 2021
Look back over your life as a saint and you will see how the weaning has gone on from the blessing to the Blesser, from sanctification to the Sanctifier. When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself. (Oswald Chambers- Biblical Ethics)
Ponder that for a moment and let it slowly sink in, for it will, perhaps, affect every area of your walk with Jesus. So much of our prayer life is about petition. Our prayer life is so often directly related to whatever set of circumstances we find ourselves in, or a loved one, or a friend. Imagine, if you will, that no matter what your circumstances are, no matter if you are on the mountaintop or in the deepest valley, that your relationship with the Lord is on an even keel. Think again upon the last sentence “When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself.
If our primary mandate in our relationship with the Lord is “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,’ and it is, then how can we ever do that if that vast majority of our communication with the Lord is petition. If the primary object of our prayer life is petition and not the Lord Himself, then He must be our secondary object. This, I would argue, is back to front. When the Lord Himself takes up His proper position within your heart, then, just like when the Ark found its proper place in Solomon’s temple, His manifest presence shall rain down. As the dew falls heavily on the slopes of Mount Zion, and as the oil runs freely from the top of Aaron’s head down to his feet, so too will the blessings of the abundant life fall upon those who seek the Lord for Himself.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian quotes, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, intimacy, Jesus, Oswald Chambers, sanctification, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 2, 2021
Hos 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
The same God that brings us to our knees, also raises us up. Oh that we had no need to be broken, no need to be smitten, yet in the depths of who we are we are fatally flawed. Adam in us. In the flesh we bear the sin of Adam, we stood guilty before a Holy God. Yet in us too was a light, a smoldering ember in the depths of who we are. It speaks of our guilt. When the wind of the Spirit blows upon this tiniest of embers, the God given conscience, then it bursts into flames. “You crucified the Christ,” Peter cries out as he spoke with the power of God. Men’s hearts were rent and their blindfolds fell to the ground as they gazed upon their crime and saw that their very own sin crucified Jesus. He bore their punishment.
Imagine this. You are driving down the road and you check your phone, or you text someone. And in that split second a child runs out and is run over and killed by your car. The child is dead, and you are guilty. There is no doubt about your guilt. You are racked with that guilt. You cannot think, you cannot concentrate, you cannot live. You come before the judge and you plead guilty and you desire that he throws the book at you for you know you deserve to be punished because you killed an innocent child. Nothing can deliver you from your agony. Now imagine another scenarios, your eyes are opened by the wind of the Spirit. You see that it is indeed your sin that killed a willing and innocent Jesus upon the cross. And why was He willing? To fulfill the will of the Father that He should suffer in your stead. And in the very midst of your guilt, you “know,” that despite this, He loves you. “What must I do,’ you cry out as you heart is ripped open and you are smote with the sure knowledge of your sure guilt and the agonizing realization of His love.
“Arise in repentance,” the Lord would say “and I shall give you life”. I will bind up your wounds and set you free from the captivity of this guilt. I will raise you up from death to life that you may live. For my going forth is established as the morning and I will come like the rain, the latter and the former rain. Brothers and sisters, this is how we were saved and this is how we shall live. He still tears and He still heals. He molds us in the fires of sanctification. He scourges all those that He loves and the flesh is burned up in the fires and in this He raises us up in Holiness. Who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap (Mal 3:2) He purifies His sons and daughters and purges them like gold and silver. Come brothers and sisters, let us return to the Lord.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, healing, hope, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 29, 2021
In the early 1900s at the height of the British empire , at the zenith of its strength and power and influence, we see a creeping shadow coming over the land. Some could sense it, most were completely oblivious to its presence. The hearts of men and women were being prepared for slaughter and they had no earthly idea. In their chests rose pride and haughtiness. They were full of vainglory. There was boastful vanity. What there really was, and this is the scariest part of all, was the hook in their mouths. They were being drawn towards the edge of the abyss and like the followers of the pied piper, they danced towards it. And they were slaughtered in WW1. They were broken. And the youth of that generation was taken, not unlike the judgement of Pharaoh and of Egypt where the firstborn of every household were taken.
I want to say that America has a hook in its mouth. I sense that same shadow creeping across this land. We are being drawn towards the abyss. And we are in worse shape than the British empire was. They would deny being proud. They would hide their sin in the shadows and the alleyways. They had, in a sense, the good sense to be ashamed of those things that they did in the darkness. We have no such shame. Our sin does not hide in the shadows and the alleyways, it marches down Main st. And just when you think it cannot get worse, we hoist a banner over our heads that says “PRIDE.” Yes indeed, we have a hook firmly planted in our mouths and we have no power to resist the force that now shapes our rebellious hearts.
Go into any back country and see where people dwell. Long before the dark shadow of winter comes there is a busy preparation. Dead trees are felled. Their limbs are removed and they are cut into pieces and hauled back to where the fire is. They are then chopped down further and stacked in chords ready to fuel the fires of winter. Look with your spirits saints, even now the preparation is taking place all around us. The hook is in the mouths and the hearts are being prepared. The deeds of darkness are exposed by the light. The fires of hell shall greedily consume all that it is given. Let us cry out to God that some may be saved. Let us stand amidst the carnage of a proud people who have boldly thrown of God and who bow down and worship the creature. They worship the work of their own hands and so by their own hands they shall destroy themselves.
And in the midst of all that darkness there is a shaft of light. Christ. He beckons to a dying world who has no idea they are dying, and no idea that the abyss is on the horizon. On whom the shadow falls it falls. Those who are consumed by it shall not rise again. Great will be the fall. Like an ancient mighty Oak tree, empires fall with much noise and destruction. And in the falling the Kingdom of God remains. The gates of hell do not consume the children of God, only the children of the world, sacrificed on the altar of pride and arrogance and a haughty spirit.
Posted in Babylon, Charisma Magazine, Charismatic, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Church history, church of england, church of scotland, consequences of sin, end times, End Times Eschatology, God's love, God's voice, Jesus, prophecy, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 27, 2021
In every trial there comes a moment when we lose sight of the bigger picture. We believe that we have blown it. We believe that we have chased God away and now we feel forsaken and alone. Even our Lord Jesus cries out from the cross in a moment of despair “My God, My God why has thou forsaken me.” Scripture tells us that just before this a great darkness had come across the land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. Three full hours of what I can only assume was a satanic darkness. A gross satanic darkness had covered the land when the Father gave His Son over into the hands of His enemies. Sometimes, we can feel consumed by the darkness around us and in the midst of certain situations.
Some time later the Lord Jesus speaks His final words from the cross “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” Now He was referring to His Father, a much more intimate term than God. Praise the Lord. He had went from a time of despair to a time of intimacy. And with His last breath He committed His Spirit into the hands of His Father. The answer always lies in the hands of our Father. In Psalm 31:5 we see that David makes the same cry. He is surrounded by enemies. He said that he would rest in the mercy of God and be glad because God knew about his troubles, God saw the adversities of Davids soul. He sees your troubles brothers and sisters, He sees the afflictions of your soul. Wont you too rest in the mercy of God? When we are tempted to run, then instead we must hide under the shadow of His wing.
There is no doubt at all as we journey through this life along the narrow path that we will have many such moments. Moments of doubts and moments of despair. We wonder if we have been forgotten and then suddenly we are back in the arms of our Father in heaven, glory to God. Maybe you are having doubts today about your walk? Perhaps you feel abandoned? Yet the Lord has promised His own, that no matter what kind of situation that we find ourselves in that He would restore us and heal our wounds. Even in the valley of the shadow of death we find that there are green pastures. We have been called to lie down in them. And in that place we come to realize that goodness and mercy shall surely follow us all the days of our lives, especially, in the many dark valleys that the narrow path takes us through.
Psa 31:5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, healing, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 26, 2021
The heart of those who receive the word with gladness, in whom thy seed finds a ready and deep soil, is the tree planted by the rivers of water. The good tree is good in any season by virtue of its closeness to the eternal resource of the river of the living God. Dear saint, do you meditate on the Word of God every day? Do you hide it away in your heart and absorb it into your very soul until it becomes a very part of you? Are you like the branch abiding in the vine? Jesus tells us in John chapter eight that if we continue in the Word, which means to abide in it, remain in it, stand on it, endure with it, dwell in it, then you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.
The word “know,” here is of particular interest. In order to be free we must daily walk in and with the Word, and when we do that we shall “know.” To know Christ is to be free. It does not say to know about Him or to know off Him, it says to know the Truth. We must be intimate with the Lord if we are to walk in the freedom that He had gained for us on Calvary. Jesus gave us many instructions. We were to take up our cross daily if we were to be His disciples. We were to abide in His word daily if we were to be His disciples. And so, when we do these things we begin to grow in maturity. We are able to draw from an inexhaustible source of power and love and mercy and forgiveness. We are able to draw from it because of our proximity to this power for we are like a tree planted by the rivers of life.
Because of this, we become a source of blessing for others in season and out of season, for we are evergreen trees. In the darkest coldest winters we still retain our foliage. We saints whose delight is in the Lord and His Word and His commands, become vessels that hold and retain grace and love and mercy and forgiveness because it is flowing in and through us directly from Christ Himself. He waters us that we may water others. He comforts us so that we may comfort others with that very comfort He comforted us with. It is the cycle of our Spiritual life in the Kingdom. He invests in us all these things, not to bury them or greedily keep them to ourselves, but to gladly and with great joy share them with others. Freely you have been given and now freely you must give.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 25, 2021
The persecution of the saints worldwide is beginning to appear on the horizon. There is no mistake in the timing. God has been preparing us for the time that will soon be upon us. We will be like a well watered garden spiritually. In many ways we will be glad that the world shall no longer be pretending to be tolerant. All the cards, so to speak, will be on the table. It’s a time of revealing, on both sides, and there will only be two sides. The wheat shall be one side and they will be a people who have counted the cost, and the price? Total separation from a world that has turned on them. We shall pass through a veil of tears and a garden of Gethsemane. And then, the world will put its hands on us and take us, yet we shall be surrendered in it.
If you find yourself wearied right now, by the world and by it’s attitudes towards us, what will you do when all the pretense is gone and their hatred is in no way veiled? If the very thought of coming persecution causes you to lose your peace, what will the actual persecution do to your mind? You must do the business of Gethsemane before they take a hold of you. You have to pass from agony and despair to total acceptance and surrender in the sure knowledge that you have been called, and equipped, for such a time as this. For the joy that is set before you, for the fulfilling of the will of God, let us set our face like flint, as our Lord did. Flint is hard and resolute, let us be strong and resolute is our cause.
Our primary focus in life, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, must be the glory of God. This rends the heavens and fills our heart with the power that we need. Paul and Silas did not cry out in the dungeon that God would release them. They did not cry out “woe is me, help me Lord.’ They sang praises unto God. And the power of God came flooding down and the the jail was shaken to its very foundations. This is power, for the hour of our testings that is to come. This is instructive to the saints. Praising God when everything is stripped from us is how we glorify God, it is a sign of our unconditional love for Him and it disarms the enemy of our souls and it looses the shackles of this world.
I would encourage you today, not by telling you that all of our problems are behind us, indeed they are not and the greatest challenges lie just ahead. No, my encouragement to you is that our souls will be like well watered gardens even in the middle of a wilderness desert of persecution. The greatest fellowship you will ever experience, as many now so desperately desire, will be yours as the enemy comes in like a flood and the Lord raises up a standard.
Your depth of relationship with the Lord will exceed anything you have ever imagined, and after the wheat has been separated from the tares, your fellowship with your fellow brothers and sisters will be sublime. Let us run with the footmen now and not grow weary, and in the running let us rather be conditioned and strengthened. And when the swift horses of persecution comes we shall be swifter. We shall run and not grow weary, we shall walk and not grow faint and we shall rise up with the eagles and soar in the updrafts of His presence that surely falls upon us when we praise Him in the midnight hour.
|
|
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trusted, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?(Jer 12:5)
|
Posted in Babylon, Charismatic, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, discernment, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', God's love, hope, Jesus, New World Order, revival, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 23, 2021
Psa 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
The context of this psalm is that David is fleeing from his own son. David is not a young man anymore. In his lifetime, David has seen much trouble. And one would think that when you get to a certain age and have battled many battles that you get to retire into your dotage and leave all your troubles behind. If you are reading this and have lived long enough, you will know this not to be true. David cries out to God that he is surrounded by those who trouble him. They rise up against him, even from his own family and would seek to do him harm. He is mocked for his troubles and people say out loud that there is no help for him from God, surely God must have abandoned him.
They are all wrong of course. David would indeed once again flee just as he had fled from Saul but it is a very different, older, wiser David. He acknowledges God in the midst of his troubles. He testifies that God is a shield to Him, the glory and the lifter of his head. He lays down and sleeps. He awakes with the morning and he is sustained. He says that even if ten thousand people set themselves against him, he will not be afraid for his faith is in a God who hears him.
Maybe you had thought all your troubles were behind you? Maybe you have fought many battles in this life and thought that they were also behind you? Yet here you are, in the middle of maybe one of the greatest battles of your whole life. Sleep is a luxury that you know little of. You wonder if God has abandoned you. You have cried until there is no tears left to cry, as David once did. And you know people whisper and wonder “where is his/her God.” I want to assure you today that “from His holy hill,” the Lord has heard your cry.
He is a shield for you. You stand because of Him. He has picked you up more times than you care to remember. He is the glory of your life. His glory and His majesty lies at the very core of who you are. He is the lifter of your head, He has lifted it a thousand times and He will lift it again. You will lie down and sleep, even this night for you are lying down in the very palm of His hand. It will not go well, in the end, for those who oppress you and would see you fall. Remember this saint, and it is more costly than any earthly treasure, His blessing is upon you. Stand strong in the Lord today, for great is your reward in heaven.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, hope, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 13, 2021
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Imagine brothers and sisters, if we simply took the Lord at His word and obeyed that command. After describing all the things the “gentiles do,” He told us not to do them. We have not to worry what we shall wear. We are not to worry what we shall eat. He is talking about life in general. We often quote that we cannot serve two masters, and we have in mind God and “mammon.” And yet, that was only a part of it.
Jesus goes on to talk about what ails most of us and He begins with a “therefore,” meaning given everything I have just said do not do ………….the rest of the chapter. For if you do, you are assuredly trying to serve two masters. If you are taken up with worries about tomorrow then this is self-serving. You cannot serve yourself and serve God. You cannot be taken up with worries about tomorrow and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is not possible. Something has to give.
The thing about being your own master, you are a tyrant. Your feelings are tyrannical. Your heart is deceitfully wicked. A beautiful woman can look in a mirror and see something ugly looking back. A good man can look in the mirror and and see a vile worm. Remember saints, the light of the body is in the eye. If the eye has a single focus on God, then your whole body will be full of light. If your focus is on the things of this world then it cannot be on God, you cannot possibly be seeking God and His righteousness. It is time to take Jesus at His word. Focus on God and not tomorrow, only then will you be able to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and walk in that Kingdom and in that righteousness.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 11, 2021
2 Cor 12:9 Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
What drives us deeper into the arms of our Lord and plunges us into the depths of the Father’s heart? Not the delights of this world and its so called blessings but rather when the darkness comes and touches us. We discover that the light pierces the darkness and is as a lamp unto our feet.
Can someone who is so hopelessly lost do anything other that cry out when he is found!! When the waters of life overcome him and he is to drown and the hand of God reaches down and pulls him up. What joy, what glory! The closer the saint is to death the closer he is to life and that more abundant.
When he is stripped down and left naked and emaciated by this world and he is redeemed from the market place and his nakedness is covered, what absolute joy in the depths of ones soul! When by the power of God we can kiss the rod that strikes us and love the one who bears it then we know, then we absolutely know, that the power of Christ rests upon us.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, healing, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 10, 2021
I have often thought that the best of Christians are found in the worst of times. And I have thought again, that one reason why we are no better is because God purges us no more. I know that these things go against the grain of the flesh but they are not against the graces of the Spirit (Bunyan)
Brother John here speaks of something I have long since argued. The Body of Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. How can the Body not be the Body? What do we saints lack today to our disadvantage? Opportunity. Opportunity to suffer for the cause of Christ and it does not help us that we find ourselves in such a situation at least here in the west. It is to our severe detriment. What, in the natural, causes hunger and thirst and atrophy, paradoxically in the Spirit causes the Body to be full and to be strong and vital. When we are weak then we are strong, strong in the Lord and the power of His might. He is glorified in our infirmities. We have a good testimony if we bear the marks of persecution with joy and gladness.
Paul says that if he would glory in anything, he would glory in his infirmities. He goes even further and says that he takes pleasure in his infirmities in 11 Cor 12:10. Now why would he say such a thing? In verse nine lies the key not just for Paul but for you and I. God had spoken to Him in the midst of his afflictions and infirmities and Jesus Himself says to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you for (because) My strength is made perfect in (your) weakness.” This is beyond paradoxical, this truth lies at the heart of the Kingdom walk and turns the world upside down. When Paul walks in such a way, the very power of Christ rests upon him. What kind of power is this that transforms the weakness of man into the power of God? The enemy of our soul is altogether rendered powerless in regard to the saints in this matter. For the more horror and darkness that he rains down on the saint of God, the greater the revelation of Christ to the world.
Posted in christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of england, church of scotland, God's love, God's voice, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 8, 2021
My wife and I know something of the pain of losing. Our first child lived only for two days. In the end it was God’s unfailing healing love that brought us through. He gives, and He takes away, blessed be the Lord as Job would say. None of that negated the pain nor stopped the tears, but it did restore my broken heart. He wipes away the tears and catches them in a bottle as a memorial. And my pain ebbed like the slow receding tide as the world continues to turn. I have a firm assurance that when this tide rises again one day, and takes me up into my eternal home, there I will see the child of my youth. The why’s of it all are really just a faint echo of the world as I lay down wrapped in the arms of the one who ever weaves this tapestry of life.
In the end I had “two” funerals for my son, Stephen. The first was on an overcast rain soaked day in Scotland, which perfectly matched my darkened closed down unsaved heart. The second would come fifteen years later, many years after being saved. It came from nowhere and broke over me like a violent thunderstorm. Thunder and lightening and a torrential rain of tears. Healing, never saw it coming. God was working His way into every chamber of my heart, and everywhere the waters of life flowed, there was healing, and there was healing for me. These are the mysteries of life and a God who works in mysterious ways whose thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours. As you ponder your own loss in this world, it is very likely that no answers will ever come as to the why. When we learn to put aside the why and live this life rather than die, then once again we shall surely fly.
Great loss is a clipping of our wings. Here is the definition of wing clipping …..”Wing clipping is the process of trimming a bird’s primary wing feathers or remiges so that it is not fully flight-capable, until it moults, sheds the cut feathers and grows new ones.” I have had my primary wings clipped many times over the years as I am sure that you have dear reader. The moulting and the shedding of cut feathers and the growing of new ones takes time and comes with its own unique pains. And then one day………we fly. We live again, fully restored. A process full of mystery and undoubtedly unique to every single person.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of england, church of scotland, consequences of sin, faith, God's love, healing, healing ministry, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on July 7, 2021
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isa 55:8-9)
The context of these well known verses comes in the verses prior. It is an appeal to the wicked to repent and He will “abundantly pardon.” Imagine that, God calls you to repentance with a promise of an abundant pardon. It is hard for us to imagine that in our earthly minds. If someone consistently sinned against us, over weeks and months and years, decades even, it can be almost impossible to think that we could so forgive them as to never even give all the previous crimes against us a second thought. To have the slate so wiped clean as to be brand new. This is miraculous. We could, in and of ourselves, never do this.
Yet, out thoughts are not His thoughts. His ways are so much higher than our ways. In our own power it would be beyond our ability to grasp. You might as well throw punches at the moon. Yet we do not stand by our own power. Those who know Jesus stand by the power of God, by His Spirit. Now, if the Lord our God offers such an abundant pardon to the wicked what does He offer to His children? “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” An abundant pardon leads to an abundant life. You may think that you have blown it with God but His thoughts are higher than your thoughts saint. If you have been hiding behind the tree with some fig leaves, it’s time to emerge from there and to stand before God.
The rain that falls from heaven falls also upon your head. And the snow that falls from heaven and waters the earth waters you too oh child of God. It causes the buds to bloom and the seed to come forth and gives bread to the hungry and water to the thirsty. This is the Word of God and it does not return to Him void. It speaks life to you and prospers your soul. You shall go forth from here with joy and His peace shall lead you as the mountains and the hills break forth in praise and worship and the trees of the field shall clap their hands in wonder at His ways. A word to one of His children today.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of england, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, inspirational, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on June 28, 2021
I thank you for the righteousness you see
For it is the righteousness You imputed to me
My chains fell of and I was healed
When this truth to me was finally revealed
I bring nothing to His righteousness
And the Spirit of this truth has guided us
That even on my very worse day
Tis your truth alone that lights my way
Not by might nor power I stand
But by the righteousness found in thy Hand
That flows from feet and wounded side
In the shadow of thy wing is where I'll hide
This is my life tis from above
It hovers over me like a heavenly dove
This truth alone has set me free
Higher than the heavens and deeper than the sea.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of england, church of scotland, God's love, healing, Jesus, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
