Archive for the ‘God’s love’ Category
Posted by appolus on January 9, 2022
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life (Joh 5:39-40)
Imagine you had a map. A treasure map. It was very detailed and if followed, would lead you to the treasure which would change your whole life. You would be rich beyond imagination. Would it serve you well to study this map? Yes. Then study it more? Yes. How about you just studied the map all of your life but you never followed the map to the treasure? Would that not be madness? The whole point of the map is the treasure. The map in and of itself, the actual piece of paper on which it was written has no intrinsic value other than it leads you to the treasure. Jesus is the treasure and every part of the Word of God points towards Him.
A tragic breakdown in Evangelical circles is how we have used doctrine as a substitute for Spiritual experience. Spiritual experience should be the outgrowth of doctrine. But we make doctrine the end.(Tozer) Tozer is saying that doctrine is the means to the end, not the end itself. Jesus is the treasure and we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the power of God may be clearly seen in us. He breaks us down and through that very brokenness shines the light and the glory of God. It was God Himself who commanded that light would shine out of darkness. The light that He has shone upon our hearts in transformation gives the light of the knowledge and the glory of God through Jesus to a dark and broken world.
This light is the Word made flesh that dwells and sits upon the very core of who we are. It illuminates through us, through the cracks and the fissures that are created in us when we are hard presses on every side yet not crushed. It shines through us when we are perplexed but not in despair. It shines mightily in us when we are persecuted but not forsaken. It shines at it’s glorious best when we are struck down by every possible set of circumstances and we emerge from the fire not destroyed! The reality of Christ lives in us. We stand because of it, not because of some doctrine that resides only in the head. That can never bring glory to God. Yet the transformed heart that shines forth the glory of God in all its glorious reality triumphantly diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
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Posted by appolus on January 4, 2022
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
Oh saints, what damage has been done by men over this scripture. In eighteen short words, religious men the world over have stripped the gifts of God out of the hands of men based on a lie. The perfect is not the canon of Scripture. Jesus is perfect and when He comes again then all the gifts that edify the still imperfect Church shall cease. In that eternal state there shall be no more need for words of wisdom. In that eternal state there shall be but one heavenly language. In that eternal state we shall no longer need prophets or those who exhort the Body because the fulfillment of all things will have occurred. Love, the eternal state, shall go on for all eternity.
In this present life, in comparison to the glories of heaven, I speak as a child. I understand as a child, I think as a child. Yet in the fulfillment of all things, when the perfect has come, I will throw of this mortal childish state. I will know as I am known. For now I only see in part, but glory to God then I will see the eternal God face to face. Imagine knowing as you are known. Ponder that for a while. If the things that I know in part are glorious, what will it be like when I know the whole? The mere glimpses that I have seen of His glory has transformed my whole life, now what will be my state as I move and have my being in an eternal gaze upon Him.
Yet even now there are countless of millions of professors of the faith who would deny the reality of the glimpse. Of the supernatural experience of God. Can those who have never glimpsed and refuse to acknowledge the supernatural gifts of God ever move on to maturity? If one is not even a child then can that one become a man in God’s Kingdom? Only children of the Kingdom of God here on earth can become men and woman of God in our heavenly Father’s eternal. The children of this world will become men and women of their father in a very different eternal state. Whose child are you of? The children of light walk in the power and experience of their eternal God now, in part. Only by being a part can one become whole.
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Posted by appolus on January 2, 2022
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me:
At first glance it appears that Jesus is saying that those who keep His commandments love Him, when of course He saying those who love me keep my commandments. Look at verse 23 “If a man loves me he will keep My words.” There is all the difference in the world between the two positions. Keeping Gods commandments. Religious men of every stripe strive for this. So what separates the man of God from the religious man? To the religious man, keeping the commands of the Lord is akin to keeping score. If they can just get enough points then they can tip the scales in their favor. And in doing so, they believe they will find favor with the Lord. What constrains them is the thought of them not making the grade or indeed not making it into heaven. The constraints are a burden to them and they grudgingly trudge on. At the hearts of it all lies self.
Those who encounter God love God. They have a passion that runs through their veins. They have the law of God written upon their hearts, and out that very heart flows love. He is loved and he loves. This very love becomes his restraint and that very restraint is the mark of his freedom. He is free from the curse of the law, he is free from the bondage of it, he is indeed a bond-servant. His love for His Lord is such that any fall from grace comes with this price-he has disappointed his Lord. There can be no greater anguish for the saint and only the one who knows Jesus can know this anguish. And it is this very love that drives the saint to the throne of grace.
David famously says in Psalm 51 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” He was not trying to get saved and he was not afraid that he had lost his salvation, what he was deeply anguished and broken about was that he had sinned against the one he loved. He acknowledges his sins and desires above all else to be cleansed in his inwards parts, to be purged of what had separated him from His Lord. He is broken and contrite because of his great love for God. It is this very attribute that makes David a man after God’s own heart. Love is the catalyst for it all. God’s love for us and our love for Him. That is the bond. Nothing can be achieved in the realms of the Spirit outside of this love. It is the foundation of salvation and it is the means by which we walk the narrow path home.
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
(1Jn 5:2-3)
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Posted by appolus on December 14, 2021
Luk 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
What does it mean to be blameless before the Lord? How can an imperfect heart be perfect before the Lord, blameless in all of its ways? Are we not called as saints to live blameless lives, exemplary lives? Indeed we are. No one should be able to bring a reproach against us. This is the high calling of God on our lives. We have been so taken up with the false notion that we are just “sinners saved by grace,” that many measure the standard of their lives by the lowest possible denominator rather than Christ Himself. This has been disastrous.
Holiness. Righteousness. Is this the desire of your heart? Do you want the righteousness of Christ to shine through your lives for all the world to see? Do you want to live a holy life as unto the Lord? The Lord knows the heart, He sees the desire of it. The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hew 4:12) God knows the heart. The imperfect heart can be blameless before the Lord for He knows our motivations.
The beat of the longing heart echos throughout the ages. The righteousness of Christ rules supreme and we find our righteousness in Him alone, but the blameless heart is a beautiful thing unto the Lord. He is never fooled. He knows the intent and the motivations of His children. And all of this should cause us to come up higher as we are drawn to the beauty of His holiness. Let others be satisfied with pronouncing themselves as mere sinners, but let the saint know that the righteousness of Christ flowing through them shall reflect upon the darkness of this world. We must have a longing heart saint, a heart that above all else desires to seek Him first and His righteousness. Let us be found blameless.
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Posted by appolus on December 2, 2021
Zeph 3:12 I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
God has a people in the midst of a wicked and adulterous generation. They are His saints. His priests in a royal priesthood. They are humble because they have been humbled. They trust in the name of the Lord because they have been tried in the fires of affliction. They have walked through the floods. The waters did not overwhelm them and the flames did not burn them. For in the midst of it all is the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom they trust. They have been broken for His cause. They understand rejection. Yet no matter what, the love of the truth burns inside of them like a raging inferno that consumes all of the dross, all of the flesh.
In the previous verse, Zeph 3:11 we see another group of people. A people destined to be removed by the Lord’s own hand. A haughty people who were proud in His “Holy mountain.” Who are these people that are haughty in the holy place? Religious people. Matthew Henry says this of them “they were haughty because of the holy mountain, were conceited of themselves, scornful of others, and set even the judgments of God at defiance. Note, Church-privileges, when they are not duly improved as they ought to be, are often made the matter of men’s pride and the ground of their security. But that haughtiness is the most offensive to God which is supported and fed by the pretensions of holiness. This God will silence and take away.”
In Verse 18 God says “I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly,” and in verse 19 says “I will save the lame and gather those who were driven out.” He is gathering the meek and the humbled. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. The road to glory is narrow and paved with many afflictions and sorrows. Our Lord waked this very path. Shall we not follow Him saints? For the joy that is set before us, shall we follow where He leads? Every tear that is shed and every man or woman who is broken for His cause shall not be wasted, rather they shall be fruitful indeed. It is the broken and the contrite that the Lord restores. It is the tears of the saints that waters the fields of the harvest.
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Posted by appolus on November 30, 2021
Habak 1:4 For the wicked surround the righteous, therefore perverse judgments proceed.
When the law is powerless and justice never goes forth, we know that we are living in similar days to Habakkuk. The nation of Judah was in its “death throes,” having been warned repeatedly and having ignored every warning. I put it to you brothers and sisters that we are in similar death throes. Our nation and indeed the nations of the world sink deeper. And the Lord says that “I will work a work in your days which you would not believe though it were told you.” This work will be a terrifying work.
This vision was yet for an appointed time. Woe to the earth when the Lord marches across its lengths. Yet in the midst of this great wickedness that brings this vision into being we are told that the just shall live by faith. We shall trust the Lord brothers and sisters as we see these things unfold. Our lives shall be lived solely in trust of Him. When all the world is shaking, then the just shall stand on solid ground. And all the world will be amazed to see such a people living in such a manner. The whole earth shall “be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Christ will manifest Himself through His people, the people who dwell in great darkness shall see this light. In wrath He shall remember mercy.
When God comes forth in such a manner then the heavens shall be covered by His glory and the earth shall be full of His praise. Before Him goes pestilence and fever follows at His feet. He measures the earth and it is found wanting and the nations are startled. In a moment of time their millennia of delusions vanish away and the everlasting mountains are scattered and the perpetual hills bow down. The deep utters its voice and lifts its hands on high. In indignation the Lord marches through the earth. Yet, the just shall be found trusting in God and standing on Holy ground. In the day of troubles they shall be at rest.
Though the fig tree may not blossom in that day, nor shall their be found fruit on the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food and though the flock may be cut of from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls , I will yet rejoice in the Lord, I will find joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, He will make my feet like the deer’s feet, He will make me to walk on the high hills (Hab 3:17-19) Brothers and sisters, let us walk on the high hills of His presence and lift our eyes to the heavens for they are covered by His glory as the earth too is covered by the same glory as the waters cover the sea.
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Posted by appolus on October 21, 2021
Psa 145:18 The LORD is near unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
This Scripture here in Psalm 145:18 says that the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He may feed the world and give provisions for mankind by His gracious creative hand, but to those who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, He is near to them. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and by Him and in no other way, we come near to God. Listen to the words of one who calls upon Him in truth, David, from this Psalm. Starting at the beginning we see the marks, the words of those who are near to Him…….”I will extol you my God…….I will bless your name forever and ever……Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised……Your greatness is unsearchable………..I will mediate on the glorious splendor of your majesty……your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom. These, my fellow brothers and sisters, are the words of one who calls upon Him in truth. Who worships Him in Spirit and Truth, who knows by personal experience that He is the way, the truth and the life.
And how shall we know them? We shall know them first by their Love for God and the treasure that shines through them through earthen vessels. This love for God translates into love for one another, love for those who are near to Him and call upon Him in truth. This nearness, this proximity to God translates into personal holiness and creates the desires of our hearts which the Lord then fulfills for they are His desires. The language of this psalm is the language of heaven. The way David speaks about the Lord is the way the genuine saints speak about the Lord. Its the same language because its the same Spirit that resides in us that resided in David. To call upon Him in truth we must have truth in our inward parts. The depths of our heart, the very essence of who we are. This is where Truth resides and it cannot be hidden, for the Lord resides in broken vessels that He may pour through them His glory so that it may be seen of men.
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Posted by appolus on October 19, 2021
Psa 139:1 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
This is one of the most intimate statements in all of the Scriptures. So very personal. Can you say this? Have you been searched by God? This word “searched,” is from the primitive root to “penetrate.” Has God invaded every part of who you are? Are you known by God? This, of course, is no abstract truth for of course God knows everything and everyone. No, this is a very intimate form of the word. Have you ever looked into the eyes of another human being, one who is being deceptive and say right to that person “I know exactly who you are.” Its a declaration of a knowledge that goes beyond anything to do with outward evidence. This is do with the inner man, the inner woman. David is declaring that God “knows,” him in the most intimate way. He says that “even from afar you understand my thoughts.” It is something akin to a husband and wife who are “one,’ and knows the other ones thoughts in ways that only they can.
This is the kind of relationship that every genuine saint has with the Lord. We walk in the sure knowledge that He “knows,’ our every thought. This is far beyond any human intimacy. To be one in spirit is far beyond being one in flesh. It is the ultimate intimacy. And of course the trouble with this kind of intimacy is that on the one side is perfection and holiness and purity, and on the other side is us, very much flawed by our flesh. This is why intimacy is such a difficult issue. It may be the most difficult of all the issues. At the root cause of all failings in the saints is a lack of intimacy with the Lord. Jesus of course knew this. Time and again he told us to abide in Him, to continue to abide in Him. To take up the cross, not once, but daily. Abiding in the Lord and in His Word, while carrying the cross is one sure way to stay very close to the Lord, to maintain that intimacy that can be so easily lost. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, on a daily basis, on a moment to moment basis, and draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to us. And in that nearness there is intimacy and out of that intimacy flows the beauty of Holiness.
There are two very different kind of men in the Kingdom. One man shies away from this intimacy. He sets up camp at a safe distance and there he dwells. He stays within that camp and looks on from a distance, not unlike the Israelites who watch, from their camp, the tent of meeting. They worship God from afar but Moses and Joshua come to that tent of meeting and entered in. They have come to seek that intimacy. Men like Moses and Joshua could just as easily cry out to God what David cried “search me O God and know my heart, try me and know my anxieties and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” We have taught men from when they were boys, to guard their hearts, to pretend that they are fearless and to be independent. All of that works against intimacy, deliberately so. The only answer is surrender. Surrender into the hand of God and allow yourself to be consumed. Allow yourself to be searched. Seek to be known. This is the way of everlasting and He desires to lead us in it.
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Posted by appolus on September 28, 2021
Psa 84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
No matter what station in life we have risen to, no matter what kind of dwellings we live in whether very rich or very poor, the same longing heart can long for the same thing. The richer Godly man thinking of the temple of God, and longing to be there. And in a sense being jealous of the little birds that undoubtedly nests in its eaves. The poorer man living in his humble abode, staring up at the night sky thinking the exact same thing. The psalmist reinforces this thought when he says that it is better to be a doorkeepr in the house of God than to dwell in the home of the wicked, a palace no doubt or something very extravagant. Just one day in the courts of the Lord is better than a thousand. The psalmist is saying that it’s a thousand times better to spend just one moment in the presence of God than to live in luxury for the rest of your life.
In Hebrews 11:25 we see a similar thought when we learn that Moses would rather suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for but a season. Moses, from the luxury of Pharaoh’s palaces would no doubt echo the psalmist jealousy over the sparrow nesting in the house of God. All those who have experienced this one moment in His presence, this one day of transformation will undoubtedly have this cry resounding in their heart “my soul longs yes even faints for courts of the Lord.” My heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God. These are the saints whose hearts are set on pilgrimage, whose hearts are set aright and whose spirits are steadfast within them.
For the Lord our God is a sun and shield to those who make their trust in Him. Even when we pass through the valley of Baca, the name we get from the word weeping, so a valley of tears. Often times this can be the valley of the shadow of death. No good thing does He withhold from those whose upright walk takes them into its depths. Their tears become as pools and rivers in the desert. They go from strength to strength in the power of the Lord. The Lord will rain down upon us grace and mercy and that rain waters the hearts of those who thirst after Him, as the deer panteth after the waterbrooks. This is the treasure of the one who desires to follow after the Lord. Follow Him dear saints and trust in Him with all of your heart and lean not upon your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all of your ways and He will make your paths straight.(Prov 3:5)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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Posted by appolus on August 10, 2021
Psalm 13:1 How long will you forget me, O LORD?
How long will you hide your face from me? Have you ever asked this question of the Lord? If not, might I suggest you have not experienced the hottest parts of the furnace as of yet. In the middle of a prolonged trial we can often have the same thought as king David did.. David’s trials were not fleeting or even seasonal, but often lasted for years. David has taken refuge and shelter in caves and embraced the darkness of having found a reprieve from his trials. We can do the same. We can run into dark caves and shut our minds away from the troubles that we find ourselves in. That dark cave can look like many differnt things. It could be mindless television. It might even be alcohol or pills. Distractions of any sort can form the basis of a cave. And yet, just like David, the cave that promised safety and a place of refuge, always turns into a place of bondage.
David, in the midst of this, cries out “Consider and hear me oh Lord my God, enlighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death.” This sleep, this cave, this place that we can find ourselves in, in the midst of troubles and trials, can very easily turn into the “sleep of death.” And the first step to awaken us from this place is to cry out to God with everything that is in us. To fall down on our faces and rend our hearts and seek His face. To remember the faithfulness of our Lord and how He has always delivered us and how He alone is trustworthy. His mercy prevails in the midst of trials. As we remind ourselves of these things we begin to rejoice in the God of our salvation. Sing to the Lord brothers and sisters, sing today of His goodness and His mercy. Sing praises unto our God. Awaken the dawn with your shouts as you step out of the darkness, into His marvelous light.
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Posted by appolus on August 4, 2021
Hos 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
There is a time and a season for breaking up the fallow ground. There is a time to sow seeds into that ground and there is a time to look to the skies in anticipation of the rain. I would argue that for the saint that time is every day, this is our lives and the life that we have committed to. Yet, there are also particular seasons. And there is the end of ages. It is time, while there is still time left, to seek the Lord with our whole hearts. Christendom, the Lord is calling to you, He is whispering to your heart that the time is short. Just as the planting season can be short, the sands of time are running out and so the window of opportunity is closing. Seek the Lord while He may be found. While it is yet day.
In order for us to sow righteousness we must first seek it, daily. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Live in the paradox of having found yet continuing to seek. And in doing so the seed comes forth and is planted into the broken up ground, the ground that the Lord Himself has plowed. And in this we reap a harvest of mercy and grace upon our lives. Let it rain Lord God, let your rain pour down upon those who panteth for your presence. Who seek not the blessing but the Blesser, who seek not the sanctification but the Sanctifier. Let the rain of your righteousness soak us to our very core and water the seed that comes forth only from you. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
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Posted by appolus on 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.
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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.
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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.
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A Call To The Remnant 