Archive for the ‘God’s love’ Category
An update on my cancer journey.
Posted by appolus on February 15, 2024
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, healing, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 2 Comments »
When hope gives way to presence.
Posted by appolus on January 27, 2024
I wrote this poem yesterday while I was having chemo. It was a long day but I very much sensed the presence of the Lord, in divine appointments and also a message from a dear friend who had just recorded the message in the middle of their prayer meeting in Estonia. He prayed for me and then his dear wife prayed for me and I could hear the other saints praying in the background. I was quite overcome to think how honored and how privileged I was. I was humbled, shed a few tears, then wrote this poem. You will notice that I use the word infused a couple of time 🙂
When hope gives way to presence.
When the desire comes, it's a tree of life to me.
And the tree nourishes the parts you cannot see
Hope deferred causes my aching heart to long
And in the longing creates in me a song.
Sing my heart, sing of all His glory
Create in me the desire to tell Your story.
To scale the highest mountain, just to shout your name
Consumed by your majesty, ignited by your flame.
Come to me, draw me to your throne
To that place I know that I am truly known
And the tree of life infuses me with peace
And your glory, from the depths of me, released.
Beyond the falling leaf there lies the pastures green
And a heavenly river infused by glorious streams.
Beyond the troubled waters you have surely come to me
And you take my spirit over, to that place beyond the sea.
Posted in cancer, Christian, christian blog, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, healing, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
This one thing. (Psalm 27)
Posted by appolus on December 9, 2023
The Lord is the strength of my life
He is the ground upon which I stand
And though war has risen and come after me
I'm confident in the God who has set me free!
And in the secret place of His tabernacle
He's set me high upon the Rock
And His pavilion is a home and shelter to me
I am confident in the God whom I can see.
This one thing is the desire of my longing heart
That I may dwell in His house forever
And behold His beauty and His marvelous grace
And forever and continually seek His face
I would have lost heart, but for this one thing
His beauty and the glory of His might
And when everything's gone and I'm all alone
I shall seek His face before His throne
Wait on the Lord when it all goes wrong
When the world and it's ways presses in
When the night has come and there's no way ahead
Wait upon the Lord and bow your head
Fall to your knees and lift up your hands
Cry out to the one from above
And without any notice, quite suddenly
You shall drenched by His marvelous love.
Posted in bible, Christian, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, God's love, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, 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, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Raging against the boundaries!
Posted by appolus on November 16, 2023
Speaking of man, Paul says in Act 17, to men on Mars hill, that God has determined their preappointed times and boundaries of their dwellings. That is really quite a mouthful. What does it mean? Can it be true that we have a preappointed time set for us by God? Can it be true that we have boundaries that God has set over us in regard to our “dwellings.” A boundary is a limitation or a line set. In our lives as saints we have boundaries that we are called to live within. And so, where we abide is limited to Gods determination for us and how long we live, likewise. And in this there should be great peace. Yet, for the most part, we find that our boundaries are the source of most of our anxiousness and discontentment.
Is it not true that we lay down boundaries for our children? We determine where they can go and the times in which they can carry out their activities. We set curfews for them and discipline them in order that they would know and respect their boundaries. We do it with a loving heart and a desire to see them grow up into the best adults they can be. It seems to be universally true that most children despise their boundaries and long to go where they cannot. They want what their friends have. They want to do what their friends do. And in this they clash with the will of their parents. It often referred to as a “battle of the wills,’ and frequently exhausts parents. Some parents seem to be better than others in these matters. Some are too strict and some are too lax and some put down no boundaries at all. The end result of this is the society we live in.
When you were saved dear saint, God imposed boundaries upon you. He gifted you and then called you to live within the boundaries of that gifting. He has predetermined the number of your days which also constitutes a boundary. Now, the question is, are we at peace within the boundaries that God has set for us? Or, do we rage against them? Do we go to great lengths to go beyond the boundary of our gifting? Do we take extreme measures to try and extend the boundaries of the days of our lives? Can I suggest to you that the work of the flesh, our flesh, is to deny the boundaries God has set for us. We try and go beyond our calling and are jealous of others for the same reason that Adam and Eve took what they were told not to take. It’s sin and rebellion. And in this sin and rebellion there can be no peace. Only when we surrender to the boundaries God has set for each of us personally can we truly know the peace that surpasses understanding.
In the world we saw, back in the 60s, women discontent with their lot, wanting to have what men had. They were discontent with their boundaries and therefore simply pushed beyond them. They raged against their boundary. No doubt they were cheered on by any number of voices telling them they could be whatever they wanted to be and that they had no limits. It has become a virtue of the world. People who are not happy with their gender are told that their gender is not a boundary and that they can be whatever they want to be. They rage against their boundary. Men desire their neighbors wife. they want what they cannot have and they rage against this boundary. People are told that they are going to die and they go to every conceivable lengths to avoid this. They rage against the boundaries of time. Saints not happy with the gifting God has given them, strive to be something they are not. This is raging against the will of God for our lives, it is all sin.
It is within the boundaries that God has laid down for us that we are to seek Him who desires to be found. It is within these boundaries that we are told “He is not far from each one of us.” To go beyond our boundaries is to wander far from God. It is in our nearness to God, that we “live and move and have our being.” We cannot shape our own destinies and then call it God’s destiny for us. God is not like gold or silver or stone, something that can be shaped by art or the devices of men. It is He who lays down the foundations. It is He who determines the place in which we shall live and it is He who determines the number of our days on this earth and it is He who has appointed a day in which He will judge the world by the Lord Jesus Christ. Note the words used by Paul “determines, appoints, sets, boundaries.” Our God is a God of order and He calls us to His order. And this order, this peace, this joy, this contentment can only ever be found when we are found living within the boundaries He has set down for each of us individually.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, 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, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Will you sink beneath the waves?
Posted by appolus on October 12, 2023
A few years ago as I was walking and praying, the Holy Spirit spoke to me a few words… “be careful about the condition of your heart, there is nothing more important.” That was it. I was left to ponder what had been spoken to me and all that it meant. So few words, so much meaning. Imagine being there when the Titanic was launched. What a magnificent sight that would have been. The worlds largest ship, a wonder of the world, stunningly beautiful in design, and filled with much opulence. This ship was built to ply the oceans of the world and power through tide and wave and storm. At its beating heart there were 29 huge boilers powered by 159 enormous furnaces. They had to be continually fed by coal, night and day. If the fires ever went out or ran low, then the engines would begin to falter. Without power, the ship, any ship, no matter how big, would be set adrift and helpless in the ocean. If a storm came along, it would sink, no matter how big it was or well built.
Christendom and all its many factions and sects is like a huge ship upon the ocean. No matter how big or impressive your church is, your denomination is, your particular “ministry,” is, without a fire at its heart it is just drifting and waiting for the storm that will take it down. We make the mistake of thinking that what we have or what we belong to could never sink, that it is too big or too impressive or too well built. I imagine those in Israel thought that about the Temple and Jerusalem. Yet if Christ does not dwell in the depths of our heart with the power of the Holy Spirit firing the furnace, then we are simply living on borrowed time. We may move about a ship that is not under power and seem that we are in no danger. Yet one storm or series of storms will simply turn us sideways and we will face the waves broadside and we shall begin to sway back and forward. One of these times the ship will go over, it will founder in the seas of this world that simply carry it along with its winds and tides and waves. Without power we cannot head into the storm, but will simply be tossed around by it. Without power we cannot steam into the waves and stay upright. Without power we can do nothing no matter how great the outward structure is.
Taking up our cross daily. Abiding in the Lord and His Word daily. Praying daily, hourly, minute by minute. Obeying the words and commands of Jesus. Drawing close to Jesus. Asking forgiveness from Jesus. Forgiving and humbling ourselves before others. All of this is stoking the fires of our heart and keeping its condition good. Not worrying about the things the “gentiles,” worry about. Not being anxious about the things of the world. Taking no thought about tomorrow but rather considering God and how He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the fields. Solomon, as the word says, was not arrayed with such glory. All of this and more is a shovel of coal in the furnace of our heart. It all begins with a baptism of fire brothers and sisters. It would do you no good to shovel coal into a furnace that it is not lit. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It’s the fire of our heart and the power that propels us on through every obstacle no matter how strong or fierce. If we indeed have this fire, let it never be allowed to burn down to just embers. “Be careful bout the condition of your heart, there is nothing more important.”
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, discernment, God's love, God's voice, Jesus, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, 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, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Tear down those walls!
Posted by appolus on September 28, 2023
On my recent vacation to the lake, I met a young man in his early 30s. He was sitting beside a communal fire where one could make s’mores, that great American favorite. As I sat down beside the fire I introduced myself and we began to talk. It turns out I was talking to a theologian. He had two masters degrees in divinity and theology and was in the process of getting his doctorate. He was also an ordained elder of his local Presbyterian church. His day job was computer programming. And so our discussion began.
The Lord laid it upon my heart to speak about John chapter three and the love of God for the world that motivated Him to send His only Son to die for the whosoever and the necessity of being born again. I really could not have guessed at his reaction. He spent most of the rest of our conversation trying to prove that God hates, and quoted psalm 5. He agreed with me that the Scriptures are not broken but insisted that God hates sinners. Hard as I tried, I could not persuade him otherwise, and talk about the Old Covenant and the New yielded no fruit. So I tried another tactic. I asked him if he could tell me about his own new birth, about him being born again.
He told me that when he was 16 or 17, he was asked what salvation meant by some of his high school friends. Despite growing up in the Presbyterian, he was ashamed to admit that he did not know. So, he went and educated himself as to what the Bible says about salvation. That was it, that was his “salvation.” Education, knowledge of facts. A mental assent to a series of abstract truths. Now we know that the Devil himself knows and gives assent to Biblical truth, and trembles. Oh that men would tremble at the truth of God. Here is what Tozer says about truth. “Divine truth is of the nature of spirit and for that reason can only be received by spiritual revelation….Gods thoughts belong to the world of spirit, man’s to the world of intellect. And while spirit can embrace intellect, the human intellect can never comprehend spirit.”
Everything this young man had was in his head. It was all human knowledge. His reason and his intellect caused him to know about God, but not “know,’ Him. Therefore he had an inability to talk about God the Father or Jesus or the Holy Spirit in any intimate way whatsoever. The intellect is not how we “know,’ Jesus. It is by the work of the spirit and of revelation. Yet for centuries Christendom has been dominated by “theologians.” And the interesting thing about theologians is that they are wall builders and historically people burners. Of all of the hundreds of thousands of martyrs in the last two thousand years, no one was every martyred by a “layman.” Every denomination has its own theologians and each of them build walls of theology, bulwarks if you like, against others of differing views on the same Scriptures. Their weapons are proof texting and they are not afraid to use them.
As an old stonemason, its ironic that I would echo Kennedy in saying “tear down that wall.” We are spiritually led. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth. Does He use teachers? Yes, he often does use them, but He uses those whom He trains and raises up. How the educated class marveled at the unlearned men such as Peter and other fishermen. Where did their knowledge come from? Did Jesus not open up the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus? Did not their hearts burn within them? These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.(1Jn 2:26-27)
Builders of walls, builders of kingdoms, builders of denominations, builders of fires. We have not been called to build walls or kingdoms or fires brothers and sisters. What we learn from the Holy Scriptures by and through the Holy Spirit and teachers He raises up, is not what a theologian would call “hermeneutics,” which is to say the art and the science of studying the Scriptures based on human reasoning. What the Holy Spirit teaches is neither art nor science. “Man cannot know God, he can only know about God………..Man’s reason is a fine instrument and useful within its field. It was not given as an organ by which to know God.” (A.W.Tozer) And so I think it was no mistake that I met this young man around a fire. I have no doubt in my mind that if we had met 500 years ago, it would also be around a fire and he would have given his consent for me to be burned as a heretic. Take this to the bank brothers and sisters, no genuine born again Christian down through the corridors of time, ever burned another human being to death, let alone someone who called himself after the Lord’s name.
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Church history, churches, Daily devotional, God's love, Jesus, revival, strange fire, 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 | 4 Comments »
A vision-the journey is everything.
Posted by appolus on September 24, 2023
Many many years ago I had a vision. I was high above the country of America and I could see from east to west. The vast majority were settled in the east and would never dream of venturing into the great unknown. To travel westwards was to risk everything. Yet, slowly but surely some began to leave everything that was established to strike out into the unknown. They banded together for safety and gave up their homes and establishments, their careers and positions for a dream. Many would not make it but all of them were driven forward by forces perhaps they did not fully understand. They were pilgrims, sojourners, travelers.
The first part of their journey was mapped, but soon enough they only had the general heading. They forded rivers and scaled mountains and crossed vast seas of prairie lands that stretched out into infinity. There was storms and baking heat. There was cold and there was snow but still they pushed on. They were often attacked and would circle the wagons. They dealt with wolves and bears and coyotes. Snakes were everywhere but still they traveled on. None of this was the actual westward migration in America, it was the remnant saints I was seeing. They were leaving everything that was established behind and pushing on for a continuing city. They had no place on this earth to call their own. No kingdom to call their own, no town to call their own, no State to call their own. They were travelers.
Every mountain was a part of their sanctification. Every river, every wild animal, every obstacle was the same. In the blazing plains they had to trust for water. In the violent storms and tornado’s, they had to trust that God would keep them. They had a pioneer spirit that was not all that common to man. Yet just like the westward American push, they all come to the Pacific. Will they set up shop there? Surely we can go no further than this? And yet in my vision I saw a boat draw near to the shore. Jesus was the captain and He shouted to those gathered on the shore to come on board. The people on shore had no idea what was beyond the horizon. Surely they had suffered enough just to get here, and now, there was the Lord urging them on, urging them onto the boat to continue the journey, and for most it was simply too much.
So as the few got onto the boat, the rest began to lay down foundations for communities. After a while the boat stopped coming and they could no longer hear the voice of Jesus urging them on. The temporary wagons that had brought them so far were broken down and used in the establishment of fine new buildings. With the journey over and the permanent structures erected, the people grew weak. They no longer had the journey to keep them strong. This place they had established for themselves had very fine weather and they did not have to deal with storms, they grew weaker still and they had no vision. Their reliance upon the Lord waned as His voice became a distant memory, an echo in the wind. They became so weak they withdrew from the coast. Little by little, piece by piece they began to fall back to where they had come from. The things that they had overcame began to overcome them. And in a period of time, they found themselves right back where they came from. Everything they had gained on the journey they had lost. Without the vision of the journey, the people perished.
This was my vision. It was as dramatic as it was scary. The journey is everything. We have no place on this earth to call our own. If we are not moving forwards then we are falling backwards. There is no treading water in the Kingdom of God, there is only the journey that ever lies before us. God has no pleasure in those who fall back. The journey is your Christianity. It is your walk. It is your relationship with Jesus. It does not matter how old you are or how young you are, we are all called to journey down the path that God Himself has forged for us. We do not get to see what is around the next bend, we simply trust. We are called to live each day at a time and not to be anxious for the things the gentiles are anxious for. Sufficient for the day are our troubles and it is Jesus who gives us the strength to get through this day, tomorrow is never guaranteed. Our strength is derived from how we interact with Jesus as we meet the obstacle.
Do not worry about tomorrow brothers and sisters. Keep on the journey, keep on going, keep on following Jesus. Ignore charlatans and false prophets you meet along the way, you will recognize them for they will be selling you something. Do not put your roots down into anything other than the Kingdom of God. One thing about a wagon, its always ready to roll the next day. We must always be ready to roll on, for this is our calling, we journey through this world and the Holy Spirit is our guide. He alone knows the way forward. He alone can lead us and guide us home. Let us never gather moss brothers and sisters in our spiritual homeward journey. It might be rough. It might be tough, but I can guarantee you that it will never be boring. One season there shall be great mountain ranges and another season mighty rivers. There will be the dead of winter and also the magnificent spring flowers. The heat of the summer will feel fine for a while but the Fall colors and coolness will refresh your soul.
The seasons of life will be the mile markers of our journey, and as we grow older and are less physically fit, we grow stronger in the Lord and the power of His might. The seasons will pass with ever increasing speed as we journey onwards. As our time here on earth draws to its close then we shall begin to see glimpses of the journeys end. The end of everything in this world is truly the beginning of everything in the next. He gives us eyes to see such things. Imagine beginning to arrive at the end of your journey. A journey that has perhaps lasted multiple decades. A grand adventure that no power in the heavens or earth could ever persuade you to give up. The perishing outer man is being replaced by a spirit that is renewed daily. Piece by piece we are decreasing but step by step He is increasing. Our grand obsession, Jesus, is all that we want. He is all that we need. We look back down the journey with all its many milestones and we can see how, not one single time, He has let us down. Oh brothers and sisters, let us finish strong the journey that is set before us.
Posted in Babylon, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Church history, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, God's love, intimacy, Jesus, manifest presence, revival, Spiritual warfare, 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 | 5 Comments »
When we let go.
Posted by appolus on August 23, 2023
He picks us up, He wipes our tears His perfect love casts out all fears He strengthens us when we are weak He gives us hope when all seems bleak He leads the way when I am lost, He lifts my eyes up to the cross He fills my heart when I'm depleted, He gives me vision to see Him seated. High above and on His throne He tells me that I'm not alone So take me to Your highest mountains And fill me from inexhaustible fountains Every mountain high and every wide river Every sin and temptation, from them deliver Draw me into your presence sublime Don't move the mountain, give me strength to climb
Posted in bible, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, intimacy, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Bid me come to thee
Posted by appolus on August 18, 2023
Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Peter sees Jesus walking on the water in the midst of the great storm. Jesus says to them that are on the boat to “be of good cheer, for it is I, do not be afraid.” Just seeing Jesus put their minds at ease. Our hearts are at peace when we “know” that Jesus sees our afflictions. And yet we see Peter, caught up in the presence of God. It is not good enough that he sees him from a distance, he wants to be right where He is, no matter the circumstance, and he is taken up by the Lord’s presence. In the Lord’s presence, when we are captivated by Him, then the roar of the wind dies down. The tumultuous waves that were otherwise so terrifying, cease to present any threat in the manifest presence of God. Nature itself loses all of its power as the water loses its ability to swallow whole those who stand with Jesus.
And we see what happens when Peter takes His eyes off Jesus. Immediately the noise of his present circumstances comes roaring back and would have been deafening. The waves would rise up and reach out to take him under to his watery grave. Nature comes back into its own and Peter begins to sink. Yet Jesus. He is still there even when we have momentarily lost our focus and our faith. He will not let us drown. He is faithful even when we are not. He will catch us. He will come into our boat and suddenly the storm is completely gone. And then all who witnessed this fell down before Jesus and worshiped Him. Brothers and sisters, we are called to come to Jesus. Oftentimes we are so tempted to “batten down the hatches,” yet in many cases this just delays the inevitable sinking of the ship in the great storms of life.
We must come to Jesus and follow Him. Whether out of the boat into the teeth of the storm, or out of the storm back into the boat. Where He is there is peace whether in the eye of the storm or the stilled storm. It is all the same. He is our peace. Where He is there is glory and all things are possible. Perfect peace casts out all fear and only in Jesus can we stand, whether that is upon solid ground or on the water. Let the whole world shake. Let the mountains begin to crumble. Let the seas rise up and roar. Let the skies fall down and the stars fall from the heavens. He still rules and He still reigns. No matter what you are facing today saints, He still reigns sovereign over all that exists. Look to Jesus today. Step out of the boat. Or reach out and take His hand. Or follow Him back into the boat. Wherever He goes, let us follow Him to the ends of the earth and to the gates of eternity. He shall lead us home.
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, God's voice, inspirational, Jesus, manifest presence, new wineskins, revival, spiritual growth, 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 »
Pagan Christianity?
Posted by appolus on August 15, 2023
Probably the most damaging feature of Calvin’s liturgy is that he led most of the service himself from the pulpit. Christianity has not yet recovered from this. Today the pastor is the MC, and CEO of the Sunday morning service-just as the priest is the MC and the CEO of the Catholic mass. This is in stark contrast to the church meeting envisioned in Scripture. According to the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ is the leader, director and CEO of the church meeting. In 1 Cor 12, Paul tells us that Christ speaks through His entire Body, not just one member. In such a meeting, His Body freely functions under His headship (direct leadership) through the working of the Holy Spirit. First Cor 14 gives us a picture of such a gathering. This kind of meeting is vital for the spiritual growth of God’s people and the full expression of His Son in the earth. ( George Barna, Frank Viola-Pagan Christianity-pg 59)
The liturgy or order of service is almost exactly the same in the vast majority of churches throughout the land, whatever denomination it is. Over the last several decades, some have flirted with allowing the Holy Spirit to move among them, but have inevitably fallen back on the order of service. To follow the instructions laid down by Scripture, almost all of the so called clergy would render themselves surplus to requirements. So the clergy have always been the keepers of the status quo. A union of hirelings who have usurped the actual workings of the Holy Spirit among the Body of Christ. I would think that the vast majority of them down through the centuries have been somewhat ignorant of the fact that there is simply no clergy in the Body of Christ, and that the Priesthood of all believers cannot function and be led by the Holy Spirit where the bondage of this system exists. We can have the clergy/laity system or we can have the Holy Spirit operate among us, but we cannot have both.
George and Frank say that this kind of meeting is vital for Spiritual growth, I would agree. How can we say that we have no need of the manna that falls from heaven, but rather we have our own means of feeding ourselves? It is delusional. Spiritual growth only comes from edification. A group can grow religiously under our present system, but they cannot grow spiritually. Stagnation, with occasional bursts of energy from fires of our own making is the best that we can expect when man is in charge of the service. The numbers attending “church,” are now in free-fall all over the world. Is this the inevitable end of a system that is collapsing under the weight of its own works? I would say yes. The church system worked in a mostly religious world. We no longer live in such a world. The paradoxical difference is that while the weight of men’s works crush people spiritually, the weight of Gods presence, His Holy presence liberates them and elevates them to high and lofty places and changes them. It exhorts them, it edifies them, it humbles them.
The Lord, in His manifest presence, always speaks to the whole. If a saint needs to be encouraged, then he is encouraged. If another needs to be humbled then he is humbled. If another needs to be lifted up from the valley floor of depression and discouragement then he will find himself flying where the eagles fly and his joy shall be complete. The sinner shall find conviction that he will have to bend to, or he will have to run into the night screaming. All of this and so much more comes when the Body operates as it is instructed to operate and where the CEO is the Lord Jesus Himself by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus must be preeminent. We must follow the dictates of the word of God or we shall simply be taken by the tide of this world and religion and be lost at sea. I would argue that for the most part, that which calls itself Christianity is lost as sea and the only way back is a strict adherence to the revealed word of God. It would not be a revival, nor would it be a reformation. It would be a revolution!!!, where the powers that be are upturned and the Lord Jesus takes His rightful place.
Posted in Babylon, bible, Charisma Magazine, Charismatic, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, Church history, church mafia, church of england, church of scotland, churches, consequences of sin, controlling churches, Daily devotional, deception, Devotions, discernment, False Prophets and Teachers, false teachers, God's love, God's voice, heresy, Jesus, manifest presence, religious, revival, Spiritual warfare, 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 | 9 Comments »
O foolish Christians!
Posted by appolus on August 11, 2023
Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you,
Are we modern day Christians really any different from our Galatians brothers and sisters of old? Paul says to the Galatians that they have fallen from Grace, those who desire to be under anything other than the Gospel that he himself had presented to them, but now he was an enemy to them for telling them the truth. This word “bewitched,” means to be “fascinated by a false presentation.” In the Galatians case it was the law they were fascinated with and men, who should have known better, who seem to be something in Christian circles from Jerusalem, had enticed them away from the truth, away from the Spirit and away from freedom. A fall from grace is a tragedy for it is by grace through faith that we are saved and not of works, including the works of the law, less we should boast and then the free gift is not free indeed but rather debt.
We have so many in our day who are “fascinated by a false presentation.” Consider the Charismatics and their prosperity gospel? How about men like Benny Hinn with a singular obsession with healings? MacArthur and his denial of the sign gifts of the Spirit? Catholics and every other denomination who are fascinated by their own dogmas and decrees which are quite apart from Scriptures. One man rodeo shows in the non denominational systems who promote themselves. What is the one thing they all have in common with each other and the Galatians? “They zealously court you, but not for good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.”(Gal 4:17) Think about the horror of that statement. Men and systems of men set up to promote themselves and in doing so, exclude those who follow them from entering into the freedom that Christ brought for them. It was for freedom that Christ set us free. It is for bondage that men would have you zealous for them and their systems that elevate them. Jesus has been usurped.
Who is hindering you from following the Word? This is not from God. Who elevates themselves rather than the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. In the third epistle of John he writes to “the church,” in Asia Minor. He runs headlong into a man called Diotrephes. A man who had zeaously courted the church in that region to elevate himself. A man who loved the preeminence and just like Paul, John had become their enemy because he spoke the truth. Yet there were still men like Gaius and Demetrius. Good men. Men who followed after Jesus and who “walked in the truth.” There are good men and women today who still walk in the truth. God has His remnant. They are few and far between. And there are is a scourge of men like Diotrephes who would hinder you from walking according to the truth because when we do that, Jesus, and only Jesus is elevated.
There is an inevitable clash between God’s people and men who promote themselves. John would clash with Diotrephes if he traveled there. Paul clashed with the Christian religious men of his day, and even with Paul and Barnabas over what was right and what would cause men to fall from grace. If one were in MacArthur’s church and criticized him openly, the same fate would befall them as those who criticized Diotrephes. They would be removed from the church, with violence if need be. To criticize the Catholic church over 1500 years would cause one to be excommunicated and most likely burned at the stake. To criticize the reformers would have resulted in certain banishment and oftentimes imprisonment and burnings too. It is the mark of insecure men who have set up their own systems in direct violation of God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
And then of course there is the genuine Body of Christ to be found everywhere. Oftentimes isolated perhaps. Lonely and without a church home to call their own, but always part of the Body of Christ and the family of God. Sons and daughters scattered to the four winds but not abandoned. Faithful to the Word of God and the leading of the Spirit. Illuminated by the light of Christ and the freedom that dwells within them. At liberty to speak the truth in love despite the consequences. Seeking no office and seeking no titles. Only willing to wash the feet of their brothers and sisters and feed them spiritually. Discipling everywhere they go whether to the one or the two or the two hundred. The number is not important. I encourage you this day my brothers and sisters. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made you free and do not be entangled by the religious systems of men which causes you to become entangled by a yoke of bondage.
Walk in and according to the Spirit and men shall know you by the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, gentlesness, and self control. They shall also know you by your fierce loyalty to the Lord and to the Gospel of the Kingdom and to the Word of God. Live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit and you shall avoid jealousies pride and envy. Those who sow these things shall reap everlasting life. We shall run and not grow weary, we shall walk and not faint. We shall not lose heart when we pay due attention to the condition of our heart and walk in the aforementioned fruit of the Spirit. Love the Body of Christ with a lavish and reckless love. Let us boast in nothing other than the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and the cross upon our own backs. Let us rejoice in infirmities that God may be glorified by the excess grace He pours upon us. The world has been crucified to us, it no longer courts us. We have been crucified to the world and we no longer have any taste for its pleasures. Let the peace and the mercy and grace of God fall apon the genuine saints today and let all who read this be encouraged.
Posted in Babylon, Benny Hinn, bible, Charisma Magazine, Charismatic, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Church history, churches, controlling churches, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, faith, False Prophet, False Prophets, False Prophets and Teachers, false teachers, Fresh Fire, gifts of the spirit, God's love, God's voice, healing, Jesus, pentecostal, religion, religious, Rick Joyner, Rick Warren, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, testimony, 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 | 5 Comments »
Renew a right spirit within me.
Posted by appolus on July 25, 2023
Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
These are words from the man who is “after Gods own heart.” A man that the Lord loves greatly. Does He not love you brothers and sisters? Could we not pray the same prayer as David many times in our lives? Cleanse me for thy sake oh Lord and I shall be clean. Wash Lord and I shall be whiter than snow. The bones that you have broken Lord, heal them within me that I may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out my transgressions. Create in me a clean heart oh Lord and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence oh Lord and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation. Deliver me from my guilt oh Lord for I acknowledge my transgressions, for it is against You alone oh Lord that I have sinned.
This is the heart of a broken and a contrite man. This is what the Lord loves. A man who has glimpsed into the depths of his own soul and found himself so very wanting. Yet he does not go and hide behind a tree and a fig leaf, rather he stands there, naked before the Lord, nothing hidden. While he was hidden the joy of the Lord was hidden to him. While he deceived himself the wisdom of the Holy Spirit was removed from him. The presence of the Lord had fled away and only as he emerges from behind the tree and from behind the fig leaf is David restored. Are you hiding today brother or sister? Shall you not come out from behind the tree and stand naked before the Lord? God does not require your sacrifice. He already required that of the Lord Jesus. He simply requires a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These things God will not despise. He will surely usher you back into His presence and He will restore the joy of His salvation to You. Goodness and mercy shall follow the broken and the contrite heart all the days of their lives.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, 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 | 2 Comments »
I desire truth in the inward parts.
Posted by appolus on July 18, 2023
Psa 51:6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden parts you shalt make me to know wisdom.
Part of wisdom is to know who you are. The outward appearance is of little value other than it is a reflection of the inner man. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but true beauty God sees clearly. In 1 Sam 16:7 it says ” the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” To truly be a witness for Jesus, the world must see Him when it sees us. In order for that to happen we must have truth in the inward parts. The hidden parts must become visible. The true essence of who we are, in Christ alone we make our stand, must be seen. This is why we must decrease and the Lord must come forth in every part of who we are.
This is our calling. The Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached as a witness. What does that mean? The world must “see,” the truth as well as hear it. Anyone can parrot the truth, but only the saints can live it out for all the world to see. Jesus says in Matt 24 that this Gospel must be preached as a witness to all nations and then the end shall come. Its not good enough for the gospel to be preached to all nations, it must be preached “as a witness.” A witness brings forth evidence. What is the evidence of your salvation? Is it but words? Or, is it the life that you lead that gives flesh and blood to those words? “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be a witness to Me in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
A man called Witold Pileski, a survivor of the Auschiwitz concentration camp wrote this ” some slithered into a moral swamp, others chiseled themselves a character of finest crystal. We were cut with a sharp instrument. Its blade bit painfully into our bodies, yet in our souls it found fields to till. We had all become just our bare essence. A man was seen and valued for what he really was.” When we are stripped down to our bare essence what shall be seen? Who are we really? Shall not the fire reveal the gold? Shall not suffering chisel away the worthless? Shall not our souls be tilled and there the fruit of the Holy Spirit spring up? Fruit that people can see. Fruit that brings glory to God. Fruit that feeds others. Shall we resist the sharp cut, the stripping down? Let us not brothers and sisters but rather let us yield our fallow ground to the till that is held by the hand of God Almighty and pulled by the Holy Spirit. And then, and only then, Jesus bursts forth!
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, Jesus, new wineskins, revival, 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 | 3 Comments »
Coals of fire and fish thereon.
Posted by appolus on July 13, 2023
Joh 21:9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
In the last chapter of John we see this very well known encounter. Peter and six others decide to go fishing, it is Peter who makes the suggestion and the others follow. This was the disciples falling back on what they knew. They were to be fishers of men but now they were going back to their old trade. They needed food on the table no doubt. They had followed Jesus for three years and now Jesus was not walking with them. All night long they fish and come up with nothing. From the shore Jesus shouts to them to put the net down on the other side. And of course, as we know, they landed an enormous catch. Yet it is important to note that the moral of this story is not how to catch fish.
When Peter realizes that it is Jesus on the shore he throws himself into the water. The others stayed with the catch. In life there will always be those who plunge into the waters at the call of Jesus. Those who drop everything, even the biggest catch of their lives. Peter was such a man. Now, the moral of the story begins to come into view as Peter makes his way towards Jesus. He sees that there is a fire of coals burning and fish already cooking and there was bread too. Jesus had shouted to them earlier “children have you any food?” He did not ask them if they had caught any fish, they were obviously out there looking for food for themselves as opposed to working for money. Yet here, on the beach, Jesus had already prepared a meal for them.
Jesus was calling the disciples to be shepherds, not fishermen. Fishers of men perhaps, but shepherds. “Feed my lambs…….Tend my sheep….. feed my sheep……follow Me.” Obedience to the call and trust in the Lord. Jesus knows our needs, He has fires of coal and fish there-on and bread to eat also. Come to Jesus. If you have to plunge into the ocean, come to Jesus. If you have to lay down burdens, lay them down. If you have to do any casting, cast your cares upon Jesus. The One with all the resources says “follow me.” Seeing Jesus, knowing Jesus, encountering Jesus, this is our calling………….and all these things shall be added unto you. Seek Him first though the ocean lie between you and Him. Come to Him though the mountains stand in your way. Watch them crumble before you. Rise up, cast caution to the wind along with Peters garments and run to Him. “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” The life that we live shall express our love for Jesus far beyond words.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, 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 | 1 Comment »
The reason for the season.
Posted by appolus on June 27, 2023
In every stage of our lives there are seasons And almost always we never know the reasons We live, we love, we cherish, we lose And the sudden losses leaves us with very little clues We look to the sky and we wonder why One of our loved ones they had to die Yet for the most part there is no rhyme nor reason There is just the changing of the season In the hand of the Lord there lies it all The creation of man and then the fall Sin and rebellion and death floods in And Eden vanishes and loss begins There is a time to laugh and then to cry A time to live and then to die A time to gain and a time of loss A time to refine away the dross We are called to walk through fire and flood And sometimes called to shed our blood We are also called to laugh and sing And fall to our knees before our King No matter the loss there is always a reason For the fire , the flood and the painful season For the joy, for the laughter for the passion and pain Know this dear saint, nothing is in vain
Posted in bible, Christian, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, revival, spiritual poetry, 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 »
The light prevails.
Posted by appolus on May 29, 2023
No matter the darkness the light prevails Just as we saw in the thorns and the nails Victory in Jesus as the darkness drew near Victory over hell and death and fear The world may languish and be spiraling down Yet victory belongs to the one with the crown Glory and majesty with the dawns early light Filled with His strength and ready to fight The proud shall fall never more to rise His glory shall be revealed in magnificent skies The sun shall flee and the moon disgraced The stars in the heavens are violently displaced The King of kings, the Lord of all ages Steps down once more as the devil rages The victory is complete, the darkness no more The ravenous lion has given his last roar
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', God's love, poetry, spiritual poetry, Spiritual warfare, 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, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Rejecting God and choosing man.
Posted by appolus on May 2, 2023
1Sa 10:19 And you have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said unto him, no, but set a king over us.
It seems very obvious what God is saying to His people, by choosing a man to lead them they were actually rejecting Him. What pain this must have caused the Father’s heart. He had made a people out of nothing and had delivered them time and again from trial and tribulation, hunger and captivity. He had opened up the sea before them and destroyed the most powerful army in the world for them. He had fed them in the wilderness and led them out. He had given into their hands the promised land. Yet all of these things were forgotten by a people who refused to look to themselves to see where the problem was. And before we are too judgemental, isn’t that exactly what we often do? We find ourselves in some kind of dire straits and we cry out and look for deliverance. We typically look to the world first.
We run to man. Who do you run too? Do you run to God? Is the Lord your Alpha and Omega? Is He your first choice? Or, is He often your last? We want a king. We want a pastor, a healer, a seer. We do not realize that when we depend on anything other than God we are in a very true sense rejecting God and choosing our own way. We look and see how the world handles it problems and we try and imitate them, how tragic. Whatever we give ourselves over to, it will certainly reign over us. God told the people that if they go down this road then a king will “take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots.” How many countless young men have died down through the ages fighting for a king? Not King Jesus mind you, but for a worldly king for worldly purposes. God told them that a king “will take the best of your fields, your vineyards and your olive groves.” Think of the poor share croppers barely scratching out a living while the “landowners,” become very wealthy.
God told them that a king will take your young men and your young women and your donkeys and he will put them to work for his own purposes. He will take a tenth of your sheep and you will be his servants. And in that day when your are totally oppressed you will cry out to me, God says, and “the Lord will not hear you in that day.” We live in a world today that is totally given over to its own systems. A world that has totally rejected God in favor of themselves. They work but they cannot get ahead. They are taxed at every turn. Wars have consumed whole generations of young men. There have been more killed in wars in the last 120 years than in all the wars down through the corridors of history, combined. We are seeing the ultimate conclusions of men rejecting God and choosing for themselves their own ways. The tower of Babel has risen and stands so much taller than the ancients could ever have imagined………and great will be its fall. And yet, in the midst of all of that, God has a people not given to the world and Jesus is their King.
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', God's love, Jesus, 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 | 3 Comments »
You are God forever!
Posted by appolus on February 19, 2023
Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
There is a name which is above every other name, that name is Jesus. He is the brightness of God the Father and His express image. He upholds all things and He purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty. His name is exalted above all others. Its at the name and in the power of Jesus that the worlds came into being. The stars shine in the heavens above and the sun burns with such intensity by the hand of the Lord Jesus. He is so high and lifted up that even a single tear from the Masters eye causes the oceans to blush. The sun is a mere flickering candle in the brightness of His glory. He holds the whole universe in the palm of His hand and by His power alone it is all held together. He is begotten of the Father and the Son of the most High. The angels all bow down and cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.
Lord Jesus, you laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hand. Hide your face and the whole world is troubled, hold your breath and we crumble and die, look away and the world falls to pieces, we exalt you oh Lord on high. Everything that exists shall be rolled up and burned up in that day, but You Oh Lord remain forever. You are eternal, Your Word is eternal and you have invited us into the eternal Kingdom of our God. Tears of joy and wholeness rise in me, water from the saints that are deeper than the deepest sea. Only in this place of eternity do I truly belong, where the saints all gather around the throne and sing a glorious song. As far as the eye can see, like wheat gently blowing as one in the wind, you are surrounded by millions upon millions of those who had formerly sinned. Redeemed by Your glory and Majesty, redeemed by the Blood that you shed, we should have dwelt forever in the depths of darkness, but here we are before You instead. We shall sing of Your glory forever, and forever and forever and a day. And here where Your glory fills the temple, is the place we shall eternally stay.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, Jesus, manifest presence, revival, spiritual poetry, 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 | 2 Comments »
Waging warfare and fighting the good fight.
Posted by appolus on February 16, 2023
1Ti 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of sincere faith.
Love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom 13:8-10) The whole purpose and fulfillment of the law was found in Christ! So why then was there so much trouble at Ephesus? Why would young Timothy be under pressure and from whom? The same old suspects, the Judaizers and those who desired to be teachers. Teaching their own ideas of what the Law was and what it meant and what its purpose was. A myriad of teachings that were from their own vain imaginations, causing disputes rather than causing unity in Christ. Desiring to be a class of teachers, priests, rabbis. A clergy class. Desiring to be supported because of their “knowledge.” And yet this desire to be teachers of the law, when they had no real understanding of the fulfillment of the law (if they did they would desire to be servants, as Paul was, working with his own hands)
We know from Scripture that those who knew Jesus, the fulfillment of the law, walked in love from a pure heart, from a good conscience and from a sincere faith. And those who did not know Jesus in this way, turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers and lacking understanding. In America today, there are roughly 30,000 salaried “pastors.” That is 15,000 “pastors for every state. My brothers, let there not be many teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation (Jas 3:1) The clergy/laity divide has only served to increase the desire to be teachers. There is not the same desire to be servants of all. Jesus washed the feet of servants, do clergy, for the main part wash feet? Ever notice in the sacramental systems of denominations, there is no feet washing? You will not find it in non-denominations either.
Timothy is exhorted by Paul to fight the good fight. Paul knew, from sore experience, just how difficult it was to deal with those who considered themselves teachers. This is why he prayed so fervently for Timothy. He likened it to waging warfare. The same warfare has been waged by the remnant saints down through the ages. The Hymenaeus’s and Alexanders have always been entrenched in religious activities much like Diotrephes. Men who love the preeminence. Men who know nothing of the fulfillment of the Law but rather became laws unto themselves, passing themselves of as teachers of the law and becoming the deadliest enemies of the twice born man. Brothers and sisters let us walk in love with a pure heart from a good conscience and from a sincere faith. Trusting in God and His Word and having discernment to identify those who simply desire to be teachers, who desire to be kept, who will not work with their own hands. We shall know men by their fruit. Do men serve or do men desire to be served?
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, False Prophets, False Prophets and Teachers, false teachers, God's love, Jesus, religious persecution, revival, Spiritual warfare, 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 | 7 Comments »
Joy in the midst of the fire.
Posted by appolus on January 31, 2023
(1Th 1:6-7) And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: So that ye were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
The Thessalonians suffered much. They received the Word of God in the midst of much hostility. You might say that they were born again in the midst of the fire. And yet what do we see? Joy. The supernatural joy of the Lord has nothing to do with circumstances. I have no doubt that joy filled the hearts of Paul and Silas in the dungeon, as they laid there beaten and broken in body for the sake of Christ. They rejoiced, they worshiped and down came the power of God. The Apostles rejoiced after being scourged as they could not believe how privileged they were to be counted worthy to suffer for the sake of Christ. Joy in the midst of the fire. Holy Spirit enabled joy. It is the mark of the saint who is full of the Holy Spirit no doubt. Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit had a remarkable vision in the very midst of the cruelest and most vicious of deaths. Even as that was unfolding, there was one standing by, witnessing the martyr and how he died, Saul, who would become Paul. He saw the power of God in the death of Stephen.
The Thessalonians were “examples,” to all who believed in Macedonia and Achaia. In this case they were witnesses to other brothers and sisters throughout the region and these other saints would no doubt have been convicted and encouraged by the joy the Thessalonians had when there should be no joy. The word “examples,” from the Scripture above is from the Greek word ‘Tupos,” which means to be struck, to be stamped or to be scarred. It comes from the primary verb “Tupto,” which means to be cudgeled or pummeled or to suffer repeated blows. When we suffer repeated blows for the cause of Christ and respond with supernatural joy, it deals a blow to principalities and powers. Their kingdoms are shaken to their foundations. It is like a spiritual earthquake because this defies the natural realities of this world. It is supernatural. It is extraordinary. The greatest example of all being Calvary. The whole world and the unseen kingdoms would be turned upside down by Jesus on the cross. “Forgive them Father,’ Jesus cries out. And the last words of Stephen? “Lord Jesus receive my spirit, Lord do not hold this sin against them.”
The power of God. The power of the Holy Spirit. The example of Jesus. The examples of the Thessalonians. The examples of the Apostles. The example of the martyrs down through the ages. How about us brothers and sisters? Are we not filled with the same Holy Spirit? Have we not been endued with the same power from on High? Shall we not rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice? Shall we not rejoice in all things and give thanks in all things? For in these continual blows, when we are pummeled for the sake of Christ shall we not bear the scars with great pride? Shall we not stand in the midst of the fire with love and with joy and with thanksgiving? This is our calling brothers and sisters. It is a royal calling. It is a calling to a royal priesthood, a chosen people, a holy nation. We are Gods special possession and He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light that we may declare the praises of Him who called us out. Praises on the mountaintop are good. Praises and joy and thanksgiving in the depths of the valley, though you be lower, are so much higher. All of heaven resounds to hear the praises of God on the lips of those who are in the midst of the fire.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, 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 remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 