Mat 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
What a tragedy that in order to sacrifice in the temple you had to pass by the merchants and through the money-changers. Hirelings that were ripping of ordinary folks and pricing it beyond their means. Jesus was so angry that He violently kicks over the tables and drives the merchants from the temple. And what do we see after that? Mat 21:14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. Praise the Lord. I imagine that the blind and the lame had been the poorest in society, beggars even, yet when the hirelings were removed there was open access to God in the temple. There was such a buzz in the temple that even the children cried out with praise and delight.
For the most part saints, we see no healings in churches today, even although they so desperately pursue them. Yet, are they not, in so many cases, run by hirelings? Unless we have a cleansing, such as Jesus carried out, we should not expect to see healings. Now of course, the pharisees rose up to challenge Jesus. They were indignant at the actual works of God. The same pharisees and so called scribes are in charge of the institutions today. They are and would be highly indignant at the notion that their “temples,’ even required to be cleansed. They were more interested in authority. They knew theirs was being challenged and they wanted to know by what authority Jesus spoke and did these things.
Jesus says “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” He was not speaking of the temple. Later on He says to the Pharisees ‘Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” (Mat 23:38) There is “My house,” and there is “Your house.” Two houses. One house built by men, the other built by God. In the Hebrew, the word house can also be translated “prison.’ The house that man builds is a prison. Jesus stood up in the temple and said that He had “come to set the captives free.” He removes them from one house, the man made structures run by merchants and hirelings, and takes them to His own house and His own house is a house of prayer. And in the Lords house we find the poor, the blind, the lame, the broken and the outcast. It’s a house of prayer and its a house of praise and there is healing its rafters. Which house do you belong to?
A couple of months ago we had a post about my friend’s son, Luke Long ,who was in a battle against cancer. Here is the testimony of what the Lord did and how He brought this family through the valley of the shadow of death http://vimeo.com/45174565
Each human is a vast unexplored universe. Only I have the ability to navigate the human heart and map it. Without the navigator, without the map all is chaos and darkness. Without the ship of God and Jesus the Captain, you will only ever stare at the horizon of your souls and be fearful of what lies beyond.”
A single tear falls from the Fathers face as He sees His Son return victorious. As the Father stands, Jesus, riding His majestic white stallion with a two-edged sword at His side, sees His Father. He lifts His head up towards the light and the glory. His horse majestically walks the path avoiding the golden crowns that lie beneath its feet, undisturbed by the cheers of the thousands, no the millions. And they sing “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.” Read the rest of this entry »
Yes, Salvation is a finished and complete work, we can neither add to it, nor take anything from it, it was purchased for us at a terrible cost, but, to accept it fully and walk in the newness of life, it will cost us everything. For the sake of the kingly rule of Christ are we ready to sell everything we have for this treasure in the field? Will we pluck out our eye or cut of the hand that offends? To walk in the Spirit, are we ready to pick up our cross? Are we ready to die daily? Read the rest of this entry »
That small still voice, the voice of the shepherd speaking to His sheep, and His sheep recognizing His voice. The Holy Spirit whispering into the hearts of believers. The Holy Spirit leading and guiding and magnifying the Lord Jesus in our hearts.
You have gathered here today in defiance of darkness and tyranny. You have come here to fight as free men and free men you are, for it is I that gave you that very freedom. So you see with your eyes that you are few and they are many, you see that you are vastly outnumbered. Will you fight today?Read the rest of this entry »
There is a time for shouting and praising God, but if we are ignoring the knocking, then we must stop shouting. If our lives are not reflecting the Glory of God, if we are not becoming like His Son, daily, then all of our shouting and praising God will just be so much noise. How tragic for the church of the living God if, when He looks down, He does not see praise but just a group of people making a noise.”Read the rest of this entry »
“Jesus has many who love His kingdom in heaven, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting.All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the breaking of the bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion. Many admire the miracles, but few follow Him to the humiliation of the cross. Many love Jesus as long as no hardship touches them.”
This is a vision that I had as I stood on a terrace in Croatia. My wife and I went there last year on our 25th anniversary. Before I went the Lord had shown me that I would meet someone there and that it would be significant, just did not know that He was talking about Himself. The whole piece was my vision, He gave me a new way of writing my testimony and of writing about coming into His presence, then the Word that He gave me for the church, I wrote in red at the end. I pray that this will challenge and convict you………….
They will gather together and throw in their gold and rise up and play, or in this case, fall down and play. You see the people are without leadership, and the Lord has with-held His rain. So the people have demanded gods to go before them, listen to what they said to Aaron…”make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. “
Madam Guyon writes…………….I am deeply grieved that so many in this day(she lived 300 years ago, people never change)even some good people, allow themselves to be led astray by the enemy. Has not God warned us against false prophets and lying wonders of the last days? All true prophets have spoken in the name of the Lord-”Thus says the Lord.” The enemy gains great advantage because people love extraordinary manifestations, signs and wonders. I believe the inordinate love of external signs is used of the enemy to draw people away from the Word of God and from the inward way of faith.The signs that come from God encourage you to die to yourself. (Intimacy with Christ..p21)
string> If you are known personally by God, If He knows every hair of your head, then how is it that you could ever imagine yourself insignificant? Is that not a lie from the pits of hell? How much evil and mischief has the enemy of your soul been able to achieve by simply convincing you that you have no worth and are insignificant?Read the rest of this entry »
The only true path is the path that begins with and ends with “Yet not my will be done but thine.” This is the glorious path of victory, the path of faith, the path of death but this path leads to life and that more abundantly. It will be the life that He chose for us, with all of its trials and tribulations, but to be in the radical center of His will is to be on the narrow path that leads to life.Read the rest of this entry »
Its about being transparent in our walk with Him. Its about taking back ground and being more effective for Him. Its about the fact that darkness must flee when it is exposed to light. This is the battle and it mostly takes place in the mind, the flesh demanding that it be protected at all costs, not wanting to be “humiliated,” or “humbled,” in the sight of man.
If it was not for this fire, that rages in the night
This blood that runs like molten to my soul
I would fall into the darkness, never more to fight
My light would be consumed and the dark would take its toll
So what is there a desperate need of today? The power that the Apostles exercised before Pentecost? Or the power that they exercised after Pentecost? May the Spirit of the Lord fall upon His church and may we be endued with “Katanusso,” power, the power to penetrate the hard hearts of the lost and the dying . Read the rest of this entry »
In August 17th, 1999, an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude hit Kocaeli Turkey. It lasted for 45 seconds and when the dust finally cleared, 17,000 people were dead. In the later investigation, it was found that many of the deaths occurred because building codes were not adhered to and therefore the buildings collapsed needlessly. The Contractors responsible were charged with murder.
Are you tired of living in fear? Lets call fear what it is, it is a lack of trust in God. Trust is the foundation of any relationship, trust and commitment. How can we be committed to a God in whom we do not trust? When we do not trust Him, then we are calling Him a liar. If we step outside of trusting Him, then we begin to run our own lives, making our own decisions. When a Christian makes a decision, based on fear, disaster inevitably follows.
Listen guys, maybe you’re in the fire today. I have no answers as to why or how long, but this I know,……………look…………Jesus is in the fire with you. This fire is not for your destruction, even although the enemy would like you to think otherwise. Take your eyes of the circumstances, take your eyes of the flames, allow the doubts and fears to melt away in the flames. Let the flames, that were meant for your destruction by the enemy, burn up the fears and the doubts as you turn towards Jesus.
A Call To The Remnant 