Archive for the ‘pentecostal’ Category
Posted by appolus on April 30, 2016
Are we Unleashing a Monster?-Donald Trump
I would argue that this current political cycle is a perfect example of form triumphing over substance. The rise of Donald Trump is the rise of form over substance. He merely taps into the mood of the people and says what he needs to say to get elected. He is an amalgam of our personality cult culture and business and now politics. This is the end result of a long process that could only truly find its successful conclusion with the rise of media and especially social media.
Now there have been notable people from the previous century that gives us clues as to how we got here. If we look at Hitler we see a man who could never have arisen without the aid of radio and the camera and of course circumstances. The circumstances are obvious. There was social unrest caused by a financial meltdown. This of course was severely aggravated with the rise of socialism and communism throughout the world. Given these fears and others, the people turned to someone who promised to make Germany great again. Someone who would face the problems of the day head on. Now they knew that he held extreme views but their fears for their present situation overcame any misgivings they may have had for him. The basic premise throughout the ruling classes was ” he would at least sort out the Communists,” which of course he did yet they had unleashed a monster.
Along with all those reasons, Hitler could still not have come to power without the aid of media. Radio of course was the social media of the day. People gathered in their living rooms and listened to his captivating speeches. They also went to the movies and saw such productions as ” Triumph of the Will.” A movie about the rise of the Nazi party that combined music and clippings of speeches and rallies. It is purported to be the greatest propaganda movie of all time and truly shows the power of media, form over substance, to move a whole nation. And of course that power has only increased exponentially over the last 80 years.
The first ever televised interview of two politicians debating was in 1960 and was between Nixon and Kennedy. Unbeknownst to Nixon, Kennedy had the heat turned way up in the studio because he knew Nixon had a tendency to sweat. When they both sat down to debate, Kennedy looked cool and collected while Nixon sweated badly. This had a great effect on the viewing audience. No matter what one of these men you liked, it could easily be argued that Kennedy knew the value of form over substance, it was less about what they were saying and more about how they were coming across to the audience.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, Donald Trump, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, politics, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 28 Comments »
Posted by appolus on April 27, 2016
I think it is hard for many people to separate what victory means and what victory looks like.
Look at Jesus on the cross. Nailed up there, rejected, tortured, stripped naked, taken outside the city to the garbage dump, and killed there. A notorious and ignominious death. This is victory, this is what the defeat of Satan looks like. The world and the spirit of the world hates this. This physical death looks like anything but victory, but it is and He made an open shame of Satan, by this death, according to Scripture.
” Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” Can you hear the chains falling brothers and sisters? The chains of hell and sin and death. Foolishness to those that are perishing, victory and glory to the saints. Satan will soon be loosed once more only this time will be his end. Satan himself will come in the anti-christ and he will get what he has always wanted. Every tribe, every tongue, every nation will bow down to him. This is what, in the very beginning, caused his fall, pride. He thought he could take Gods place! And now here he is, every living being bowing down to him.
But wait, what will darkness do with the light of the saints? What will he do with the bearers of the truth? What did he do to Jesus? He will try and kill every voice that stands against him. But that’s okay, for the saints overcome him as Jesus overcame him. Not by avoiding death, but by embracing it and crying out like Jesus did, not rendering evil for evil. This is how evil is defeated. This is the victory, Satan may destroy our bodies, like he did with the Apostles, but victory reigns eternally in the spirit of the saints. Praise God Satan was defeated at Calvary and millions of saints after Him were able to follow His example and even after the great falling away, God’s remnant saints in these last days will follow His leading and we will take up our crosses willingly by the power of the Spirit that burns inside of us…………bro Frank
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, inspirational, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on April 21, 2016
Have you been subdued by the Majesty?
Has your head hung low in the glory?
Has your darkness been shattered by the light from up above?
Have you found yourself adrift in an ocean of love?
Oh God in heaven rend the skies and come down
May I fall to my knees with your glory all around
May the waters rise from the tears of a million saints
Let us enter into this place where no one ever faints
Brighter than the light of a thousand suns
Where time has no place and eternity’s just begun
Where every part of me is one with every part of you
And the glory falls and covers me like the morning dew
I am whole and complete, here before the mercy-seat
I am refreshed and restored where my mercies are replete
Oh God in heaven take me to this place
Where I forever look unto your face
Tears of joy and wholeness rise in me
Waters from the saints that are deeper than the sea
Only in this place do I truly belong
Forever singing heaven’s Holy song
Suddenly I am back from whence I came
But this I know, I shall never be the same
And the memory of His presence lingers on
My heart is full, tis food to dwell upon
This hunger and this thirst is part of me
Longing to be adrift once more, in that eternal sea
Oh take me to that place that is my home
Where I shall dwell eternally before thy throne
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on April 18, 2016
If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. (Jer 14:18)
Famine and drought plague the land. The spiritually dead are everywhere. And where they are not dead they are sick with the famine. And yet in the midst of this the prophets and the priests cry out to a willingly blind people that peace and prosperity lie just ahead of them. They say that they are enriched yet the very riches they have gathered to themselves have shut up the skies.
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart…….. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem.(Jer 14:14-16)
Those who follow the blind prophets, who willingly have forsaken spiritual eyes for worldly treasure will suffer the same fate as these blind leaders of the blind. Pray now that the Lord will give you eyes to see that your gold is actually brass. Your peace based on circumstances is an allusion, it is the peace of the world that will be shaken to and fro. The people of the world rely on the rain that falls from the sky and the grass of the field to feed their livestock. How feeble is that peace? How dim is the light from the sparks of a fire of their own making?
Seek now, while it can yet be found, living waters. Let the food of your soul be the Word of God to you. These alone will sustain you. The full effects of the drought and the famine is gripping the necks of the willfully blind like a lion grips the neck of its prey after the chase , just prior to its demise.
Jer 15:11 The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant;
Even in the midst of great turmoil God’s hand shall remain upon His people. As spiritual darkness falls on every nation, there is a light that dwells in the chests of His children. Even as the world is spiritually ravished and morally bankrupted, the saints of God will fall deeper into the heart of God and will shine like true heavenly gold amidst a wicked and perverse generation.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, false prophecy, False Prophet, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 14, 2016
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, poetry, praise, revival, spiritual poetry, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, worship, worship music | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 8, 2016
The next word is that which is best translated, I think, into our English word with which we have become sadly familiar in recent days – a refugee; the essence of this word is that. It means one who has left a region of desolation and found refuge from desolation – a fine thought for Overcomers. It is possible to know spiritual desolation even amongst the people of God, to know desolation of heart even in the Christian Church. So many write to us and speak to us – ‘The place where I attend is a desolation, there is no food, there is no life, it is all barren and dead; what are we to do?’ And that is a Christian church, so called; a Christian circle. Yes, we say it quietly because we do not gloat over that; it is the opposite of that that is in our thought. We have to take note of facts, and these are facts, that there is spiritual desolation today in Christendom and often even in evangelical circles; starvation and death, and the Overcomer, the remnant, are those who have left that region of desolation spiritually and have found food, come into life, into wealth, into spiritual affluence, who have found the realm of heart satisfaction. That is how it was at the beginning.” (T.A.Sparks)
“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever
cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest
they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion
without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless
they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which
they first set out.” — John Wesley
“Preaching truth without the anointing of the Holy Ghost is helping
the devil to damn souls. There’s nothing on earth today so
deadening as preaching without heaven’s anointing. Refrain from
preaching unless you know that the dew of heaven is on your soul.”
— Duncan Campbell
I watched a nature program one time about an African country that had a very short rainy season. Long before the year was over, the rivers had dried up to a series of mere muddy pools. It showed that some of the animals set of in epic journeys to find life sustaining water, most stayed behind and died. God’s saints will find water, they are the few that will get up and seek Him where He shall be found. Those that stay behind slowly die as even the mud holes dry up and the land is scorched and the drought takes it’s toll.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, prophet, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on April 7, 2016
Oh glorious fourth man in the flame
Stand with Him and never be the same
Let the world gaze on and wonder at it all
Standing firm in the furnace, standing tall
There is gold in this refiners fire
In the world you’d be covered by the muck and the mire
Yet in this place of testing and refining
There is one like the Son of God gloriously shining
Do not fear when the enemy knocks upon your door
Nor in the darkened den when you hear the lion roar
The Son of God is coming with lightning in His hand
By His power and by His grace you shall forever stand
So stand amidst the flames and know you shall not fall
Stand upon the rising storm and hear the Master call
Lift your eyes and fix your gaze on Christ and Him alone
Rise up above all earthly fears and stand before His throne
A place where every storm is stilled
A place where every saint is filled
A place that casts out every fear
A place where Jesus Christ is near.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on April 5, 2016
Excerpts from David Wilkerson’s prophecy which is now 40 years old.
I see the rise of a super world church. I see the formation of a super world church council consisting of a union between liberal, ecumenical Protestants, and the Roman Catholic Church joining politically hand-in-hand to create one of the most powerful religious forces on earth. This union is going to start as a cooperative charity program and it will end in a political union. This visible super world church is going to be spiritual in name only, freely using the name of Jesus Christ, but will in fact be antichrist and political in many of its activities. This powerful church union will be deeply involved in social action, tremendous charity programs, and ministries of compassion. Its leaders will make statements about meeting human needs. They will send out a call for social action, political intervention, and a greater voice in world affairs.
There is going to be a sudden mysterious chain of events. Just when it appears the ecumenical movement is nearly dead, a rather mysterious chain of events will bring about the framework for this union. Rome is going to insist on and receive concessions from the Protestant ecumenical leaders. The Pope will be considered more of a political than a spiritual leader of this church union.
I see the rise of a super church, a supernatural invisible church, a union of deeply spiritual followers of Jesus Christ, bound together through the Holy Spirit and mutual confidence in Christ and in his word.
This supernatural church of true believers will become a kind of underground church.
While this visible super church(apostate) gains political power this invisible body of believers will grow tremendously in spiritual power.
This power will come from persecution. The persecution madness that is coming upon this earth will drive these Christians closer together and closer to Jesus Christ. They will be less concerned about denominational ties and more concerned and emphasis on the coming of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will bring together as one people in all walks of life.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, prophet, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 20 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 31, 2016
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. (Zec 13:9)
The refining fire of the Lord is to be found in the furnace which we call our lives and the world. Now there are different degrees of fire, some are hotter than others. They all refine, yet the greater the fire the greater the refinement for those in whom faith reigns. Now a man or a woman can say that he or she has faith but who can know it but the fire knows. It is in the storm and in the fire that faith blazes brighter than the flame. Does faith reign in your life? Is your trust in Jesus the essence of who you are? Can we believe our own hearts in this matter or must it be the fire that reveals all? The fire reveals and consumes the dross in our lives, if we stay in the fire.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. (Dan 3:17-19)
When the Hebrew children are confronted with he who represents the world and the world demands that they bow down to their gods, they refuse. And this refusal to bow down to the gods of this world causes fury. The heat of the furnace was increased sevenfold. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace(Dan 3:23)
The time is coming soon brothers and sisters where it will be required of the saints that they bow down to the gods of this world, in fact it has already begun. When you refuse, the fury of the world will begin to rise until it shall burn with a ferocity against us that has never been seen before and we shall” fall down,” in the midst of this fire and the world will rejoice.
And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:4-8)
Yet even when the world should think that they have overcome the saints because they have made them to fall down in the furnace of afflictions, the world will look again and they will see something most remarkable. In the midst of the great tribulation of the saints the world will see the Son of Man shining through like heavenly gold in the very center of their sufferings. And in the end the world will see the Son of God coming in His glory and they will acknowledge , just like Nebuchadnezzar that ” there is no other God that can deliver.”
So brothers and sisters. Rejoice in your triumph in the midst of your trial. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. (Zec 13:9) You see, your reward is your relationship with Jesus. You can call upon His name and the Lord hears you and speaks to you and you are His child and He is your God. And for all eternity you will look back at your sufferings and know that in choosing to suffer with the Lord and counting it as a small thing you now rule and reign with Christ forever. Stand fast brothers and sisters. The Lord sees your afflictions and is with you in the midst of them.
1Pe 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 27, 2016
The dark night of the soul is not something pleasant to go through and does not end with a fellowship supper after church on a Sunday night. It is a grueling experience that requires an absolutely strict detachment from everything that you normally rely on so that you are only left with Christ.
The dark night of the soul separates those who are genuinely interested in following Christ from those who just have a curiosity about the deep things of God. We surely want God to do His work in our lives, but we want the lights left on. We want God to do in our hearts and lives that which will bring Him honoring glory, but we want to know and understand every step that He takes in our lives.
Darkness speaks of not knowing. We want God to do, but we want Him to do what He does within the scope of our comprehension. The dark night of the soul, however, is a work of the Holy Spirit that exceeds the ability of any man or woman to understand. When we come through the dark night of the soul, we do not know what has really happened to us, but we do know what has made it happen (A.W.Tozer)
Tozer is here talking about the dark night of the soul. This is a concept well-known to the Body of Christ. Tozer describes it very well in the above quote. I would say that for centuries men here and there have went through this experience and they have had a profound effect on the Body of Christ. It is a kind of refiners fire that purges away reliance upon anything else other than God. It has happened to individuals and small groups of people but now I want to suggest that God is taking the Body of Christ, the genuine saints, the remnant, through a dark night of the soul corporately so to speak. He is and has been and is continuing to separate his children from ailing and compromised institutions. He is drawing them out. And as they come out He is drawing them into the desert. Now the desert is typically a place of death but the saints in their dark nights of the soul, in their journey to complete dependence upon Him will find life in the desert.
Perhaps you are being drawn out? It is scary. You are full of doubt, you are surrounded by darkness, you cannot hear from the Lord or discern His purpose for your life but you are being driven. As much as you cannot see the way ahead you know you cannot stay in a place of compromise and lukewarmness. No one understands you where you are. When you speak of deeper things and desiring to take up your cross for Christ people look at you like you are an alien. So you are driven. Driven into darkness and solitude and loneliness. Driven to a place where your only fellowship is the Lord Himself and His word. This is alien at first but the longer you journey into this place the more you realize the wonder and the glory of complete dependence upon the Lord for all of your spiritual needs. He is establishing your feet upon a broad place. He is equipping you to be a light in the gross darkness to come. He is enabling you to be a source of encouragement to the Body of Christ in the age in which we live.
As the saints come out of this desert I believe God is drawing them to each other. All around the world in the days to come God is drawing His Body together after they have come through the darkness and complete separation from the world and now completely rely on Him. He is and will continue to equip the saints in every generation for what they have to face. I believe our generation will face the greatest darkness that has ever faced the Body of Christ universally. Men and woman of the past whom the Lord brought through the dark night of the soul, as few as they were, had a tremendous effect on the Body of Christ. Imagine what effect the Body of Christ will have on the world when the Lord has finished His work of taking His Church through this experience.
But 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: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. (Mal 3:2-5)
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 13 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 24, 2016
I was awoken at 1.40 this morning by the Holy Spirit with this line ” There is a rising Crimson Tide.” I have arthritis and it is bad right now but I knew if I did not get out of bed the line would be gone and there would be no poem, so I got up and was inspired by the Lord to write this, I pray that it blesses you. Upon reading it back to myself I see that it could be sung to the tune of ” The house of the rising sun.”
There is a rising Crimson tide
That burns inside of me
Tis from my wounded Master’s side
Which flows from Calvary
This fire was set when I met Him
So very long ago
And though the years are passing me
This fire will always flow
It rises and consumes my heart
This heart He gave to me
This fire consumes my very soul
Which flows from Calvary
And from His nail pierced hands it flows
And trickles down on me
Who kneels below this Crimson flow
The cross of Calvary
And I am raised up by the tide
Of Crimson’s glorious fire
His blood it cleanses all of me
And raises me up higher
It take me all the way to heaven
To stand before His throne
I lift my hands and worship Him
For me His Blood atoned.
Consumed by a fire of molten Love
That flowed on me from up above
Igniting every part of me
Thank God in Christ for Calvary
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 23, 2016
I give you rags, you give me wedding garments. I give you ashes, you give me beauty. I give you dry bones, you give me flesh. I give you sadness , you give me joy. I give you a spirit of heaviness , you give me a spirit of praise. I give you my failures, you give me a way ahead. I give you my temptations, you give me a way of escape. I give you my anxiety, you give me a peace that surpasses understanding.I give you lies, you give me truth. I give you my ambitions, you give me satisfaction. I give you past hurts, you give me reconciliation. I give you my wounds, you bind them up and they are healed. I give you my perversions, you give me purity.I give you my heart and my soul and all that is within me holding nothing back . It is painful and humiliating to come before your alter with only these things Lord. Brothers and sisters, the altar has always been a place of sacrifice, we have turned into an ” all you can eat bar,” where one simply chooses what one wants. God have mercy on us and restore a right spirit within us…..bro Frank
Isa 61:3 to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness; so that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that He might be glorified.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 19, 2016
Are you weary of externalism, and do you long after God? I long after God. This is not old age talking, and this is not the results of anything I have been reading, except the Bible. This has been growing in me through the years. The only gratifying thing I have apart from my communion with God is the knowledge that I am not alone in my journey. God has His people everywhere who are in revolt against pretense, textualism, externalism and tradition. They want to seek God for Himself, as He is in the Scriptures, as revealed by the Holy Spirit. God has His people, but there are not many of them. Are you one? ( Tozer)
The question is, are you weary of trying to change from the outside in? It is simply not possible to change from the outside in. All spiritual change comes from the inside out. It has to begin in the deepest parts of who we are. To be changed from the inside out requires an encounter with the Living God. Only this can change you. You cannot turn over a new leaf, try harder, read the Bible more, follow the traditions of your church, you have to encounter Him. This encounter takes place in the realms of the heart and soul, not in the head. It is the most dangerous thing in the world to encounter God. Why is it dangerous? Because your life will never be the same.
Your desire will be for Him and no matter what other interests you have, they will give place to Him. He consumes the soul. He fills us in ways that nothing else that exists can. Are you ready for that kind of mad passion? A passion with such intensity that it relegates all other things to second place and beyond. This kind of passion is dangerous to normal natural living. When that which is supernatural invades that which is natural then it overflows the soul. The soul is huge and not able to filled with anything that exists. Yet God is vast beyond our ability to understand. It was once said that if everything that exists, this universe and all universes beyond with all of its trillions of planets could be placed in a five gallon bucket, and we compared a five gallon bucket to the Indian ocean the Indian ocean would be God.
This of course is a limited analogy because God is more vast than that. Yet here is a thing…….That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Eph 3:17-19)
You see that brothers and sisters, we might be filled with all the fullness of God!!! The fullness of God. Somehow in our spirits we might comprehend the breadth and the length and the depth and the height of the fullness of God who is vast beyond our ability to comprehend in our heads. But the Spirit of God communicates the fullness of God to the spirit of man and that man is captivated and forever ruined for the things of this life and his drive is to continually seek out this God and know Him in His manifest presence. You will be like the deer who pants for the waterbooks but you can never be like this deer unless you encounter the reality of God in the depths of your spirit. This is where the fire is set, this is the fire that spreads to the bones and possesses all of who we are.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 5 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 17, 2016
What have we come to, that the people of God are not shocked enough by Calvary, a man dying on a cross on a hill outside Jerusalem? And not just a man, but the God-man, dying for the sins of the world? Why does this leave them dull and unmoved? The recent outbursts of modern theatrics has now taken over Protestantism. What started in the beginning as a small seed has grown;the dragon’s seed has grown more dragons. The seekers of God do not like what is happening and the hungry-hearted saints of God do not want it, so they read with great eagerness the lives of holy men in the devotional books from centuries past. But where is the doing? (A.W.Tozer)
Tozer wrote this back in the early 60s. Can I suggest that the combination of theatrics and entertainment in general have swamped the churches of today. If there were dragons about in the early 60s, one might well argue that the dragons now reign supreme. If the seekers of God did not like what was happening back then, they must surely be beside themselves now at what has unfolded as the modern Church? If they were hungry back then, they must surely be on starvation diets now? Can I suggest that the whole process has been part of Gods plan for His people. God is found in the arena of hunger. He is found by those who thirst after nothing but the living waters. Now there are many waters and many kinds of foods but there is only one living water and only one food that ever satisfies the hungry heart of the God seeker. Both are found when we encounter Him. God has to separate a people so that He can strip away centuries of traditions of men who more often than nought simply follow the winds of the world. Are you a God seeker or a pew warmer?
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Posted by appolus on March 14, 2016
I was walking this morning and praying and this thought came to my spirit. ” What does victory look like,” and the Lord spoke into my heart. Victory for the Christian almost always comes against a backdrop of darkness. Some battle against the flesh, some taking up our cross, some trial or tribulation. These circumstances, these events bring to the fore a confrontation. If we look at the biggest picture of all it is darkness against light. By the very nature of who you are in Christ you are walking in confrontation. We know that the Scriptures tell us that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”(2 Tim:3:12)
Interesting is it not that even the desire to live a Godly life will bring about immediate confrontation. Maybe you have noticed this in your own life? And why is this? Because it is fundamentally at its root a spiritual battle that we face.Living Godly lives is a disaster for Satan because of the witness that Godly lives are to the world. I want you to know that when I use the phrase Godly I mean victorious overcoming lives. In the verses that precede verse 12 we see that victorious living is in juxtaposition to people who have a form of godliness but who walk without victorious power. They are ever learning but they never come to the knowledge of the truth. The Godly man is the victorious man. He walks in the power of the Spirit and He has knowledge of the truth. Knowledge in the true sense of that word. Not head knowledge but an intimate knowledge of the Truth.
And so what does victory look like? Well it looks like Gethsemane. It looks like Calvary. It looks like an empty tomb and it looks like an ascension up into heaven where the Lord finds His place at the right hand of the Father. This is what victory looks like and this is the process that all of us who would desire to live a Godly victorious life find ourselves in. There is no other way. You will be confronted if you desire to live a victorious life. And it is how you react to that confrontation that will determine the kind of life that you will ultimately live for there is no other kind of life in the Kingdom that is a witness for Christ than the victorious overcoming life.
And so the first part of victory, for it is made up of parts, is surrender to the will of God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. You must remember that the circumstances you find yourself is not the problem, nor are the people who play their roles in your circumstances. People will always act according to their nature. A key point to remember as you face the trial or the persecution or the circumstance is that this is for the glory of God. And please, do not get me wrong brothers and sisters, I am not underestimating the pain of your trial. Yet the darkness of your situation will become the black velvet backdrop for the glories of Christ in your trial. We know that jewelers set their diamonds and gold on black velvet because it highlights the shining beauty of the gold and the gems. Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood and agonizing about the cup that He faced is our perfect example of this.
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Posted by appolus on March 12, 2016
Just to be Found in You
Can you hear the beat of my heart
And my tears as they fall to the floor
And the cry that comes from the depths of my heart
Oh Lord wont you open up the door?
How I long for the tabernacle of your presence
Your glorious majesty that’s there to be found
How my heart longs to be where you are
In the midst of your glory that’s all around
It can be a dry and dusty narrow path
Surrounded by desert sand
I thank you Lord for the moments in time
When I simply take hold of your hand.
These moments of glory then down comes the rain
Glory and majesty and agonizing pain
Bring on the pain and let the rain fall
As for me and mine we shall follow the call
Lord you know the beginning from the end
And in spite of myself you call me your friend
So the thunders shall roar and the mountains shall fall
No matter the cost I am gonna stand tall
For you took what was dead and wasting away
You raised me to heaven and taught me to pray
So as long as I live and the sky above is blue
I’ll walk through the fires just to be found in you.
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Posted by appolus on March 10, 2016
God is found by the hungry heart
Not by the inquiring mind
God is found by those who thirst
He quenches that thirst you will find
God is found in the longing and the aching
He is found by those who seek
He is found in the depths of the needy heart
By the humble, the lowly the meek
God is an anchor for the soul adrift
He is the roots of the tree in a storm
He is the light that shines in the midst of the dark
In winter His fire keeps us warm
He is a warm embrace to the longing heart
He is our peace when all breaks down
He is our sanity in the midst of a mad mad world
He is the head that wears the crown
Come unto me ye broken and contrite
All you who dwell in an endless night
Find in Me an open door to heaven
In me you’ll be fed and truly forgiven
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Posted by appolus on March 8, 2016
(Rev 3:8)I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.
Praise the Lord, He has set before this church an open door to the throne room of heaven itself. The church of Philadelphia is unique in these opening chapters of Revelation in that the Lord speaks no word against them. Philadelphia is the church of brotherly love and herein lies one of the great keys that open that door. Love for one another and unity of the Body of Christ. This group may have had a ” little strength,” but they had love one for another and there can be no genuine unity outside of love. Also, they have kept the word of the Lord and have not denied His name in the face of fierce opposition from their enemies. Now, who were their enemies that are here in this chapter described as ” The Synagogue of Satan.” Those who worship other gods, who chase after other lovers and to whom Jesus is relegated to second place or worse.
Obviously in our day the ” other gods,” are not so obvious nor named. In those days the gods could be the ashteroths or the baals, basically gods of fertility. Bottom line even in those days, people needed to put food on their table, a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs. These fertility gods were worshiped in order to produce a good harvest. In our day we are way too sophisticated to worship the gods of fertility. Yet the concerns of people today are not so different from the people of the ancient world. The main concerns of most people today are their livelihoods, their careers, the food on their tables, the clothes on their backs. What kind of car they drive, what college will their kids go to, what kind of house they live in, in short, people of today worship their lifestyles and are often jealous of the lifestyles of others.
Now in our day there is a rising tide of opposition against the saints from those of the world. Can I tell you that greatest opposition that will come against the saints will be those of the ” Synagogue of Satan.” People who name themselves after Christ but who truly worship other gods and the living God will reveal their gods in due time. The Lord will bring about and is bringing about circumstances that expose this kind of ” synagogue,” or we can replace that in our day with the word church. He is shaking the very foundations of our societies. And that shaking is revealing much. The more the pressure increases from the culture and the world in general to deny the fundamental truths of the Gospel and of Jesus, the more we see the ” synagogue of Satan,” revealed. And in the midst of all this, God’s word to His uncompromising Body is “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” (Rev 3:11)
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, False Doctrine, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, theology | 7 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 29, 2016
In Galatians we see an encounter between Paul and Peter at Antioch. It has to be remembered that the initial Church was all Jewish. And even at that time the Jewish teachings and traditions were well over a thousand years old. Imagine for a moment, a thousand years of history, teachings and interpretations and ritual. You were special, Gods own called out people and everyone else were Gentiles, apart from God.
In Acts 10 we see that Peter encounters God in a vision on a rooftop. A sheet comes down with every kind of unclean animal that Jewish people were forbidden to eat and God tells Peter to rise and kill and eat. Now, this would be something like Abraham being told to take his son up the hill and burn him to death. How could this be God? This is the mental and emotional anguish that Peter must have wrestled with as he defies God three times, three times brothers and sisters. At that very moment, the servant of Cornelius the Gentile arrives. The answer to Peter’s vision just knocked on his door. How would you like a question to God to be answered so quickly? And we know what happens next, he goes to Cornelius’s house and witnesses the Holy Spirit come down on that household just as it had come down on them at Pentecost.
Now back to the Galatians. We see that Peter and others including Barnabas were taken up with hypocrisy. The revelation had been given by God Himself about the Gentiles yet Peter and the others were still afraid of those who came down from Jerusalem and insisted that the Gentiles must be like them if they were to be part of the Body of Christ. Thank the Lord that Paul, quite apart from any leadership in Jerusalem, had been taught himself by vision and revelation about the nature of the Body of Christ and so he withstood Peter and the leadership of Jerusalem and insisted that they were being hypocrites by insisting that the Gentiles must live like Jews in order to be part of the Body of Christ, they were adding to the Gospel and Paul would have none of it.
Now, before you are too hard on those early believers who were Jewish by birth, I want you to consider how your own common experience may clash with simple truth. If Peter was so bold and conflicted as to say ” not so, Lord,” ( and this is an impossible phrase is it not, how can He be the Lord of our life and we say no to Him) three times then could this not happen to you? Now what is the simple truth that I am talking about that the vast majority of Christendom say ” not so Lord?” Here it is. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by appolus on February 27, 2016
We have only one life to live
We have only so much to give
So let’s give it sacrificially
That we may live life beautifully
Far from the grasping crowd
I’m running from all that is loud
Just want to walk with the sun and the breeze
Hands silently raised and falling to my knees
I just want to hear the rain fall
See the birds fly and listen to them call
Maybe see a deer around the bend
Talk about my passion with a friend
I see the sun in the sky-high above
As I walk back towards my first love
I’m losing everything that has weighed me down
So I can run to Him at His feet to be found.
I’m traveling light on my journey now
My heart has been furrowed by the plow
I’ve cried tears and raged at the moon
But now it’s time to walk for my Master’s coming soon.
Nothing else matters only He
Coming back to the one who set me free
My heart now longs for just one touch
To hear Him whisper in my ear would be so much
To the glory and the King of majesty
Loving and living with all simplicity
An ear to hear and a heart to sing
The praises of His glory,my risen King.
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A Call To The Remnant 