Deep calls unto deep
At the noise of your waterfalls
And in the daytime
Your loving-kindness calls
And when the nighttime comes
Your song shall be with me
And even in the darkness, I shall see.
To the Lord my Rock
I run beneath thy wings
And in the night watches
I listen to the angels sing
When darkness is all around
Send out Your light to me
Shackles are broken, and I am free
A very present help
Though the mighty waters roar
And mountains they fall down
Yet your Spirit helps restore
My troubled heart in times of need
Within my chest it surely leaps
As the deep within my soul calls out to Deep.
Archive for the ‘revival’ Category
Deep calls out to deep.
Posted by appolus on December 24, 2023
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual growth, 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 | Leave a Comment »
My situation with cancer.
Posted by appolus on December 23, 2023
This is the word from the Lord that led to my last poem. This video is an update of my current sitution, may the Lord be praised through all of it………………..bro Frank
“And in the silence there is peace. It dwells above the noise and the din. Above the begging and the pleadings and the raging storm, there sleeps Jesus in the boat. Shall we too arrive at the place where sleep is not dependent upon the storm being stilled? Where trust lies down among the lions. Where perfect love casts out all fear. This is the Kingdom of God, this is the rarified air of heaven. This is the shaft of light that pierces the darkness and guides us home.”
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, healing, intimacy, Jesus, revival, scripture, 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 | 6 Comments »
Sleeping in the boat
Posted by appolus on December 22, 2023
This a a poem I just wrote based on a word the Lord gave me last week due to my current circumstances (cancer)
And in the silence there is peace
It dwells above the noise and din
And faith from heaven is released
And fills completely from within
Beggings and pleadings are not heard
By our own hand we are not kept afloat
Yet Christ Himself in the midst of it all
Keeps the storm at bay, asleep in the boat
I shall lie down, at peace in the silence
When all around, the storm rages still
Safe and secure in the depths of His glory
In perfect peace at the center of His will.
I sleep in the midst of the lion's den
They are held at bay by His heavenly hand
His perfect love casts out all fear
And in peace or storm I shall surely stand
I breathe in deeply the air of heaven
It fills me and fills me with His perfect love
A shaft of light shatters the darkness
It leads me and guides me to my home high above.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Jesus, poetry, revival, 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 | 4 Comments »
Hear my cry O Lord and bend the heavens.
Posted by appolus on December 1, 2023
The very opening line from David in Psalm 18 is “I will love you O Lord…..my strength.” He is our strength at all times. His love for us and our love for Him creates the Kingdom of God in our hearts. It creates the atmosphere of heaven that surrounds us. It creates the light that shines forth from us to a dark world. In this particular psalm, David is writing about many years of trials and brokenness, years when he was hounded by Saul and surrounded by enemies. Years mind you. Not a day or a week or a season, but multiple years when, for all intents and purposes, he was not moving in victory. His enemies seemed to have the upper-hand. Now the question becomes “shall we be faithful yet.” Shall we still follow the Lord with all of our hearts even when our prayers are not answered? Even when we have been backed into a corner? There have been times with all the great saints of the Bible when for multiple seasons and multiple years nothing seems to be going right.
Abraham waited so very long, over twenty five years, for the child of promise to be born and with every passing year, at least in the natural, the promise became less likely. Did he stand? Jacob, on the run so to speak for multiple years, not fulfilling his destiny. Moses, all that time in the desert, having run from the Egyptians. Over and over again the story goes. Joseph and his dream, yet between the dream being fulfilled there lay ahead of him rejection and betrayal and slavery and imprisonment. And so here we are with David. Saul is dead, his most implacable enemy. God has delivered him after countless years of wilderness wanderings and betrayals and rejections and tests. And David begins His thanksgiving to God by highlighting his love for God and acknowledging His strength. He is the Lord His rock and his fortress and his deliverer. The God in whom, all through the dark days, the valleys and the caves, he trusted. God was his very shield, the horn of his salvation and his stronghold.
He called upon the Lord his God when the “pangs of death,” surrounded him. He called upon his great love when the “floods of ungodliness,” made him afraid. When the “sorrows of hell,” surrounded him and the “snares of death,” confronted him, he called upon God. In his distress he “cried out to God.” And time after time he got the breakthrough. Not necessarily from his circumstances, no, his breakthrough was “He heard my voice from his temple.” His cry had come before His Lord and even just in the knowing that God knew and saw his afflictions, there was victory in that alone and he was encouraged by living waters. How many times was Paul told not be afraid for the Lord his God was with him? The breakthrough in every situation is first and foremost to “know” that “God is with you.” Now some may say that we should always know that as His saints. I would just answer with saying that it is one thing to know something in our heads, it is quite another to recognize the manifest presence of a God who walks with His children.
Look at the response of God starting in the seventh verse, this is the response to David who was constantly crying out to the Lord His God. “Then the earth shook and trembled.” Not unlike what happened to Paul and Silas in the dungeon. A devouring fire came forth from the Lord and “He bowed the heavens and came down…………He rose upon the cherub……He flew upon the wings of the wind.” “He sent from above and He drew me out of many waters.” He saw the many situations of David and He moved on his behalf, this faithful man of God who ever cried out to Him. And in the end , after many many faithful years in the valley and in the cave, God himself delivered David from all his enemies, especially his greatest enemy, Saul. Shall He not also deliver us dear brothers and sisters? Shall He not hear our cries from the valley?
If you have been going through a long and arduous test or tests. If there seems to be no light at the end of your circumstances. If you have been surrounded by the pangs of death and great ungodliness and sorrow besets you on every side and the gates of hell themselves has come against you, keep crying out to God. He is your strength. He is the Rock upon which you stand. He is your fortress and you can run into Him. He is your deliverer and your strength in whom you can trust. He is worthy to be praised in the midnight hour. He sees the afflictions of His people. He knows, He cares, He is actively working on your behalf even when you are not aware of it. He ever intercedes for you before the throne and in truth, it is the reason you still stand. He prepares a table before you in the very presence of your enemies and in due time He shall bow the heavens and come down. He is faithful even in the midst of darkness and when we cannot see the way ahead, He is the way ahead brothers and sisters, cry out to Him today for He is your strength.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
He dwells within my heart.
Posted by appolus on November 19, 2023
My hope is in the Lord my God, who dwells within my heart The one who came and died for me, His glory to impart The Christ who raised me from the dead To live forevermore The one whose broken ever chain and opened every door. He's the Lord who whispers in my ear, He listens to my cries The one who never ever sleeps, the one who surely died He died for you and He died for me He surely rose again Removing every doubt and fear, removing every stain He's my sunrise in the morning, the light for every day To chase away the darkness and in my heart He stays And there He always shall remain Until my day is done He gives me strength to carry on, the victory it is won. He's the sunset of my life, He is with me to the end He heals the very depths of me, the broken He shall mend He lifts me with the rising tide To stand on higher ground He's with me through the waters, in Him I shall be found.
Posted in bible, Christian poetry, Devotions, Fresh Fire, Jesus, poetry, 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, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Do not disturb!
Posted by appolus on November 17, 2023
My cousin, who is just a few years younger than myself, has stage 4 prostrate cancer which has spread to his spine and to his liver. This was his initial diagnosis. Due to Covid and a general health crisis in Britain, he was not regularly tested. His father died of the same disease at roughly the same age. He lives in Wales and it is fairly rural. I have been to the small village of Lougher many years ago when I helped moderate a revival conference at Moriah chapel, the birth place of the Welsh revival. My cousin is an engineer and has worked all over the world and traveled extensively, indeed he has visited us in Kansas on many occasions. I have always really liked my cousin, he has many admiral qualities but we did butt heads on many occasions, both being younger and headstrong. Age and life and sanctification has knocked many of the rough edges off of us.
And so I found out that he had cancer when I was over in Scotland for my dads funeral back in March. I was deeply saddened by this report and upon my return to Kansas, I contacted him and we began to zoom on a weekly basis. The first thing that impressed me was his calm demeanor. He bore no ill will towards a system that had let him down. Nor was he angry at a particular Dr who specifically let him down. This is all the more impressive when you consider, that his dad, my uncle ( a wonderful saint) had been misdiagnosed and not properly treated at the beginning of his own battle with cancer that would lead to his demise. And so, his quiet demeanor and softening of heart and spirit is very heart warming and encouraging to me. He has a chair where he spends much time meditating on the Word of God and getting quiet before Him.
I want you to understand something. Such is the state of the health service in Britain in general and Wales in particular, my cousin has never seen an oncologist. He has only ever spoken to her over the phone. They told him that they were “going to throw everything at it,” and so begun a three month regimen of chemo and radiation treatment as well as hormone therapy and other drugs. The nurses were amazed that he never lost his hair and that he almost no side-effects at all. And so the course came to an end at the end of August and it took a few weeks for them to arrange images and blood-work. It takes a further month for him to get a call from the oncologist only to be told that his images had not been read by anyone ( she apologized) but that based on her own expertise she was somewhat pleased at what she saw but she would call again two weeks later and this time she would definitely have the radiologists reports.
Now you would think that all of this waiting would be agonizing, especially when you have returning pain in your lower spine. Yet, again, my cousins attitude was exemplary. Our sessions together are always good and our prayer time at the end of these sessions are always deep and meaningful to me. And so, just a couple of weeks ago, the day arrived that the oncologist was to call. The window for the call was either between 8am and 1pm, or 1pm and 5pm. So, you basically had to sit by the phone all day waiting on the call. And as he is want, he was sitting in his easy chair reading the Word. And as he is going through the psalms, this day he had arrived at psalm 20. His method was to read the psalm and mediate on it all day and so this is what he was doing.
“May the Lord answer you in day of trouble………………May the name of the God of Jacob defend you…………May He send you help from His sanctuary…………And strengthen you out of Zion……….May He grant you according to your hearts desire and fulfill all your purposes…………..Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed……… May the Lord fulfill all of your petitions……….He will hear from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand…………….some trust in chariots and some in horses but we shall remember the name of the Lord our God…..they have bowed down and fallen but we have risen and stand upright……save Lord! May the King answer us when we call.”
As my cousin was taken up with these thoughts the hours got away from him. He looked at the clock and realized it was almost noon. No calls. He glanced at his phone and to his great surprise there was two “missed calls.” It was from the oncologist. Now, my cousin is in an engineer. There is always a purpose in what he does and does not do. He looked at his phone to see how it was possible that he could miss not just one, but two very important calls. Was the volume off? No. As he looked further he realized that his phone was set to “do not disturb.” Now, he had not set the phone to do not disturb. In fact he had never set that phone or any other other phone to “do not disturb. He said he would not even know how to do it and of course, given the highly important nature of the call that day, even if he did know how to do it he would not have.
Suddenly the Lord impressed upon him that He did not want my cousin to be disturbed by the oncologist. And that he was not to be disturbed, rather he was to listen to Him and what He was saying to him through the word. Brothers and sisters, I have no doubt at all that it was the hand of the Lord Himself or some angel that pressed the do not disturb button on my cousins phone. There comes a time in all of our lives when there is no help from anyone. No help from the system, from the medical field or any other avenue. Whereby only the hand of the Lord Himself can save us and keep us and guard us from all alarm. We are not to be disturbed but rather we are to trust in the Lord and the power of His might. Whether we live or whether we die we are to stand fast in Him and He is to be glorified. All of this flows from trust. Be encouraged today brothers and sisters….do not be disturbed and do not allow the world to disturb you. In this world we shall have troubles, but take heart! Jesus has overcome the world.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christian quotes, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, inspirational, intimacy, Jesus, revival, signs and wonders, 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 | 12 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 »
What is ministry?
Posted by appolus on November 11, 2023
“Today I am going out and I am going to cast a shadow.” Imagine someone made that statement. Obviously we cannot cast our own shadow. The shadow comes from the fact that we are outside standing in the sun. For only by being in the right position at the right time and only by the presence of the sun itself could a shadow ever be cast. The power is not ours, the only power we have in this regard would be to put ourselves in a position where a shadow would be cast. The power comes from the sun and the very nature of God’s creation.
Can I put it to you that “ministry,” works by exactly the same principle. The problem with us is that we give something a name and it takes on a a whole other character. Ministry is not a thing, it’s a person, and its a person who resides within us by the power of the Holy Spirit and His name is Jesus. You cannot “do,’ ministry and you cannot “join,” a ministry. You can do works and join organizations, but none of that is necessarily Jesus working in us, and I would make an assertion that most of it is not. When we act according to our nature, the nature of Christ in us, then we are “ministering.” It’s merely the overflow of Christ in us to others.
No sun, no shadow, No Son, no ministry. If He is not at the beating heart of what we do, If He is not the one operating through the very gift He gave you for His very own purposes then we are merely indulging in what we think we should do. And what we think we should do is almost entirely wrong. We allow others to tell us what they think we should do. We allow others to identify “gifts,” in us that are no gifts at all but merely our human natures. For example, someone is a good musician “you must join the worship team.” Someone is naturally kind “you must join the care team.” Yet what we have in us by reason of our DNA and the environment we were raised in is not what should lead us and guide us.
The only thing that should lead us and guide us is what flows from our new nature. For the flesh is dying or should be. That cross that we take up is killing the flesh and leaving behind only that which is refined by the fire of God Himself. Out out of this refinement we find our place in the Kingdom of God. Out of this fire we walk in an entirely new direction. What flows from us to others only matters in the eternal things of God when it only comes from Him. In our own strengths and giftings we shall surely grow weary and tired and often discouraged. Yet when the Lord is flowing through us and we are moving in Him the very opposite thing happens. We run and we do not grow weary. We walk and we do not faint. We mount up with wings as eagles and leap tall mountains in Him and the world is shaken by this passion that flows from us.
And whether this passion takes the form of Evangelism or exhortation or healing of giving or speaking wisdom that casts down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, it will not be easily ignored or dismissed by the darkness. The shadow only takes the form of a very pale imitation of what is actually real. It’s the one whom the Sun shines upon that basks in the light and is warmed by it’s rays. The shadow is flat and without form and without power. We have been called to walk in the light as He is in the light and we shall have fellowship one with another. And when we walk with Jesus shall not our hearts burn within us? And shall not others benefit from this heat? That heat, that light, those rays are ministry and everything else is but the shadow.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, revival, spiritual gifts, 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 | 16 Comments »
From Psalm 20
Posted by appolus on November 7, 2023
Hear my cry in the day of trouble Lest I fall in the night, lest I stumble Lord send me help from heaven above And wrap me and hold me in thy glorious love Strengthen me Lord, is my hearts desire That I might be strong as I walk through the fire Lift up my head, keep me from the flood Let me stand in thy might, covered by your Blood And in your name we shall raise up our banner Of righteousness and holiness, your very own standard That the world might see your strength and your power In the darkest of nights, in an ungodly hour And we shall remember the name of the Lord For in our hands there's a two edged sword It's the Word of God,our strength in the night That enables us to go on, to stand and to fight Some men trust in chariots and horses Yet the children of God trust in heavenly forces It's not by our strength nor even our might But by the Spirit of God who prevails through the night So save us Oh Lord and answer our call Lift us Oh Lord when we stumble and fall Onwards and upwards to thy heavenly gates Where your glory and splendor forever awaits
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Jesus, poetry, revival, 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 | 12 Comments »
As the veneers are stripped away.
Posted by appolus on November 3, 2023
For, behold, the LORD is coming forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be split, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.(Mic 1:3-4)
In the previous verse the word of the Lord says this …..”Hear all you peoples! Listen O earth and all that is in it, let the Lord God be a witness against you.” He is speaking to the world and He continues to speak to a lost and dying world. Matthew Henry writes “though God never deceives the faith of the upright, he will disappoint the presumption of the hypocrites.” The Lord comes forth out of His place, His seat of mercy, and comes down to us, the peoples of the earth in judgment. When His presence departs the temple, when Ichabod is pronounced over those who call themselves by His name, then follows judgment. It is a fearful thing for the peoples of the world to face a God before whom the very mountains melt away and the valleys melt like wax before the fire and the barbarians rise up as in a flood.
How often we have cried out to God to rend the heavens and come down? And how often has His mercies flowed down in torrential blessings? Yet that is not all that flows down. For everything there is a season. A time to live and also a time to die. A time of peace but also a time for war. A time for God’s blessings and mercy but also a time for judgement. We are surely facing such a time. A world who refuses to listen to God. A world who adamantly defies Him and all of His ways and all of His words. A world who mocks the living God. Oh that His name would be treasured in our streets but rather it is defiled. Defiled by the unbeliever and the presumption hypocrite who would presume upon His mercies while openly causing His name to trampled underfoot.
We are a world totally devoid of statesmen, it is part of God’s judgment. Our reliance upon our own strength and wisdom, as if they were mighty mountains, shall fail before our very eyes. And less we think too much of ourselves the barbarians rise up and rip the child from the womb and rape the women in front of their own children before burning them alive. And after they have finished their barbarous works the world either cheers or looks away, not willing to look into the darkness of their own souls as one who looks into the abyss. When we choose to look into the abyss then the abyss looks back and swallows us whole.
In order to expose the foundations, then all that lies above them must be torn down. The light of day, the light of Christ, the judgements of God shall reveal the underlying darkness of the souls of men and they shall see themselves in all of their rebellion and all of their true natures. As each veneer of civility is ripped away by God, all that is left standing will be the very essence of men. And it will be clearly shown that in this world there are but two kind of men. Those who have been transformed by God and those who are in rebellion against Him.
Posted in Babylon, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, consequences of sin, Daily devotional, Devotions, End Times Eschatology, God's voice, Jesus, 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, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Seeing the Lord everywhere.
Posted by appolus on October 28, 2023
I think the closer to God we walk we see Him in everything. We see Him in the rains. We even see Him in the midst of our pains. We hear Him in the thunder, and in us it produces awe and wonder. We see Him in the changing seasons. Autumn is such a blessed relief to the heat of summer, and we have many reasons to consider our own lives as the leaves become vibrant and beautiful with age…..and then they fall. And when the snow covers everything, we see Him in this wonderland.
We see Him when we hear a baby laugh or see the first stumbling steps of a little calf. We see Him in the rainbow that caresses the waterfall and we see Him in the mountains that stand so very tall. The rivers, the oceans, the eagle flying high, we see Him standing with us when a loved one dies. Brothers and sisters, if you don’t see Him everywhere, do you see Him anywhere? Lord give us eyes to see your beauty all around, and give us such a heart that in you we want to be found.
No matter where we live brothers and sisters, no matter what our situation, no matter the trials and the tribulations we face, better to do it all in the loving arms of our Lord and dwell in His passionate embrace.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian living, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, praise, 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 | Leave a Comment »
Drawing closer unto thee.
Posted by appolus on October 19, 2023
Oh the beauty of His manifested presence in my life, daily. It causes me to take my thoughts captive, less they take me captive. When my mind is set on Him, as I walk with Him, daily, then fear flees away. Does not my heart burn within me? I see His beauty and it is high and lifted up. I rest in the beauty of His holiness. And as I do that, then the world and all its distractions flee away. My eyes have seen the King and they now belong to Him. My heart within me burns and to Him all of me turns. The celestial road opens up before me and we walk as one. And this is the path I ever want to be found on, until my time on earth is done.
My heart beats to the rhythm of His heart and everything is right with the world. In this place I take no offense for I am found in Him. And when I am found in Him I can only see Jesus. I can only sense the glory and the majesty and the beauty of His serenity. In this place there is no fear. In this place there is no worldly ambition, there is only the drawing. And once caught up in the gravity of His magnificence then I simply surrender to the pull. Letting go of the things of this world, allows me to unfurl, like a banner that flutters in the wind of the Spirit. As the old hymn goes …Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where Thou hast died; draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to Thy precious, bleeding side.
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord that I might mortify, that I might cast upon thy holy cross what thou has crucified. And in the dying comes the rising as I lift my hands on high, and thy Spirit falls upon me that I might testify. I am undone in the presence of thy glorious holy throne. where in the midst, the precious Lamb and His Blood that did atone. And all of heavens host cry out “Holy is the Lamb,” as they dwell before the King of Kings, before the great I Am. Lord I would come to thee, I would draw closer every day, closer with the passing days and with the passing years. Closer with my whole heart, closer with life, closer with my thoughts and prayers and closer with my tears.
Posted in christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, poetry, 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, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Blessed by fire.
Posted by appolus on October 18, 2023
Mar 9:49 For every one shall be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
Every genuine saint shall be seasoned with fire. Now we know that we are called to be salt and light to the world and if the salt has lost its flavor, what is it good for? Its good for nothing. The fire for the saint is the seasoning of his or her life. Trials and tribulations and infirmities, this is promised to us all. How do we react under such circumstances? When the darkness comes to consume us, will it yet find the light? It is such an honor and a privilege to suffer well for the sake of Jesus. It speaks to the principalities and powers who watch your life. It testifies to the darkness. It proclaims to the spiritual wickedness in high places. The rulers of this world understand many things but they do not understand the man or the woman who has been so fully transformed that they praise God in the midst of suffering.
It is otherworldly. The Kingdom walk is no where better expressed than when we rejoice in our eternal life and the Kingdom to which we now belong. It is no better illustrated when we love our enemies and forgive those who hate us and despise us and would use us and destroy us. To count the fire as a flavoring rather than a destroyer is supernatural. It cannot be counterfeited. Many may rejoice when the “blessings,” abound. Many may give glory to God when all is going well. Yet it is the “few,” who fall to their knees amidst great loss, yet raise their hands towards heaven and cry out “blessed is the name of the Lord.” He who gives and He who takes away and He who flavors us with fire is to be praised. In the fire only the flesh is burned. In the fire only our worldly ambitions disappear. The wood and the hay and the stubble burn, but the treasures of darkness are purified and refined.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, End Times Eschatology, Fresh Fire, revival, spiritual gifts, 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 | 1 Comment »
Pastor appreciation month???
Posted by appolus on October 13, 2023
1Co 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos?
Who indeed? We humans love to deify men. We love to lift them up and glorify them. Christians in particular love to do this. It is really an abomination to God and shall not be overlooked. Diotrephes is the logical conclusion of the lifting up of men which is why the apostle Paul tackles this issue head on. If we elevate men, men will love it. If we desire to follow men, and we so often do, the very same men will love it. They will, of course, for decorum’s sake, deny any of this. Even as men lift them aloft above their heads, they will feign giving Jesus the glory, but their actions and the actions they allow in others denies this. Paul smashes into this head on in his typical style and no holds barred words. “Neither he who plants is anything, not he who waters, but God who gives the increase,” is everything. We are nothing without God, even that which we have was given to us. What then can we glory in, other than Christ? How could we ever let stand for one minute anyone who would try and raise us up? God forbid.
This month is “pastors appreciation month.” While most people will celebrate a birth “day,” or the day we were married or some other special day, here in the west we have pastors appreciation month, where they will be plied with gifts and monies and admiration. Obviously since senior pastors run their “own churches,” they factor this month into the calendar. In other words they organize this for themselves. This is a month where their salaries are boosted. It is a money getting month. I am aware that not all “pastors,” do this and that specifically, the American non denominational pastor have taken this to dizzying new heights, or rather, depths. It is so far from the Gospel, so far from the Word of God, so far from how Jesus lived, so far from the humble early beginnings of the church. A sign of the times and a marker to measure the maturity and the heart of one who claims to be a leader. To indulge in this is akin to indulging in Halloween. Entirely secular and worldly and shameful to the witness of Jesus. There is but one Body.
He who plants and he who waters are one. One Body. One work here on earth. Nothing rises above the spiritual parapet save Jesus Christ. If you look up and see a man, God help that men. If you look up and try to raise up that man to anything other than what He is in Christ, part of the Body, one in nature, then God help you. All of it robs from God who gives the increase. All of it robs from Christ who is preeminent. Its all robbery, its all theft, its all religion. Diotrephes loved the preeminence and allowed himself to be raised up and encouraged others to raise him up. Men like this make themselves indispensable . This means they steer the sheep towards reliance upon them and not the great Shepherd. Do you know anyone like this? Unless we are forever pointing men towards the Word of God and the risen Christ then we are of the priesthood of Diotrephes. Carnal in nature, carnal in spirit and if it remains so, then lost forever. Jesus Christ first, Jesus last and Jesus forever. The old enemy has caught more men in this trap then any other. More seductive than women, more seductive than money, the greatest seducer of all, power and the desire for it and the lust of it, in all its many manifestations.
My uncle was a dispatch rider in the WW2. He was a private. It was a dangerous mission so the High Command were never going to waste men of higher rank in delivering messages. In the scale of things, in the order of importance, the rider was the least important. You could always replace the rider. What was important was the message. The one sending it and the ones receiving it. It is so in the Kingdom. The one delivering the message can be easily replaced. We brothers and sisters should remember that lest we think too highly of ourselves. We are simply one. The message is all important. The message is preeminent and Jesus is the message. Jesus is the author, and by His Blood He came to deliver this message Himself. What general or high ranking officials would ever lower themselves by delivering the message themselves? Yet, the greatest communication ever delivered to men had to be delivered by the greatest one that existed, the One who ever existed, God’s only Begotten Son. Remember this with all of your hearts brothers and sisters, some of us plant, some of us water, but God……but God….but God always has and always will, give the increase by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, controlling churches, Daily devotional, Devotions, False Prophets, False Prophets and Teachers, Jesus, prosperity gospel, Prosperity Lie, 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, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Anarchy and chaos.
Posted by appolus on October 10, 2023
There is a mind virus that has infected the world, quite apart from its usual Godless state. It cannot end well. The forces of anarchy and rebellion typically begin among the privileged. The ultimate example I suppose would be the third of heavens host that followed satan and rebelled against God. Educated liberal mindsets that are at the heart of rejecting every truth of God are on the march. And as they rise up, then every pillar of society begins to crumble.
What can the righteous do when the foundations are destroyed? We are witnessing the greatest assault against Truth the world has ever seen. It overcomes us slowly enough, like lobsters being boiled in a pot, that most have missed the fact that we are indeed boiling to death in the turbulent waters of chaos and darkness. In the beginning the earth was without form and void and darkness prevailed. Chaos. The words “form,” and “void,” are Toho and Bohu, meaning confusion and emptiness.
The world, having utterly rejected God and now in the midst of a virus so complete that they cannot even define what a woman is, is confused and empty and ever increasingly without natural affection. Consider America alone having slaughtered 64 million babies in the last 50 years. There is a generation rising as we speak that will do unspeakable things and devolve into a barbarity not seen on such a scale before. It’s target will be the forces that stand in opposition to darkness and confusion and anarchy.
Those who stand in the light and who stand upon the Word and who are ordered of God. So brothers and sisters, let us stand in the Light, and walk according to the Truth and let our lives stand in stark contrast to the world. Recognizing the difference between barbarism and civilization does not justify either one of its deeds, it simply recognizes that one is established by God, consider Roman’s 13. We are told that the authorities are a terror to evil does and that they do not wield the sword in vain. There is a sword to be wielded against evildoers among secular society. One of the reasons society is in such bad shape is that they have put down the sword. They are no longer a terror to evil doers. They have put down the sword because they are utopian dreamers.
And by their liberal utopian dreams they demonstrate that they deny the word of God. They believe that man is basically good when ,of course, the opposite is true. We must recognize all of that and recognize the season we are in. If we lived near the end of the Roman empire, we would know that the barbarians were at the door. If we lived in Europe during WW2 we would know that civilization itself was in danger. Knowing these things allows us to pray in season. It does not mean that we should be taken up by hatred or a desire for revenge. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
We should neither be a cheerleader for revenge nor should we find ourselves in opposition to the sword being wielded against evil-doers. That is the challenge for us, to keep our hearts good while mourning with those who mourn and seeing the principles of God play out against anarchy and chaos.
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', False Prophets, Jesus, politics, 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, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Being prepared for the end times.
Posted by appolus on October 7, 2023
The Spirit of glory and of God rests upon those who suffer for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. That suffering may take many forms. Fiery trials, tribulations and infirmities. Yet one thing is for sure, it is not common in Christendom. It is certainly unknown to the world. I have personally met a number of saints whom I would say the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon them. And it is those who suffer and are yet joyful. It is those who are in the throes of infirmities and yet they are the ones who minister to you. It is quite a glorious thing to behold. And as always, the glory of God, His manifest presence changes people. I would argue all genuine saints have encountered God in a manifest way. It may only have been a moment, or moments. It might just have been a glimpse, or glimpses. Yet note what 1 Peter 4:14 says, it says it rest upon those who suffer for His name sake. That word “rest,” means to remain. It settles down upon their hearts and spirits and they walk in the glory of God. They are truly the anointed ones in that sense. Quite rare I imagine.
Now consider the days into which we are headed. A day when the world turns against us wholesale. A day where God’s remnant saints are persecuted and suffer for His sake on a worldwide scale. A day when we boast in our infirmities. Where we boast in the things that we have lost for His sake and count it all as rubbish because we are “found in Him.” Imagine the light from millions saints shining in the gross darkness of a world nearing its end. Imagine the power that will rest upon us that emanates from the glory that simply remains upon us. Think about the power of love that flowed from Stephen even as he was being stoned. We know he was a man “full of the Holy Spirit,” but we do not really know what “full of the Holy Spirit,” meant in the context of the very early church where power abounded. We do know that Stephen was emulating and manifesting the power of Christ from the cross who could cry out “Father forgive them.”
Religion will be horrified at the light that comes from the true and genuine saint for it will highlight the darkness that they actually dwell in. This can only complete the separation of that which is genuine and that which is not. Darkness consumes its own, it swallows it whole. Light also consumes light and we who walk in the light as He is in the light will have fellowship one with another. There shall be no greater fellowship that that of the saints of the last days. Through the fires of affliction and persecution and a refusal to bow the knee to the gods of this world the Spirit of glory will rest upon us. Christ with us in the flames. He will never be sensed as close as He will be in the times when we suffer for His name sake. His grace is all sufficient for these times and His strength is made perfect in our weakness. And Paul uses the exact same phrase to talk about the exact same thing as Peter does in 1 Pet 1:14. Paul says “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Brothers and sisters, we have nothing to fear from the trying times to come. Those who have never actually experienced the manifest presence of God cannot possibly understand what Peter or Paul is talking about. The notion of suffering, period, is actively prayed against by much of Christendom. Weakness, as the Scriptures count weakness, is despised in many so called Christian circles. And yet the Lord says His strength is made perfect in out weakness. I would put it to you brothers and sisters, if His glory is out highest ambition, then His glory shall rest upon us in the days of our sufferings. If it is our daily habit to take up our cross, then when the day comes to suffer greatly for His sake, then we shall be well prepared. Oil in your vessel comes little by little, piece by piece, step by step. This is how we prepare for the times which are soon to come upon us.
Religion knows nothing of this. The little oil in their lamps will soon burn out when the gross extended darkness comes. Can you not sense that darkness even now lapping around us like a mighty incoming tide that cannot be stopped? Those who walk in the light, those who suffer for His sake gladly, those who take up their crosses daily, those who boast in their infirmities, those whose chief end is to glorify God, it is those who will stand in that evil day. This is how we prepare. It will not be a last minute thing but rather it will flow from the natures and character that has been formed as we walked down the narrow path. In that day when the Lord appears and the virgins are called to trim their lamps, only those who have filled their vessels in their daily walk with Jesus, season after season. In season and out of season. In good times and in bad. It plenty and in want. In sickness and in health. In having much or suffering much loss. Only these will go into the marriage feast of the Lamb.
One last thing brothers and sisters. Let us suppose that we are not that generation that sees Christ return. Let us suppose He tarries yet. The same principles above apply to our individual lives. If we are not a people who die to ourselves daily, if we are not in the habit of taking up our crosses or giving glory to God and counting it all honor to suffer for His sake, then our end days will not be good. The flesh needs to know who is boss or the flesh will not treat you well in your old age. If we live into our older years then we should be beautiful representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ here on earth. If not, then all the worse elements of the flesh will come forward and get even worse. Bitterness and ungratefulness, unhappiness. I have seen both examples. One, a life well lived in the Lord continues in the beauty of holiness, the other a life lived as unto themselves and degenerates. Let us consider our ways and how we would like to end the race. Let us, with all of our hearts, desire to finish the race strong that we might hear the most beautiful of words “well done good and faithful servant.”
Posted in Babylon, bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Church history, churches, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', 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, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
The ship is going into the murky waters of life.
Posted by appolus on October 5, 2023
Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly evangelicalism, one by one. The house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man to whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them (A.W.Tozer, The dangers of a shallow faith.)
This prophecy was made over 60 years ago. He goes on to say…. “as the church stands now, the man who sees this condition of worldly evangelicalism is written off as being somewhat fanatical. But the day is coming when the house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God left among them. I would like to live long enough to watch this develop and see how things turn out. I would like to live to see the time when the men and women of God-holy, separated and spiritually enlightened-walk out of the evangelical church and form a group of their own, when they get off the sinking ship and let her go down in the brackish waters of worldliness and form a new ark to ride out the storm.”
Can I say, for the most part, what passes for the church now, has sunk beneath the brackish waves or worldliness to which Tozer prophesied. What passes for church now would be entirely unrecognizable to the men and women of God who are now the arms of the Lord. Has the prophecy come to pass as of now? No. Evangelicalism has certainly sunk beneath the waves, but those who have come out of her have not found their place yet. The time will come. Persecution on a scale never seen before will draw us together as we have never been before. It took persecution to scatter the saints in Jerusalem so that they would go out and fulfill the commands of the Lord. It will take the great tribulation to bring us back together.
We will stand before an angry world, most likely led by the sunken Evangelical and religious movements, and not be moved. They will see how a saint stands in the midst of the fire with Jesus by their side. They will see a purified bride, having been stripped of everything this world has to offer, yet covered by the glory of the risen Lord. They will see a people like Job who will fall to their knees and cry out to God in worship “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” In short, they will see the glory of God cover the earth as the brackish waters cover the sea. The worldly church, the world and everything religious in it sinks into these foul waters. The Body of Christ rises up in the pure and undefiled waters that flow from heavens throne and it is crystal clear and will stand in complete contrast to the defiled waters of this world.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Church history, churches, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, End Times Eschatology, Eschatology - Study of the 'End Times', Extreme Prophetic, Jesus, prophecy, 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 | 9 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 »
Honor your father.
Posted by appolus on September 5, 2023
This was a real challenge to me most of my Christian life. I had no problem honoring my mother, but my father was a whole other story. I could give you twenty substantial reasons why I should not have honored my father. And the world would say “awww,” and agree with me. Yet is it striking that when we are told to honor our fathers and mothers in Scripture there are no parenthesis. We do not find the word “if,” there. It simply states that we must “Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God gives you.”
For most of my Christian life I did not honor my earthly father in my heart. Oftentimes not just in my heart. I challenged him and spoke ill of him from time to time, all the time failing to honor him. It was mostly to my wife or friends or family. I had many good excuses but none that stood against the Word of God. My challenge was to love what I considered to be the unlovable. Is this not exactly what the Lord Jesus has called us to do? If we cannot do it with those closest to us, how can we ever do it with those in the world? How should I react to being hated? Does it make a difference that it is someone your heart longs to be loved by? In the end it only matters what the Lord has instructed us to do. How can we honor our Heavenly Father while we dishonor Him by ignoring His instructions.
And so, over the years before he died I wrote my dad three letters. Each of them falling on the sword. Each of them at the insistence of the Holy Spirit. As I wrote each letter, the flesh raged against it. It screamed “he should be writing you a letter, he should be falling on the sword.” This was because my flesh was not dead in these matters, it roared loudly. And yet, in my spirit, I recognized the flesh for what it was. My flesh longed for justification. My flesh longed to see my father suffer as he had made us suffer. My spirit on the other hand knew that I must be obedient to the Lord and that love and forgiveness was the way. In the writing of the letters I was killing the flesh and my heart was turning towards my father. After I wrote these letters I hated putting them in the envelope. Putting the stamps on them. And worse of all, putting them into the letterbox. Once it dropped down into the box there was no turning back.
I never expected any replies or even acknowledgment’s and none ever came. Yet I felt good in having done the right thing and just left it alone. “I had done my part.” One time as I was speaking to a dear brother he told me of an incident. There was a brother whom had fallen out with him a few years before. The Holy Spirit led him to go and knock on his door and make it right. It was at least a 20 minute drive away but off he went. He knocked on the door, sensing the brother was in, but got no reply. So, he got back in the car and began to drive home. He felt good that he had done the right thing. About half way back the Holy Spirit spoke to him just a few words.”You did not try very hard.” He was very convicted, turned the car around and went back to the door and kept knocking on it until finally the fella answered. He let him in and they “mended the fence.”
Upon hearing that story I was deeply convicted. I too had done the right thing and now the Holy Spirit was saying to me “you did not try very hard.” It was not spoken with any kind of animosity, but in that pure loving way that convicts you to the very depths of your heart. I knew what I had to do. I had to go home to Scotland for a visit and put flesh upon the letter which I had sent. Covid was raging at the time but I overcame all the obstacles and got home. I was able to treat my dad with kindness and pamper him a little, all of which he had a hard time with. Little did I know that when I left that visit two years ago, I would never see him again. It left me wondering about the depths of my flesh and why it had taken so long. How different it could have all been if I had just followed the Lord’s instruction and honored my father.
The Lord has since showed me just how much he loved my dad. Yes, he knew, of course, all of his faults but while he was yet in his sin he loved my dad and He died for him. He loved him all the more when my dad, at the age of 49, came to Him on bended knee. He loved him despite all of his problems of dying to his own flesh. He knew my dad better than anyone on the earth, faults and all, my dads own very rough upbringing, He knew him completely and He loved him still. Even when my dad was not faithful the Lord was faithful to him. And then the Lord showed me. I love you in the same way. I love all of my children in the same way despite their seeming lack of progress. Listen young men especially. If your dad is a Christian and you judge him harshly, if you fail to honor him, it is you who will pay a price. As much as lies within you, honor your father and your mother. Death to the flesh and life to the spirit. One is soaked in mercy, the other is eaten up by judgement. Starve the flesh.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, new wineskins, 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, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 