Archive for the ‘testimony’ Category
A cancer update-last chemo session coming up.
Posted by appolus on May 6, 2024
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, healing, Jesus, revival, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | Leave a Comment »
The way that I must go.
Posted by appolus on April 30, 2024
Forgiveness is a river that flows from a mountain of grace and runs into and ocean of love. And mercy falls like rain, again and again, and soaks us to the bone as it continually falls from up above.It falls, it falls into the deepest part of me and transforms me again and again until Christ is all you see. In the Kingdom of God there are times and seasons and they ebb and flow. And we are called to fall into their rhythms so that we take root and grow. Growing beside the river, the evergreens take their place, fed from the waters of life with the Son upon their face.Â
In season and out of season we are ever ready and I’ll shall walk in the way He leads, for He has ever led me. He leads me through the mountain passes and down into the valley, and we ford the raging spring time river. This river that flows from the mountain high, it continually flows forever. So there are times and seasons and mountains and valleys. There are times to live and there are times to die. I often look and wonder why. Yet only for a moment for then I lift my eyes to the one from whom all seasons flow. I shut my eyes and now I know the way that I must go.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Daily devotional, inspirational, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Trials are open doors to the treasures of heaven.
Posted by appolus on April 27, 2024
The older I get in the Lord, the more I see it’s not about answers from God. Self seeks answers. The immediate problems of life presses in and we desire to be through it. We want acceptable solutions. Yet where is God in our many graspings? What good is the glory gained on the mountaintops if it can not be seen in the darkest valleys? Should not our greatest desire in the world be that the valley is, to us, the mountaintop?
In the end, the glory of God covers everything, as the waters cover the sea. Whether that sea rages or is tranquil, should we not lie down and sleep in the boat? Shall we not sleep in the lions den? Shall we not praise Him in the dungeon? The mountaintop experience should only serve to give us the strength to reflect His glory in the valley. Did not the Lord come down from the glories of heaven? Did we not see Him glorify His Father in the deepest valley as He hung there nailed to a tree? Shall we not enter into His rest and cease from our works? Cease from our running to and fro.
Oftentimes the sadness of loss or trials becomes dark clouds that obscure the sun. Yet above the clouds, above the mountain tops there is a perpetually blue sky. Sometimes we simply need a single ray of sunshine to penetrate the dark clouds to remind us of this truth. And that ray reminds us of the glory that we reveled in and will one day spend eternity in. A shaft of light is what we must pray for when we are in the darkest reaches of the valley, and this light shall lead us through it. Our lives are like a vapor and soon enough we shall stand in eternal glory, but before that we must find the glory now.
He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies so that we may, with Paul and Silas and every other saint who suffered unspeakable losses down through the ages, glorify God in the very midst of our situations. In the light of this glory all loss is subsumed into Him and our spirits can truly say that our eternal desire is to be found in Him. The road home to glory will be a difficult one for all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus, but it will be a vital one.
See God’s glory and live. Cast your eyes unto the heavens and live. Cast your eyes to that eternal horizon and live. There is life in His glory and life more abundant. Find that now brothers and sisters, right where you are, and the road forward will open up before you, one day at a time, indeed one step at a time. The difficulties of life will become open doors to the treasures of heaven. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and the glory.
2Co 4:6Â For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Â
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To behold His glory
Posted by appolus on April 7, 2024
If I could capture the light from a million sunbeams
And grasp every falling star from the sky
And be filled with the light of a thousand suns
Then I'll be ready when the time comes
When the time comes to walk into your glory
Where the brightest sun simply hides its face in shame
And the universe itself bows down in humble adoration
And we leave behind the very edges of our imagination
A place where the ocean is rendered to but a single tear
And all the heavens above cry out in resounding glory
And a million upon ten million incorruptible saints
Sway in the wind of the Spirit and know there are no restraints
No eye has seen nor has any ear ever heard
Nor has it entered into the hearts of those who love Him
Of the glory and the majesty of this heavenly place
Where we gaze upon His throne and look into His face.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Daily devotional, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
If I ever have to leave you.
Posted by appolus on April 6, 2024
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, worship, worship music | 4 Comments »
Oh blessed Grace.
Posted by appolus on April 6, 2024
He is crowned with righteousness
We are crowned with grace
And by the Blood of Calvary
Of sin, there is no trace
He is crowned with Holiness
We are crowned with Love
From the depths of His dwelling place
His grace shall be enough
His grace floods every part of me
In the depths of the midnight hour
Yet more still, shall it surely be
Come the dawn with all its power
It was grace from the very beginning
And its grace to the very end
And the love of God sustains me
Upon which I eternally depend
His grace, His grace, is sufficient for me
It saved me and keeps me each day
And throughout the span of eternity
Its forever on display
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, Christian poetry, Daily devotional, God's love, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Entertain or enter in?
Posted by appolus on April 3, 2024
I could not sleep last night, a mixture of the chemo and the prednisone no doubt. It has happened many times since I began treatment, but last night I awoke with the phrase “entertain or enter in.” The Lord was laying something on my heart. It occurred to me that if you take the letters “ta” out of entertain you are left with enter in. And yet, the definitions could not be more different. The Greek word for entertain is “psychagogia,” meaning “amusement-diverson-distraction.” The Greek word for”enter is “bo,” meaning “to go out or to come in.” The choice seems clear, be amused, diverted or distracted, or enter into His presence.
Interestingly enough, if you look at the two letters “ta,” in the Greek it means “the third person,” meaning “when you are speaking ( or singing) about someone else rather than directly addressing that someone.” Speaking in the third person you remain detached. Are we remaining detached from God in our modern day version of worship? Are we merely being entertained, an amusement or a distraction? A distraction from what? From actually entering in. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise (Psa 100:4) Enter into the joy of the Lord (Matt 25:23) For He who has entered into His rest has himself rested from his works (Heb 4:10) Not everyone that says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter in (Matt 7:21)
It makes my heart long for stripped down, simple/profound congregational worship, something the modern day worship ” team,” has wholly set aside for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is to entertain. We don’t need to be entertained and sit by as mere spectators/fans, we need to enter in. Enter into what some might say? Enter in by the only door available, Jesus and Him high and lifted up. And let every voice sing as unto the Lord and face heavenwards and not towards a “stage,” a place for actors. Let us take the “ta,” out of entertain and let us who know Jesus, enter in.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, False Prophet, Jesus, manifest presence, praise, prosperity gospel, revival, spiritual growth, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, the state of the church, worship, worship music | 2 Comments »
Love who wears a crown.
Posted by appolus on March 28, 2024
The love of God has taken me
From the miry clay and set me free
Tis all consuming it knows no end
My Lord, my Master and my friend
A love that barely sees through tears
A love that lasts throughout the years
A love in which there is no doubt
A love in Christ is paramount
A love that sets my heart on fire
A love that takes me ever higher
A love that's never let me down
A love that ever wears a crown
My heart is fixed on Christ alone
Who ever sits upon His throne
He also dwells within my heart
And we shall never be apart
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Devotions, Jesus, poetry, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | Leave a Comment »
Redefining blessed.
Posted by appolus on March 27, 2024
I think we need to redefine the word “blessed,” in the Christian world. The scriptural word means to “be fortunate,” “to be well off.” Now this has long been associated with material things. Yet as always, context matters, it gives meaning to the words that we use. Consider the most famous of all uses of this word, when Jesus uses it in the Beatitudes. The context gives us the meaning. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who hunger, blessed are those who thirst. Blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers. Blessed are the righteous who are persecuted. Blessed are the reviled. Given who Jesus says are blessed, do you still want to be blessed?
 If it means “drawing closer to God,” then to be blessed is to walk the narrow path that leads through the valley. To shine like the morning sun in the midnight hour is to testify of God’s blessing upon your life. To look upon material gain as a measure of God’s blessing is to find ourselves in the same ranks as Job’s friends. That’s not to say the Lord cannot bless us materially for His own purposes, it’s just to say that it carries no particular anointing. Consider the words of Peter when he says “silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give to thee.” Peter gave to the cripple out of the abundance of what he had. There are very few today who could say the same as Peter, perhaps that is just one of the reasons we see so little of the miraculous.
How long have we associated the word blessed with some kind of material increase? How far we have fallen from believing we are blessed when we are hungry, thirsty, hated and reviled. What blessings fell upon Paul and Silas in the midnight hour having been hated and tortured and imprisoned for His name sake. See the blessings pour forth from heaven and shake the earth. How blessed was brother Stephen as the cruel stones rained down upon his mortal body and the heavens themselves parted and he was caught up in his heavenly vision. Where are the men and woman of today who count it all blessing and all joy when they fall into various trials, knowing just how much the testing of their faith produces. It produces glory to God as they stand upon their faith and become a living testimony to the power of their heavenly Father.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, healing, inspirational, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
The latest cancer update.
Posted by appolus on March 26, 2024
Posted in cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, healing, Jesus, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 2 Comments »
Feeding upon His faithfulness.
Posted by appolus on March 18, 2024
Cancer update.
I wanted to address something. Many people have messaged me and told me how strong I am in the midst of this cancer and how they admire my faith. I do not want to give the impression that going through cancer is easy and “all you have to do is,”……….fill in the blanks. A test is a test, a trial is a trial, not because it is easy but because it is not. Jesus is the star of this story of mine. He is strong, He is faithful, He is my high tower. I run into Him. I cry out to Him, I rely upon Him for the little strength and faith I do have. It is an honor and a privilege to represent Him no matter what my circumstances are. Consider these verses from Psalm 37. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD; and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:
In this portion of Scripture we are instructed how to walk in the power and strength of the Lord. We are to trust Him and do good. We are to delight ourselves in the Lord. We are to commit all our ways unto Him. We are also told (NKJ) to ” feed upon His faithfulness.” I left that to last because this has been my primary source of strength. I feed upon His faithfulness. It edifies my very soul and gives strength to me physically.I have been through enough trials in my life that I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that He is faithful. He has never left me nor forsaken me. It is His faithfulness I celebrate, it is His strength in me that makes this weak vessel strong. I am nothing without the Lord and would have crumbled and fallen into the sea of life a long time ago without Jesus. I feed upon the faithfulness of my heavenly Father and I am well fed. It is well with my soul because of His residency there. In and of myself I am weak, yet, His strength is only highlighted in my weakness.
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, revival, Spiritual warfare, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Peace in a noisy world.
Posted by appolus on February 25, 2024
In the quietness of peace and in the beauty of Holiness we should make our way through this noisy world. Like an elegant sailing ship making its way through calm waters with a beautiful fresh wind in its sails, we should walk through this world as peacemakers, drawing men and women to Jesus. We must not simply be a believer in doctrines but rather we must be a manifestation of such doctrines. Living epistles read of men. If men could read aloud the story of our hearts would it draw them to the Father? The narrative of our spirits should be like manna in the desert and water that bursts forth from rocks. In short, we should be life among death and light that pierces through the gross darkness of this world. A lighthouse that stands tall upon the Rock.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, manifest presence, revival, Spirituality, 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 | Leave a Comment »
To look into the depths of who you are.
Posted by appolus on February 24, 2024
Your presence fills me with great joy
And turns every shadow into light
Great consolation is mine
Which feeds the deepest part of me,
and sustains me though the night.
Oh blessed joy is mine divine
The eternal longing of my aching heart
For the day when the morning star rises
And then, forever, we shall never be apart
To look into the depths of who You are
Even for a moment, gives life unto my weary soul
The one who took the many broken pieces
Before the throne and the Father made me whole
I will awaken the dawn with the praises of my King
You will hear, from the ends of the earth, heavenly choirs sing
Look through the door of your heart that He has knocked upon
And hear the angels singing their golden heavenly song
Then shall heaven and earth be one together
And we shall abide before His throne forever
I in him and He in we
Cast upon an eternal holy sea.
Posted in bible, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, inspirational, poetry, praise, 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, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
An update on my cancer journey.
Posted by appolus on February 15, 2024
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's love, healing, Jesus, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 2 Comments »
When the stroke hits the soul
Posted by appolus on February 3, 2024
When the stroke goes down to the soul
And the billows they begin to roll
When the lightening fractures the sky above
Shall we be found to be anchored in His glorious love?
When the ship is swamped and going under
And the rain so loud and the clashing thunder
Cause you to cry out and look up towards heaven
Shall we stand upon God and not be so driven?
Surely goodness and mercy despite our afflictions
Will follow us forever without contradiction
And a table before us, a feast for a King
Will cause our troubled hearts to sing
Of His majesty and glory and joy without measure
As we gaze upon His righteousness, His heavenly treasure
He maketh me lie down in pastures so green
And beside the still waters eternally serene.
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual growth, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Blessings from the night.
Posted by appolus on January 31, 2024
It has been a night of grief, yet a night of blessing. A night in which there may have been many things which we would wish forgotten., yet many more which we should wish to be remembered for ever. Often during its gloom, we called it “wearisome,” and said “When shall I arise and the night be gone? (Job 7:) Yet how much was there to reconcile it, rather, to fill us with praise because of it! It was then the Lord drew near, and the world was displaced and self was smitten, and our will conquered, and faith grew speedily, and hope became brighter and more eager, and the things that are unseen were felt to be real and true. (H. Bonar)
Brothers and sisters, suffering draws us close unto the Lord. The long night of illness or trial draws us closely to the fires of heaven. We see with eyes that can peer through the night and give us sight to see our heavenly Jerusalem. The fading parchments of this life become somewhat crude in the light of heavenly fires. What comfort the children of Israel must have garnered as the fire by night nestled above them in the calm assurance of His presence. The cloud by day that would shelter them from the blazing desert heat. Our songs in the night give birth to sight. Out of darkness there comes a sure knowledge that He is with us. To not just follow Him closely along the narrow pilgrim way, but rather to walk hand in hand with Him and hear Him so sweetly that our hear burns within our chest……bro Frank
Posted in bible, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian quotes, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, Jesus, revival, spiritual growth, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant | 1 Comment »
When hope gives way to presence.
Posted by appolus on January 27, 2024
I wrote this poem yesterday while I was having chemo. It was a long day but I very much sensed the presence of the Lord, in divine appointments and also a message from a dear friend who had just recorded the message in the middle of their prayer meeting in Estonia. He prayed for me and then his dear wife prayed for me and I could hear the other saints praying in the background. I was quite overcome to think how honored and how privileged I was. I was humbled, shed a few tears, then wrote this poem. You will notice that I use the word infused a couple of time 🙂
When hope gives way to presence.
When the desire comes, it's a tree of life to me.
And the tree nourishes the parts you cannot see
Hope deferred causes my aching heart to long
And in the longing creates in me a song.
Sing my heart, sing of all His glory
Create in me the desire to tell Your story.
To scale the highest mountain, just to shout your name
Consumed by your majesty, ignited by your flame.
Come to me, draw me to your throne
To that place I know that I am truly known
And the tree of life infuses me with peace
And your glory, from the depths of me, released.
Beyond the falling leaf there lies the pastures green
And a heavenly river infused by glorious streams.
Beyond the troubled waters you have surely come to me
And you take my spirit over, to that place beyond the sea.
Posted in cancer, Christian, christian blog, Christian poetry, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, God's voice, healing, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
The crosses that He designs.
Posted by appolus on January 24, 2024
Sorrow leaves it's mark upon the soul
As the Lord shapes us and takes
back what the enemy stole
With an iron pen and
lead in the rock, it is written
The genuine work of God, His composition
He has written His word upon the heart
that He has given
And with many a blow, sin
from our soul is driven
Shall we not welcome the rod that can never miss?
And with a warm embrace, direct it with a kiss
We can count the cost, then embrace the cross
or lay it down and suffer the loss
Remember each one is crafted by His hand
And are designed so that no man can still stand
It's by His Blood and sorrow they were crafted
And they seal the wounds whereby we are grafted.
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christian poetry, Daily devotional, Devotions, healing, Jesus, poetry, revival, spiritual growth, 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 »
An abundance of His glory.
Posted by appolus on January 21, 2024
2Co 4:17Â For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;Â
Heb 12:1Â Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,Â
This word weight is used both times in the scriptures with the context being very different obviously. It can mean abundance or burden or load. Now clearly sin is a burden to the soul, a load not easily carried. It slows us down, much like if we were attached to an anchor and had to drag it behind us. We have all felt it. Yet Heb 121:1 is compelling us, with a vision, to lay that burden down. Look up with spiritual eyes and see that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. Those who have gone before us, the angels of heaven, the Kingdom of God. See the things that are eternal. See the Lord Jesus Christ high and lifted up. When we look to Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith then sin loses it’s power and its hold on us.
When we look not at the things that are seen, but rather the things which are not seen then there is a power released in us. The light of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ begins to shine forth from the depths of our very beings. This treasure that dwells in the depths of our hearts pours forth like the rising of the sun after the long night. What a welcome sight for all those who dwell in darkness to see the rising sun shine forth from us, and it draws men to God. Rather than our afflictions causing us to look down and to fall into sorrow, let our light afflictions cause us to look up and to be encompassed with the eternal abundance of His glory. With eyes to see, we peer into the glories of the world to come. We are overcome with His majesty, with His glory, with His holiness, with His joy. This power truly comes to pass in the midst of our afflictions for it is then that God has commanded His light to shine forth from the darkness.
Posted in bible, cancer, Christian, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, faith, God's voice, healing, 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 | 3 Comments »
An update on the cancer situation.
Posted by appolus on January 15, 2024
Posted in bible, cancer, christian living, Christian poetry, Christian quotes, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, healing, 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 | 4 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 