Archive for the ‘the crucified life’ Category
Posted by appolus on March 30, 2021
Conscience diminishes a man as he pushes against it. It is like the turning of the lathe. The turning is the circumstances of life. You are the wood and your conscience is the blade. It will whittle you down to the nub. A man becomes less of a man in every way when he ignores his conscience. You cannot run from it and you cannot hide from it. You can try, and many men have tried, all have failed, all have been diminished in their efforts. Great loss sweeps over a man like the raging waves of a storm tossed sea. You can sear it and you can drown it out with alcohol and drugs. When you sober up, it will still be there. You can fly to the uttermost parts of the sea and you will find that it is there. You can travel lands and traverse mountains and there it is. You could even make your bed in hell and hide in the shadows of darkness and the voice of your conscience will still speak to you.
It will be the High prosecutor as you stand before God or it will be your Chief defense. When the books are open it will, with great clarity and eloquence, speak for you or against you. Your conscience is your greatest gift outside of Christ Himself, although many men find it to be a curse. To the man of God it is a blessing. It holds him steady within the veil. It is like an anchor for his soul. It is mysterious , no doubt, but the voice of God speaks to every man and therefore every man is without excuse and on that great an notable day it will be a very familiar voice you will hear as you stand before God almighty. The voice of God that has echoed through your soul all of your conscious life. Listen today and live.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Fresh Fire, god, pentecostal, scripture, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 30, 2021
There is a growing movement around the world of hungry and thirsty children of God that He has driven into the desert. I believe this will be the last great move of God. There will be new wine poured out, but not into old wine-skins. This remnant saints will come from every kind of background. The common denominator will be their hunger and thirst for the genuine presence of the Living God which promotes a prayerful obedience to the revealed will of God.
If you are a saint in the wilderness, hang in there, God is teaching you complete dependence upon Him by stripping away every form of support that you know . Do not be discouraged by your situation or your circumstances, yield to them. You know that you are lonely, you know that you do not seem to fit in anywhere. You get no pleasure from anything anymore. You have lost your interest in the things of the world. What passes for βnormal,β church has become a foul stench to you.
You can see with your spiritual eyes that there is a crisis, but few seem to see it. Business as usual is no longer an option for you, but you do not know where to go. No one seems to understand you. When you try and explain they just look at you like you are mad. You are not mad. God is calling you out. God is calling His people out. The Lord is beginning to gather the saints together for His purposes. So stay close to God, stay in His Word.
If you can find like-minded brothers and sisters, that is good, because even where two or three are gathered, He is there in our midst, but do not be discouraged if you cannot, just wait upon the Lord. He is doing a new thing. Read all of Isa 43, but know this. Isa 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, Christianity, church, church of scotland, god, God's love, inspirational, Jesus, Ministers, new wineskins, pentecostal, religious, revival, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | 8 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 29, 2021
What is nearness to God? We hear that a lot dont we …”are you close to God?” Well we know it has nothing to do with time or space, the Lord transcends both time and space. Time and space cannot contain Him for if it did, He would not be God. A certain Scripture tells us that men can draw close unto God with their mouth but their “hearts are far from God.” If far in this context is not distance then what is it? Another Scripture tells us that David was a man after Gods own heart. In this context the word “after ,” means like or touching.
So, if your heart is far from God it can mean that you are not like Him. There is no communion, no touching, no encounter, no emotion, no joy, no love. The words may be there but the reality of the love of God is not present. A heart after God is expressed by obedience and by love, primarily love. Primarily love because love is the primary motivation for obedience. We can be obedient to God, at least outwardly and with our our words but our hearts can be “far from Him.” But we cannot love Him to any degree and be disobedient to Him.
Dont get me wrong, we can be disobedient to God and still love Him and be like Him, King David may be the perfect example of this, but we cannot stay in that place of disobedience for long. It will not be what we are known for. On the grave of King David they would not write ” here lies a disobedient man,” because even although he had certainly been disobedient to God in many of the things that he did, ultimately that was not who he was and he proved that by having a broken and contrite heart. In 1st Cor 13 we see all the things that we can have. We can speak with tongues, we can have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, I could be mighty in faith so much so that I could speak to a mountain and it would crumble and fall and yet, all of these things would be without meaning if I did not have love.
I could give every penny I had to the poor and even become a martyr for God yet without love none of it would profit me. Yet, if I am close to the heart of God then I will gladly suffer long, I will not envy my brother or sister, I will not think highly of myself but rather regard others higher than me, I will not be easily offended and I will think the best of others.I will rejoice in the truth and be saddened at my enemies downfall, their downfall will promote love in me for them and forgiveness. If I am moving in these areas then I am close to the heart of God because the Lord Himself came down and humbled Himself and took on the likeness of man and walked in all of these truths because He was acting according to His nature. If we would be close to Him we shall endeavor to be like Him.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, god, God's voice, inspirational, intimacy, pentecostal, revival, sanctification, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The presence of God, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 29, 2021
Rom 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
In this particular case we see that Abraham and his wife are well beyond the age of bearing a child. Sarahβs womb was dead, it could carry no life. And so in life we oftentimes run into situations that defies hope, that stands diametrically opposed to hope. All the evidence of the rational world and the finest expert opinions dash any worldly hope upon the rocks of hopelessness and despair. Yet brothers and sisters, it is a glorious thing to remember that our hope is not the hope of the world. Our hope is founded upon our God and His word, His promises. His word is not broken, His promises cannot be broken. And it is this hope that is a wellspring of joy and peace and love and a sound mind.
Abraham, the father of faith believed God that life would spring forth from death. Now from the first promise until the fulfillment it took 25 years. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when Issac was conceived. This defied all the evidence of the rational world. In the world Abraham would have had no hope. In the world we too would have no hope, yet praise God we may be in the world but not off it. We walk according to the Spirit of God, we stand upon the Word of God. we believe in the promises of God and we walk in the Kingdom of God. This kingdom is and always has been a place of miracles and a wellspring of hope.
The birth of Issac is the birth of a nation. It is this line that would give us Jesus, the seed that would bless all the nations of the world. It sprang forth from the impossible which is the realm of the miraculous. This realm has a throne and upon that throne sits our heavenly Father. Can hope come forth from hopelessness? Yes indeed. Just as Jesus came forth from His heavenly realm and stepped into our world, then sight can come forth from blindness, joy can come forth from despair and Lazarus can come forth from the grave. Jesus is my blessed hope, all other ground in sinking sand.
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Posted by appolus on March 26, 2021
I consider Martin Luther Kings “I have a dream,” speech, one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in the history of Western civilization. It hung on my wall for over a decade. The notion of his children being judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin would have represented the high water mark of actual civilization, any civilization, western or otherwise.
Consider where we are today. Consider what “woke,” thought has given us, where it is taking us. It is taking us back to a place that existed prior to civilization. Tribalism. Tribalism caused death and destruction whether it was in the Highlands of Scotland, the Black forest of Germany or deep in the interior or Africa. The Gauls, the Visigoths, the Romans, the Vandals, you name the tribe. Vlad the impaler, Genghis Khan and the Mongol hordes, they all were identified by their tribe and their enemies? Other tribes.
Think about the genius of what MLK taught. The content of one’s character was to be the distinguishing mark of civilized man. The goodness of a man. The intelligence of a woman. The compassion and the empathy of another soul, these were the marks by which MLK wanted his children, and society, to be judged by. It would cut across color and race, it would identify the humanity of every soul on this earth. He may have been a utopian dreamer, but if you are going to have a dream it might as well be a good one, sure beats the nightmare of the divided society that we are now living in.
Blacks, Whites, Asians. Straight, gay, transgender. Rich and poor. Middle class, working class, elites, oligarchs and moguls. Republicans, Democrats socialists. Far right, far left. White supremist, Antifa, Black lives matters, critical race theorists. All blacks are lazy, all whites are racist, all Asians are greedy. And on and on it goes. Compare all of that with the dream of MLK. What we are seeing is the unfolding of raw unabated power. Power exists and is controlled when the masses are set upon one another. While the masses are manipulated and distracted, the elites are taking over.
The industrial revolution unleashed robber barons who ruled with an iron fist and they crushed all opposition. Now, the greatest nation to rise up out of Western civilization, America, who literally saved what we call civilization from the horror of the Germans and Japanese, has been overtaken by oligarchs. The power of division has been unleashed. Purges are taking place. As a Christian, my place in society is being diminished. And in the end, that will probably be the best thing that ever happened to Christendom.
Barbarism is an ancient force. It is a spirit, a demonic spirit and it’s name is legion. It detests the notions of men like MLK. It demands division for that is the bedrock of hatred and un-forgiveness. It’s ultimate enemy is the genuine Christian. For the true Body of Christ is actually diverse and beautifully united by the Spirit of God. A Body of believers who judge a person by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
America once saved the world from barbarism, from the Nazi forces who embraced the ultimate divisions. Who would gladly destroy every single Jewish person, every single gypsy, every single gay person, every single mentally handicapped person. Every single person of genuine faith. They worshiped one doctrine and there was no place for deviation. All who disagreed with them were destroyed and purged out of society. First politically, then in the Armed forces, then in the halls of education and all the way down into all of the realms of society. Divide, separate and destroy.
I put it to you, the reader, we are in the midst of such a time. The powers that be, demand that you be separated into whatever group you belong to. And it is they who shall judge you, not by the content of your character, but by who you vote for. What you stand for. The color of your skin. The tenets of your faith. The collective is rising. And if you do not belong to it or bow to it you will be removed from society by it. In the greatest irony of all time they will call it the brotherhood of man. As they use the word diversity as their battle cry the actual war will rage against anyone who dares to be different from them. Uniformity and conformity will be the order of the day under the banner of diversity. It will be the greatest feat of gaslighting ever known to man for it will encircle the earth.
Posted in Charisma Magazine, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, churches, deception, discernment, end times, End Times Eschatology, New World Order, One World Religion, politics, prophecy, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on March 26, 2021
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Itβs a terrible thing to be held captive by our own thoughts. How exhausting it can be when we allow them to consume and overwhelm us? They can begin to eat away at us. They can even rob us of sleep and leave us tired and weary and walking the floor at night. I thank the Lord that He freed us and gave us the ability to take every thought into captivity and focus on Him. If a specific situation or trial has taken hold of your mind today, know that there is a way of escape, you are no longer slaves to the flesh but bond-servants, willing servants to the Lord of power.
If you have been set free by the Lord then you are free indeed. You now have the power to take those thoughts captive, they must bow to the Spirit of God in you. By an act of your will, take your eyes off of that situation today and turn them to Jesus and draw close to Him and peace will flood your soul. βCome to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.β (Matt. 11:28-30)
Commit your heart to trust in Him today. Determine in your heart that you will no longer walk in fear. Give it to the Lord of hosts, let Him take the burden. He will take it if you will give it to Him. Your situation may not change but your attitude in the midst of it will. It will give you clarity of thought and the ability to focus and speak to the Lord. As your mind is drawn away from the pressing situation and the darkness of it, and you are drawn to the light of your Lord who loves you so much and is jealous for your thoughts, His light will begin to fill you. God bless you this day as you begin the task of taking your thoughts captive.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, church, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, God's love, healing ministry, intimacy, Jesus, pentecostal, religion, revival, Spiritual warfare, Spirituality, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, the state of the church, Uncategorized, worship | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on March 24, 2021
In the things of the Kingdom,progress is not automatic,for a man may only be fifty weeks old in grace even though he was saved fifty years ago. Maturity in grace has nothing to do with years but rather with prayerful obedience to the revealed will of God.
Leonard Ravenhill-Meat for men.
Can you see what Ravenhill is saying? We make forward progress in the Kingdom by prayerful obedience to the revealed will of God. What is the revealed will of God? First and foremost it is the Word of God, the Scriptures. Secondly it is the still small voice of God, the Holy Spirit. And of course, one will never contradict the other, there will always be perfect harmony between the Holy Spirit and the written Word of God. He is the author.
In 2nd John 1:4 John says that he rejoiced greatly to have found some of the saints walking in the truth having received the commandment from God. In 3rd John 1:4 John says that he had no greater joy than to hear that his children were walking in the truth. Imagine that, the great Apostle’s greatest joy was the saints walking in the Truth. Why was this his greatest joy? John knew that if we walk in the Truth, then and only then will we make forward progress in the Kingdom, overcoming trial and temptation and becoming more like Jesus. Obedience is the key to this.
Imagine you are in a small boat in the middle of a vast ocean. You have no sail and you have no motor to power you. What will happen? Without the thrust of forward momentum you will drift. The power that will move you will be the current of the ocean. It will take you where it will take you. I want to suggest to you that without obedience to the Word of God and to the Holy Spirit you will not make any forward progress on your spiritual journey.
Obedience is the outboard motor that will propel your forward. The Holy Spirit is the fuel in the motor. Obedience is the raising of the sail that will catch the wind, the Holy Spirit is the wind that will propel you forward against the forces of the current.. How mature are you? How many weeks old are you in the Kingdom? In Ravenhill’s example a man who has been saved for fifty years may be less than a year old in the Kingdom, a mere babe. God is looking for mature saints, men and woman who can dine on meat.
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Posted in Charismatic, Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Church history, church of scotland, churches, pentecostal, Ravenhill, religion, revival, spiritual growth, Spirituality, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on March 24, 2021
Heb 4:10 For he who has entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His.
In 2nd John 1:4 John says that he rejoiced greatly to have found some of the saints walking in the truth having received the commandment from God. To walk in the Truth is to rest in the peace of God. In 3rd John 1:4 John says that he had no greater joy than to hear that his children are walking in the truth. Imagine that, the Apostle John’s greatest joy is to see the saints walking in the Truth. And why? Walking in the Truth is how we overcome the flesh and walk in peace and in victory.
There is a people in every generation, a remnant people, who choose to believe God and in doing so find themselves in a place of rest, a place of peace, a place of joy that is quite apart from their circumstances. These people have walked through fields of fire. These people have suffered great loss. They have traversed the deep waters and they discovered that the Lord was with them as they passed through these waters. In their suffering they have discovered a peace that surpasses understanding.
God taught Job the truth in the midst of the most dire circumstances. He took the children of Israel into a place of death, the desert, the wilderness, to show them that what is truly important in this life is to walk hand in hand with their Lord Their great war cry was the war cry of Job “Even if He kills me, yet shall I trust Him.” Life, true abundant spiritual life, flows from a place of βbelieving.β Believing what? Believing that God has called us and that we are His servants. And that no matter if it be fire or flood, that God will be with us and that eternity awaits.
If our relationship with God is tied to our physical circumstances, we can never enter His rest. We can never truly walk in peace and joy. If we cannot find God in the desert, we will never truly find Him in this life. If, like the world, our joy is tied to our circumstances then all we really have is the joy of the world and not the joy of the Lord. If our peace is determined by our circumstances, like the world, then all we have is the peace of the world and not the peace that surpasses all understanding.
In every generation, God has His witnesses. And so, when the accuser of the brethern comes, and the Lord said β Have you considered my servant Job,β likewise our Father in heaven can say in our day, to the accuser, β have you considered my remnant?β If you could close your eyes and hear this conversation between the Lord and our accuser, could you hear the Lord say to the enemy of our souls βhave you considered my servant ( fill in the blank with your name)?
Posted in Christian, christian blog, christian living, Christianity, Daily devotional, Devotions, inspirational, pentecostal, religious, revival, spiritual growth, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 22, 2021
If you ever had a time when you know you have fallen short? You thought you had traveled a thousand miles and you come upon a tree and you know you have seen that tree before which means , that it seems, that you are right back where you started. Your spirit is wearied that it shall never be done with this flesh that envelopes us and is an anchor to our soul, that always impedes us. You just want to stretch your hands to the heavens and say “here I am Lord, take me into the beauty of your holiness,” and your spirit weeps. I wrote this poem/song as I mourned the fact that apart from spirit, I am also flesh and blood and my spirit longs to be away.
If I could
If I could fly into Your sunset
I would
If I could dive into your Ocean
I would
If I could, If I could, If I could
I would.
If I could be swallowed up in your majesty
I would
If I could eternally drown in your Glory
I would
If I could, If I could, If I could
I would
If I could look into your face and never look away
I would
If I could fall into your Arms forever and a day
I would
If I could , If I could, If I could
I would
If I could fall with the day when the day is done
I would
If I could rise again upon the rays of the rising sun
I would
If I could, If I could , If I could
I would..............go.
Posted in Christian, christian blog, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, poetry, religion, revival, spiritual poetry, Spirituality, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The Psalms, the remnant, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on March 22, 2021
Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
It can be very difficult in times of peace and prosperity to stay as close to God as we should like. I wonder if it might be near impossible? I think about the Scripture β My grace is sufficient for you.β There is, it seems, a unique grace to be had in times of trouble. The memory of that grace, the knowledge and the experience of knowing that no matter how difficult our situation was, the Lord never left us nor did He forsake us, is an attribute of the mature saint who has learned to be content whether in the stormiest of seas or tranquil windless days and is able to rejoice in the Lord his God.
The closeness and the dependency that we discover in the midst of troubles and sufferings is a resource that we carry with us as we move along the narrow path. When we come across others in similar situations we are then able to comfort them with the very same comfort we ourselves were comforted with. Living waters flowing through us, through tried and tested vessels, brings life to those who receive it. Broken vessels cannot withhold living waters. By nature of its brokenness, it allows waters to flow freely from the depths of who we are and who we have been shaped to be by the one who dwells in the very depths of us. From whom all living waters flow, from whom all blessing flow, from whom all mercies flow. In this, we can rejoice always, and again, I say, rejoice.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, religion, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on March 20, 2021
If the greatest spiritual victory has Calvary as its backdrop, then what kind of backdrop will there be to the greatest victory the Church will ever know? If when Christ came it ended with Calvary and the resurrection, what will be the Church’s end be prior to His return? If Calvary broke the power of hell and death and sin and the grave what will be the culmination of it be for the Church? That same hell that believed that it could overcome Christ by means of killing the Son of God, still believes that it can over come His children by wiping them out. This will be the end time strategy of the enemy. But can I tell you something Church, it’s all black velvet. It will merely serve as a backdrop to the greatest event the world will ever know, the return of Christ. Our backdrop will be persecution. This will be the backdrop of our victory.
Will it look like victory as it plays out? Did Calvary look like victory as men beheld it? Did they not mock Jesus on the cross? Will they not mock us? Did they not kill the Disciples? Will they not kill us? Did Jesus not cry out “Father forgive them for they know not what they do?” Did Stephen not cry out for mercy for his persecutors? By the power of the Holy Spirit he told them that they were stiff necked people who always resisted the Holy Spirit and the God did not dwell in temples made by human hands? He struck at the heart of religious men and they fell upon him with a fury. We too shall strike at the hearts of religious men and they will fall upon us as well. The question will be for you and for me, can we love our enemies as Christ loved His and as Stephen loved his? Only the true saint empowered by the Holy Spirit will be able to make this kind of stand. Bold and fearless, sensitive to the Spirit and full of love.
This is our calling, walk ye in it saint. Prepare your hears for war. There have been many battles and skirmishes but the last great push is coming. Nazis called it “total war,” where men, women and children fought and died to the last. There is a total war coming against the saints and in that moment, in that time you will either be for Jesus or you will be against Him. In total war there can only be one victorious side. One side shall prevail and the other side shall fail. We are on the victorious side saints and it is going to look like Calvary. For a moment the enemy, the world will rejoice. They will believe that they have conquered their enemy and are rid of them. And then Christ. Christ returns in all His glory in the sky with the saints who have fallen in battle, who have died over the ages and those who remain alive will rise up and join Him in the sky and then the world gets to see what total victory looks like. Be strong saints and walk in the power of His might.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, The State of the Chuch and Manifest presence, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on March 19, 2021
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.(2Pe 1:5-8)
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Life and Godliness. Do you have life? Do you have an abundant life in Christ? Do you have Godliness? What is Godliness, have you ever considered what that means? The Greek word for godliness was used by ancient pagans to describe those who kept in close contact with their gods. When Peter uses this word he is talking about the need for Christians to be constantly aware of Godβs presence in their lives.To walk in the awareness.
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Now Godliness is the abiding knowledge of Godβs presence in your life, the constant awareness of God in you and before you and behind you. It is different from experiencing Godβs presence for a moment in time, or moments, it is to literally walk with the full awareness of God daily. If you are not walking virtuously and coming into the presence of God that produces self-control and cheerful endurance, then you cannot expect to walk in Godliness.
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It is Godliness that leads to true brotherly kindness, for how can we claim to love God if we cannot love our brothers and sisters in Christ? And of course at the end of it all is love, which over-arches everything that we do, without this we have nothing. Everything ends, just as everything began, with love.
Posted in Daily devotional, Devotions, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on March 17, 2021
Victory truly begins with surrender to the will of God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. The circumstances you will find yourself in will not be the problem, nor will the people who play their roles in your circumstances be the problem. People will always act according to their nature. The problem will be your flesh as it is confronted by the Spirit. If we keep in the front of our minds that the point of our lives it to become more like Christ and glorify God, it will help us in our confrontations. Please do not get me wrong brothers and sisters, I am not underestimating the pain of your trial. The Jeweler always sets His diamonds and gold against the backdrop of black velvet. It highlights the beauty of the gems and precious metals. Your circumstances and your confrontations is the black velvet. God desires to display His work for all the principalities and powers, and a fallen world, to see. Your surrender is the key to it all.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on March 17, 2021
1 Peter 4:12 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of God and of glory rests on you. Truly according to them, He is blasphemed, but according to you He is glorified.
God is raising up, making ready a people on whom the βSpirit of God and of glory rests,β on. This is a people who have learned to rejoice that they too were counted worthy to be βpartakers of Christβs sufferings.β Oh how this flies in the face of todayβs heresies. And the purpose of it all? That God might be glorified on the earth. Do you want the Spirit of glory to rest upon you? Do you want to ready yourselves brothers and sisters? Then reject all self-serving religion. Reject every voice that would tell you that there is no need to ready yourself, no need to humble yourself, no need to repent and ask for forgiveness.
Reject every voice that would encourage you to live your best life now, who would encourage you that God wants to enrich you with the treasures of this world, that you do not have to suffer, reject them all for in doing so you will counter the enemy who is disarming the people. You will stand strong in the armor of the Lord so that you may stand in that evil day. God is arraying His people for battle, He is calling and He is equipping. The time is drawing close brothers and sisters, be vigilant and do not be deceived.
Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me. And Jehovah, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refinerβs fire, and like fullerβs soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may be offerers of a food offering in righteousness to Jehovah.
He is building a temple, not by human hands, we, His called out children are that temple, who can endure the day of His coming? Those whom He has readied.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on March 16, 2021
Jesus Christ could speak to the sorrow-burdened heart of humanity words so full of mother-love and father-love as to make men crowd and press round Him. On the other hand, He could suddenly speak words that flashed and scorched and burned until men drew back in astonishment. (G.Campbell Morgan)
Brother Morgan identifies a fundamental truth about God. In Romans 11:22 we are told to consider the goodness and the severity of God. You will not hear too many sermons on this Scripture. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, no one wants to talk about the severity of God. In an age of cheap grace it has become anathema. Secondly the immediate context of the verse talks about being cut off from God and the fact that if God did not spare the natural branches then we were to take heed “lest He spare not thee.” That right there, in an age of once saved always saved, brings up too many theological problems so better just not to preach on the subject or try and insert another narrative into the text.
Anyway, back to the quote. When reading the words of Jesus there is a wonderful balance. He does indeed speak to the sorrow-burdened heart and He does indeed pour forth the love of His heavenly Father. It is this love that opens up the heart in ways that only the Holy Spirit can do. In His presence and by His power the heart is opened up in a unique way. Hard hearts suddenly become vulnerable. Hearts that have hidden themselves away in the darkness are brought out into the light. The captive heart sees a man outside of his jail cell with the key. The broken heart knows instinctively that it can find healing from the source of these words. All of it is terrifying and unsettling.
The heart exposed to that kind of power is equally threatened by the Words that have peeled opened all the layers. The Word that warns. The Word that reveals. The Word that explains the hearts inevitable end if it is left in its present state. Like the finest surgeon that ever was, with the most intricate of scalpels, sharp to a supernatural extent, the Word made flesh cuts deep into the fleshy heart. Behold, the goodness and the severity of God. It all at once illuminates your state and also bids you leave that state behind. And its bidding, because it is Truth, comes with the warning of the results of ignoring what you hear. Obedience is the key.
When you hear God speak you must trust and obey, for there in no other way as the old hymn goes. On the cross there is a mysterious amalgam of justice and mercy, there they are intertwined. What can save you by its mercy as you respond in obedience, will also inevitably bring justice to those who ignore the Word of God. Calvary is the immovable line of justice by which all men shall be judged. Calvary is at once wonderful and terrible. Wonderful to those being saved and terrifying to those who choose to reject it. May all men today, whether saved or not saved, bow to the Word of God and know the goodness and the severity of our God.
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Posted by appolus on March 16, 2021
If we were to break down Victory in Jesus and peer into what that looks like, what would we find? We have already talked about confrontation. That is the overarching structure. Gethsemane was a confrontation. Jesus confronted His fears and His own will and was victorious. Calvary was the culmination of confrontation. Revenge was confronted and defeated by “Forgive them father.” Sin was confronted and defeated. Despair was confronted when Jesus cries out “My God, My God why has thou forsaken me.” Gross darkness was confronted and overcome by the light of Christ. Death was confronted, the grave itself, and was overcome by His glorious resurrection. This is what victory looks like and this is the process that all of us who would desire to live a Godly victorious life find ourselves walking through. There is no other way. You will be confronted by all of these things if you desire to live a victorious life. And it is how you react to that confrontation that will determine the kind of life that you will ultimately live. The abundant life in Christ is entirely paradoxical to what the world and much of Christendom believe it to be.
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Posted by appolus on March 15, 2021
As I was walking one morning and praying this thought came to my spirit. “What does victory look like,” and the Lord spoke into my heart. Victory for the Christian almost always comes against a backdrop of darkness. Battles against the flesh. Taking up our cross. Trials and tribulations. These circumstances, these events bring to the fore a confrontation or rather are brought to the fore by confrontation. The Christian walk is a perpetual confrontation of one kind or another. If the Spirit of God dwells within you and you desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him, then the war only ends when we throw off this mortal coil. Victory in Christ is to keep on walking.
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Posted by appolus on March 15, 2021
Phil 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
Paul is a great example to us when he tells us that he had βlearned” to be content. There is no magic wand to arrive at this position. We must βlearn” And we learn by walking through the fires and the floods. Giving ourselves over and surrendering in every situation so that we can find the freedom that is found in the darkness. What do I mean by that? Well the greatest freedom ever wrought was formed and delivered to us from Calvary.
It is on the tree that Jesus set us free from the laws of sin and death. Gethsemane, Calvary, the cross, the resurrection, this is the path. There has to be a willingness to take up our crosses and die. I do not believe it is every forced upon us. Well I remember the day in 1995, four years after I came to Jesus, that I cried out to my heavenly Father” whatever it takes Lord for me to be useful to you.” One of those prayers that you know that you know that was heard before the throne.
The next 20 years there was one trial after another. The kind of trials that make you fall to your knees. Over and over again. Yet, I began to discover deep truths in these trials. After so many of them it occurred to me how faithful God was to me in the midst of them. How He was always there. How disappointed I was by my lack of total trust in Him as I walked through them. How I was determined in my spirit to walk through the next one, which I knew was coming, with more faith and trust in the faithfulness of God.
I discovered that this journey was a journey not about my own faith but about discovering just how faithful the Lord was to me. It was all about His faithfulness!! And the light bulb began to come on. I was βlearning.” And my own faith was strengthened in the midst of it all.
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Posted by appolus on March 14, 2021
My friend Tom shared with me the other day the first two lines of this poem. He said he wanted to pursue the path that has no footsteps which would lead to places he has not been. I told him I was going to steal that line and write a poem based on it π So here it is with the proper attribution to my brother in the Lord, Tom who is in his late 70s and still wants to pursue the Lord with all of his heart.
The path that has no footsteps.
The path that has no footsteps
Leads to places I have not been
It is the mystery of our walk with God
To walk the path that is not seen
Who can know what lies before us
For our future remains untold
It rests in the hand of God alone
Trust in Him is our stronghold
Your life in Christ it has no chart
No compass can ever point the way
There is no map you can rely on
Only trust in Him for every day
There is no one can lead you forward
No man can craft your way ahead
Christ alone is the road we travel
He is the narrow path we tread
How exciting is this journey
That has brought us here thus far
The Holy Spirit goes before us
He is our Rock our true North Star
Lead us on oh Lord forever
Until our path comes to an end
Then we shall cross the Jordon river
And from this world we shall transcend.
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Posted by appolus on March 14, 2021
Have you ever seen a stone plunge into the water? As it falls into the water is stretches the fabric of the undisturbed lake. A hole emerges as the stone plummets to the deep and just as suddenly, the hole repairs itself and we are left with concentric circles stretching out in all directions like the rings of a tree until they reach the edge of the waters in all directions.
When you come to Christ you disrupt the waters. There is a violent reaction in the fabric of your world. It tears a hole in it and disrupts everyone around you. Jesus did not come to bring peace. His presence violently disrupted the fabric of this world. He came down from the heavens and tore a hole in the fabric of our existence. And forever more, His presence in you sends out concentric circles which disrupt the surface tension of your waters. The ripple effect causes trouble in a world that seeks to be left alone. He is the great revolutionary.
How many can say that when they came to Christ all hell broke loose around them? Amen, the war against darkness is not for the faint of heart. Jesus is a disrupter. Those at ease in Babylon will cry out in protest that their slumbers have been disturbed. Hell will violently oppose the works of Light that diminishes and sets to flight its darkness. Yet there is another kind of violence. Jesus says in Matt 11:12 that the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.
We saints violently oppose the works of darkness. We violently oppose our own flesh despite the fact that it wars against our spirits. We have battles within and we have battles without. And because we have the light of the glory of the knowledge of God emanating from deep within us, then we shall find ourselves oftentimes surrounded by darkness. We seem to have trouble on every side, persecuted, cast down. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. We are not destroyed, we are not forsaken. The light from the glory and the knowledge of God is life to us, eternal life, and it has conquered the darkness.
In us, God has displaced hell and sin and death and replaced it with heaven and holiness and life. And it is these concentric circles, these irrepressible ripples of disruption that flow from us into a dark world touching everything for the cause of Christ. Be encouraged saint, your very life, Christ in you, has disrupted the darkness and will continue to so so until we reach the ends of the earth, the end of our journey that takes us home.
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A Call To The Remnant 