Archive for the ‘the gospel’ Category
Posted by appolus on November 13, 2020
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.Dan 6:10
Wicked men who hated Daniel and who were jealous of him came up with a decree that they persuaded the king to sign. This was a trap. By decreeing that no man or woman could petition their God for thirty days they knew they could either control Daniel or destroy him. Now Daniel certainly knew this. What he did was instructive for us today. Now perhaps many of us would go home and shut our windows and pray to God anyway despite what had been decreed. Maybe some of us would follow the decree and rationalize it by thinking that it was only 30 days, what harm would it cause? Daniel went home, and with his windows wide open, prayed unashamedly to the one true God.
Now saints, we are living in a day when many traps are being set for us and there will be many more to come. The enemy will not be satisfied with “30 days.” If Daniel had relented, then another decree would come along more intense and longer in duration than the one before. It is not good enough for the enemy to see outward compliance. He will demand much more than that. He will demand that you bow down to him and acknowledge the lie as truth. Compromise leads to disaster. It is one step down a slippery path and at its end lies destruction. The two wonderful aspects of Daniel’s story was that he unashamedly, in the face of certain death, refused to deny God or bow down to the decrees of this world that demand we deny our God and His truth. The second wonderful part was the fact that God was with Daniel in the lions den. What was decreed for his destruction only strengthened Daniel in the end.
What is pressing upon you saint? What decree is the world demanding that you compromise your faith for? Do not do it. Like a paid blackmailer, it will not end there it will only get worse. Better to go down into the lions den and meet God there. One is temporal and the other is eternal. If you cannot run with the footmen now without being wearied, how then shall you contend with the horses when the world is drowning in gross darkness? Stand upon the truth saints and do not be moved.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on November 10, 2020
Many Christians have what they call ” life Scriptures.” Particular Scriptures that have been most applicable to them in their lives and in their situations and these Scriptures have grounded them and kept them on the narrow path. This is one of my favorites….For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2Tim 1:7) Fear can so dominate out lives in all its many shades and hews. It fuels anxiety and stress. Fear is gasoline poured upon your troubles. Troubles is certainly something that we shall always have, but fear is unnecessary. And by that I mean living in fear. Slavish fear, fear that binds us hand and foot. Fear that captures the mind and overwhelms it, rendering us captive to it. How do you know if you have been captured? Do you have a sound mind? Have your thoughts taken hold of you? Can you ” turn them off?” Can you sleep at night? Do you ” walk the floor?” These are all symptoms of not having a “sound mind.”
In days long past it was referred to as having a quiet mind. Oh the beauty of a quiet peaceful mind. It’s in this quiet peace that we can hear the still small voice of God. The enemy seeks to take this quiet from us so that we cannot hear the lord. He seeks to have our minds like the sound of many waters, roaring seas, a din that cannot be stopped. It is vital, absolutely vital that brothers and sisters have a quiet mind. The fear that fuels the noise is not of God. First it comes from our flesh and then is magnified by the enemy. Distraction is the order of the day, but it’s not Gods order. You have to confront your fears in the power of God. He has given you power over it. In the yielding of our lives to Him we have been given a spirit of power and love and self-control. Make no mistake, this is an enemy that will shadow you all the days of your life. You have to be vigilant and put on all the armor of God to do battle with the enemy of God and the enemy of your soul.
There is a reward to those who overcome, there is a reward to those who endure, there is a reward to those persevere. Stand up brothers and sisters. I know you may have fallen down, maybe even multiple times to the enemy which is fear, but stand up. Count all things as loss for Christ and to be found in Him. It will not come naturally, in fact quite the opposite, which is why it is a battle. But be of good cheer, for we worship a supernatural God who hears the cries of His people and who is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and His presence. Who, with discipline and single-mindedness continue to seek out their God no matter what situations come along. Do not condemn yourself if you have despaired. The great men of Scriptures despaired. The levels and the depths of your despair is often the height and the measure of your trial. Stand up, stand strong, stand in the power of God, stand in the evil day.
It is not the falling down that is the measure of the man or woman of God, it is the rising up. Rise up today from your bed of fear and anxiety and cast all your cares upon Him. Trust Him. Know that we can lose everything in this world but we cannot be taken out of His hand. You may not feel His presence today, but He stands with you and goes before you. You may not feel the heat of the sun at night but nevertheless it is there and come the dawn the sun shall rise. This may be a dark time in your life but this I want you to know, the sun will rise again, there shall be a dawn that follows the darkness of your situation. Persevere saints and one day soon we shall gather before the throne and praise together. The Bible tells us to put on a garment of praise for a Spirit of heaviness and that the Lord inhabits the praise of His people. Begin to praise the Living God today in a sacrifice of worship and wait and see the fire of God fall upon that sacrifice.
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Posted by appolus on November 9, 2020
Saints are you ready? God is sending a refining fire. Our God is a consuming fire. The fire, as we speak, is being kindled. You may have heard talk of revival. There is something coming that is so much higher than revival. There is something coming that the world has never seen before. A Church united by persecution. An ancient unity first spoken of in John 17 by the Lord Jesus Himself. A Church arising from the ashes of mediocracy. A Church ushered into the glory.
And on the other side of that is the unity of the world. A world unified by the brotherhood of man. A world united by it’s hatred of everything that opposes its own virtues. A bold enraged world that is about to initiate a grand inquisition. In every town and in every city and in every nation of the world there will come the question. “Will you bow down?” Will you bow down to the gods of this world? The tower of Babel is rising from its ancient foundations. It will rise up in rebellion against Jesus.
If you refuse to work on the construction of this tower then a united world will turn on you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.(Mat 10:21-22) Saints, your family will turn on you. If liking President Trump split families, what do you suppose will happen when Jesus becomes the issue?
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another (Mat 24:9-10) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…..they shall be…without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, without self control, fierce, despisers of those that are good….traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God……having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof(1 Tim 1:5) I put it to you saints that this generation has arisen before our very eyes. We raised them.
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…..For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet…..And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. (Rom 1:21:28)
Saints we are dealing with a world given over to a reprobate mind. We are that generation and as such we have been called to stand in the evil day, to not be ashamed of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole Gospel, and the truth upon which it is founded. This is the power of God. This is the fire of His refining. The fire comes in the reaction of a Godless world to the God of all creation burning in the hearts of His saints. We are the match that lights the fire. It is the Truth and our love for it that will be the last piece of evidence against a world that has rejected God.
We have been called for such a time as this. A glorious calling. A final calling at the end of the ages. A calling that sees us walk in the unity that Jesus spoke of. The glory of that unity shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The cost? Everything. The enemy is coming in like a flood and God is raising up a standard. He has called us up to higher ground. He has called us forth to raise His banner high. The banner of Truth. And when one of us is taken by the enemy and destroyed, another rushes forward and hoists it high over the battle-field.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high his royal banner,
It must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory
His army shall he lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on November 6, 2020
There is a direct correlation between unconditional love for God and peace. Is your love for God conditional? In many ways we wont know that until we face a certain set of circumstances and those circumstances are different for everyone, God knows though. That is why that while there is one narrow path through this world the saints experience that path differently.
The circumstances of your life will tell the tale. The more we love God unconditionally the more we walk in peace. The greater the witness. One might argue that unconditional is unconditional. There cannot be more unconditional or less unconditional. I would agree with that in the abstract. Yet in the practical working out of our lives and our salvation, we often discover, to our horror, that we are not what we thought ourselves to be. Meaning that we fail in certain circumstances. We fall down. In the failing and the falling down, we see how far we fall short of His glory. We see our desperate need for Jesus and the absolute imperative that we surrender all, actually surrender all as opposed to merely singing with feelings that precious old Hymn “I surrender all.”
So unconditional love for God means that we make no deals. It is God that says to us “if you do this.” The Scriptures are full of the word “If.” What can never happen is the opposite. We can never say to God “if you do this.” We worship a Holy God for no other reason that He is a Holy God and He is deserving of our worship, quite apart and distinct from our personal circumstances, no matter how good or how dire they are. Unlike our circumstances, God never changes.
In the natural we understand the phrase “Unconditional surrender.” The Germans and the Japanese both discovered what that meant. Have you unconditionally surrendered to God this day? Have you surrendered your husband or your wife? Your nation? Your children? Your finances, your standing in this world? Your reputation? Whatever percentage you hold back for yourself, it will directly detract from your walk with Jesus and the peace that surpasses all understanding. Identify within yourself what you have held back. Surrender it. The high water mark is complete and total unconditional surrender. How do you measure up?
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on November 6, 2020
“Lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ.” (2 Cor 4:4)
I want to focus on “The Gospel of the glory of Christ.” What is the Gospel of the glory of Christ? We know that the word Gospel means good news, so we could say it is the good news of the glory of Christ. Do you know the glory of Christ? If the good news itself is about the glory of Christ, is it possible to share the Gospel if you yourself have not experienced the glory of Christ? And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one (Joh 17:22) Jesus is saying that His glory comes from the Father and that He has given us this very same glory. And why? So that we may be one. So, without the glory we cannot be one with Father and the Son and we cannot be one in the oneness of the Body. Have you been given the glory? And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) Have you saw His glory?
Do you know the Glory, have you been given the glory and have you seen the glory? In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple ( Isa 6:1) Have you had a vision of God? Have you experienced His manifest presence? In Hebrews chapter one it is stated that Jesus is the radiance of His glory. And so, if we know Jesus then we know the light that emanates from God Himself, this light is the glory of God. Many of have seen the corona of the sun when an eclipse occurs .The corona is the aura that surrounds and emanates from the sun. It is only at the moment when the moon blocks out the sun that we dare gaze upon it and see the aura. To gaze fully into the sun itself would render us blind. The glory of God is the aura that emanates from Jesus. He is so Holy that we can only know Him by His aura. Jesus is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. By taking on flesh Jesus was like the moon that enabled us to look with unveiled eyes about the radiance of the glory of God without destroying us mere mortals in the process.
We must know His glory. His glory is a gift from the Lord Himself, He allows Himself to be seen by the power of the Holy Spirit. We see His glory, we stand in awe, just like Isaiah, at the glory of God. We ourselves would be undone if it were not for Jesus. We could not stand in that place unless we were covered by His blood. By becoming one in the Father and the Son we can stand in the glory. We can bask in the radiance of His glory. We are empowered and renewed and strengthened by the glory. We rise up by the power of the glory. We speak of Him only by the empowering presence of His glory. In short, we do all things by the glory of God and for the glory of God and without the glory we can do nothing. Can you see how important the glory is? It is the power of God and the beauty of God and the holiness of God. If we would walk in the beauty and the holiness and the power of God we must know the glory of God. Do you know His glory?
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on November 2, 2020
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
The greatest revelation of God in my life has come in the midst of my needs. It has not come in my wants or desires or accomplishments it has come in my needs. The greater the need the greater the revelation. The second time of greatest revelation of God in my life has come when I have sinned against Him. There is no deeper humiliation for a saint than to have failed his Lord badly. Yet, when I approached the throne of grace with my head hung low and with a spirit within that was crying out ” woe is me for I am undone,” then suddenly I am encountered with love and forgiveness even although I myself had desired punishment and penance to atone somehow for my sin. Now I am undone not because of my unworthiness but because of the realization of the depths of His love and faithfulness to me. It is His holiness that saves, it is his grace that is sufficient and it is His faithfulness that will never fail. He increases in my heart and I decrease as I realize the very source of all that I am in Him and in Him alone.
If our sins lead to humility and repentance and brokenness before the throne where we receive a greater and deeper revelation of who God is, and they do, then would not the enemy of our souls do everything in his power to keep us from this place? And the easiest and most effective way to do that is to convince us that we never have to seek that place out. Do not be fooled saints, God is glorified and revealed to us in the depths of our needs, our infirmities and our failures. Should we then seek to be in need or to be infirm or to sin so that God may be glorified?
God forbid. I can guarantee that you wont have to seek out needs or infirmities or sin. They will find you because you are finite and corruptible. But an infinite God will one day raise you up in in-corruption. And until that day comes His grace will be sufficient for you. He will meet you in the depths of your needs. He will be faithful to forgive all of your sins when you come before Him and confess them. And in all of that you are drawn ever deeper into the heart of the Father.
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Posted by appolus on October 27, 2020
Religion is just one more form of enslavement. It wraps its tentacles around every part of who we are and crushes the life out of us. It portrays itself as the saver but is in fact the slayer. It is an imposter, a chameleon that pretends to be all things to all people. It pretends to give while all the time taking. It feeds its monstrous appetites while it’s victims starve to death. What a grand deception.
Starving to death and not even realizing your hunger and all the time you are wasting away. An emaciated people starved by a grotesque monster that presents itself as an angel of light. Look again, stare deeply into the eyes of this “angel.” They are blood red and cold. Merciless and without natural affection. This entity, even in the midst if its delusion, can barely conceal its maniacal hatred for the ones who follow it.
If religion is all about deception and taking then Jesus is the antidote to it all. While religion takes and enslaves, He sacrificed and freed the captives. While religion crushes the heart, Jesus restores that which was crushed. While religion starves its followers, Jesus feeds the hungry. While religion is aloof and separate from its adherents, Jesus makes His home in His children’s heart. He feeds us, He dines with us, he laughs with us and He cries with us. In short, He enters into a relationship with us and we become one with Him.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on October 26, 2020
Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job
Can you even begin to imagine brothers and sisters, the Lord saying “Have you considered my servant…..” fill in the blank with your own name. What glory and honor that the Lord of all creation would testify of His servant before the throne-room of heaven, before the heavenly hosts. God is well confident in his servant. The accuser on the other hand has nothing at all to accuse Job of therefore he turns to the motivations of the heart of Job. And so unfolds the story of humanity.
The Lord knows you, He knows you through and through. The same enemy of Job is the enemy of your soul. And the same accusation that he made against Job he makes against you. In the eternal spiritual courtroom, God stands accused by Satan that no one actually loves Him, they only follow Him for what they can get from Him. This is Satan acting according to his character, nasty and vindictive, the father of lies distorted with hatred for God and for His children.
You, dear saint, are a witness in this case. You are called to testify. Your testimony is your life in God and the motivations of your heart. Every moment that you praise Him, give thanks to Him, rejoice in Him, glory in His majesty, you continue to make the case against Satan. You are part of the truth and he is all of the lie. Truth is victorious over lies. Your life is a testimony to love. God’s love for you and your love in return. This glorifies God, this is your primary purpose here on earth. And the darker your circumstances, the greater more powerful the witness. To glory in God and to give thanks to Him in the midst of trials and tribulations is your greatest contribution to the reality of your relationship with God.
So brothers and sisters, never stop thanking God, no matter your circumstances. You may not think that no one knows about your situation. God knows, the heavenly hosts knows and the fallen angels know. They know and they watch. This is why the promises are made to those who overcome and endure till the end. For love endures. It overcomes all obstacles and it even willingly dies for the object of its love. This is the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have been called to follow Him.
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Posted by appolus on October 21, 2020
I have no hesitation in saying that it is my honest and charitable conviction that the Christ of the average religion today is not the Christ of the Bible at all. He is a manufactured Christ, the Christ painted on canvas, the Christ drawn from cheap poetry, a Christ of the liberal and the soft and timid person. He is an imitation Christ that has not in Him the iron and the fury and the anger, as well as the love and grace and mercy (A.W.Tozer-Living a Christian life. pg 218)
Tozer was right in his day, and, I put it to you, we find ourselves in very much more degraded days than his. The Christ, for the most part, that is propagated today is a mere Santa Claus figure, gentle and timid and somewhat fearful of man. This man made Christ watches over men and smiles approvingly at all of their sins. Like a father who cannot discipline his children and they run wild, Jesus has been reduced to this in the minds of most men who would call themselves by His name. They have created this Jesus in their own image. They would gladly say “behold the goodness of God,” while not finishing the sentence “and the severity of God.”
They would gladly tell you that “the gift of God is eternal life,” while refusing ever to say that the “wages of sin is death.” They will gladly tell you that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but they will never mention the very next sentence which says he who refuses to believe is condemned already. There is no iron and fury and anger, as Tozer puts it, in the God that they have created and worshiped. There is only grace and mercy and woe betide anyone who suggests otherwise. In the end, this will separate the wheat from the tares. Those who refuse to acknowledge a God who will judge the living and the dead will throw their lot in with a world who will be taken up with the god of this world.
The only iron and fury and anger we will see will be that of the apostate and the fallen world who will come together to judge the saint who worships the true and the Biblical and the living God. Their fury will be great and their anger without measure. They will have murderous hearts and will gnash their teeth and fall with great fury upon those who refuse to compromise, those who love the Word of God and who long for His appearance.
Yet, like Stephen, the saints of God will see the heavens open in that day and will see the glory of God in ways and depths that they have never seen nor experienced Him before. It will be their honor to stand upon the truth and to suffer and die for it and the Holy Spirit will rise up in them in ways the world has never seen. God will be glorified in His children and that glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on October 21, 2020
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Oftentimes we find ourselves troubled on every side. Many times we are perplexed. Many of us have been persecuted, perhaps not in the sense of living in a hostile country, but maybe within the confines of our own families. We have been thrown down and trampled on . Often dying it seems by our many troubles. All of these things and more are the things that would destroy most, but in you they have caused the life of Christ to spring up from the darkness of your situations. An abundance of grace has been poured out upon your life that speaks to the glory of God and the love of the Father for His children. He established you and gave you grace and purpose before time began.
When we have been troubled on every side we can testify that we have been rescued from distress. When we have been weighed down with the perplexities of life, the Lord Himself pulls us up from the valleys of despair.In the midst of our persecutions and feelings of isolation we have discovered that we are not alone. When we have been thrown down and trampled on, the Lord Himself has saved us from being destroyed.
In all of these things we do not faint, we rise up by the power of the Holy Spirit. The outer man may be in the process of perishing but our inner man is renewed daily by the glory of God and the amazement of a dying world. The world sees that out of the darkness of our situations that God Himself has commanded light to shine forth. You may not be able to fully articulate the Roman road to salvation but the world does see that out of you, out of your many trials, your sorrows, your afflictions and your infirmities, there shines forth the light of Christ Himself. Be encouraged saints, you are a mighty witness for Christ.
Perhaps the world will never know your story, but the Lord knows and the mouths of the principalities and powers are closed by the testimony of God in you, your hope and your glory. God spoke into Gideon’s life and He called him a mighty man of valor, although at the point of which He spoke it to him nothing could be further from the truth. Yet the key was “God spoke.’ And even although Gideon would complain that he was the weakest man from the weakest clan in all the land, that meant nothing to God. You see, its never the man or the woman, its always God. If He is with you brothers and sister, then He can achieve whatever He desire through you , not because of you, but because of Him, the one who speaks and the one who calls. He equips the ones He calls. Your job is to keep on standing, keep on moving, one step at a time, one day at a time, getting up and then getting up again and again and again. And even in this, He empowers us to rise up when we decide to get up. Rise up today brothers and sisters and put one foot in front of the other.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on October 15, 2020
Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
In the Lord Jesus we find true love and forgiveness. Not as the world forgives, for His forgiveness is untainted by human imperfection. In 1 Cor 13 we discover that true love keeps no record of wrongs. I first heard that at a wedding I was attending. I was not saved and I was drunk. I heard the minister read this out and thought what a load of nonsense. One can maybe forgive but never forget. That was what i thought until many years later I myself became the recipient of such love and forgiveness. It took me years to fully realize the magnificent truth of this. Raised in the Catholic tradition of punishment and penance and purgatory, the notion that the Lord had not only forgiven me, but had now cast my sin into a sea of forgetfulness never again to be dredged up was transformative. The tyrannical forces of guilt and shame were dealt with head on.
The antidote to shame and guilt is an intimate confession to a holy and loving God. Then when that is done we must believe that when the Lord forgives us He keeps no record of our wrongs. He casts them into a bottomless sea. The problem is that we judge and gauge the Lord our God by our own standards. But of course His ways are not our ways. He is higher than we. His love is beyond the grasp of the mortal mind of man and can only be grasped by the inspiration of the Spirit.
Encounter God and touch infinite beauty and love. Encounter God and stand in a place of inexpressible awe and majesty. When we grasp something of His vastness, then we are able to grasp the fact that not only has He forgiven us, but that He never keeps a record of our wrongs. They are cast into a sea where it is impossible to plumb its depth. The chains of guilt and shame that for so long have imprisoned men are broken asunder by the love and mercy of God that we encounter before the throne. Today is the day for your encounter. This is the day for your chains to be broken.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on October 1, 2020
I see judgement whether we turn to the left or right ( not meaning that in a political sense although it may fit) If Trump is reelected the forces of anarchy will intensify and cities will burn. If Biden is elected there will be a sharp rise in aggressive political acts against the Christian community and of course abortion will not only go on unabated but children who somehow manage to survive an abortion will be left to die on a table in the corner of a room. Now, perhaps that is our end, the end of a society that has highly flawed notions of what freedom actually is. There is the freedom wrought for us on bloody Calvary, and then there is everything else.
The freedom that man gives, man can take away. The freedom that God gives though His sacrifice, no power that exists can touch. No man can make me less free. No political party can make me less free. No principality or power can degrade my freedom in any way. I may be in a jail cell but I will be free. I may even be martyred for the cause of Christ but I shall be free indeed. In fact, the more the devil rages, the more I plunge the depths of freedom. We saints must remember that and stand upon that. Dark days lie ahead, but above every dark cloud there is a piercing and perpetual blue sky.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 27, 2020
Gideon was a mighty man of valor. Yet long before he would prove himself on a battle-field he first had to first tear down the altars of his fathers. In order to fulfill the role God has for any of us we must rise up, and go up and tear down the altars, the high places that have been erected for the worship of all things ungodly. A country that raises up an altar on the high places to wickedness shall not stand. Whether it takes one year or five hundred years, it will fall. America raised up a high place of worship, that high place is called abortion. Of all the possible sins that any secular nation can indulge itself in, infanticide will bring that country to its knees.
A culture of death promotes death. The blood of the innocents prime the pumps from the lower depths of hell. And from that gross dark place there pours forth the most vile evil, eventually drowning mankind it its own wickedness. Gideon had to discover from God that he was a mighty man of valor. Then he had to act upon it. God is raising up a generation of Gideons and it begins by tearing down the altars that have been erected to worship ancient evil deities.
Moloch is among them and has been raised up. His flag flies over many of the capitals of the world. Only the light of Christ shining forth from His children can counter the gross darkness that has covered the land. Stand fast saints. For the source of all light is at the door. The prayers from an army of saints marching on its knees will rise up to heavens throne room and God will rend the heavens and come down and in His presence they will stand on that evil day.
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Posted by appolus on September 20, 2020
So this is not to be construed as a political post and I will not indulge anyone in a back and forth over one political party or another. The death of RBG and the timing of it is high octane fuel on an already burning inferno. This country was already being torn apart by division and just when you think it cannot get worse, then it does.
A country under judgement looks something like this. The cries of the innocents shout out from a blood soaked land. The fall out from this death will expose completely the fault lines and the hypocrisies on both sides of the political divide. Make no mistake, the supernatural forces of Moloch will rage. Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.
The Lord gave me a word from Lamentations chapter four last May. One of the most serious words He has ever given me, you can read it below. The issue in Lamentations was the slaughter of the children by the mothers. For years they had worshiped Moloch and when their backs were to the wall and they were under siege, the cooked and ate their own children.
What low state must a people arrive at when they will rejoice at their ability to murder their own children? The world is locked down in a pandemic, fear stalks the streets, violence and divisions of people are at the breaking point. Saints, God is speaking. Everything that can be shaken is being shaken. Draw close to your Lord and know that He is the Master of your soul and no matter what you see unfold, He is in charge.
When the Hebrew children defied the powers that be and declared that no matter what, they would never bow down to the gods of this world, all hell broke loose and in its fury the fires of destruction were intensified seven times. We are entering into that time, the fires of hells fury is just about to be intensified. We must be willing to stand and make the same declaration as the Hebrew children. Even if we die in the fires we shall never bow down to the gods of this world. Stand fast saints.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 6 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 18, 2020
Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven:
A door opened in heaven!! What is this, what can it mean? If such a door existed and we had access to it should we not find it and walk through it? Just a few sentences earlier we hear about the door;Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.(Rev 3:20) There is, it seems, a door that we as children of God can open, and when that door is opened we can sit down with the Lord at His banqueting table, glory to God. Again a few sentences before that we hear Jesus say I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.(Rev 3:8)
This open door to glory, this door to heaven, this access to the throne room belongs to the child of God. The ability to come before the Father and bow down and cry out Abba uniquely belongs to the enduring overcoming child of the living God. No man can shut this door, no power on earth can shut this door, Satan himself cannot shut this door. It has been given by the hand of God to His child and no one can rob him of it.
This is the glories of walking with the Lord with an open heart, to walk in His presence and according to His ways. This is the promise of Jesus to His faithful followers, that no matter what happens, no matter how dark the hour , no matter how fierce the opposition, the saints can walk in the glories of God and have access to His throne and to His presence and that He would keep them from the hour of temptation.
Now that word keep is better translated guard. To the loving Church who does not deny the name of Jesus and keeps His word, He guards them from that hour of temptation that is coming upon the world. Temptation loses its power for those who draw near to Jesus. To draw near to Jesus we must have an open door in our hearts, our hearts must be open to His glories and then we shall have the power to stand fast and let no man steal our crown.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the deeper life, the gospel, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 16, 2020
Five years ago, boy how time flies, my sister who was only 52, died. She died on Aug 29th but was not buried for over two weeks, so this week five years ago, she was buried. It was a terrible loss for me personally and for our family. Elaine had an aneurysm at the age of 39. To say the next 13 years was a hell would be no understatement. We often overuse the phrase “we would not wish this upon our worse enemies,’ but in Elaine’s case this was all too true. Yet near the end of her time she came to know Jesus in a quite remarkable way. I still have the old recording on my answerphone the night she called me up to tell me she just gave her life to Jesus. And then again the next day to affirm what she had did the night before.
“Frank, I need you to call me tomorrow, for I gave my life to the Lord. I have forgiven Joe (her ex husband whom she despised) I have asked Jesus to be with me and help me though these days. I am so sorry for all these sins I have committed and I said Lord I need your help, I cannot do it without you. I need you to make me a new person. I just keep crying out to Jesus. I know He is with me. I am fully committed to Him. I want to be healed and become a new person.” The next day she left this message on my phone……..
“Frank, it’s Elaine, I know the Lord is with me. I got up this morning and saw a lovely part of a rainbow (prior to Elaine getting saved, the blinds were literally shut 24 hours a day, she could not stand the light) and it was surrounded by thundery gray skies. The Lord said He would help me every step of the way and I look forward to see what He is going to do.” All of this was said through tears and sobbing. All of this after decades of Elaine hearing the Gospel from my mother, myself and others and she was very stubbornly resistant to it. None of us knew at that time she had less than two years to live, in fact two days after this she had another brain bleed, 13 years after the first one. The Lord’s timing is so impeccable. Thank you Jesus. I wrote this poem below the day that she died and the next one a few months after that.
A poem for my sister
When my heart is overwhelmed
And grief comes flooding in
I lift my eyes to higher ground
Where there is no pain or sin
Yet deep within my heart
Amidst the savage waves
There is a calm repose
That’s with me all my days
I lift my eyes amidst this storm
That’s raging all around
He lifts me up above the waves
To stand on higher ground
And in the light of glory
That pierces every night
I catch a glimpse of majesty
And what a glorious sight
I see my sister dancing there
Amidst the saintly throng
Hands raised in heavenly splendor
And singing a heavenly song
The night has passed, the dawn has broke
There’s no tears to be found
For those who’ve left this world behind
For heavens higher ground.
I wrote this next poem based on the last thing my sister said on this earth. She was lying on her death bed and holding my mum’s hand. She called her mam. She was unconscious but awoke for a moment and said ” mam,” and then slipped away as my mom held her hand. This is quite a Scottish poem so my fellow Scots will probably understand it better. (Whiskey was the name of our cat growing up and chip was our wee dog)
Mam
Take my hand mam
It’s time for me to leave
Why so sad mam
I see those tears upon your sleeve
Don’t cry for me mam
This life has not been good to me
Yet in just a moment’s time
I’ll finally be free
I remember ally bally
And sitting on your knee
I remember Whiteside’s flowers
And being late for tea
I remember summers long ago
And swimming in the dam
Fires on Kilgreggan’s beach
But most of all my mam
I remember daddy kissing you
Me jumping on his back
I remember wee chip standing there
And whiskey getting whacked
I was young them mam, you know
I could never guess what lay ahead of me
Just as well, don’t you think mam
That the future’s something we cannot see
I lie here now I see your face
My hand in yours a warm embrace
He’s coming now, the Lord for me
And with Him forever I will be
Goodbye mam it’s time to go
I loved you always, this you know
Take my hand and lay it down
For I’ve exchanged it for a crown
Close your eyes and think of me
Tighter mam, now can you see?
I’m beautiful, He’s made me whole
He’s replaced everything the locusts stole
Mam, we’ll meet again one day
When you come to the end of the narrow way
And together we’ll dance and praise and sing
The glories of our risen King.
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Posted by appolus on September 14, 2020
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.(Joh 14:6)
There are many earth shattering moments when Jesus spoke. Moments and words that changed everything. This scripture is among the most profound truth ever written. This is why in the end of end days it will become the most infamous of all Scriptures. This will be banned and become illegal to share in our life time. It will be deemed as hate speech and once that occurs, almost all of what Jesus spoke will be considered detrimental to the spiritual health of the population at large. His words will then be cherry picked and the rest will simply not be spoken of.
Let us affirm this truth. Jesus is the only way to heaven and every other road leads directly to hell, whether that be the Islamic road or the Judaic road or the Hindu road or the Buddhist road. The only way to God is through His son Jesus. He is the way. And in the depths of that meaning we are shown that it is not good enough to say that you are His or that you believe in Him, there must be fruits of your salvation. We will know a saint by the way that he or she walks. In the days of the inquisitions, many saints were identified for persecution because it was said of then that they lived “exemplary,” lives.
This is the way of Christ. We live and we strive to live as He did and taught. The truth is the word of God. It is not open for debate among saints, starting with the above Scripture. Jesus is the Truth and Jesus is the word made flesh and we stand upon it, even with our very lives. It burns at the center of our souls, it is a fire in our bones and flames upon our lips. The truth spoken in love scorches a Godless earth. To the ungodly it is a fire that must be extinguished.
Finally He is the life and no man truly follows Him without having His life in Him. His life in us is joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. It is peace when all around us is turmoil. It is joy even in the depths of despair. It is love when we should hate. It is self control and meekness. It is a giving of ourselves and a crucified life. In all of this we are long suffering and the very least those around us will say is that we are good people. And so saint even in these ever darkening days let us stand upon the fundamental truth of our Lord and never waver even as the inevitable assaults come flooding in. He is true and let all men be liars.
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Posted by appolus on September 13, 2020
Sometimes I forget that I am a fighter. Every now and then the gross darkness comes in and I forget who I am for a moment, for a day, for a week. Then I remember. I look back and I remember. I remember battles. I remember being battered black and blue. I see the war torn terrain. I see the smoke and the mist and the darkness and I see the hand that reached down to me. From heaven itself. My God who rules supreme over every battle. My Lord Jesus, tried and true warrior who has rode through every battle and stood right there, back to back. I remember that and as I do the light comes flooding back. The darkness retreats. Don’t forget who you are today saint. Jesus has your back. In Him you are more than a conqueror. You will endure, you will prevail, you will overcome. Somebody need to hear that today. He sees you
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on September 7, 2020
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith, what an incredible word. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Think about that for a moment. Things hoped for has no substance in this material world. Yet it forms the foundation upon which we stand. It exists in a realm we cannot see. Yet in the depths of our heart and the heights of our spirit we know it to be true. By this understanding we know that the Word of God Himself framed this world and every star in the night sky. The things that are seen was not made by what can be seen. It is only by faith that this can be known.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Think about that for a moment. It is a totally otherworldly statement. In this material world in which we dwell, evidence consists entirely of things seen. Yet in the Kingdom of God and the hearts of men, the evidence of things unseen is the entire basis for our existence. We believe in the unseen world. We believe in the unseen God. We believe in the unseen heaven and we also believe in an unseen hell.
This knowing that has been given to us, is the evidence of the things to come. The evidence of things not seen, that sentence absolutely runs counter to everything man is and knows. There in enmity between the heads of men and the hearts of the saints and never the twain can meet. There is a vast gulf between the two and it is impassable. The man who follows his head can only believe in what he can see. He will say “show me.” The man who follows the dictates of his heart and the leading of the Spirit will simply say, “I believe.”
Only by knowing God can these truths be known. It is in this realm of the knowing that we exist as saints. We walk in that realm. This is walking in the Spirit. We know what cannot be known. We know beyond the knowledge of man. There is an old song called “He lives.” The chorus goes like this…..He lives , He lives, Christ Jesus lives today He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way He lives , He lives , salvation to impart, You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
Ask me how I know He lives. You see He lives inside of me. He walks with me as the old song says. He talks with me. Faith may be the evidence of things unseen by this world but I have saw the Lord high and lifted up. I have knelt before the throne of God and all His glory filled the temple and it filled my heart and it filled my very soul. I have sat at His feel and He has taught me. I have cried out in the night watches and He has wiped away my tears. I was dead in the valley of dry bones and He raised me up. He gave me a new heart and He breathed His very life into me.
Yes, I trust Him and my hope is in Him but my hope is not like the hope of this world. My very hope has substance even although you cannot see it. My hope is Christ Himself, the Christ that dwells within my heart. The Christ that raised me from the dead. The Christ who whispers in my ear. The Christ that conquered every fear. The Christ who showed me how to die and the Christ who taught me how to fly. He is my sunrise in the morning and He is the sunset of my life. The beginning and the end and everything in between.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on September 5, 2020
There is an old French phrase that is centuries old, it is “Rage Millitaire.” In essence it means a passion for taking up arms. Something that sweeps through a country or region and men take up arms and rise up with an uncontrollable rage. This was said of pre-revolutionary America. I would like to suggest that there is a Rage Millitair rising in the west. There is a rising passion for violence in the populous. It will not end well.
Right now it manifests itself in political violence, yet there is a very strong undercurrent that is the primary motivation for the uprising. The genuine saint is in the cross-hairs. The bowels of hell are readying themselves for war. Every now and then in human history hell’s fury gushes forth and and swamps humanity. It takes blood to prime the blood lust. The blood of the innocents, countless millions of dead infants, ripped from their mothers wombs, have whetted the appetites of an ancient evil.
A German woman was interviewed in the 60s. She had been a Nazi in pre-war Germany and attended all of Hitlers rallies. She was asked why she had followed something so overtly evil. She was at a loss for an explanation but as the interviewer waited, she finally said something very profound. She said “there was something in the atmosphere and we all breathed it in.” I would like to suggest that right now there is something in the atmosphere and the world is breathing it in. The hordes of hell are massing and the the devil himself has charged the atmosphere, that old serpent and power of the air.
Let there be no mistake. The targets for this coming tsunami are the saints. Right now the targets are political and the causes of division and hatred are based on race and class. Yet the undercurrent around the Western world flows violently towards and against genuine Christianity and anyone who will stand upon its pillars of truth. Hate laws are being crafted in many of the Western countries and the crime is “to incite.”
If your views run counter to the politically correct narrative of this day, then these laws will be aimed at you. You are inciting an enraged world. The world and its ruler has lost its patience with dissent and free speech. Speak Biblical truth and they will come knocking on your door. There will be no room in this world for those who follow Jesus. They will be deemed enemies of the people. They will be hated by the religious, the political and the man in the street.
The political class in Jerusalem hated the Pharisee. The Pharisee hated the Sadducee. The Romans hated all of them. Yet in the end, they all found common cause in hating Jesus. It was prudent for them all to come together and kill Jesus for the sake of the nation, for the sake of their institutions, for their own survival. It will be prudent for the world to get rid of genuine Christianity. We are a thorn in their flesh. We are manifestation of their conscience. We are a living reminder that they live in sin and darkness. We who are bearers of the light cause much anguish to those who dwell in darkness.
Yet in all of this we are more than conquerors in Christ. Just as He overcame we too shall overcome. We must ready ourselves for what lies ahead. We ready ourselves by taking up our crosses daily. As we do that we shall be fully established in the reality that nothing can separate us from the love of God. The sufferings of this present time and the times to shortly come upon us are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us. We hold this glory in earthen vessels and when we are broken this glory, the glory of God pours forth. So if we are broken for Christ’s sake by the dark powers of this world then light pours forth.
The whole of creation is groaning and travailing in pain right now. It is ready to give birth to something very evil before the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. The first born of Christ groan as well, we groan for the coming of the blessed hope. The Spirit of God groans for us in holy intercession. And we know this, if God is for us, who can be against us? If tribulation or distress or persecution come against us, if all day long we are led as lambs to the slaughter, still nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
In all of these things we are more than conquerors in Christ our Lord and I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities or powers nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:31-39)
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 1 Comment »
A Call To The Remnant 