Archive for the ‘the persectuted church’ Category
Posted by appolus on August 27, 2020
There are not many around today who have experienced the manifest presence of the Living God. And by that I do not mean ” the music was excellent this morning, I was really moved by it,” or ” that was such a great sermon.” What I mean by the manifest presence of God is when the music stops, when the preaching stops, when men can barely lift their heads because the holy heaviness of God has come down and laid bare their souls. Where the weight of His glory and majesty seems to even disrupt gravity.
Men and women are afraid to even whisper lest they interrupt a Holy God. Hands raised in holy adoration and men are on their knees. Tears flow like swollen rivers in the midst of spring time rains. Hearts are enlarged, hearts are melted, hearts are changed, hearts are filled to capacity then overflow. For the rest of the day, the week, the month these rain drenched swollen hearts fall with tears of overflowing at the mere thought of His presence.
The sensitivity of your touched heart is so great that even the mention of the name of Jesus ushers you once again into His presence. This is new wine, and the old has to give way to the new. We do not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God nor do we live on yesterdays memories but on today’s encounter for that gives life to your tomorrows.
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Posted by appolus on August 26, 2020
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.(Psa 2:1-3)
The world in which we live grows ever more angry against the Kingdom of God and His saints. As each day passes we see more and more that the heathen, the unbeliever and the people in general are aligned with the kings and rulers of this world against the anointed of God. The anger is rising in the hearts of men against the saints of God. Pretense is being cast away and kings and governments are showing their true colors, they are showing us who they really worship, the ruler of this world, the prince of the power of the air.
Yet the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords still sits upon His throne. His kingdom and His people still carry the banner of light into the valley of darkness. Though the whole world rises up in a crescendo of darkness and evil, the saints, the bearers of the light shall stand firm upon Holy ground, they will not be moved. Those who serve the Lord with fear and who tremble in His manifest presence are soldiers in the Army of the Lord. We do not fight with the weapons of this world, our weapons are mighty for the pulling down of strong-holds.
Every saint who has ever walked Godly in Christ Jesus knows something of the heathen’s rage. You know brothers and sisters, you know. God has seen your suffering and is well pleased that you have stood strong against the exploits of the people in general around you, perhaps even those of your own household. Now consider our Lord and Savior Jesus, how in His day the rulers took counsel together to destroy Him. Kings and rulers, Pharisees and Sadducees, Herodians and the mob all came together against Him. The whole world turned on Him and yet He was true to His calling until He gave up His last breath.
Though the whole world come against you dear brothers and sisters, and it will, let us follow the ways of the Lord and stay true to our calling until we breathe our last breath. Whether we live or whether we die let us glorify the Lord. And whether we are still alive or have gone on before we shall all join our Lord in the sky in that great and terrible day of the Lord. The Kings and the rulers of this world and the raging heathens and all the vain peoples will bow their knees and acknowledge the Christ and receive His judgment.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 22, 2020
Shame is the shadow that follows us. A dark specter from our past, a half life of an incident or multiple incidents all seemingly running together as one. It speaks to you and pretends to be something of a friend, something that promises to keep the secret, it warns you to keep the secret. It demands that you stay in the shadows, in the hiding places. It draws you into a melancholy world, a place of shadows and quicksand, a world that keeps you in the darkness.
Then there is the light, the light of Christ, and with that light comes transparency and vulnerability, the deadliest enemies of the ever burning embers of fear and shame. Living waters poured upon burning coals. Light that floods the darkness and illuminates every dark part of what helped to form us, or deform us. The light of Christ shone into the deepest recesses of our souls and dispels the darkness and renews us.
We are renewed, brand new creatures in Christ. The mud and the muck falls from us as He lifts us up from the bottom of the bottomless pit and sets our feet down on level ground. No longer to stumble around in the dimness that passed for light, but to stand steady in the light of Christ. Grave clothes removed after rising from the dead and walking out of the darkness at His call. Can you hear Him calling us to come forth?
The stone of sin and shame that kept us captive in the grave is rolled away and the light of God penetrates deep into the darkness and delivers us. Only in Him, only in Jesus. He came to set the captives free. He came to set at liberty the crushed and the bruised and the broken. He came to take them out of the darkness into His marvelous light that they may recover their sight.
For so many, the bars of their cell, the closed door, does not represent confinement but containment. In Jesus we are neither confined nor contained, we are set free. But it is one thing to cross the river Jordan, it quite another thing to possess the promised land. The high walls of Jericho have to come down if we are to progress deeper and deeper into the promises of God. Coming to Jesus is not the end of the journey, its the beginning. The cell door being opened is the beginning. What a tragedy it would be if the cell door was opened yet we never walked on through the door, rather we felt safer within the confines and constraints of what we knew.
It would also be a tragedy if, after being delivered from Egypt, the Israelites continually wandered in the desert, too afraid to cross over into and possess the promised land because “there are giants in there.” Giants have to be engaged and defeated by the power of God if we are to take full possession of what He has for us. Walls have to come down if we are to continue the journey. What are your giants? What great walls are keeping you from taking possession of what God has for you?
In the Lord, by obedience and trust and action, we are more than conquerors. In Him we conquer fear. In Him we conquer shame. In Jesus the walls will come down. By the power of His love and the Holy Spirit death has lost its victory and the grave has lost its sting and His perfect love casts out all fear. We overcome because He overcame. We endure because He endured the cross. We are a victorious people because Jesus was victorious over hell and sin and the grave. He arose that we might arise. Arise in new birth to a new dawn that we might sing the glories of our risen Saviour. Arise today in the power of His might and slay those giants. It is your calling.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, The presence of God, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on August 10, 2020
It’s not good enough to come to the cross, one must come to the cross and die. The ultimate offense of the cross is death. Jesus said that whoever seeks to save his life would lose it, but whoever loses his life for His sake would gain everlasting life. In Roman times, the one thing you knew if you saw a man with a cross was that the man was surely going to die and the dying would not be easy.
The message of the cross remains the same ” I bid you to come and die.” You cannot accept the benefits of the cross while refusing to suffer and endure the agonies of it. In order to live eternally one has to die. It is a very rare thing to hear this message today. The message for the last few decades typically begins with “All you have to do.” This is not the gospel. This is some abomination. See Jesus in the garden and see the agony. For us mere mortals the flesh will not go quietly into that good night, it will rage against the coming of the light.
It will demand to remain in the darkness and there it will make its stand. Salvation is a brutal bloody thing and the flesh must be found dead upon the brazen altar. It is the work of the cross that slays it and today Satan is still selling that old lie “surely you will not die. Bow down and worship me and you will not need to die upon a cross.” Will you die that you may live or will you live this day and bow down to the world? It must be one or the other. Cheap grace has given the illusion that there is a middle ground, there is not. The middle ground is a chasm that swallows men whole. To be found there is to be engulfed in darkness and mediocracy.
In the Kingdom of God there is no ordinary, there is only extraordinary. It is your calling to rise above the clamorings of men and do exploits for God. To simply shine your light among the darkness of this world is extraordinary. To praise God from a sickbed is extraordinary. To have a thankful heart quite apart from your circumstances is to live an extraordinary life. Being joyful, being at peace, being content, conquering fears, enduring and overcoming. These are the extraordinary and the supernatural elements of our life.
All of these things, while carrying your cross, makes the foundations of hell shake. Forgiving your brother and loving your enemies makes the foundations of hell shake. The gates of hell themselves suffer defeat by an army of fragrant saints who march upon their knees with their hands raised high to heaven and their voices raised in praise. This is why the devil and the flesh rage against the coming of the light.
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 | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on August 10, 2020
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.(Mic 7:8)
When everything else has failed. When we have no wise counselors left . When in the blackness of our situation there seems to be no way ahead. Rejoice not against me oh enemy of my soul, for though I fall, I shall arise (Mic 7:8) I shall rise up for in Him there is no darkness. I shall rise up for He is the light of my life. I shall rise up for He has not finished with me yet. I shall arise in the morning, I shall rise up in the evening, and I shall worship God. I shall rise above the storm. I shall rise up for He is High and lifted up and He beckons me to come to where He is. The darkness of my sin is swept away by the light of His forgiveness. The tears of my brokenness shall fall into the waters of life and they will cry out “You are the light of the world and in you there is no darkness.” Yes I may fall but I shall rise up for He rose up. Rejoice not, oh enemy of my soul, for unlike you I will rise again, for that which I have committed unto Him He shall keep unto that day. He shall complete the work He has begun in me. When there are no more tears to cry, I shall arise. I will leave the darkness behind me. I will awaken the dawn with His praises and follow the still small voice. I will rise up on the wings of victory only because He rose triumphantly and ascended into the glories of His Father’s house. To the saint who has fallen, you shall rise up. You shall endure and overcome. He has not forgotten you.He sees the afflictions of His people and His knowing is your light. Trust in Him, wait for Him, and follow Him for He is the light of your life.
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Posted by appolus on August 5, 2020
In the very first verse of Titus we see that Paul is a servant of God and an apostle. He is these things by his faith in God, just as all who know God are His according to His grace through faith. Yet Paul also adds “and the acknowledging of truth,” to faith. We know that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,” then you are saved. (Rom 10:9) So, acknowledging the truth is a vital part of who are are in Christ. Truth is foundational to all that we are. It is by knowing the truth that we are set free. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life.
Now on the other side of this equation are principalities and powers. They are the opposite of truth, the opposite of freedom for they serve their master the devil who is the father of lies. Truth dwells in the kingdom of light and lies dwell in the kingdom of darkness, each has its own realm. I would argue that as the Lord’s return draws near, then the intensity of each kingdom increases. We live in a day and age where it seems that truth lies broken in the streets. Lies and deceptions have mounted an all out campaign and seem to be gaining the upper hand around the world. The world for the most part have rejected truth in favor of the lie.
To acknowledge truth is to not only proclaim it but also to live it. What we say, what we share, what we teach must be recognized in us. The Greek word for acknowledge is Epignosis. Nosis meaning knowledge and epig meaning precice, or to recognize. You see actual truth lived out is absolute and recognizable. If we are to proclaim and acknowledge the truth of God then it must be recognizable first in us and be readily apparent. Now I would argue that genuine saints know and understand this and strive towards that end, the living out of the faith that they proclaim.
Yet in Titus we see two distinct groups. It is not the saved and the unsaved, rather it is the saved and the ones who profess to be saved. In Titus 1:15-16 we see these two groups described. There is the pure and then there is the defiled. “To the pure all things are pure but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure;but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him.”
So we see a battle being set up here between two groups. One group is a a denier of God’s truth, and the other group are acknowledgers of God’s truth in life and in deed and in word. Even today we see so many professing Christians deny the truth found in the word of God. They are ashamed of what the Word teaches on many of the so called social issues of the day. These would include issues such as homosexuality and transgenderism and Biblical truths such as Adam and Eve and the creation account of Genesis. To the defiled nothing is pure. That word defiled means contaminated or tainted. The word to them is tainted, it is a mixture. So, they take what they like and they reject what they do not. To the saint, the Word of God is pure. It is untainted and is not contaminated with error. It is infallible.
So how would you know what group you belong to? Surely no one would put themselves in the category of the defiled? Well in Titus we see some of the marks of the younger men and the older men that mark them in the group of the pure. These marks are as follows 1.Sober.2.Reverent.3.Temporate.4.Sound in faith.5.Walking in love and patience.6.Integrity.7.Incorruptible.8.Sound speech. These are the marks laid out in chapter two for the pure of the Lord. In verse 14 of the same chapter we see that the Lord had come, not only to deliver us from “every lawless deed,’ He also came to “purify for Himself His own special people.” These are the pure, they are zealous and in the process of being purified they will become, with every passing season, more and more like the points mentioned in 1-8.
The defiled have no such ambition. In the end they serve themselves. In the end they belong to the world. The purification by the Lord for His saints, the refining fire of this process produces fruit. There is also a process that the defiled go through and by it we see their “fruits.” As the world presses in and demands compromise, as the pressure mounts on those who merely profess to know Jesus, we see them, slowly at first, begin to deny Jesus. Each step of the process is their attempt to keep their place in the world. Whatever has to be denied and given up in order to stay in the good graces of the world is denied. They reject the grace of God in favor of the good graces of the world.
It is a great tragedy. For many started out being redeemed “from every lawless deed.” Yet, they made that the end of it when it fact it was just the beginning. They wanted nothing to do with being purified by the Lord. It would be like being delivered from Egypt but dying in the desert. Grumblers and unthankfull in heart, disobedient deniers of God’s truth which precludes them from ever entering into the promised land. Rather than unashamedly acknowledging the truth of God by their lives and by their words and abiding in the Word, they run after the favor of the world. They are adulterers, fornicators, seeking pleasure and place in the world at the expense of the one true Living God.
Yet dear saint take heart, God has indeed purified for Himself His own special people. As the days tick down on the prophetic clock each group will become more apparent. The defiled will become more defiled, but praise God the pure will shine out all the more in the darkness of a sin sick world. Gold, purified in the refiners fire. Impurities burned away and removed with every passing season and trial. Shining brilliantly against the black velvet backdrop of our own personal Calvaries as we take up our crosses daily and die to this world. Purified by suffering. How frustrating it must be to an enemy that the more he comes against the saints, the more purified they become. Shining like a beacon to a lost and dying world. A witness, a martyr for the cause of Christ. Glorifying the Living God whether we live or whether we die.
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 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 31, 2020
God the Father was so deeply wounded by Calvary. He was not asking His son to suffer and He would stand dispassionately by. How did God the Father suffer?? At the height of Calvary He watched His precious Son take all of our sins upon Him and crucify them for us and turned His head away. Yet He heard His Son cry out “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me.” God the Father was wounded so deeply that our minds are simply too small to even come close to understanding.
Perhaps only a parent who has watched their child suffer or die in agony can even come close to imagining the pain? And we know at that very moment, ” The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” What does the veil represent? Perhaps it represents the covering of Gods heart, His chest if you like.
When the sacrifice was complete, that which had been hidden was revealed, the heart of God. God chose to show His presence to the world through His Son Jesus. So, through the wounds of Jesus, and the wounds of the Father, we are united into His presence and can walk in the power that flows from His presence.
The Lord revealed this to me many years ago. He took my mind back to when my son, who was two at the time, was burned over 60% of his body with third degree burns. In the first few days he almost died. Part of his life saving treatment consisted of the nurses taking his bandages of every day, which was an agony in itself, and force him down into a salt bath.
I was asked to aid the nurses in this. To hold down your son, whom you love with all your heart, almost killed me, I was only 20 but my hair stared to fall out. He could not possibly understand what I was doing was to save his life, all he knew was that his father, who was supposed to protect him, was torturing him. Years later the Lord asked me to think back about this. And our heavenly Father shared with me some of His pain as He watched His Son be mocked and ridiculed, tortured and killed.
In this revelation, I was amazed that God the Father loved us so much that He allowed this to happen for our sake. If we mere mortals can feel emotional pain that is agonizing beyond words, what kind of pain can our heavenly Father feel who is the author and creator of all emotions? What manner of love is this? It is beyond our pay grade. We can only understand a portion of it and that by revelation. There is a magnificent glory that drenches our spirits when we capture in our hearts just a portion of the love that it took and the mercy that was manifested at the cross.
There is another side to that coin. One that cannot be ignored. For while perfect love was on display at Calvary, so was perfect justice. Mercy and truth embraced, righteousness and peace kissed. There is mercy to be found at the cross and it is intertwined with truth. The truth is that you and I were the nails that pinned Jesus to the cross. We are the reason that He hung there. We caused the Father unimaginable pain and suffering. This is our guilt. And when we reject mercy and righteousness and peace, we are left with the horrific truth that we are guilty as charged and there is but one sentence, eternal separation from the one who loved you.
Today is the day of your salvation. If you have not embraced God’s mercy and made peace with Him, reconciled your sinful guilty heart to His loving sacrifice, then you make yourself His enemy. It is a perfect line of justice and it is unbroken. There is only guilty or not guilty. Which one are you? Are you yet in your guilt? The sin being the rejection of a loving sacrificial God? Then there can be no further or future sacrifice for you. Embrace the love of God today while it is yet day. The night fast approaches and the darkness comes for its own.
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 | 5 Comments »
Posted by appolus on July 29, 2020
Martyrdom. Not really a popular word. Suffering, another word that is frowned upon. Yet between the two words there is a tremendous amount of power. Not the words themselves you understand, but literally suffering for the cause of Christ, and actually dying for His sake. We like to spiritualize it , and it does have spiritual application. Yet if a kernal of wheat falls to the ground and dies it produces many seeds.
When Stephen fell to the ground, a seed was planted in Saul. It would germinate in Saul. It was not the dying of Stephen, for Saul had seen many men die. It was the way that he died. The men who hung Dietrich Bonhoeffer later testified that they had never seen a man die with such dignity. When Stephen is dying, in the midst of his brutal murder, he is crying out to God not to hold this against his assailants. He has an open vision of heaven. Ordinary men do not die like this and it undoubtedly shook Saul to the core. The kernal, the seed was planted and it would, through Paul, produce many more seed.
In the book of Job we see in the opening chapter a scene where Satan and the fallen angels make an accusation. He basically says to God that Job does not really love Him or respect Him, he only bows down to Him because of all the things that God has given him. Take all of that away and it was stated that Job would curse God to His face. Principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places accusing man and God that they had no actual relationship, no genuine love, just something very basic.
So for the saint, great power is manifested when this false charge is stripped down and exposed. The proof of our love, our true and genuine relationship is to be found at its most powerful, in the bottom of the dungeon, not the mountaintop. There is a reason why the very building shook for Paul and Silas. We see this perfect example on Calvary, the very last place you would expect to see love and power and victory. Yet on that cross, Jesus makes an open show of the very principalities and powers that had dared to tell God that He was wrong about Job and that Job only loved Him for what He could get from Him.
Suffering and death is the ultimate revelation of who we are in Christ. It strips away all of the flesh and reveals what is left. Could we, would we, do as Jesus did and call out to His Father to forgive those who had crucified Him? Could we follow in the footsteps of Stephen and ask the Lord not to hold this crime against those who were carrying it out? This is the disarming of principalities and powers. This power shakes the gates of hell. While it disarms our true enemies, it arms the saint. We become the perfect witness not only to the world but to the unseen world. To willingly die, to willingly suffer for the sake of the Lord and His Kingdom. We wrap ourselves in impenetrable light. The darkness is vanquished.
Remember saint, you do not suffer alone nor is your suffering in vain. You may think that your life or the things that you have suffered for His cause have been in vain and has not counted for much. That is a lie from the enemy himself. Your uninterrupted love and passion for Jesus, despite your circumstances, is precious treasure to your heavenly Father. That He may say of you, to the enemy of your soul, have you considered my faithful servant? In the world to come you will have your reward dear saint, just as all things were restored to Job, you will find in that day that your losses for the cause of Christ in this world will be great gain in the economy of the heavenly Kingdom.
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 | 3 Comments »
Posted by appolus on July 24, 2020
Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
The question is, are you content? I would argue that the whole world is looking for contentment. I certainly thought when I became a Christian that the Church would be packed full of contented people, you can imagine my disappointment. It seemed to me that most folk that I met in the church were very much like the world when it came to contentment. The world makes every mistake possible while attempting to achieve contentment, yet so do many Christians. Many people in the world believe that contentment comes through material possessions and good personal relationships. While these things are nice, they could never possibly bring the deep kind of contentment that Paul is talking about.
Now some good Christian folk would argue that your personal relationship with Jesus brings you the kind of contentment Paul is speaking about in this particular Scripture, it’s simply not true but it makes it possible. In fact only through Jesus is it possible, but He aint doing it for you. Paul had to learn to be content. It was not a question of his relationship with Jesus, rather it was a question of enduring and overcoming as he walked through fire and flood. There are choices to be made as we move along the narrow path of life. We choose to endure. We choose to give thanks. We overcome much as Jesus did in the garden when He submits His will to the Father’s.
The key word I would argue in understanding this is “learned.” He had learned to be content, there was no magic wand. No one came along and laid hands on him and suddenly he was full of contentment. Paul, time and again had to walk through the fire and continue to praise God. We see in another Scripture that we are admonished not to be anxious at all but to pray and give thanks and make supplication to God and if we did that, something supernatural would happen, a supernatural peace that passes all understanding would actually stand guard over our hearts.
Can you praise God today in spite of your circumstances? If you learn to do this, if you walk through the fire with your hands held high, trusting in God, you will come to the place that Paul came to. You will discover that peace and contentment will have nothing to do with your circumstances, which are ever-changing, but have everything to do with praising and trusting in God who is never-changing. Choose to praise the Lord in the lower reaches of the dungeon, and you will learn to be content.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on July 22, 2020
Rev_12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
These are tried and tested saints. They have been taken to the wilderness. Rejected by man. Rejected by religious institutions. Walked through fire. Waded through flooded waters. Refined,tested and broken. Suffering is their teacher. The bread of adversity is their food. The waters of affliction their drink. You do not do not wake up one morning and love not your life unto death. God prepares His people. He equips those that He calls.
He takes away the love of this world and everything in it by drawing His people unto Himself. He reveals Himself to His children, that is part of the preparation. This revelation, these encounters of the manifest presence of God strengthens and challenges His people. There is three major themes in the old Hymn “I have decided to follow Jesus.” They are 1. The world behind me, the cross before me. 2. Though none go with me, still I will follow. 3. My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus. Such a simple hymn, such profound concepts.
Christ is coming back in all His glory in the sky. There is great movement in the heavenlies and the principalities and powers know that. God is preparing a people who will stand in that evil day. Moses removed his shoes before a Holy God. God had come to commission him and tell him to go and confront the world. In order to confront the world we must remove all worldliness from ourselves otherwise we shall be written off as mere hypocrites. God will call tried and tested saints to stand and bear witness to the truth and those saints will be saints who are willing to lay down their lives.
After more that 400 years of silence from God, John the Baptist cries out from the wilderness “Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.” Gods own people in this day have been dwelling in a wilderness and God has raised them up. In the midst of storms and through their brokenness they have learned to keep their eyes upon Jesus. The attractions and distractions of this world have been removed like dross from the fiery furnaces of trials and afflictions. The culmination of the ages is upon us.
You know it, you do not have to be convinced, the indwelling Spirit tells you so. The principalities and powers know it too it and they will not go quietly. The children of God are their deadliest enemies for we are bearers of the light. Hold fast, stand strong, lift up your heads for you know where your help cometh from. Remember the words of the Hebrew children in defiance of haughty arrogant power “we shall never bow down to the gods of this world.” Stand fast saints. He is coming.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on July 20, 2020
Identity, it has become a raging political and social issue. In fact it has torn away at the fabric of who we are. Homosexuals, transgenders, feminists bisexuals. In all of those groups and more, identity is key. They seek to identify identity or water it down and then create division. Lets face it, it is not just these groups that do it. We are a world torn apart by identity. Today we are either globalists of nationalists. We are black or white. Gay or straight. Conservative or liberal. Republican or Democrat. The list goes on. What does the Word say about us saints? Where should we find 100% of our identity? Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2Co 5:17)
We are new creatures in Christ. We have become part of a single Body. We are unified in the Spirit. We are one with God. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.(Gen 1:27) We, the human race, were made in the image of God, and then we fell and when we fell we not only lost our relationship with God but we also lost our identity Mankind wanders in a desert of death and sin and corruption, having thrown off its true identity.
It desperately seeks for identity anywhere it can find it, apart from God. The new creatures in Christ have found their true identity. They are wholly identified with Jesus, one with Him and the Father. Given the foundational importance of identity and the all out attack on it from the enemy of our souls, saints need to understand and recognize the scheme of the enemy. He comes against us in an effort to water down our true identity and to the degree that he can do that, he disarms us.
Here are some of my own identity traits from the natural world that I was born into and grow up in and have lived. 1. White.2. Working class.3. Catholic 4. Scottish 5. Irish 6. British 7. American 8. Socialist 9. Capitalist 10. Middle Class 11. Democrat 12. Republican 13. Pentecostal 14. Evangelical 15. Pre-trib, mid trib 16. Arminian 17. Pre Millennial-Post Milliennial
There are more, but you can see how complicated identity can be. Every one of those identifying traits had some kind of influence on me at one time or another. Yet, I died to this world. I died and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. I do not belong to this world but to another Kingdom and that Kingdom has a King and His name is Jesus. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.(Col 3:1-3)
We are armed by our true identity. Knowing that we are pilgrims here on the earth, a Holy priesthood whose sole purpose is to glorify God, we throw of the shackles of our old identities and walk in the power of the glory of our new identities. If we make common cause with any of our old identities, or allow ourselves to make common cause with our own pet religious identities then we weaken ourselves as priests. We then give space for the enemy to rob us of our true identities and the oneness that comes with it. Only when we recognize our true identity will we truly walk in the power of the Kingdom to which we belong. Everything about us must decrease and He must increase. This is our noble goal.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:(1Pe 2:9)
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Posted by appolus on July 14, 2020
As I was walking and praying the other day the Holy Spirit laid this thought upon my heart. “Unless we understand the culpability of man we are not qualified to speak to the grace of God.There is an intimate connection between guilt and grace. It is when we realize the depths of our sin and rebellion against a holy God that the power of unmerited favor is truly realized.”
I went on to write about this as I felt led by the Spirit. Oftentimes I read a few books at a time. Picking up one, laying down the other and sometimes just laying them down altogether fro months and just read the Word. A good brother of mine had given me a small book by Art Katz entitled ” The holocaust:Where was God.” A heavy title for sure and a heavy subject. Today I picked up the book and read a couple of pages. Here is what jumped out at me.
“To have a view of God that exempts the judgement of God as being a central facet of God’s character and way, is to have a warped view of God. To know Him as He in fact is, in both His severity and His goodness, is to know Him in truth. And to know Him as “that,” God is to be saved by Him out of extremity and calamity of our fallen nature. To know God as Judge is therefore one of the eminent prerequisites for the true knowledge of Him. God is indivisible, and we cannot parcel Him out and enjoy certain of His attributes to the exclusion of others. The consequence of an inadequate faith and an inadequate knowledge of God is tragic beyond all describing. What are His mercies but for His judgements? And what are His judgements rightly understood but for His mercies? To see God in His acts as both the God of judgment and the God of restoration is to begin to catch a glimpse of God and His fullness.” ( Art Katz)
Brother Artz said so much in this paragraph.It is worth reading it a few times over and ponder the truth of what he is sharing. To truly know God is to know the fullness of God. We live in a generation whose favorite saying is “don’t judge me.” Now they may say it to Christians but for sure this extends to God. They are simply not interested in God or His word or His people who would draw any kind of lines in the sand when it comes to sin. This sentiment is rising into a rage because we live in the days of the great falling away. The Lord Jesus is coming back soon and the rebellion is intensifying.
This generation will bend their knee to God or they will have their knees bent for them. They may reject a God who judges but that in no way changes the goodness or the severity of God. He is a holy and righteous God, a God of both justice and of mercy. It is a dangerous thing to trifle with God for He is high and lifted up and His glory fills the temple.
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Posted by appolus on June 26, 2020
Hi saints. How many of us know that love of country is not the same as love of God? In America we see a very unhealthy mixture of love of country or love of culture with the love of God. There can be no mixture. Wait Frank, are you saying that it is wrong to love one’s country? Are you saying it is wrong to love my culture or my race? What I am saying brothers and sisters is that there can be no competition for the seat of our affections. Jesus must have all of our heart, all of it. No matter where a saint lives, if it is difficult or if it is easy, when God calls us to leave it behind we must be willing to do that. In this day and age when it seems so clear that the Lord is coming, we must hold all things loosely, all things. He cannot have all of our heart if much of our heart is caught up in the raging issues of the day.
Love of country or love of race is not the province of the child of God. The child of God’ eye is on Jesus and on the Kingdom that is and was and is to come. That is why we are sojourners and ambassadors for Jesus and His Kingdom. This is the kingdom that presently dwells in our hearts. To be wrapped up in a political war or a cultural war is to be AWOL (absent without official leave) from the real war, the war of light against darkness. The war against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places.
When the Lord calls you out of Babylon, will you be so enamored of the things of Babylon that you will not be able to leave? When Lot’s wife had to leave Sodom, did it go well for her? What about when it was time to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem after 70 short years, did most leave? The comforts of Babylon were too much for most, they would rather stay where they were than join the remnant people in the difficult place. A place where they were surrounded by enemies as they attempted to re-build the temple. Only one third of the Jews living in exile in Babylon left for home when they had the opportunity.
Those who chose to follow God in our day, follow Him and Him alone, whether they are black or white, will be deemed to be traitors to”their own.” We must have our identity in Christ and Christ alone. When we have that then we transcend partisanship and cultural backgrounds. We are a brotherhood, we are a royal priesthood, and in that alone we should find our identity under the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you fight for your race? Your culture? Your national identity? Where can that possible end be if the races retreat into their own corners? A house divided cannot stand. What house do you belong to? Is your house a cultural one? A national one? Or do you belong to the house of God? You cannot belong to two households, you will only be loyal to one.
Running with the crowd, no matter what that crowd stands for, is to run against God. You are a pilgrim on this earth, a sojourner. We are traveling through this world on our way home down a narrow path. The problem is, most confessing Christians do not believe that. They have joined camps. permanent camps. And each camp has its own interests which rarely if ever align with other camps. And so we war, it is what warring camps do. What has any of that to do with God? Culture wars, political wars, race wars. All of the devils making and none of it has anything to do with God. There is one God, He has one people, one Christ and one Kingdom. If you belong to any other camp, no matter the emotional appeal, you are in a state of backsliding. Separate yourself and only ever bow the knee to God even under pain of death.
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Posted by appolus on June 26, 2020
Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.
The Lord will not commit to those who are not committed to Him. This present generation of loud and “tumultuous,” believers are seeking to establish the Lords kingdom here on earth. The sign the Lord gave them is not good enough for them. What sign did the Lord give them? He gave them the sign of the Prophet Jonah. Jonah was swallowed whole by the whale and to any observer, was dead, yet three days later he is miraculously alive and goes on to call Ninevah to repentance. Jesus would find himself swallowed up by death but three days later He would arise and He has been warning us ever since through His word and through His people and through every soul that has been resurrected from death into His glorious light of eternity.
In the quiet of faith, the Lord will respond to His own, He always has and He always will.He will not respond to a crass church which seeks to gratify their own corrupt lusts. So all of the church’s that cry out for miracles, the Lord knows the motivations of their heart. Signs and wonders would follow. Follow what? The preaching of Calvary. The proclamation of the Truth. The bold witness for Christ. The genuine love of the lost. So, those who place greater importance on signs and wonders rather than salvation’s do so for a reason. And in doing so, they expose the fragile nature of the faith that they claim to have.
The Lord will not commit to those who have built their houses on sinking sand. This is why we see the “house,” of ”believers,” come tumbling down when faced with “unanswered prayers.” For they are not established on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ and the cross of Calvary. “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” Does your faith depend upon you seeing a miracle? Or does your faith stand upon the finished work of the cross of Calvary? Miracles are a bi-product of a glorious gospel not the primary object. That primary object is Jesus. And only when He alone is lifted up can we expect to see anything, as a byproduct of 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 persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on June 20, 2020
One of the most powerful and oft quoted Scriptures is also one of the Scriptures most quoted out of context. Consider 2 Cor 12:9. Typically when we quote a verse, we quote the whole verse. Yet for some strange reason (really not that strange) when we quote some verses we only quote a portion of it.
” And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Now consider the rest of that Scripture ,
“Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
The glory is in the midst of the “infirmity.” In fact we see that the power of God rests upon those who truly discover and encounter His strength in the midst of their weakness. We are never more weak or vulnerable when we are faced with disease and death. And so in the paradoxical Kingdom of God, when we are weak, then we are strong. This strength is what glorifies God. For all of us can glorify God on the mountain-top. Indeed this is the accusation of the Devil in the opening chapter of Job.
Yet only the few can glorify God in the deepest part of the valley, the depths of the dungeon. To glorify God when all is going well is very natural and is something the world understands. To glorify God in the depths of our infirmities, the depths of our dungeons like Paul and Silas, is supernatural and the world marvels at something so other-worldly. Indeed with Paul and Silas we get to see that supernatural power. The building shakes, the the captives doors are loosed and the jailer and his family are saved. All of that began with Paul and Silas glorying in their infirmities and praising God in one of the darkest moments of their life.
I believe peace to be our spiritual barometer. In the midst of a set of circumstances, what is the “atmosphere,’ around us that emanates form the condition of our hearts? Many people stoically go through situations, many are angry and bitter and unapproachable. Yet on the cross, even in the midst of unspeakable anguish, we see Jesus caring for his mother and giving directions for her well being. In saints who walk with the power spoken of in 2 Cor 12:9 we see them minister to others despite their situations.
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Posted by appolus on June 1, 2020
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;
It’s 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. “Come 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.” (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 living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on May 22, 2020
America is a country that struggles with the notion of being Christian. But in truth, there are no, nor ever have been, Christians nations. In the end all nations are secular. Yet nations can be influenced by the majority culture. This influence can be for good or for ill. If the culture is predominantly Christian in nature even if not in actuality, it will still be a force for good in the world.
It will still be a secular entity but will be somewhat restrained by its Christian influence. As that influence wains, then so does the actions that are taken simply because it is ” the right thing to do.” In the last administration we saw a radical departure from the Christian influence. So many of the tenets of our faith were challenged and undermined. We saw the establishment of gay marriage and the rise of transgenderism. We also saw the undermining of institutions and an attempt at something akin to a coup. We were always very proud of our peaceful transfer of power after an election. We looked down our noses at “banana republics,” and how they would seek to undermine anyone who beat them at the ballot box. In the last election we saw the audacity of power shine through. An unwillingness to relinquish power. A desire to destroy and undermine democracy in an act of self-righteousness.
The world has taken for granted the goodness of a superpower that is influenced by a majority Christian culture. As the Christian influence wains in the highest corridors of power in America then the world becomes a darker place. For in the end the true Christian will do what is right and not what is expedient. When that aspect of influence is lost to America then the world will slide more rapidly into darkness. In the last unholy administration that was an enemy to all things Christian, we saw how that darkness effected the world.
I am not arguing for more Christian leadership in politics. My observations are of a Christian culture in decline and what effects that has on a secular world. As the world seems intent on ridding itself of any vestige of Christian influence, it cannot at the very same time mourn the coming darkness of mankind. Only in Christ is there light, all other roads lead to darkness. Only in Christ is there hope, all other roads lead to disappointment. I am writing this piece this morning because we have an upcoming election.
I want to remind the saint to trust only in Jesus. Do what you must at the ballot box and follow your conscience. I have no doubt if a certain party wins then the world will hurtle all the more rapidly into the abyss. More babies will die, Christians will come under severe attack and the corruption of the children will accelerate. I have no doubt about any of that. I also have no doubt that this is, no matter when it happens, the fate of every true saint in the world. You will be hated by all nations for His sake. They will despise you. And the reason for this is that we are not part of this world. No matter how “good,” or how evil it is, we are not part of this world. We are pilgrims traveling along a narrow road fraught with dangers, distractions and dilemma.
The answer, as always. Keep your eyes upon Jesus. Look full into His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. Beautiful old chorus that captures, with simplicity, the profound nature and power of keeping our gaze firmly fixed on Jesus and all the more as the storm rages. I sense in my spirit that the narrow road ahead for us is getting more narrow. And as traumatic as that will be, the by-product of that is that we, the saints, will become closer. Like the animals that came from all over the world, heading towards the ark, as they get closer to the ark they will begin to encounter each other in ever increasing numbers. Christ is our ark and the rain is coming. Let His Holy Spirit lead you to places you have never been as that day approaches. Stand fast in the faith and know that the Bridegroom cometh.
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Posted by appolus on May 21, 2020
I think one of the great upcoming ironies will be when folks return to “church” they will be wearing masks. Think about that for a minute. How often was the complaint made that folks in ” church” wore masks? They smiled and told you everything was OK when it was not. They asked you how you were but would run a mile if your answer was anything other than ” I’m fine.”
For the most part that was “fellowship.” Never really getting to know the people because they wore their ” Sunday go to church,” masks. Fellowship so shallow that it would barely wet your ankles. Now people will actually be wearing masks. Another layer of anonymity.
God is not a hundred miles wide and an inch deep. Neither is the fellowship that He forges among His children. His depths are unlimited. So is the potential for fellowship among a people that He calls out. A transparent people who are willing to be “seen.”
The heights and the depths and the length of His love has no measure. It is pure and undefiled. He calls us into this fellowship with Him and with each other. A place of trust, a place of transparency, a place without masks. Here I am. This is who I am in Christ. Can you see my heart? Can I see yours?
We stand, unlike the world, unmasked before men. What you see in the genuine Body of Christ is what you get. While the whole world is donning “masks” to protect itself from unseen dangers lurking in the darkness. The Body of Christ is being unmasked to the world in His marvelous light. He is building His Church for all the world to see. And they shall be totally immersed in a river so deep that you must give yourself to its current.
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Posted by appolus on May 20, 2020
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trial which is to try you, as though a strange thing happened to you, but rejoice according as you are partakers of Christ’s suffering, so that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. 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 “Spirit of God and of glory rests,” on. This is a people who have learned to rejoice that they too were counted worthy to be “partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” Oh how this flies in the face of today’s 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 refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s 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.
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Posted by appolus on May 19, 2020
Mat 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him,
I have realized just how much I miss this thing called touch. To take someone’s hand. To put an arm around someone’s shoulder. To hug a friend, a grandson, a baby. Touch. You know, I would not survive in a world without touch. My life was birthed by a touch, Jesus touched me. He touched my heart. He touched my soul. He touched every part of who I was and He transformed me. Just one touch from the Masters hand. The end result of the above Scripture was that the man, the man who had leprosy, was healed. There is healing in the touch of God. There is healing in the laying on of hands. There is something about touch. To reach out and touch someone right where they are. To reach them through the darkness of loneliness. To connect with them through the fog of alienation. To break through the invisible barrier of space and distance and connect with another soul. If distance is the price for saving my life going forward then I am not going to make it. I dont want to make it under those conditions. I want to touch just as I have been touched. And if there is a willing and needful recipient, whether he has leprosy or some virus then I want to touch that one. I want to, in a very limited way, convey the touch of God that changed me. In the end, I will not be told, not to touch or to keep my distance social or otherwise. I will follow the God who touched me and the God who heals. Saints, let us follow His lead and reach out and touch someone.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 5 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 