Friday, June 4, 2010

Unworthy but Hopeful

Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.


Job 36:3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.


Pro 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.


Isa 17:7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.


Isa 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?


Shall the clay say to him that fashioned it... what makest thou?


I love that example of maker and made. We tend to forget we are made that we have a maker. We don't forget we have parents as a rule and most people respect their parents and most parents are worthy of respect. God is forever worthy of our respect, God is our maker over and above our parents.


Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.


God truly knows us as no other can know us.


May God bless us and in knowing us, know that we know how truely wicked we are and how undeserving of His love and mercy we are. We are creatures that have rebelled on our Creator, we are creatures that need to realize our creature status. Our only hope is to throw ourselves at our Father's feet and beg forgiveness having faith in the love of our Father to forgive us through the sacrifice of His all loving Son. Unworthy but hopeful in Christ. The righteousness is in my Maker. No matter who we are the Lord is the maker of all of us.


Amen

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Incredibly Blessed

Zec 1:7 '...came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet,...

Zec 1:9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.


The word of the Lord came to His prophets. We know that God spoke to various prophets throughout time and that word often came by angels.


'...and the angel that talked with me said...'


It's amazing to think about angels talking to people like you and I in the respect that those people were human just as you and I are human. God chose these men and women for His purposes and not all of them were willing to just go off and prophesize for Him- remember Jonah? The men and women God chose to speak to His people for Him were blessed but they suffered in that blessing as so often happens with men and women chosen by God. We want God to use us, to accept us, and His using us sometimes translates to us as His acceptance. God has many people who love Him and are willing to be used by Him, or at least we like to believe He does. What sacrifices are we willing to make for God? Who among us would be willing to speak the words given to us by God through an angel? Most would shout yes, they'd be willing and not hesitate, right? I mean an angel of God speaking to us, speaking in such a way that you could converse back and forth with the angel, that is just something so utterly amazing it boggles the mind. God speaks to us through His word. The word He's given to men, men inspired by the Holy Spirit, men, some of whom spoke with angels of God. We don't have all the answers to the questions raised and faith has to play a HUGE part in our belief. We need to believe that God does speak to us through His word. He's given us His word, the Words of His Son, He's given us so much and we need to realize how blessed we are to have these words. We can't lament the desire to be a prophet and have that direct communication with God through His angels when we have so much of His word that many years and years ago never ever had. Just realizing that we are so incredibly blessed is important and we need to listen...really listen to God speak to us through His word, through His prophets... through His love.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord now and forever.


Amen.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Froward Generation

Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.


Children in whom is no faith.


Today people lack faith, real faith. The hope they have they place not in God but in mankind to prevail for them. They worry about things that are God's and believe they can cause to live or destroy the future of mankind. Placing their hopes in facts and solid, tangible things that they can see and touch, leaving no room for faith. If they do claim to have faith they claim it for themselves. They have faith in mankind. Truly even now here in the end days this generation is just as froward, just as faithless. Some people will shout that this isn't a faithless generation that there is a lot of faith, and compared to the worldly belief the true faith is very small. The faith people possess isn't in the One True God. Very few could deny we live in a VERY FROWARD GENERATION. Froward meaning--Stubbornly contrary and disobedient; obstinate. (dict) Very few could deny that each subsequent generation has deteriorated from the last. Very few could deny that faith in God has declined.


Deu 32:29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!


Truth here...if people were wise and understood they would consider their latter end.


People don't consider their latter end, people don't want to consider their latter end. There are many people who don't want to consider anything that has to do with their own mortality let alone their eternal mortality. We need to consider our latter end, we ALL need to consider our latter end. We need to seek the Lord and all truth in Him. We need to believe in the righteousness of Christ to be our righteousness. We need to have faith in God, faith that life is only true life when we do have faith in God and not in ourselves or this world we live in.


By the grace of God we will have faith. May we consider our latter end, our eternal end, and in light of our eternal end may we live with our hope in life eternal with Christ, our treasures truly in heaven and not here on earth.


Amen.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Failure- Never Giving Up

We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity-like perfect charity-will
not be attained by any merely human efforts. You must ask for God's help.
Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help,
or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure,
ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first
helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always
trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness,
or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul
which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and
teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust
ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not
despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal
thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.


Mere Christianity
C.S. Lewis


Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.


Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.


Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.


Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.


We fail. We not only fail, we fail miserably. We fail terribly and often. We fail and that failure brings disgrace, despair, anger, confusion, you name it failure is no stranger to every human being in existence. When we fail we have to deal with that failure. It's so easy to give up when it seems all we ever do is fail, and that all we will ever continue to do is fail.


C.S. Lewis says it clearly enough- Very often what God first helps us towards is NOT the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again.


Always trying again.


Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us


Let us LAY aside every weight
Lay aside the...
Sin which easily besets us


Run with PATIENCE the race that is set before us.


PATIENCE.


Endurance, tolerance, perserving


ALWAYS TRYING AGAIN.


We have to have FAITH.


Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen


Things HOPED for... you hope for what you DON'T have.


We truly need to believe that our failures are stepping stones. Sometimes we slip right off the stones and have to start all over again. Sometimes we do have an achievement it spurs us on, but then sometimes we turn around and lose that achievement and then some.


We MUST grow a faith in Christ, not ourselves. Our hope must be in GOD, never us, never. We don't achieve- God achieves through us.


Again C.S. Lewis said it nicely-- We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven.


May God help us to keep hoping, to have patience, to have faith, to trust solely in Him now and always. May our failures not lead us to despair but have us turning to God asking forgiveness and trusting in Him...


Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ


AMEN.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Abba! Father!

Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.


How many of us feel that being a Christian is a call to another kind of bondage? Exchanging the bondage to the law for a bondage to Christ. When we think of serving God as a call to bondage we don't know God at all whatsoever. God offers freedom. God offers true freedom. It is the carnal nature in us that believes there is bondage in being a Christian. The carnal nature wants so-called freedom to do as it pleases, to sin as it wants to sin, to indulge in lusts without any thought of anything else at all.


When we accept Christ we aren't receiving the spirit of bondage, we should have NO fear of being put into bondage with God, none! We are adopted into a loving family by a loving Father.


The words... WE CRY ABBA FATHER tell us so much. The love there is amazing, the love of a father that will never ever disappear. We need the love of God, we need to realize our adopted status. Adopted by God. By the grace...by the mercy of our Lord, our FATHER, Abba! May we feel this love fully in Christ our Lord, our Savior now and forever!


Amen.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

We've Been Warned

1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.


Peace and safety. Is there any peace or any safety outside the protection of Christ's love? No.
This world is doomed.
This world as we know it has a death sentence hanging over its head.
This world is literally living on death row.
Do people bask in this world and it's worldly ways, it's worldly pleasures?
Is the world blinded to the imminent destruction to come?
The answers are yes to those questions.
Only fools would live as if the Lord could come at any moment especially when thousands of years have passed since that promised return. Why live believing that the end of all things as we know it could occur at any time? Why live prepared for Christ's return? Why? It's like a bride left at the altar never removing her gown but waiting day after day for a groom who shows no sign of returning, yet she lives in hope. People would call her delusional. People don't want to be called delusional and they don't want to be delusional so they'd rather live as if the bridegroom will never return. Peace and safety. There is no danger here, there is no upset, no reason for any alarm, no reason to believe your eternal life hangs in the balance.
Peace and safety.
Everything is fine.
Eat, drink, be merry and don't worry about the future let it worry about itself, do as you please now, logic dictates that believing in Jesus and believing in His return is all a fable, all foolhardy behavior, you can't live and believe like that. Remember God doesn't want us to worry about what we'll eat or drink or wear so why would He want us to worry about eternal life?
Peace and safety.
The majority of people, society with its established mores tells us beyond a doubt that only crazy people, only religious fanatics live believing that each day could be their last and they need to be ready for Christ's return at any moment. Only those troublesome people believe that way. You know, look at all those crazy cults where people end up dead. Look at the over zealous Muslim people who believe in suicide bombs and all that- religous fanatics that's what all the crazies are and you don't want to be a religious crazy. You don't want to stand out. You don't want to be labeled. You don't want to embarrass yourself do you? You want to fit in, we all want to fit in.
Peace and safety.
Peace and safety.
Are you among those saying- peace and safety?
Are you among those hearing- peace and safety, and believe it to be true?
Sudden destruction will come upon them.
Sudden
Destruction
There will be no grand calamity to call people to Christ. All the calamities, all the preparation will be over and we will live in a world with people saying-- PEACE and SAFETY, but it will be too late because there will be SUDDEN DESTRUCTION.
AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
THE DAY OF THE LORD COMES.
We've been warned.
We've been told.
We know the Lord will come. To stop believing in the Lord's return is certain death. We must believe and we must be ready. We must be the bride awaiting her Groom no matter how long it takes.


By the grace, by the mercy, by the love, through the righteousness of our Savior, through His sacrifice, through His forgiveness, all in Him now and forever.


Amen.


1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.


They shall say-

Peace
and
Safety


They- 1Th 5:5, 6; 1Th 4:13

Children of the dark
Others that sleep
Them which are asleep
Others which have no hope


Jeremiah 6:14 "They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.


Jeremiah 8:11 "They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.


Ezekiel 13:10 "It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;


John 16:21 "Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.


2 Thessalonians 1:9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, (NASB ©1995)

*******

1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Friday, May 28, 2010

We are those who are 'afar off'

Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.


You and I are called by God, we are those who are 'afar off'.
We need to Repent.
We need to be baptized everyone one of us in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins.
We want to receive the Holy Ghost and we do when we listen to the Word of God.


Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.



May we who are 'afar off' listen to the call of God and receive the promise, may we walk after the Spirit.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior now and forever!

Amen