The do’s and the don’ts

The Lord is no respecter of persons.  He loves each of us equally, paying no homage to skin, nation, wealth or geographic preferences.  That does not mean He has no requirements of humanity.  He made the world, He made the rules, we get to choose, so do so wisely my friends.  The world and the pressures therein are rapidly dividing its population into two distinct groups; those who believe in Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension and those who do not.  That is the line of separation by which humanity shall be judged for that is the rule which God laid down for all men.

Certainly there are those who have yet to make a decision regarding Christ.  For them the heat shall be increased, the pressures intensified, the places of safety removed, such that they will be forced to choose voluntarily or choose out of refusal.  Even the Jewish Nation, God’s beloved will be subjected to such great tyranny and tragedy that they will be forced to come to the only possible realization over which they continue to stumble, the Cornerstone of Christ.  I fear that hard times are coming to all of us, yet I do not fear from whence they come, for it is the Lord’s doing.  The Lord knew before the beginning of time that many would not choose unless given the impetus necessary to drive that decision.  We as a world will be provided the appropriate chaotic climate from which to make a decision for or against Christ.  He loves all people and wants that we will all come to the knowledge and acceptance of His gift of saving Grace.  He will lead us to the Water of Life, where we must choose to drink or to refuse.

I pray for us as a species.  We resemble God yet cannot see ourselves even when looking in the clearest, available mirror.  We debate the minutia yet miss the big picture topic.  It is not about this or that or the other.  The conversation has always been about God, as our origin and our destination.  People who seek an alternative explanation for the origin of man, use science, theory, philosophy and all available literary devices to convince themselves that we did not come from the Word of God, speaking us into existence.  They desperately must find another way so that they owe no debt of judgment for sin.  It is human nature to create illusionary circumstance where reality is too difficult to stomach.  So, many construct their own malleable version of this world in order to cope with the fear of judgment.  For them, I pray the most, for their house of cards shall tumble first.  The first moment into which God shows His face, which is coming soon, will eradicate all their illusionary safety.  When the enemies of God attack Israel and they shall, what God does next will remove the veil for all mankind.  There will be no denial as He will supernaturally destroy 5/6 of the approaching armies in one fell swoop, leaving no doubt of His sovereignty and promised protection of the remnant of Israel.

Let us depart from the truthful obfuscation of intelligentsia.  This argument is not about details, theories, strategies or battle plans.  God confounds the wisdom of the wise.  It is about God’s coming judgment and what we are willing to do about it.  Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death upon the Cross of Calvary to pay for the sins of mankind or don’t you?  That is the question that plagues the hearts of those who seek to steal the blood of the innocent.  They cannot afford to be found inadequate by a measure of their goodness so they turn to the only other illusion provided by the fallen angels that they must take the life of innocent people in order to receive God’s blessing.  Clear illusion, falsity and foolishness has captured the heart of desperate humans willing to seek God through ungodly, wicked acts of cruelty.  Forgive them Lord, lead them to the knowledge of the Truth so that they might see their sin and repent.  We the do’s owe it to them to give them every opportunity to choose righteously, for that is the reason why God has been so patient with humanity, giving all the time to come to that knowledge.

God help all to see the choice that lay before us as a species.  Forgive my unforgiveness and allow me to have a pure heart and clean hands.  Thank you Lord for giving us the time to come to a decision whether we do or don’t, you have freely given us the right of self determination.  Let all those who would escape judgment do so by being cleansed in the redeeming Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Father I know that the wicked shall be punished in righteous fashion, for Your Judgment is Fair.  We cry out to you now on behalf of the innocent, please Father, save them from the cruelty to come, hear their blood scream to you for justice, mercy and truth.  We love You Lord, in Jesus’ Holy Name.

 

The Clock

We don’t know when, we just know, at some moment it will happen.  I cannot tell you how precious my life’s moments have become for I know not their number.  What plans are a man’s when the next breath remains outside his control?  How can I prove my love to you without the time to show you?  Are all my thoughts constrained by warden Time?  Is working out my salvation with fear and trembling possible when I have no time to understand reverence for God?  All creation is on the clock, including the fallen, but for God there is no conclusion, no beginning, no measure and no pressure to perform.  Are you warming to the idea that things are not your own, for without the time to own them there is no authority.  Try breathing without breath, try farming without rain, try dreaming without thought, try planning without time to strategize or execute your action steps.  Control is an illusion, therefore the enemy can only hope to convince us the illusion has form.

My thoughts are sinful or pure, but they are nothing without the time to think them, the time to commit them or the time to ask that they be forgiven.  I am nothing without time, the time to walk through this life making choices that God gave me the time and grace to make.  I have no time, it is given to me, not owned.  What I do with the time I have been given either serves for nothing or for God, there is no twain.  For if there were no men in the forest what legacy would I achieve if none had the time to read my godless deeds?  God’s review of my life in the time He has given is the only testimony of my worth.  Just as any other created being outside of time I am nothing.  This is not true for God.  For outside of time He is still limitless, borderless, infinite.  Rejoicing in His gifts, enjoying our relationship and loving others with the love He gave me are my greatest achievements but I needed the time to experience them or they didn’t exist.  That is why life is precious for I have the time to experience the pain, the joy, the trials, the victories and the people.  Without the clock life’s precious moments have no value for we all face the determined and inevitable countdown to what faces each of us after this life.  So, time makes each of us believe in something for we either believe it ends abruptly or continues, but we all believe in something beyond the governing hands of time.

I pray that you have the time to contemplate that belief, for it is the purpose of this life.  Ironic that what happens after this life determines the quality and fulfillment in this one.  One thing I know is that I don’t know how much time I have been given.  Therefore I choose to live the rest of it for the Lord, assured, loved and determined to live forever with God.  Thank you Lord Jesus for the opportunity to join you in eternity.

True

Would it be true for me to say that I take all of my decisions to the Lord before choosing a path?  Would it be true to say that today I treated each person I encountered in a way that reflected the way I would want to be loved?  Would it be true that I have forgiven everyone whom offended me, especially those whom would be my enemies?  Would it be true that I loved my wife as Christ loved the church?  Would it be true that I put God first in a position that recognized His authority, sovereignty and unique position as the only object of my worship?  Would it be true that I walked as if I have been filled, indwelt, accompanied, counseled and taught by the Holy Spirit?  Would it be true that I remain a light and salt, preserving, sponsoring and convicting this world through God’s Word, prayer and observable living?  Would it be true that I live in this moment as if the Bible is True and I am responsible for my obedience to that Holy Word?

The truth is not meant for the lost alone.  In fact, the Truth of God’s Word should be established as necessary and unavoidable to those who have chosen to abide in Christ.  Do I perhaps avoid Truth as inconvenient, simply choosing to pull God’s double edge sword when my personal justification is not present?  What then is the power of Truth if it is subjected or susceptible to my personal reliance, interpretation or choice of timing and application?  Ouch, that one hurts.  How about for you?

Where can I go but to the Truth of God’s Word to determine my similarity in Christ.  How may I know if I am missing/making the mark as an ambassador if I have not firmly established the “Absolute Truth” of God’s Word as it applies to my every action?  I cannot depart from the Truth in convenience and ignore the conviction associated with misbehavior, as I am the Holy of Holies where God resides in this plane.  To deny that voice of Truth, making decisions based upon my own desires, understanding or misunderstanding immediately places me in the dangerous position of conflict with God.  In Truth, I have never heard any Christian claim that they wished for or invited hardship into their lives, yet that is exactly the outcome of this personal practice and flippant handling of Truth.

I sinned today, I recognized it, confessed it to God and turned away from it.  I followed that process purely based upon God’s Truth and my belief in its inerrant nature, its sufficiency and efficiency in removing the weighty implications of my sin.  I did not rely on my ability to conceal, justify, get over, ignore, cleanse or make up for that sin.  The Truth is that I can do nothing about my sin apart from Christ.  Just as Christ is the great dividing line of humanity, His forgiveness of sin is the great burden to which no other religion provides solution.  His Truth should be my Truth and when it isn’t I should immediately ask and receive His forgiveness for my transgression of that Truth.  I know that someday I will remain in Spirit all the time, never venturing from His Will, but today was obviously not that day.  For today’s transgression and in hope of my eventual total obedience to His Truth, I ask you Lord to forgive me and teach me how to remain steadfast to Your Truth, Always.  Praise God in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.