What is the true gradient of your life surrender to God?  Certainly, we sing it on Sundays, in those moments when we feel close to him in worship, but somehow as we return to our lives in this world we take back portions reserved for our sole control.  If he commanded you to go to Ethiopia in three months to teach, preach and protect a small pocket of believers would you answer that call?  And to that end do you even have a passport to place yourself in the reservoir of believers who could respond to a call from God?

I do not know what he is going to ask of each of us, but I do know that we are each have a purpose for the kingdom.  I do not wish to be sarcastic, because I know how important and difficult this calling and the requisite response must be.  However, we cannot truly believe in God, state that we are governed by his will over our own and then go on our own merry way never expecting that our Master will give us commands.  Or worse yet, declare our “complete/utter” surrender to his will and then make our own plans for work, living, recreation and investment.  To do so is indicative of a unrefined belief or disbelief in our verdant declaration.

Belief causes willingness to respond through obedience, cognizant that obedience is the only true measure of our faith and love for God.  I have heard many pastors preach on this yet I see little reaction from the visiting body.  Why is that?  Our faith is so weak that we mis-comprehend that our lack of obedience to the pastor is symbolic of our true disobedience to Christ.  In real life, just as in the Bible, the Lord provides real world examples and characters that living out the successes and mistakes for our edification. Our unwillingness to listen, absorb, reflect and correct our obedience within our relationship to the pastor is one of those lessons sent for our clarity and understanding of how our behavior is viewed by God.

Your purpose is so important I am stopping for a moment to pray that you have clarity, understanding and surrendered-preparedness and response to His call upon your life. Especially, in reflection to our having to surrender our own dreams for this life in order to complete the work God has appointed us.  It ain’t an easy thing to give your life to Christ, but is the best thing that any of can ever do.  It ain’t simple to truly accept God’s will for our existence, surrendering our own ideas, ambitions and intentions for something greater than self-service.  Let me refine that statement from it ain’t easy to it’s humanly impossible to do without the presence and the filling of the Holy Spirit of God. We have become a new creature, transformed by a renewing of our minds.  What does that mean if not for being born again to be someone different, living by a different code of standards than our previous life.  Let me be blunt, if you accepted Christ and you stayed the same, then you ought to be concerned about your salvation.  Because when your cup is emptied and filled again with His Spirit it becomes impossible to remain where you began.  Pray, prepare and persevere being of good courage throughout God’s Path for your life.  Obedience is all God asks for, giving it is demonstrative of your love, faith and respect for Him.

Ephesians 6:18-20

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Would my earthly Father look upon my behavior with approval?  Would my Mom have more love for me when she reviews my actions?  Will my Brothers and Sisters come to some cooperative agreement that recognizes the good I have done?  Will perhaps my wife feel closer to me when she sees my works?  Will I get promoted because my boss has seen my authentic love for the people in our office?  Are my neighbors thinking themselves lucky to have such a wonderful person living next to them?  Have I reached worldly renown, or critical acclaim having my character marketed before me so that everyone holds me in close regard?  Selah.  What do you mean, selah?  Why should I meditate upon these ideas?  And by the way isn’t meditation an Eastern or Pagan ideal?

I have failed them all.  It is entirely possible that these people look upon me with approval and good thoughts.  Have I blinded myself to the things of this world to a point where my only thoughts are of pleasing God?  I really wish people liked me, but when they don’t or require that I change my Christian behavior so that they in fact, can like me, what then have I become in order to gain that approval?  Worldly, of course.  And regarding meditation, that is something that King David preached to everyone, meditating upon the Word of God.  When was David King in Israel?  That was circa 1000 BC.  Hundreds of years before Buddhism was formed in the 6th century BC.  What, you mean meditation is a Jewish thing and therefore something consistent with my Christian faith?  Yes, but there are some inherent differences between worldly thinking/meditation and Christian meditation.  We, meaning Christians and Jews meditate upon the Word of God such that it is the thing which occupies and fills our minds.  Worldly practices requires an emptying of our minds so that they may be filled with whatever the “world” or “universe” offers.  Do you see the inherent danger with worldly thinking?

I might have the approval of everyone around me and fail God.  Though it is nice to be liked, wouldn’t the opposite of that ideal be considered success as a Christian?  I must be willing to let go of all desire to gain worldly approval in order to do the work of Christ. Concurrently, I must never go into the world, that is currently under the authority of the devil with an empty head, thinking that goodness and mercy will prevail my thoughts.  I must fill my thoughts with the power and authority of God’s Holy Word to armor myself against the deceptions of the devil, selah.  I don’t need any epiphanies that the universe would offer me because we can be assured that the prince of the power of the air rules here now, he is going to utilize those revelatory means for evil and disregard for God.  Thankfully, I do get validation from Christian Brothers and Sisters, and I cherish their approval of my behavior as a Christian Brother, but their opinions do not replace God’s commentary upon my life for that only comes from His Word and the Holy Spirit.  I also see the protective quality of constant meditation upon God’s Word for in the presence of His Word the devil must flee.

So learn to meditate upon heavenly things, letting go of the dim things in this world.  Get your approval from Almighty God, knowing confidently that you are doing those things that He has first commanded of you.  Find solace in the validation that God loves you and wants nothing more that to walk with you in the cool of the day.  Be cautious when attempting any practice that is designed to create enlightenment within worldly man, for the devil may appear as an angel of light utilizing deception to make us believe we are following the righteous path.  Be ready, meditate continually on the Word of God and let go of what the world thinks of you, for you belong to Him.

Set aside a teacher for myself, teaching what my self wishes to hear, words of mercy and grace without responsibility, accountability or truth.  Good sense carries with it the weight of understanding because it is easy identified as truth.  Lord, I know while you are working on a place for us that we are supposed to be about the business of telling truth.  Our eyes are upon You in all your Glory, we shall not be lost in the cascading darkness threatening to deceive mankind.  It is in your truth that we reside and this dwelling provides protection from the evil one and the lies he would have believed.  We cry out to You Father in gratefulness for our protection and ask that you watch over our families in this earnest and apprehensive moment in man’s future.

False teachers abound and itching ears accommodate the weakness in doctrine.  Let us not be drawn by the whiles of easy money, relationships or hypnotic dreams.  Work is good, difficult work is better and a lessen learned through trial will be one that benefits my mind, heart and body throughout this journey.  Easy has never been satisfying, though so many wish for it, they are left wanton.  Craving power because we are powerless is the natural inclination but is not the proper resolution to the incumbent problem.  Hope is our resolve.  Not hope in me or my ability to overcome but hope in a Father who has provided for all circumstances, in all things, having made the world and overcome all its difficulties.  They are my Brothers and in them I delight.  They seek to serve and glorify your name and in seeing them perform I receive a residual gift.  Hallowed be thy Glorious Name.

They have lost their way Father, and if it not be too late I plead with you to show them again the skinny path, that they might find righteousness in you.  Break their self-love at hearing their own intelligence, glorifying themselves at the sound of smooth preaching. Silence them unless it is of the prophecy of Jesus Christ for which they speak.  Peel them back from the mirror of self-activism, let them once again find joy, peace and hope in humility of service to a righteous King.  For always Lord keep our eyes upon you, so that no shiny object or even angel of light lead us away from the true Light of Your Goodness. For it is in your love we have found life everlasting.  There is no where else that we may ever go but to the foot of your throne.  Grace be you my king.  We love and adore you. In Jesus’s name I pray.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/10/03/storms-quakes-fires-korea-and-now-vegas-shooting-whats-next/725889001/

Let’s see , New York, D.C., New Orleans, Ferguson, Baltimore, Dallas, San Bernadino, California and the Mountain West plagued by fires, Houston, South Florida, Puerto Rico and Las Vegas.  Is there a pattern?  Are there any similarities in the locations having been unfortunately visited by inclement weather or man-made catastrophes.  Is it something greater or are our disasters coming with greater frequency and rapidity?  Is it happening globally or does our specific media focus make it appear that it is just in this country?  Does the concept of coincidence continue to apply when statistical reckoning demands otherwise?  At what moment do these occurrences rise above the level of mere chance?

If these episodes were somehow to capture the attention of a population/culture that had heretofore been unconscious to the affect of their behavior would they then have been an effective method of communication?  I ask how else is God to get man’s attention?  In this article the reverend says something about having reviewed these circumstances one must become a “bit” apocalyptic.  What does that mean?  Does that inspire people to fall pray to the fear that the world is ending?  Folks, Christ has already won this victory.  Those who will trust Him never perish and spend eternity with our living God.  He brings the city of New Jerusalem to a remade Earth so that we may live together with Him and that is only after Christ reigns here for a thousand years of peace.  Oh, you didn’t know those things, no one told you the end of the Book.  Well perhaps your bit of apocalyptic transformation may cause you to seek some answers you had been neglecting?  If I may be of any assistance please consider me at your service.

To them who have been mocking God with the following question, why does a loving God allow evil or bad things to happen to good people, I say you are about to see the Glory of Our God as He sets things straight in the universe.  If righteous judgment must be executed at some date and you were the guilty party, wouldn’t you think it loving if the judge pushed off the sentencing date as far as possible, giving you time to mount an effective defense or to live as much of this life as possible.  Would you fault God for choosing a specific date at which time He will remove all evil, if you knew that your Brother, Sister, Son and Mother needed time to change their ways?  God has the power to raise the dead, how then would He be troubled by people who have passed on through illness or otherwise?  They reside in His presence awaiting that sovereign day when all will receive the reward of their choosing, some to life with God, some to eternal separation from Him.  To them who would be frightened by a heightened sense of Apocalyptic awareness, I say the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.  Fear not the coming trials for He is the one who knows you and the storm by name.  In Jesus’s Name.

Genesis 6:5

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Except for Noah and his few family members, God had decided to destroy humanity by flood.  All things considered, God still had Noah preach the Word for 120 years before that judgment was executed.  This is testimony to His patient love in waiting for each of us to make that decision to either follow Him or our own foolish pursuits.

I am not the strong silent type.  In fact, I think to feed the existence of that character in my life would be following the god of what I wish to become.  I would love to be the Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, etc.  character who lets his fists win the day, his good looks woo the women and his silence strike fear in those who wondered.  This is not the time for silence for them who serve the Kingdom of God.  This is the time to speak up for Christ, to tell people how to escape the coming judgment and befriend them in love so that they might know what to do with their fears regarding this worlds’ entropy.   In other words I ain’t good enough looking to woo the women in silence, frankly it takes begging, decisiveness or good honest character, I leave to your judgment as to which one I am promoting.

I fall short hourly.  I know that God expects me to produce through love, study and reliance upon the Holy Spirit.  Do you think he forgives me for producing through like, bone-headed understanding and reliance upon my own slim whit?  Does your intention matter?  Does it take faith to go out and try to create disciples even when you do it poorly as in my case?  Am I a failure if I learn the ontological argument for God, know his precepts and can find it in the Bible, then have such a faulty upper lip that my delivery is slurred?  I don’t have your skills, but I have a heart that won’t let me quit, because I know that he will never quit on me.  Isn’t that what it’s about?  Knowing God’s love for me overcomes my inadequacies.  What I do ain’t pretty but don’t the results rely completely upon the Holy Spirit?  I mean, I may be bow-legged, fat and slow but I still have the chance to win the race, given who’s on my side.

We don’t know what we don’t know.  But wouldn’t you say that there is enough cumulative evidence to indicate that we are rapidly approaching a face to face meeting with our creator?  Doesn’t His Word indicate the season or the environment for such a meeting?  I don’t care how dumb, lazy, stupid, funny looking or poor I may be when all that matters if I show up for those moments when my duty calls.  It doesn’t matter if all my achievements are preordained, it is still my choice to serve God that will get me up off my keester when the works needs doing.  I love the story of that little drummer boy, playing his childish heart out to a God whom he so deliberately and desperately loved.  Isn’t that what it is all about?   I don’t know what your gift is but I sure would cry big, crocodile tears to see you give it all for the account of God.  Perhaps together we will make a bigger splash and be less afraid than alone.  Won’t you join me in doing our best for Christ?  He gave it all for us, maybe we can show him how much we love him by giving some in return.

What made the three young men ready to be cast in to the eviscerating furnace?  They had determined before hand that they were not going to bow down to any false gods and steeled themselves against the possibility, when it arrived the decision, their prayers and their resolve had already been determined.  Why Daniel, why Iran or as it was known then Persia? Do you think he decided to disobey the king’s orders at the moment he began to pray or had he solidly determined that there was nothing in this world worth suffering that could be worse than worshiping false gods?  What makes you stand still when the heat is being turned up around you?

Whose promises have you accepted and determined to live within?  Are you still courting satan and the lies regarding finding resolution, safety, fealty and fulfillment in this world?  Come on be honest.  Is there something, someone, some place or position that you hold so admirably that you continue to pour your best energies toward that reward? It is okay to tell the truth, after all that is all you will get from God.  Are you preparing yourself for testing moment or a succession of testing moments where you will have to publicly declare your allegiance to Christ?  Oh, I see, you were critical of Peter, but you shared his lack of preparation and honesty.  I joined the marine corps that I might be ready to fight, I study the Word that I might know my God and give a solid defense of my faith and I prepare my heart for the inevitable moment when I will be called upon to declare Jesus Christ my Lord and savior, even to the loss of life, liberty, friends, family or possessions.  What you practice you will do.  What are you practicing?

Muscle memory, will it travail in getting me to take a stand and say the words the Holy Spirit bids my mouth speak. I know that we are not meant to face God’s Wrath, but persecution is coming, in fact already accepted as normal practice every where but this blessed United States.  What happens to each of our immature believers when challenged, as they very well could be in the coming years waiting for Christ?  This is not simply me or you alone against the world.  We are the body of Christ, meant for each other.  Therefore, it is incumbent on body leader’s, elders or mature brother’s to aide in preparation of them who may not be ready for what could surely come.  I pray that I do not flinch, falter, cower or hide when my testing comes.  I hope that if asked to do so that I willingly suffer for and with Christ, but you can only know what you will do when the opportunity confronts you.  Remember, though Peter failed, he believed the Lord and stepped out of the boat walking upon the water in limited faith.  It is not wise to accept a preaching or teaching position if you do not intend to prepare them who look to you for guidance.  What will the sheep entrusted to your protection do when their testing comes?

I bid you stand your ground, whether it be government, enemy soldiers or spiritual oppressors, furnace, fire or giants.  The Lord is our shepherd, he is faithful to deliver us from all evil and he has overcome death and the devil.  What then shall I fear if all my oppressors fear God.  They know who the righteous power is, why then should I be convinced to accommodate their deception?  Prepare yourself, spend time on your knees now so that you may stand on your feet when the opportunity arrives.  Listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit and follow him alone.  In Christ’s name I pray to the Father for your safety, supply and courage in the coming days of storm.