Try loving someone who hates you.  Peace is at the beginning of your journey not the end.  You tell me that you cannot forgive and you want me to second a motion to see you included in the club of social occupancy.  I will never meet the cut off, never match the guidelines, never have the personal enlightenment or empowerment to somehow rise above.  For this battle was never fought by me, but by God out of love for me and you.  It does not depend upon my strength or frailty, my coordination or clumsiness, my success or utter defeat.  There is no balance of competing forces seeking influence over eternity.  There is only God and His patience for mankind until He levies absolute judgment.

Love is something I learned from Him, where the world had only given a quest for attention.  Overcoming is found in realization of truth not in repeated or mighty action.  I have won is a state of being not an episode of circumstance, effort and chance.  Romance is fine but give me a woman that will stay with me after the glamorous and spectacle is ended and you will see the foundation for real love.  I see them vomit, convulse, jones, steal, beg, lie and borrow until no one will know them and yet I see God still waiting on their every tear.  I find them gasping, hiding, creeping, avoiding, competing, faking and controlling, telling themselves that one more achievement and things are going to be alright.  But night still comes and daydreams turn to threatening nightmare as they find themselves in darkness without hope, wisdom and freedom.  I greet mockers, knowing that their fear is insurmountable, for they argue with a Holy God, whose voice is thunder and Words raise or lower the dead.

I will not talk trash.  It matters to Him who I am.  You are loved, whether you accept, understand or deserve it is simply and fortunately irrelevant.  For if eternity depended upon my performance, looks, money or skill, oh what a desperate man I would become.  I wait upon His direction because He loved me enough to wait until I broke down and cried out for help, He was simply there, just as promised.  His loyalty doesn’t miss, it follows the line of infinite slope and never wavers in the realms of fickle human dependency.  When I met Jesus I too had the opportunity to surrender and now I see in myself the benefits of His undying love.  People can now count upon me when before they had no reason.  I have been reborn, remade, chastened and set free.  Jesus is for me and I for Him.  In this life leading to the next.  Praise His name He is Glory.

What things are freely available to both rich and poor man?  Is air free, water, fuel, housing, clothing or food?  Does freedom come without cost?  How about love, is there associative cost for a Mother’s love of her children?  How about thought, are you alone without fee when left inside your own imagination?  Is there an equal and opposite reaction to every undertaking?  What are the costs associated with each aspect of life and how might some things be attained without bargaining, begging, wagering or pay?

How much of life comes without price?  It costs money to be born, to be vaccinated, to grow, to learn and to propagate.  Can one travel by foot, without gear, supply or benefactor?  Can you live in the wild anymore, without dependence upon fellow man or wealth, in whatever form for trade, assistance and store?  Can a man live free of society without conscience, without sacrificing relationships, investment and convenience?  Were we ever meant to strike out on our own, simply providing for our own edification and sustenance?  If so where in the Bible is that ever directed, indicated or valued?  If nothing is free then what are the associative costs of believing in God?

“I will provide for all of your needs according to my riches and glory through Christ Jesus”, says the Lord.  “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you”, God directs.  “What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose His soul?”  These paraphrases from the Bible point us to the source of all our gifts.  What is the price of thought, belief, commitment and vigilance, because I assure you they do not come without cost?  A rich man may not fully surrender to God without sacrifice nor may a poor man come to God without investment.  What value do we place on humility, loss of identity, ego, station, legacy or relationship?  How may a man lose his life for Christ’s sake and end up gaining life from the process?  Have you committed to paying the price associated with declared and demonstrated faith in Christ Jesus?  For nothing is free in this world, being a Christian makes you an enemy of God’s enemies.  They will not stop until you are left in despair, without joy, relationship or hope.  But they are not in charge and the price of your redemption has been paid, not by you but by Christ.  And no one, including any fallen spirit, may exact from you any payment but that which has already been given through the Lord’s sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary.

Is there anything free in life?  Yes, you are free from the price of this world to live with God forever in eternity.  Yes, you will never die, but instead walk instantly into the arms of God when this short lived mist expires.  Yes, you are no longer held down by the eternal weight of your sinful thoughts and actions.  Considering the truth of your freedom, to what then now will you spend the wealth of your present life, for God, through service to His Kingdom or to self, effectively wasting your remaining time in freedom?  The only thing that is really free on this planet is the free will choice God has given each of us.  Whether rich or poor you may live as a free man or woman, serving Christ the King.  How will you exercise your sole freedom?  In Jesus’ Name I live.

Listening is an act of love.  Few value the necessity of searching God’s Word for the assurance it offers.  All of us flounder, wander, feel lost, tired unwelcome and alone, for these are the incomplete feelings looming in a world that worships in-consequence and conquering the insubstantial.  If, I have no money but I am loved and respected by my friends, family, colleagues and neighbors, what worldly value have I?  If I perceive it but can never achieve it will my employer simply reward my effort?  If children find me false, unauthentic, untrustworthy and self-serving, will they find value in my testimony?  Why do  I serve God, because He directs my path with love, wisdom, forgiveness and and an immeasurably, righteous sacrifice for me at the moment when I had nothing of real value to offer in return.  I seek Him because He promises to shape my character and delivers those necessary changes through continued relationship.  I worship Him out of practicality, because He deserves all the praise I could ever offer and then some.

But what of this world and all that might be achieved?  Think of a person who typifies success, by worldly measure.  Someone you might have a longing to emulate, duplicate or become.  What is the nature of their enviable success?  Are they simply fortunate, having the right set of talents and timing given to those elements of success?  Did they work hard and find reward in the trappings of sweat and sacrifice?  If that were so you could not help to duplicate their success without a similar swath of talent, the luck and chance to be in the right place at the right time or a dedication of your life to overcoming those around you?  Has adulthood taught you the reality of this envy, that you or I will probably never be the next overnight sensation, or do you still hold onto the minimal probability that you will hit the right lottery numbers or be discovered?  Have we seen and understood the emptiness of world domination?  I mean one must simply look upon the life of Alexander the Great to view the folly at the end of the world’s rainbow.  Wouldn’t it be more mature to avoid the scant probability of accessing success through probability or effort by investing your time and thought in certainty?

The only fulfillment you will ever find will be discovered through investigation of your creation?  Do not allow the world to convince you that happiness may only be found in luck and chance or through laser focused effort.  A woman who does exactly what she was designed to do is more infinitely wealthy than any other who has reached every goal and received every reward this world offers.  That is why other religions may not offer the same assurance associated with Christianity, because they rely on my ability to perform or capacity to remain vigilant until enlightenment somehow comes upon me.  These requirements match this world’s game of performance and chance.  God died for me so that I might live forgiven of sins that I could never escape and then He went on into eternity to prepare a place that we might reside together forever.  None of that depends upon me or luck or my talents and treasure.  I don’t have to somehow hope to say the right words, do the right deeds or be in the right place at the right time.  Loving God and reading His Word gives me the only assurance available in this world prone to luck and likelihood.  I worship God because He deserves it.  I follow God and emulate His actions because they are the model for right living in this world and the next.  I don’t have beauty, talent, treasure and I will never strike it rich by chance.  But I have found favor in God and through serving Him with the gifts I was given by His spirit, I have found purpose, resolution and fulfillment.  What then are we seeking if not this type of assurance in a world where it remains elusive?

Praise God for the security, purpose and freedom we find in Jesus.

Would you leave a friend upon the field?  Or perhaps pay for a stranger to be healed.  What then of those left not knowing God?  Odd, that you would care not their names, their sin and trial.  All the while, worshiping the Lord who loves them without end.  Turned His eye away from a Son, undeserving of the death He faced, disgraced upon a tree for humanity to spit upon and shame.  Am I to blame, as He hung their suffering for the weight of my sin, taking in all that is evil in man’s inhuman history.  What a divine mystery that such would bare my plight, in exchange for my belief, exchanged for relief from the sting of death and hell.  What am I to tell the man with no hope?  What is the scope of my responsibility, duty, allegiance and love?  Is it love that resembles His for me or am I the tree bearing no fruit, worthless salt, spent for trampling?  They wander bye as I watch their quest for an eternity separated from the God they have sought since birth.  What is my salvation worth if not the moments, the words, blessings, prayers and cares for them as God numbers their hairs, patiently waiting for their arrival?  Who and what shall I become if I succumb to the calls and identities the world offers.  Hurled head long into a story, not about glory but about my own fattened soul, holding myself above all that is Holy.  Solely spent for treasures meant for His intention, without mention of my eternal purpose.  What are my songs worth if not to honor the giver of voice, music, pause and peace?  When I cease to be let me be with He that is known as the Living God, the Great I AM, Almighty.  For without His hand all I’ve done and planned is simply sand passing through the hour glass of time and reason.  His reason is my rhyme, His time my measure, His hope my pleasure, His love the end and answer to my search.  For I was the friend He refused to leave upon the field that cold August morn.

Directed by the Will of God for our lives.  Must I then fear any obstacle, any enemy, mocker or thief?  What has God Himself put at the center of our hearts.  For me it is a word of warning, a note of wisdom, caution and preparation for the faithful, to be found ready when God returns for His bride and judgment.  My heart pounds for the Jewish Nation, knowing that at some point soon they shall be assailed by God’s enemies.  My heart rejoices and weeps to know that they will collectively understand that the Messiah’s first visit was largely overlooked.  We shall all find ourselves in a time of remembrance, truth and painful understanding that will invariably turn to Hope as we await His return.

How may I treat those around me in  fashion, acceptable to the Lord our God, showing them the love that He directed me offer?  May I overlook their trials and bondage, hoping or merely praying that they will be lifted up from circumstance or prison?  Certainly not, for this is what it means to be thankful for God’s redemption of the saints, in that He loved us completely when we ourselves were slaves to sin, awaiting death and coming judgment.  Food for the hungry, health for the sick, homes for the homeless and love for all who suffer without its caring touch of hope.  Our duty out of gratefulness is simple, it is our justification, excuse and ignorance that allow us to make excuse or allowance for disobedience and poor behavior.  We are princes and priests, bound to honor God with our walk, our lives and our constant intercessory prayer.

I shall not be afraid, though facing diverse trials, wickedness and the threats of evils worst.  For they have been overcome by Good, by God, By Christ and their time is fleeting.  Why then should I give weight to the words of folly, spoken by mouths that have denied Christ and turned down belief and glory?  What authority is it from whence they speak?  Should I give any respect to the fallen, their attempts to hurt God by stealing my joy, my purpose and my fulfillment?  You cannot steal what you may not understand or touch.  And my treasure is stored in Heaven with God, a place unavailable to those who refuse to honor Him.  You threaten this life when this is but a mist, how inconsequential.  For I have eternity, abundant life that transcends the boundaries and shackles of death and sin to which you remain enslaved.  My pity is in your brief attempts at control, for it ends when this life fades, you have no eternal offering, that is reserved for those who will humble themselves before Almighty God.

Yes, there will be trials, pain, loss, heartache, illness, dilemma and remorse, for that is the nature of training.  The pain is experienced here so that eternity may be free of these sinful consequences.  We are bound for glory, we’re here to tell that story, the story of Lord Jesus and how he came to save.  To save all men from judgment, condemnation brought on by sin, by freeing all from prison, regardless of the jail you’re in.  So save yourself from judgment, believe upon Him and live, accept His Graceful pardon that He has offered as a gift.  Our hope is in redemption, sanctification soon in sight, but we must prepare our hearts for glory and for His arrival in the night.  So fill your lamp with Spirit, the oil of eternal life and take peace for all your burdens giving Him your pain and strife.  For Jesus is soon coming, keep your eyes turned to the sky, keep your bodies holy and don’t listen to the lie.

All our lives we have attempted to fit in with the roles, rituals and demands of this world, must we now face the same exclusionary tactics, peer pressure and conformity within the church?  It is foolish to believe that the largest segment of our ministry is toward the lost when we see so many wounded, wandering and misdirected babes within the churches.  Elders have capitulated to the accounting sheets, leaders clamor for the next great idea to bring tithing bodies into the churches and Pastors have become slaves to banking, bills and adherence to growth plans.  Where are the kneeling pews of yesteryear?  Shall a five minute alter call be the only moments of humility we spend before the Spirit of Almighty God.  Conversations crowd-out prolonged and peaceful contemplation, fellowship curtails the prolonged moments spent in the God’s Presence.  What ever happened to meditation and prayer?  When will we pay heed to our own edification before expecting the world to change?  Have we so quenched the influence of the Holy Spirit that the Bride of Jesus lay powerless?

I have been called to tell the truth of Gods Word, regardless of where and when the need arises. He calls me to deep inspection and reflection upon His Holy Word.  How can any man possibly be guilty of praying too much, when the Lord calls us to be doing so unceasingly?  Is there any wonder that through this diligent pursuit I have developed a close relationship with the Lord and He has blessed me with wisdom and knowledge?  Isn’t that the formula clearly established with His teaching?  Why then now do you call me crazy as the things He tells me stand up to comparison with His Blessed Gospel?  Shall I be silent as the Lord bids me shout, would you have me sit when the Lord tells me to stand or walk out in courage and faith?  What does a membership have to do with a Christian being able to sing out strong to the Lord, in front of the saints?  What are we doing church?  There is still time to rethink our stances, to move out from our idleness and ritual, to be found doing the work He warned us to be diligent in completing.

Did Steven get asked about his academic credentials before giving, perhaps one of the greatest testimonies, effectively astounding the Pharisees and Sadducees?  Don’t we as layman, hold the responsibility of fulfilling whatever purpose God has set before us, or should we step aside and leave all that labor to the trained academician or expository professional?  Should all the visits, soup kitchens, hospitals and streets of ill repute be free from the voices of saved men, if a preacher has neither the will, time or gumption to so venture?  Pastors, be advised, I know that the Lord wants us in unity, but if you will not go and you will not encourage those with the gifts to do so then must we remain in direct conflict with God over the calling He placed in our hearts?  Should we be more concerned about following rules established by counsels of men or simply follow the inerrant Word of God?  We both know the answer, perhaps then let us just go and do what we may for the Kingdom before the day is done and the work time is over.  Please stop worrying about the bills and simply exalt the name of Jesus as He has commanded.  Leave the church building to Him.

Praise the Lord our God, Jehovah, Jesus, Alpha-Omega, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One, Almighty God.  Amen.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/10/08/potentially-game-changing-oil-reserves-discovered-in-israel/?intcmp=hpbt3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Russia_relations

What has the Prince of Peace to do with warring factions, political manipulation and  geographic turbulence?  Why do we care as Christians, about the actions of the Russians, Turkish, Egyptians, Syrians or Iranians?  Aren’t we simply waiting for Jesus to call us homeward, in rapture, knowing that we shall not face His wrath?  Does it matter to us what happens to Israel?  Why then should I care about prophetic mention of ancient societies and spirits like Gog, Gomer, Tubal or the sons of Japheth?  What has any of this to do with me?

Bottom line, God’s Word is Truth. He demonstrates its reliability by telling the things which will come to pass before they occur.  Check it out in passages like Isaiah 17-19, Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38 & 39.  These events increase our faith, our hope and our reliance upon God’s Word as the foundation upon which we stand as the “Bride of Christ”.  But what should this increased faith provoke in our hearts, what actions should this bolstered faith promote or inspire?

Talents well invested, oil in our lamps, priceless pearls, treasures in heaven, offering our bodies as holy/acceptable sacrifice and labor in the fields, all refer to the calling placed upon each Christian life.  We were made to bring glory to His name by living in resemblance to Him, spreading the Good News of the Gospel.  Why should we care that Russia is moving heavily into Syria or that they are joining closely with Iran and others to prop up military monarchies?  Does my concern matter one iota in the resolution of the plan of Almighty God.  Of course it matters otherwise we would never ponder this line of questioning.

Asking these questions is exactly what we should be doing, but we must not ask them of each other, rather we should be turning to God through the Holy Spirit, investigating His Word for wisdom and knowledge.  We were meant for one grand purpose, to the Glory of God the Father.  That purpose is planting the seed of God’s Holy Word, fertilizing and tending the harvest of saints, by telling people that they might escape God’s judgment through the salvation found only in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore these events should draw us closer to God, inquiring, praying and acting on His behalf before His coming judgment.  Possessing wisdom and fully relying upon God’s Word as “absolute truth” we are  emboldened to preach the Gospel message fulfilling our purpose.

To His greatest glory these unfolding events closely align with the Biblical times immediately preceding Christ’s imminent return.  It matters because we were repeatedly counseled to readiness, as He will come like a thief in the night, unexpected, catching those napping unawares.  I want to know the Bible and I am excited by these recent events, because the Lord’s return is nigh.  Prepare your hearts for Jesus, make straight your paths, pray unceasingly, keeping your eyes toward heaven whence He is certain to return.  God Bless you all, in Jesus Name.