Pathway to victory

What shall we do about the current U.S. state of affairs?  What is our complaint, then once defined how do we determine if correction is viable?  Are we railing against the strong North wind or is our passionate discourse substantially effective?  Will the American people rise up and use the only corrective measure available to limit outreaches of a government on autopilot, the power of the vote?  Or is standing up for this country merely an exercise in futility as we gather speed toward Divine intervention in human affairs?  What should we be found doing when the Lord comes?  You are a believer right?  And He did say that He would be coming back to rule and reign following some pretty perceptible signs, right?  Only one thing can be true, we either have the ability to turn this thing around by somehow gathering a loud enough public voice or we cannot effect change because this is God’s plan leading toward eventual intervention.

Be honest.  Do you think that the current views of abortion on demand, same sex marriage and single path to God are going to change to a view that matches Lord’s Word?  Perhaps the Pope’s recent capitulation on all three of these issues will provide you the basis for decision making.  America has fallen, taken down by its own lusts and selfish desires.  And those of us who could have stopped the progression towards powerlessness did nothing or joined them in compromise.  Remember, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their wicked support of these same practices.  Begging the question, are we in America following the same path to a losing battle with Almighty God.  My answer is Yes.

We will not turn this thing around no matter how ardently we pronounce virtue, truth and righteousness, but still we must proclaim it.  This country has decided that it does not need God, or worse yet it thinks that it is on the side of God but truly has a naive understanding of what that actually means.  We are critically uninformed about Jesus.  Even most pastors have a scant idea about prophecy and what will soon come even though it is clearly cataloged for review in the Bible they profess to be absolute truth.  For instance do you know that the day He arrives He will do battle in three different locations releasing His wrath on the assembled wicked.  He is not going to return for peace but to pronounce judgment upon mankind and establish His “Rod of Iron” authority upon the Earth.  Does this frighten you?  It ought to.  The Bible states that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  That gnawing feeling in your stomach right now is wisdom, embrace it and you will avoid the judgment that this nation will quickly receive.

Currently, minorities, youth, woman and the poor have been convinced that our government will reward their voting allegiance with easy prosperity, limited taxation and very little restrictions on personal expression of heart felt desire.  Contrary to historical fact, which indicates that unrestricted or unbridled governments “always” exercise authority through the cruelest possible means, they have fallen pray to the lurking lion promising riches and sexual abandon.  To believe that this government, contrary to all notable facts will somehow take the rights, welfare and freedoms of the people into regard as it consumes all it touches.  Wake up folks, this beast has an endless appetite and when it is done with its enemies it will eat its own young.  This problem although correctable in its early stages is now beyond our control absent absolute rebellion a concept that the enemy enjoys.  You see satan doesn’t care how we fall, just that we fall.  He would be equally pleased to see us divided and fighting each other as he would if we simply chose the wrong path and ended up getting what we ask for and deserve, ruin.  The only salvation is found in surrender to God and obedient dedication to what is right and true in exchange for eternity, safety, security and love.  But, most will never choose this route as it requires abandon of self, something that for most is unbearable.  They will choose to go to an eternity separated from God in exchange for fulfillment of the lusts of this life.  That is why we cannot turn this thing in America.

Our only hope of change in America is if the Holy Spirit were to sponsor revival, but such an occurrence is not present in the Bible.  Additionally such revival would be sponsored by the prayers of the saints to God, something which is not presently happening.  Basically, we need to abandon the false hope of political heroes and the well dressed televangelists, because it just is not supported by God’s Plan in the Bible.  We have been told to prepare our hearts, minds and spirits for the coming of the Lord and to be ready as He will come without notice when we least expect Him.  The time I least expect Him to come is today while I am fat, dumb and happy, living in relative safety and comfort of beloved America the beautiful.  Would he find me ready?  He will if I have anything to do with it, but I must admit I am getting wise because I fear the Lord more than I fear anything that this world can do to me.  Father make it that the fire in our hearts forces us to prepare in obedience and love for You and Your Awesome Word.  Let us be found ready when You come so that we may avoid the wrath to come.  Bless Your Holy Name and if it be Your Will, redeem this nation from its current path, returning hearts to You.  Forgive us for going astray, grant us peace.  In Jesus Name I proclaim the coming Judgment as righteous, for we will receive what we deserve, just as the Lord’s Word explains.  Amen.

The Mighty Comes

The Lord did not state a case for His acquittal, because He knew the truth spoke loud enough for history.  Time and again the travesty of His innocence has played across the hearts and minds of man’s desire to be found not guilty.  As if the two are one in the same.  Do I have the will to stand in improper judgment knowing fully that truth will intervene to turn the apparent mockery of the moment to overwhelming historical victory?  I always thought myself incapable, but today the Lord proved me incorrect.  He led me to allow the truth to decide the sheen upon my reputation.  I left it alone, like never before and found that justice was done without my plea, cleverness or argument.

To do His work for His reasons, there is no higher regard.  Being able to act in any small manner, a disciple of God, is more reward than I could ever name.  I see young encouraged, misdirected find worth, stubborn be freed and joyous and the misbegotten find love from which they had been pariah.  The days are proving themselves evidence of His coming.  Even the wicked seem uncharacteristically so, as if they are acting over the top, no longer possessing authentic evil, but a frantic overplayed mockery of wretchedness.  Passed ripe, skin stretched, cracks showing.  The fruits of their labor unproductive, they strive to find some expression of their inner turmoil before the end comes.  But come it will, His Will and they know it now, just as those of us have seen the signs of changing season.

We are getting ready for a thousand years of peace, more grand than this life can know, in the presence of Holiness.  An Earth where man’s rule is past and chaos has given way to character.  The laws of science knowing that somehow true order has been restored, life flowing along to the music of creation near perfection.  I welcome this age, but I know the impact of each moment as His clock ticks to one then zero.  I do not wish for any trade to stand in front of the Lion of Judah at His return.  For my part I would beseech God to include me in His ministry, the squadron, horsed and ready, riding behind the Savior for Glory’s sake.  That is where I pray we all can be, me and you arm in arm at Victory’s Rising.  To God be all the Glory, Honor and Worship.  Praise King Jesus.

Empyrean

On which type of ground do you stand?  Are you the risk taker, looking for big gains, jumping from floating ice block to land in search of grand riches?  Or do you like the soft pliable loam of mountain valleys within which to plant seed promising abundance?  Given druthers would they find you restive on some jungle island, wiling away the years with verdant plenty?  Does the concrete, neon, fast traffic and noise draw you to the city where the opportunity lay for everyone to know your name and deed?  Does the golden wheat and rising corn call you to the toils and treasures of the wind swept fields?  Or is there granite underfoot, something substantial and old meant to stand the test of time?  Where do your feet call home?

Is it the solid Rock of the Lord God, the Rock of Ages?  I shall not be moved for it is in the name of Jesus Christ the King sounded from the depth of my determined lungs.  I look to the Hills from whence my help comes, It is the Lord who has covered my sins and prepared me to stand against enemy volley.  The high ground is ours for it is within God’s shadow that we reside.  Our lives may be lost but our victory shall follow us passed the veil of eternity, in to His waiting arms we go, to comfort, to rest, to life.  We shall forgive those who hate us and leave the judgment to a Righteous King who will dispense Mercy for faith and separation for disobedience.  It is right to leave these things to Him who is worthy to proclaim the world’s verdict.  Upon His Truth I stand immovable.

Two sides against the middle

If a church does not teach you to go out and disciple, help the elderly, sick, orphaned and poor then it is a church that has lost its understanding of the Body’s intent.  If a group of believers sits joyfully fulfilled inside the confines of an expensive church building while people nearby go hungry, homeless or left to battle the powers and principalities by themselves then the members shame should be unbearable.  If ritual, robes and glitter have replaced washing of feet, supper in memory of sacrifice and fellowship in Love then a church is no longer serving God but some invention of clever men.  If you have forgotten the joy, humility and grace of having been redeemed from slavery to sin by a God who loved you so much He died for you then you personally have accepted coma over consciousness.  How can we keep our eyes on Christ and not do the work He commands us to do?  I will leave you to determine the root cause of this travesty.

America is failing not because it is no longer an economically viable entity, but because we have forgotten to Whom we owe our gratitude and blessings.  Our principled past allowed us to commonly pursue our own imaginations while maintaining an undercurrent of solid principles that required each man and woman to evaluate and constrain their own desires when they infringed upon the greater good of this nation state.  Just as the church has forgotten its charter so too have Americans forgotten our origins and why we found it worth giving our lives, honor and treasure toward creation of this “just” and principled nation.  If we are to turn things around we must first come to a consensus on who we are as a nation.  Do we serve self, greed and power or do we serve others as God intended.  The way forward is riddled with obstacle and snare for many currently in positions of authority want the face of this nation to become one that serves either the visions of the few or the desires of each man, either leads to catastrophe.  If we will not follow God we will be led astray by those desiring to direct us to disparate unrighteous purpose.

Serve God or manna, you get to make the choice but the difficulty is that if you do not choose Christ then your decision by default is manna.  There remains no middle ground.  Praise God for His Mighty Plan.  Jesus Christ the Redeemer of Mankind.

Kindness Whispers

I do not have to wrestle with the world to spread the Love of Christ.  Our Lord did not repel but drew even the curious to Him, even His enemies were drawn as rats to fresh corn.  He offered something absent in the storehouses of the wicked, Love.  Everyone wants it, many cannot ask for it nor admit how much they crave and most try and manufacture it from audience attention.  The Bible states that God’s Law and the words of the prophets hang on this one principle.  The enemy cannot overcome it because he does not possess it, only poor substitutes like jealousy, envy and prideful lust.  Love overcomes all.

I loved him enough to tell him the truth without substitute, camouflage or pageantry.  What I did not do however was hit him upside his head with his shortcomings and cover his brow with a plate full of acidic guilt.  I cared for him, not in the way the world does telling him that everything is going to be fine, because it isn’t.  Not filling his head full of a barrel of false expectations, self-reliance and pride, but with truth.  I told him that a man can go pretty far on his own time, treasure, talent and will, but there is no limit to where a man can travel through the Will of God.  I appealed to his desire to do something incredible and reminded him that God’s Sovereignty trumped luck and skill.  I left him alone with his imagination and the truth, two terrible things to waste.

I Love You God and because I understand how much You Love me, I am able to Love others.  All my understanding is based on the things You have taught me, given me and taken from me.  I praise Your Glorious Name above all else in this world or the next.  Jesus come soon.  Amen

Believer’s Reliever

It only takes one.  I do not disciple to millions, but to the one man or woman standing in front of me.  I cannot know how their experiences have effected their openness to the Gospel if I come prepared with some pre-constructed argument for the existence of God and the need for repentance and belief.  We have all been uniquely designed to serve some specific God initiated purpose.  To approach a uniquely designed person with a standardized monologue, aimed at soliciting some specific response ignores their preciousness while also dismissing the Holy Spirit from entering the conversation.  The Holy Spirit knows each of God’s children and is significantly more qualified in providing the right words, smile or Bible phrase perfectly targeting the unique requirements of each heart.  I would frankly rather trust the Holy Spirit than I would my own self.  I am a sinner, He has none.  I am worldly, He is Divine Spirit.  I have a reasonable grasp of scripture and a frail understanding of love.  He is the Spirit of Love and wrote scripture to prepare man for eternity with God.

People are such a blessing.  Their troubles astound me, in their pain they are precious.  They struggle so to be good or worthy or just plain important.  This world will give them fleeting glimpses of significance, but God provides them with purpose, place and reason.  The Lord keeps echoing John 3:16 in my head.  Reminding me that it is all about His great Love for “this world”.  We must remember that even those people that we find intolerable are loved by God.  May I be forgiven for ever pronouncing my own judgment, or hating, disparaging, ignoring or maligning one that God says is worthy of His love.  Let us be ever vigilante and mindful to remember the Lord’s admonishment of Peter about calling anything unholy that God has proclaimed Holy.

I am not the most brilliant man, but I am reasonably smart.  That simple fact does not make it easier for me to disciple but actually presents difficulties and barriers.  My intelligence provides obstacles to my surrender and reliance upon the Holy Spirit as guide.  Thanks be to God that He has sanctified me to the point where I now truly appreciate the assistance that the Holy Spirit provides in my ministry.  Many times He says things to people in a way that to which I am incapable, using me as the delivery system for His Holy Waters of Prayer and Words of encouragement.  Watching His Grace in motion and seeing the delight, joy and wonder on the faces and hearts of men and women provides me ample impetus to get out of His way.  I love hearing what He has to say to the beloved.  Thank you Lord for considering me useful in any fashion.  Praise You in Your Infinite Glory and Grace. Christ Jesus soon comes as the Lion of Judah to do battle and pronounce righteous judgment upon mankind.  Amen.

Tranquility

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”  John 14

The road ahead is going to be harder than any this world has traveled.  That is difficult to imagine both for those who have suffered greatly in this life and equally unimaginable for those who have had an easy passage.  We all, believers and skeptic will face the same tragedy brought on by God’s dwindling patience, as the waters of His wrath begin to spill over the confines of His dam of mercy.  What then will be an unbeliever’s comfort?  Will they be left with nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth as the Bible foretells?  What peace soothes the heart of each believer, indwelt by Spirit, armed with the knowledge of destination and eternity?

God fulfills “every” promise.  Jesus is God.  Therefore the promise of His preparation and return to gather His children is the solid foundation upon which each believer’s Spiritual edifice resides.  He has gone, in order to construct a place for us, where we shall “live” together.  Does that strike you as strange or does that give you the hope it was intended to sponsor?  And finally, do you know the “way” to which the Lord refers?  Can you clearly see the path to where He has gone?  If these things are not clear please reach out to the Holy Spirit as guide and to pastors, teachers, elders and fellow believers for clarification.  It is essential that you see the path and if you don’t you will not be prepared for the Lord’s return.  I so desperately pray that you are prepared and that the Lord finds you and me “ready” when He arrives to gather us.  Let me know how I may help bring some sense to your questions.

Father we welcome your return and know that we may face extreme difficulty before that great and glorious day.  Give us the hope to keep our eyes heavenward and let us not falter in our faith because of the pressures about to face this world.  Armor us against the weapons of this world so that we may stand in the face of storm and tragedy knowing that you will pave the way forward.  Bless Your Holy Name King Jesus.  The Christ of God.

Taking sides

Do you see the battle lines taking shape as men and machines are moved into position?  Do you hear stories of the ideological positioning along supposed political lines that have nothing to do with opinion but have everything to do with either serving God or resisting Him?  When right became fuzzy we waited, now right has become wrong and we stand frustrated, what will we do when wrong becomes right?

I fail you Father in prayer through consistent return to the same old vomitous sins and by taking my eyes off of You and placing them on anything in this world.  You bid me show peace and Your strength in the midst of chaos to a world that knows not of peace.  The fact that I mimic citizens of this world by freaking out or losing my character under pressure clearly indicates a lack of residing in Your Spirit, hidden in the Christ of God protected from the worlds transmogrification.  Why do I still lend any part of my life to the enemy’s benefit when I have been purchased by Jesus upon that rugged tree we call “the cross”?  What perceived benefit other than self service or disobedience can I use to rationalize or explain away this abhorrent behavior.  I belong to You God and to none other.  Please teach me to resist any temptations that may pull me away from that natural allegiance.

Where is my devotion?  Where is my faith in action through prayer, knowing that this is my only control of the universe?  Why do I aid and abed the enemy by not using my greatest weaponry against Him, standing palsied in fear or capitulation instead of on my knees in victory?  What breeds this disobedience?  What manner of self-reliance or false confidence stops me from taking the necessary steps to furtherance of your will?  I know that You warn us against making pledges because You remember all that we have said.  Father that urge to make a commitment to You wells in my heart.  Show me how to dedicate my life fully to Your purposes.  Teach me to keep my eyes and heart upon You.

Father I pray for my Brothers and Sisters that they first have the eyes to see and the ears to hear the unfurling of Your Prophecy.  So that they may make readiness for what must quickly and surely come to pass.  Father teach them to fill their lamps with the oil and anointing of Your Holy Spirit so that they may be collected or passed over by the spirits and messengers of Your Judgment who will shortly show themselves to this world.  Give them a heart for discipleship so that all may have the opportunity to personally know Your Love and Grace.

In Jesus’ precious name I pray to You Father.  Amen.

Whistle, but work

We live in the land of “by of and for the people”.  Is this consistent with God’s perspective and law?  Partially, certainly, mostly or none at all?  You see although we try and establish that there is no wiggle room in theology, there is always a slant or perspective delivered by the well of human experiences that potentially colors the dissemination of truth.  I will deliver God’s law in a way that hopefully exactly adheres to the Truth His intention.  I will represent the Lord Jesus Christ in a way that hopefully closely coincides with His Self revelation in the Gospel.  However, we have all experienced and know that we cannot but help interject our own perspective and experience in our delivery and passion.

Suffice it to say, although I may ideologically disagree with how this ruler or that government is performing, the reality is that nothing happens outside of God’s Will and Prophecy.  The current political, environmental and sociological circumstances are exactly how He predicted that they would be and although we are to blame He will eventually Right all these wrongs.  And what is amazing to me is that He somehow considered me when He spoke this into being, to comprehend even momentarily that He had a part for me to play in the unfurling of His Plan just takes my breath away.  But let us be at peace in that all this is coming to pass must occur in order for God’s Plan to unfold.  This should be fertilizer for our faith in that what He said would happen “is” happening.

Now is the time for Christians to answer Spirit’s call upon their hearts.  Whatever He is leading you to do now is the time to take action.  There will be no time for decision shortly. The curtain has risen and all actors are upon the stage regardless of preparedness level.  If you are walking in the Spirit, when the time to deliver your line or act your part arrives, you will be provided the assets, words and strength to act on His behalf.  If not then you will either freeze, remain idle or run.  This is the moment for which we were spoken into being for His Good Will.  His righteousness has already prevailed, victory may be elusive and unclear but it is “assured”.  Take peace in the faith that God remains on His throne and in control of all that is and will shortly come to pass.

Praise You Father for Your Sovereign Grace and Authority.  Lord Jesus we work while we wait.  We love You.

Reparation impossible

I love you Lord.  How does one show You gratefulness?  Duty, obedience, loving, supporting and caring for others or is it a commitment?  How does one act when given something for which repayment in like kind may never be proffered?  What kind of humility and allegiance does such gift create?  How does one accept overwhelming grace?  Does the sacrifice of this lifetime even begin to recognize the benevolence of eternity?

We cannot repay, nor are we expected to, but we are meant to understand the enormity of this blessing.  The contemplation and realization of our inability to balance such generosity prepares and transforms each recipient’s heart.  Rendering us likely of doing God’s bidding.  Paving the way toward sacrificial existence.  Leaving us full of life and thanks and hope for all mankind.  Having been plucked from the fires on the steps of inferno we are seared by the memory of that rescue.  Forever knowing that our savior did not just risk everything but gave everything, suffered everything, making himself a ransom for our release.

My life is easy, not just comparatively but realistically.  There is no grand price I have paid for the abundance I now observe.  This country’s freedom has been a shield for which I offered little and any return on investment has far outweighed any small sacrifice.  My emotional pains small, my life relatively consistent, my belly full and my pocket never totally empty for long.  I have taken my blessings for granted too many times to measure.  Believing myself entitled or worse yet not thinking at all about my gifting.  How does this happen, that some may live in relative ease, not comprehending their wealth while others seemingly by chance struggle each day for clean water, air or shelter?  This is God’s choosing and will some day be put in right balance according to His righteousness.  Those who have suffered will wear many crowns in the hereafter, eternally displaying the benefits of their shortage in this life.  While many like me will be content to simply sit at the feet of Jesus a position for which I have done nothing but believe.

Father, give me a willing heart.  Never let me forget my position of blessing even for a nano second.  Give me the opportunity to do the right thing for Your Kingdom.  This gift has been freely given and all I ask is the opportunity to tell “You thank” you in a way that brings Glory to the magnitude of what You did and continue to do for me.  Praise You God, Father in Heaven, Spirit indwelling, Christ the King.  Amen.