Jockeying for some type of personal or ideological win on the back of human tragedy.  Truly deplorable, the process of photo-opping one’s way in to the media through in-authentic compassion for a group of people because it makes us appear engaged.  For shame those who would use any person or family’s downfall as leverage for personal or appearance manipulation.  Especially those Christian’s who would support the downtrodden or tragedy stricken to elevate your position this practice is unacceptable and by the way you have received your reward.  There will be no reward waiting for you in heaven.  Help those in need because it is the right thing to do.  And this argument can be carried into all the other facets of life for the individual and for this great nation.

Stand up for the poor because God said to do so.  Don’t borrow or overspend because the Lord says that it is wrong to defer your personal financial requirements to anyone else.  Don’t seek personal gain or allow greed to guide your decision making because God warns against this behavior.  What’s more the Bible actually precludes the man practicing these behaviors from  church leadership.  Love people, not because of the benefits it will bring you by doing so publicly, but for the joy it will bring your Father in Heaven when he sees you care for His children.  Do not justify any sin as necessary or acceptable because someone in the Bible did so and was beloved of God.  Do not support, defend, promote, condone or gloss over any practice that is abhorred by the King of Kings.  Do not seek personal gain through works so that you may ingratiate humans to your endearment.  Do not lose your position as salt and light or you will have become worthless and worthy of nothing but being cast underfoot.

For those who have millions of dollars in their bank accounts and can stand bye while people dumpster dive for food, struggle for fuel to get to work, remain unprotected from the elements and sit in despair wondering how to care for their families, your heart is misaligned.  Mayor Bloomberg, out of his own “EXCESS” finances could purchase necessary fuel to overcome the deficit faced by his constituents.  Bruce Springsteen, Hilary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and many others who have been blessed by God could personally finance these suffering people.  Yet instead they have spent over a billion dollars in pursuit of a job that pays four hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year.  The reasons are obvious.  To say that you do something because that is the way the game is played is surrender to the world’s rules.  We are called to rise above and perform to the standard of the God who have given us existence and saved us from the maw of eternal damnation.  Give because it was given to you.  Love because you were first loved.  Fight because in so doing you may provide the opportunity for someone else to make it to salvation.  Speak Word’s of Righteousness, Truth and Peace because those are the words provided you by your Maker.  Serve God and in doing so lead men to salvation.  Christ be praised.  Honor God, not yourself.  Amen.

The anxiety is palpable as the body of America’s populace struggles with weighty burdens.  The underpinning disquiet of humanity reveals a movement in plate tectonics.  There is only one conflict, there is only one disagreement, there are only two sides to the same argument.  Some would turn this to a conversation of politics in order to misdirect the true dilemma, “From where does our provision come”?  The enemy would have us concentrate on any other source than God the Wellspring of Life in the Universe.  These travails are deception, misdirection and disinformation.

I am not called to preach self-help, psychology and the benefits of social ascendancy.  My task is not to codify the foundational righteousness of one political affiliation and the hollow frailty of another.  I am to preach the Coming Glory of Christ Jesus the King and to that heraldry I remain rigidly aligned.  I come with a two-edged sword that, “cleaves soul from spirit” because that is the true battle.  The soul, man’s own desired fulfillment of worldly passions or the Spirit, man’s eternal-nature, perfectly aligned and residing in, with and through the works of God.  Who does any man or woman serve?  You either find your hope in pursuits and victories of this world under the umbrella of a variable, one-hundred year time limit or you place your hope in the eternal Truth, Perfection and Achievements of God.

Have you noticed that during each election cycle the “undecided” group of voters gets smaller as a percentage of the population as a whole?  Here is hypothesis which I know to be truth as it resides in God’s word.  There is a direct correlation between the undecided vote and the undecided gentiles who have yet to make a proclamation of faith in Jesus Christ.  There are only two sides to this argument, either man believes that he is entirely capable of solving his individual and all the worlds problems himself or he understands that he has never been capable of such an act and ascribes his hope of deliverance and salvation to God.  The two-sides reality of global politics further supports the imminence and nearness of Christ’s return for His church, judgment and rule.  This is God’s countdown to the moment when His patience will have been fully exercised through grace.  At some point in the not-too-distant future this world will have been given the time to make a choice and there will come a shout not unlike that of an Arch Angel declaring the return of the king for love and reign for all time.  God be praised in the Mighty name of the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ the King.  Amen.

I saw a young believer weep today, remembering a lost friend.  His pain was audible, visible and understandable, but his joy was absent.  The ever-present joy of knowing that he and his friend will live their true life in eternity, together, with no more tears.  I wanted to remind him of hope, a concept that along with joy is one of our strongest weapons against despair or thoughts of loss and defeat.  That indescribable joy knowing that his friend is with the Lord, safe, out of pain and free from the destructive, corrosive influences of sin, sickness and death.  I doubt any of my friends that have passed on would have me worry one bit about them.  I would imagine that they would counsel me the opposite, to rejoice for them in their triumph, delight in the peace, find comfort in the knowledge that they have gone to be with one who loves them more that I ever could.  This life, after all is just dress rehearsal for the real eternal romance between a Groom and His bride.

Fear should be an alert mechanism to tell us of impending difficulty or danger, not a crippling device threatening to steal our joy and paralyze our actions.  We were not designed to be afraid and we have been continuously told to be of “good courage and know that the Lord is our God.”  We are the ambassadors of hope to a world that has been battered by and immoral onslaught of secular relativism.  If we lose our joy by ceding this opportunity and authority then those who look to us for a vision of the Righteous Savior will find only more of the same.  The secret to this loss of hope is the enemy’s successful campaign to alienate us from God’s Word.  We as Christians are Biblically illiterate.  We don’t know that Light, Truth, Righteousness, Faith and Love prevail, not only in the end, but throughout God’s Prophetic future.

Satan, the Lord Jesus rebuke him would have us concentrate and magnify our fear of martyrdom, our selfish desire for abundant worldly existence and by mischaracterization of the yoke by which Christ calls us to good works.  Evidence of this is when that same weeping believer asked me how I get through the labor of bible study.  My only answer to him was that it is the greatest joy of my life to spend time with the Lord in study, prayer and fellowship.  These are the riches of this life and they belong only to believers.  Remember the enemy had fellowship with God and gave it all up for a pocketful of self-service.  Will you mimic this insanity or delight in the fact that you have a one to one relationship with the creator of the universe, the Lord Jesus.  My hope is in Jesus and that same hope is the fuel for my faith in things that must come to pass.  I look to the future and encourage those who cannot see past today.  Won’t you share your heart of hope and enthusiasm with someone who doesn’t have a solid understanding or relationship with Christ.  It will make you stronger.   Amen.

http://youtu.be/bc8S87sSo-8

I have shame.  For the things I knowingly do that are not consistent to God’s demands of my life.  For the things I haphazardly create, circumstances where I cause hurt to the unsuspecting through off-hand words, spite or misdirected frustration.  I am culpable for that which I do not say, when knowing as I do that to remain silent allows confusion, misses priceless opportunities to speak the Gospel Truth and for those times when my silence or inaction allowed evil to win in the absence of my Godly opposition.  I am a prince and priest and I should never forget that especially in the moments when I may be used for forceful impact to God’s Glory and Eternal Plan for humanity.

For shame teachers and pastors who are fooling themselves into neglecting their accountability to the God they represent within the flock for which they have accepted responsibility.  The authority to speak God’s Word and direct believers or those seeking the Truth cannot be misconstrued.  This authority comes only from God and therefore requires a daily accountability review as to the lessons taught, the actions taken, the treasure employed and the words spoken.  I see rampant misuse of Christ’s Name to benefit churches that have nothing more to their name than worldly entertainment and social experimentalism.  These leaders have ignored Biblical warnings toward allowing the enemy a seat within the Body or spreading speculation in exchange for real Biblical Doctrine.  The Holy Spirit is the Counselor, the Guide, the Helper and the evidence of eternal salvation.  A lesson plan can be academically perfect, inspired in delivery and received with the cheers of all present and still be nothing more than the idle prattles of an over educated, false-teacher.  Without the Spirit you got nothing.  Check Acts 8:16 if you must disagree.

We are in the last days by faith, not by sight.  Certainly the world matches much of which the Bible predicted but I do not consider worldly facts as the true evidence of the nearness of Christ’s return.  Neither do I look to my emotion to tell me that the harvest is ripe and the sickle near.  It may be rare coincidence that the outwardly evidences and the inwardly emotions match the Biblical discernment which tells me time is near, or perhaps it may be that the Truth is always true, no matter in which direction it is reviewed.  All I know is that false teachers/teachings abound, lackadaisical faith is predominant and the birds of the air have found warmth and acceptance fellow-shipping with the righteous.  The clouds come  over the horizon in morning, distorting the sun and concealing the darkness and I know the storm this portends.  I have seen mans love grow cold, the steadfast grow greedy and weary in pursuit of their own reflection and the mighty grow fat when the battle nears.  This is a time for diligence, so AWAKE my sleeping watchmen.  This is a time for preparation of heart, mind and family, so ARISE my girded shepherds.  This is a time for fulfillment of the great commission, so ALARM the masses of God’s coming judgment and the hope of salvation and safety in Christ.

I want to be that which I can become with the provision and blessing of the Lord.  I live for Glory and the knowledge of what my actions will help to usher in.  God could have chosen a donkey to do my job, but he didn’t he gave me the choice of obedience and rebellion.  I would rather go down in flaming failure after committed attempt than suffer the shame of victory by default.  He loved me enough to come down to this in order to pull me from  the jaws of damnation.  I will not sit on the sidelines when I see the enemy declaring empty promises of false grandeur that our children are accepting as just pursuit.  I live for Hope, the glorious Hope of God’s intervention in the eternal future of mankind.  What a glorious Hope I have found in Christ Jesus.  The savior of humanity, the Lamb of God, the Word, The Beginning and the End, God incarnate, Jesus the King of All.  May His name be Glorified and Praised and may the mockers be silenced.  Amen

Are current events aligning with Biblical prediction, are they disjunctive or do you have to plead ignorance to inquiry?  Do you know what the Bible says about Syria, Egypt, Iran and other nations like Libya that are currently reported upon daily in national news?  Are you aware what it means to see, as we did two days ago, the Likud and the Nationalist parties of Israel joining as one?  Contrary to reports by our administrative leaders, what military assets are currently residing in the Middle East area of operations?  If I were to demonstrate to you that prophecy is unfolding before our eyes as evidenced by these events would you feel the need to become educated, get right with Jesus and prepare for His imminent return?  Or perhaps would fear and denial force you back to a position with your head below the sand?

The old Testament with its predictions of God’s visit to Earth was translated into Greek in roughly 270B.C.  Why is this important?  Because the enemy will always try to deny the truth of the Bible.  The Lord had the predictions of the prophets translated into common language of the world in that day so that no one could deny that those predictions existed prior to day when the Lord walked the Earth.  Greek also has the unique characteristic of being a highly specific language.  When a word appears in the Greek it can only be translated one way unlike other languages of that time that may have had several meanings for each term.  The Lord’s plan accounts for all occurrences.  Let us remember that the Lord created hell for the fallen angels.  Man was never meant to go there, but the Lord knows that many will because of their rebellious nature and unwillingness to confess, repent and accept the truth of God’s sovereignty.

Lord don’t let me be an ostrich Christian.  Give to me a hunger for Your Word, discernment and understanding of the preparations which must be made and actions that may be taken for the completion of Your Glory.  Let me be true and free me from the deception of my own errant thoughts.  Let me look for You in all things.  Let me see Your plan in all that takes shape around us and act accordingly.  Give my Brothers and Sisters a clear view of the Truth of the Holy Spirits word given by the prophets.  Call them to preparation for Your arrival.  Make us battle ready for the peace to come.  In the Mighty Name of Jesus the King.  Amen.

Teach me to reign in my enthusiasm.  Show me the power of silence in preparation of uttering appropriate words.  Give me the consistent control, focus and comprehension as the Spirit uses me as vessel.  Loose my tongue upon Your timing and for Your purpose.  I pray that you will forgive my idle phrases and flippant banter spent for my own account.  Give me peace at night reflecting upon my own kindness and compassion.

I don’t like melancholy Lord, but I know that these moments come upon us for great reason.  Time of meditation, review and redirection always seem to be well spent.  The part I dislike about it is the dampening of spirit.  The moments when my energy is spent, feeling emptied of my own internal courage and comedic nature.  These are the moments when I know You most.  When I’ve put away my own folly, ambition and disinformation seeing that when all that I have is gone, you are still there to provide and protect.  It is a lesson in surrender this grey mourning of my soul.  Let me keep this calm, humility even when my batteries are bursting.  Self control and moderation are often my best companions.  Keep us safe Lord as we go about your business.  Let us be forever mindful of Your Glory.

You save me every day reminding me I’m free at last.  Praise You Jesus My Salvation and Hope.  Amen.

God is our refuge and our strength, and ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, thought its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  Psalm 46 1-3

Why do I need to know this Lord?  And will that knowledge somehow make me personally stronger?  Am I to expect these occurrences that will shatter my resolve?  Why do I fear when things fall apart, is that where my feet find solace, in the solidity of this world?  How does it change me as a man, this confidence in the fact that you will always be there as shelter, strength and succor?  Do you know anyone like this and how does that person’s behavior effect your own level of stability or shame?  Is it true that men and women who follow Christ are noticeably different or is this simply, unobservable hypothesis?

You are what makes me different Lord.  I am a house that claims You as Tenant, Lord and Master.  Shall I fear loss of this life, never, for it is You who breathed it into me.  A life not measured by length, ownership or earnings but by substance is what I have been shown.  Revelation of unfailing love, protection and yes jealous discipline.  I am thankful that you care enough for me to check my foolish behavior with a stern hand of direction, hope and education.  Let me not be shaken, not so that I may not be fearful or to limit my loss but so that others may see that steadfast resolve and such unmistakeable fellowship and fealty.  Yes tremors will come and seas will rage but they only serve purpose for clarification that at the end of all we count “stable” You remain unchanged, just as loving, protecting and encouraging as you were before the storms began.

The Lord Almighty is with us: the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Psalm 46:7

Words created, words will condemn, confessional words set you free.  Actions confirm or deny the spoken words.  Sponsored thought signifies the health of the heart, mind and spirit.  In harmony they are righteous, in discord hypocrisy.  How in my resemblance to the Lord do I demonstrate this discerned understanding?  Do my works follow pure intent and declaration or do they dissemble, minimize or obfuscate the things I’ve stated that I believe?  For true belief is action upon the truth of that faith by putting to practice the philosophies to which I subscribe.

I cannot both say that falsehood is wrong, or that taking an unborn life or homosexuality are abomination, then go and tell lies or abort a child for personal convenience or condone sexual relations between the same gender.  I cannot support, and by support I also include, “not condemn”, wicked practices while remaining fully aware that Christ hated these acts.  American cultural practices of tolerance to the things which the Lord speaks directly against are in themselves disobedience.  Sin is sin is sin, whether is it mine, yours, politically correct or socially acceptable.  When you “do as the Roman’s do” you assert your ethical policies above that of the Lord’s Word and find yourself again in direct conflict with the Maker of the Universe.  A position I do not envy anyone.

Recently I have seen and heard many prominent members of leadership and the national press who declare themselves of the Catholic faith refuse to condemn or actually ally themselves with these practices.  For example, the Vice President’s refusal to align himself with the published views of the Catholic Church’s view on abortion in direct conflict with the Lord’s Word on this abominable act.  Additionally, Bill O’Reilly declared his support for “civil unions” again in direct conflict with the Word of God and the Catholic Church to which he claims allegiance.  These statements demonstrate a moral decay of our national purity and erode the foundation of America while promoting the ethical relativistic tendencies of our youth.  This lack of adherence to the norms of our faith foster a leniency toward the desire to be obedient to the Word of God subsequently germinating an environment where man may be turned over to his own will.  “There is a way that appears right to a man but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6  

To be a Christian means to contemplate, understand and acknowledge the acts of the Christ, our Savior.  Do I demonstrate my Christian belief or merely state that it exists.  Reality requires concrete action to convert theory to law/truth.  That is why the theory of evolution is so dangerous because it lacks such confirmation yet its supporters claim it as substantiated truth.  One can only assume that they want it to be true as that will free them from culpability to the Truth that is God’s Word.  The only truth is found in God’s Word and any departure from that “Rock Solid”, unshakeable truth tempts calamity.  I do not wish to be turned over to my own decadent mind for I have seen the corruption in my own leanings.  Depend on the Lord, not on men, but follow me as I follow Him.

Yes, my mistakes, sins and falsehoods will be forgiven as I repent (confess and turn away from) those sins acknowledging the price that was paid for this received grace.  My subsequent thoughts, words and actions following my sin demonstrate presence of the Holy Spirit in my life and confirm the honesty in my relationship to Christ.  They must be in accord for reality to be any measure of personal salvation.  Do my words match my thoughts and my actions?  This is available for all to see.  Lord Jesus You see my heart, only You alone know the truth of my answer.  Please let me be found righteously believing in the power of Your redemption and let my works be demonstration of my love for You and belief in Your Truth.  Praise God in Jesus’ Mighty Name

I want to sing with tears of joy, knowing for a moment that my sound has reached the ears of God.  He sees me now, adoring eyes capturing my thought and all I can do is avoid His gaze.  To think that He might love me breaks my reason, shatters my argument and reduces me to mud from which man came.  I am His breath, living life that He ordained for a time and purpose that He designed.  Take from me this shroud the world bids me borrow.  I want to sing of the mercy, grace and peace of God.

Strip all from me that seeks confusion.  Reduce me Lord to essential idea, nothing concealed, nothing delayed, no potential misdirected.  Give me the force of a needle to penetrate all Your enemy cohesion.  Let me reflect my definition.  Give me the exact opportunities and prepare me to demonstrate Your Glory in my adequacy as a precise tool for Your intention.  At my last breath give me the fulfilling thought of exhausting that final breath in accomplishment of my life prescribed tasking.  Let me hear those glorious words for which we await Your Glory, “well done my good and faithful servant”.  Let me sing to You for eternity.  Jesus be praised.

Look over there.  Someone said that there is something mystical, something spectacular something new and amazing.  They say to us, don’t tout your tired old principals of morality and clean living as something good when we have the supernaturally spectacular to amaze and entertain.  Can’t you see that your position is unpopular and therefore lacking substance and little chance of support?  Wouldn’t you rather see something that man’s hands have crafted, certainly this rivals anything that you ascribe to the divine?

This is all we’ve got so you better soak it up, drink it in, delight in the pleasure of the moment and if you cannot be at peace at least be imbibed by the intoxicating texture and fragrance of pleasure.  Live it now, breathe it in, dance until the spasms leave you unprotected against the overwhelming force of collective consciousness.  There is no reason, no wisdom only pursuit and satisfaction.  Can’t you see it?  Unfortunately I can, clearly.

Abundance and joy have nothing to do with boredom, decay and demise.  Death has no friends, but those who live in the light know laughter, kindness, care and freedom.  Yes freedom, you look at me amazed.  Oh I see you thought that I was trapped by some legalistic doctrine of piety and paralysis.  See, I get that I cannot earn my way to heaven, I do this out of love for what I have been given.

I do not wish to hurt you because I love you, but I see no joy in momentary glory or instant gratification.  Sure I see the appeal.  But that is short term thinking and I am an eternal believer.  The people I am surrounded by make me laugh, share my cares, sharpen my thoughts and show me repeatedly the wonderment of God’s creativity.  I see beauty as a reflection of the hand which made it.  I don’t worship the thing but rather the Spirit that brought it about by thought and speech.  I am no pauper, having given up all that glitters for empty promise and a bag of hope.  This life thrills me to overflowing, I just don’t see this as the final act, but rather as preparatory scenes gathering our attentions for the main event.  The price of entry paid for by my loving Father in exchange for my belief, trust and faith in His ability to deliver, not my own.  That is probably the greatest thing about eternity is that it doesn’t depend on me whatsoever.  For if it did my hope would be lost.

I have put my life, my hope, my faith and my will in the hand’s of someone I imminently trust.  In return I have learned the definition of love, the meaning of joy and the treasure of wisdom.  I am a winner, headed for a seat at the table prepared for His glory and by this I am overwhelmed.  Won’t you join us.  In Jesus I live.  God be praised.