Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Friday, February 15, 2013

The Marks of True Disciples


Friday, February 15, 2013, 2:57 a.m. – The Lord Jesus woke me with this song:

As the Deer / Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
 So my soul longeth after Thee.
 You alone are my heart's desire
 And I long to worship Thee.
 You alone are my strength, my shield.
 To you alone may my spirit yield…

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV 1984):

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Gold and Silver

When I woke this morning, the Lord put the name “The Rothschilds” in my mind. I Googled the name, and one of the articles my search rendered was this: The Rothschild Dynasty - http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/slavery.htm.  The Lord has been teaching me much these past 6.5 years concerning this New World Order that is conquering the nations of the world presently. This is either the “Beast” of Revelation, or it is certainly a precursor to the beast. The Rothschild family, along with a group of international elite bankers (the money people) are really who run the world. I cannot vouch for everything in this article, but it certainly fits with all the Lord has been showing me these past few years. We, as a nation, and as the world, are on the precipice of a global downturn economically, and we must be prepared for dire times in the months or years ahead, I believe.

Refiner’s Fire

The perspective the Lord Jesus is giving me this morning of this passage in Matthew 5 is from this viewpoint of the times in which we now live where these international bankers have such power and control over the world, and of their ability (God permitting) to conquer us all (as with the beast in Revelation – see Rev. 13), and to make us their slaves. For them to accomplish their goal, we will have to be brought to our knees in poverty, et al. This would certainly help explain the “mark of the beast” where no one can buy or sell unless he bears the mark. It is during this time that those who bear the name of Christ Jesus and his mark will face the most severe persecution ever. Christians in other nations have had to undergo severe persecution throughout the generations since Jesus left this earth, but we, in America, have known little of this kind of severe persecution, though it is coming.

The Lord Jesus put two songs in my mind this morning: “As the Deer,” and “Refiner’s Fire.” In the song “As the Deer,” the songwriter expresses his desire for the Lord as that of greater value than gold or silver. The Lord alone was his heart’s desire. The Lord alone was his strength and shield. To the Lord alone – not to money and not to “the beast” – doth his spirit yield (surrender). Only the Lord Jesus could satisfy the deepest longings of his soul.

And, in the song “Refiner’s Fire,” silver and gold are also mentioned, only this time as our lives being refined in God’s refiner’s fire for the purpose of purifying us, to make us holy as we were created to be, and so we might be ready to do his will. I believe the Rothschilds and their global (international) allies will be used of God to refine us, to purify us, and to make us ready to meet our husband, Jesus Christ, when he returns for his bride.

Blessed Are You

To be blessed of God carries with it the thought of our spiritual well-being - our joy, peace, satisfaction, sense of fulfillment, freedom from sin, and our intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, who is our comfort and joy, etc. Those of us, who have accepted our Lord’s invitation to make him Savior and Lord of our lives, are God’s chosen people - favored by God, and promised the hope of eternal life with him forever in glory. He lavishes his grace and love upon us, and all his spiritual riches and blessings in Christ Jesus (see Ro. 11; Eph. 1-4).

We are blessed when we are poor in spirit. This is in contrast to those who are self-sufficient and proud. It has to do with putting our confidence only in God, not in man, and not in the things of this world to satisfy us or to be our “salvation” from whatever ails us individually, or as a nation. It means that we acknowledge that we cannot get to God through our own human efforts, but it also accepts God’s Lordship over our lives, i.e. that we are no longer in charge of our lives, but we must humbly submit to God in surrender of our wills to the will of the Father in all humility, repentance, and with the goal of obedience to his commands.

We are blessed when we mourn. This is not speaking of everyone who is sad or who is mourning the loss of someone or something, though this certainly can be involved depending upon our response to God. In other words, when the judgment of God comes upon us, and we face these dire times, and we are brought to our knees, if in our mourning we turn to God to satisfy us, and we repent of our sins, then we will be blessed. Also, this idea of mourning carries with it the thought of those who grieve and who wail over their own personal sins as well as the sins of the world, and who call on God for revival and the salvation of human lives for eternity.

We are blessed when we are meek. Meek is very similar to “poor in spirit,” as they both have to do with humility. When we are meek, we are forgiving of others offenses and we don’t demand that they pay, because we have a true view of ourselves, and we are so grateful for God’s amazing grace in our own lives. If Jesus, who is pure and holy, and who never sinned, was willing to take the sins of the entire world upon himself, though he had done no wrong, and to die on the cross so we could go free, how can we, mere humans, not forgive those who have wronged us? We must endure patiently the insults of others.

We are blessed when we hunger and thirst for righteousness like a deer panting for water. God/Jesus is first place in our lives, and we long to be with him, to spend time at his feet, listening to him speak, and then to go out and obey him in doing what he says. We love our Lord Jesus and we want nothing more in this life than to live for him, to do what he asks of us, to love others with his love, to see others come to faith in Jesus Christ, and/or to see the lukewarm and/or rebellious church return to her first love. Jesus is the love of our lives, and so we treat him much like we would a first love – he is in our thoughts when we get up in the morning, throughout the day, and when we go to sleep at night. We are continually in an attitude of prayer, realizing he is in us and with us every moment throughout our day. And, we like nothing more than to be where he is and doing what pleases him.

We are blessed when we are merciful. Mercy is called for both when forgiveness is needed for an offender, and when the suffering and hurting are in great need of some compassion. You have probably heard it said that grace is getting what we don’t deserve and mercy is not getting what we do deserve. We deserve hell. Yet by God’s wonderful grace and mercy he provided salvation for us through Jesus’ shed blood for us on the cross. He died not just so we would escape hell and go to heaven one day, though. He died so we would be free from slavery to sin, and so we could live for righteousness while we are still on the face of this earth. If Christ, who is pure and holy, could show us such grace, mercy and compassion, how can we, mere humans, not extend the same kind of mercy to others?

We are blessed when we are pure in heart. This means that we are morally pure, as well as we are honest, trustworthy and faithful. We have a singleness of mind and purpose in our commitment to our Lord, and the way we conduct our lives reveals integrity of heart in our service to our Lord. There is no deceit in us; no hypocrisy. We are the “real deal.” We see life through the eyes of faith, and our desire is for our Lord and to please him.

We are blessed when we are peacemakers. I will note here that there is a distinct difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker. A peacekeeper’s goal is to have physical calm and lack of disturbance and conflict to the point where he or she will compromise principles, moral laws, integrity, honesty, and other people’s true needs in order to keep the peace. He or she may be a chameleon, which changes color (character) in order to blend in with its environment as a protective mechanism. In contrast, a peacemaker follows the example of Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for us so that we could have peace with God. He never compromised, he didn’t try to appease others, and he definitely did not avoid conflict. He spoke the truth in love, and shared the truth of the gospel, despite rejection, persecution, abandonment, misunderstandings, false accusations and ultimately his own death.

We are blessed when we are persecuted because of righteousness and because we bear the name and the testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel. We will be insulted, hated, persecuted, falsely accused, perhaps arrested falsely, and we may even be killed for our witness for Jesus Christ. This time is coming to America, and to some degree it has already come, even within the church, i.e. some of our fiercest opponents (as were Jesus’) will be among religious (church) leaders and congregants who oppose the true gospel in favor of a false gospel (a diluted gospel) that does not teach repentance, but that entertains the sinner instead.

These are the marks of true followers (disciples) of Jesus Christ, and for this we are blessed, and we will receive our heavenly rewards, some in this life, but most when Jesus Christ returns for his bride and we go to be with him forever, and our salvation is complete.

Refiner’s Fire / Doerksen, Brian

Refiner's fire,
my heart's one desire
is to be holy;
set apart for You, Lord.
I choose to be holy;
set apart for You, my Master,
ready to do Your will.


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