Wednesday, February
05, 2014, 7:00 a.m. – As I sat down to have my quiet time with the Lord
Jesus, he put the song “He Reached Down”
in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 138 (ESV).
I
give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before
the gods I sing your praise;
I
bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your
steadfast
love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
On
the day I called, you answered me;
my
strength of soul you increased.
All
the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your
mouth,
and
they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
For
though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
Though
I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you
stretch out your hand against
the
wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
The
Lord will fulfill his purpose for
me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures
forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Above All Things
When God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead, he “seated
him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above
every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And
he put all things under his feet…”
(See Eph. 1:20-23). “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things
were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all
things hold together… that in everything he might be preeminent” (See Col.
1:15-18).
In other words, God the Son, Jesus Christ, is above all
rulers and powers (“gods”) on this earth. They were all created by him, and he
is before them in that he always existed along with God the Father (See John 1).
He is ahead of them in power, rule and sovereignty. They do not exist apart
from him, and they have no power apart from him, too, for “there is no
authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God”
(See Rom. 13:1). All things on this earth are under his feet and in him ALL
THINGS hold together, i.e. all things consist, reside, are supported by, maintained,
continue, and are governed, directed and managed by him. “In him we live and
move and have our being” (Ac. 17:28). This means that no rulers or powers or
anything or anyone can exist without God and/or without God’s permission and/or
plan, and no evil can prevail but what God permits (not creates) it for a time
and a purpose. As well, he will work everything out for good for those who love
him and who have been called according to his purpose. In this we can rest
assured that God has everything under his control and that his purposes will
always prevail.
The prophets of old prophesied about a time in their future
when evil would reign on the earth in the last days, when the false trinity of
beast, false prophet and dragon would rule over the people of the earth, and when
this evil trio would be given permission by God to conquer even the saints of Almighty
God, but only for a short and predetermined period of time (See Rev. 12-13). I
don’t know the timing of those events or even if they are to take place over a
period of a literal seven years, though they may, but what I do know is that this
beast (New World Order) is presently forming, and it is conquering peoples,
nations, governments and followers of Jesus Christ throughout the globe on its
quest for world domination. I believe we are not far from the fulfillment of these
prophecies of scripture. I believe, as well, that most, if not all of these recent
national uprisings and government takeovers throughout the world are the working
of this New World Order Beast, and that it has its origins in the U.S. government,
the United Nations and the institutional church. Yet, they blame other groups,
some of which are of their own making, for their own dirty work.
Bold and Courageous
I believe the opposition to the Syrian government and their people
is this N.W.O. Beast and its “Roman” army (or Hitler-like military forces). I
believe this N.W.O. Beast and its global “Roman” army is also creating havoc in
Baghdad, and that it is behind these recent bombings. This New World Order
regime is behind most all of the world’s chaos, at present, I believe, and for
the sole purpose of conquering peoples, nations, governments and followers of
Jesus Christ. [Check out the layout, architecture, statues, symbols, etc.
within the U.S. capital and its buildings, as well as in its Great Seal, and
you will see much demonic and occult symbolism, as well as many “gods” of
Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology, and images related to such governmental
structures of old, such as the Fasces (Roman), and throughout Washington D.C.,
too - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasces.]
Stephen
Phenow, Editor of the Strategikon, provides the following: "The Fasces was adopted from the
Etruscans. It symbolized the power of
life or death that a Roman Magistrate had over the Roman citizen; who could be
scourged by the birch rods, representing physical punishment for
transgressions; or be beheaded by the
axe for serious crimes." http://www.legionxxiv.org/fasces%20page/
This begs the question, “Why would a government ‘of the
people, by the people, and for the people’ – a democracy – which claims ‘one
nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all’ have such
symbolism displayed prominently throughout its capital city, in its buildings
and in its government and national symbols?” I believe we know why, and we are
beginning to see why. We can learn about our government’s intentions in many of
their recent laws, including, but not limited to the National Defense
Authorization Act of 2014, the Patriot Act, CISPA, and Obamacare, etc.
I believe that much of the institutional church in the USA
is supportive of this global government and its military force, via the U.S.
government, and some or many of them in complete ignorance, and that in doing
so it is supporting the beast and its conquering of peoples and its persecution
and murdering of Christ’s followers throughout the world. Much of today’s
institutional church has strayed from the truth of scripture and has gone to
following the ways and teachings of humans. Many professing Christians and
collective institutional church bodies, I believe, are guilty of persecuting
those who hold firm to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the word
of God, many doing so in absolute ignorance. Yet, for those of us suffering
such persecution, we can stand firm and be bold and courageous. We can sing
praises to God “before gods of men,” and we can continue to give testimony to
God’s saving grace because our God is exalted above all things. Amen!
The Midst of Trouble
We who are suffering such persecution at the hands of this “beast”
and/or at the hands of the institutional church can be comforted in knowing
that our God is love, he is steadfast, he is faithful, and he is trustworthy.
His name and his word are high above all things. When those of us who are his
servants call upon him, he will answer, and he will give us all the strength we
need to endure, as well as the courage and determination necessary to stand
firm in our faith and to keep testifying of his grace. He is sympathetic of our
sorrows, heartaches, troubles and distresses, for when he walked the face of
this earth he suffered in like manner as us, and was even tempted in the same
ways in which we are tempted, yet without sin. So, we can be assured that he
knows how we feel, he knows what we are going through, and he is in control
(sovereign overall). He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, but
will with that temptation provide a way out so we can stand under it. And, he
will give us all the grace necessary to remain faithful to him even in the
midst of trouble.
Fulfill His Purpose
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Amen! He will
never leave us or forsake us! He has a plan and a purpose for each one of our
lives, and he will work out all things in our lives for good (to those who love
him, and who have been called according to his purpose). Jesus is our example,
who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame. The joy
that was set before him was the salvation of human lives from the bondage and decay
of sin. He could endure the cross knowing what the end result would be. Amen!
And, we can endure, as well, believing and perhaps even knowing (from
scripture) God’s purpose(s) in it all, which is to strengthen and mature us; to
make us holy; to teach us perseverance, steadfastness, faithfulness, and endurance;
and to build and develop within us godly character. As well, his purpose is
that his character would be seen in and through us and from that we would shine
like stars in the universe as we hold out the truth of life.
So, ultimately his purpose is that his church would be godly
in character (and/or revived spiritually) and that through his godly (and/or revived)
church the world would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their
lives. That is a purpose I can set before me as the “joy set before me” so that
I can endure such persecution for the sake of the name of Jesus and for the
sake of his gospel, and that is the joy of the revival of his church and the
salvation of human lives from sin. Amen!
He Reached Down /
An Original Work / February 3, 2014
Based off Psalm 18
How I love You, Lord,
My Rock and my
strength.
My God is my fortress;
I hide in Him.
He is my shield and
the horn of
My salvation, whom I
praise.
I have found my refuge
in Him.
He reached down from
heaven
And rescued me;
Drew me out of waters
So deep, I’d sink.
He delivered me from
Satan
And my slavery to sin;
Gave me hope of heaven
with Him.
My God turned my
darkness
Into His light;
Opened up my blinded
eyes;
Gave me sight.
As for God, his way is
perfect.
He gives strength to
stand secure.
I have found my
vict’ry in Him.
My Lord lives!
Praise be to my Savior
God,
Jesus Christ, who died
On a cruel cross.
He is my Rock and the
source
Of my salvation, whom
I trust.
I will give praise
always to Him.
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