In Holiness and Honor

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 ESV

“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

There are people today within the gatherings of the church who will tell you that you don’t have to do anything to please God, for you already please God just by your profession of faith in him.

They will also tell you that you don’t have to repent (leave your lives of sin behind you) and that you don’t have to obey the Lord and his commands. They will tell you that a confession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough to ensure you heaven, and it doesn’t matter how you live your life from that moment forward.

But that is not what the Bible teaches, and that is contrary to the divine nature of God and his expressed will for our lives. Thus, it is a LIE!

We do need to live (walk) to please God. We must live morally pure lives. We have to abstain from sexual immorality. We must control our own bodies in holiness and honor. And, that one is not just about living morally pure. That has to do with rage and violence, too. For we are to do nothing to transgress (disobey) and to wrong other people. We don’t return evil with evil, and we don’t return good with evil, either.

There is no excuse for anyone, really, to purposefully and to willfully harm another. Every time you wife, or you husband, choose to look lustfully at another, or to flirt with another, or to have secretive chats with another, or to fantasize sexual or romantic thoughts about another, or you choose to look at porn, or choose to have an extra-marital affair, you hurt your spouse. You wrong him or her. And, that is not love. That is hate.

Yet, there are many leaders within the church who are telling you that God’s grace is free license to do those things, and that when God looks at you that he doesn’t even see your sin. All he sees is Jesus, and thus he just smiles on you while you are rebelling against him, and willfully harming others, and degrading your own bodies with your thirst for lust.

That is not the God I know! That is not the God of the Scriptures! Our God says you MUST NOT do those things! For, God has not called us for impurity, but for HOLINESS!

And, do you know that it is not our profession of faith in Jesus Christ which saves us? It is our walk of faith. For, the Scriptures teach that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who WALK (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God, and NOT according to our sinful flesh. For, if we WALK according to the flesh, we will die in our sins. But if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live (Rom. 8:1-17).

Oh, what lies we have been fed that tell us that we can just “believe” in Jesus and now heaven is secured for us and that how we live doesn’t matter. For, this cheapens God’s grace, and it is a slap in the face to Jesus Christ who died that horrible death on a cross so that we would DIE with HIM to sin, and so we would LIVE to HIM and to his righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24).

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 ESV

“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to love all people, including our enemies. But we are especially commended here to love one another, for not everyone who professes Jesus as his Lord and Savior loves his brothers and sisters in Christ.

Get on Facebook or Twitter and it will be obvious. For, brothers and sisters in Christ are fighting with each other vehemently, probably about some things that don’t even exist, if truth be told. For, they are believing whatever social media presents to them, which ignites them, and which is the plan (the scheme). For, the devil wants us fighting one another. So, don’t bite!

But this love we are to have, one for the other, is not just some warm affectionate feeling. It is a love which is centered in moral preference. In fact, it means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, pure, righteous, trustworthy, upright, truthful, faithful, just and kind.

It is to prefer to live through Christ, and not in our own flesh. And, this love embraces God’s will for our lives, and it obeys his commands in His power, not snubs them.

So, if we are loving our brothers and sisters in Christ in this way, we are not going to lie to them, cheat on them, steal from them, trick and manipulate them, commit adultery against them, gossip, slander them, or commit acts of violence against them. For, this kind of love is not what we feel, it is what we do. And, we can love like this and not feel love towards others, too.

Mind Your Own Business

So, if we are to live quietly and to mind our own affairs, that would mean that we would not commit adultery, or gossip, or cheat someone, would we? And, we wouldn’t get involved in angry disputes with others that turn ugly, and we wouldn’t participate in violent protests where we are causing harm to others. We can express our disagreements peacefully, when called for.

And, on another note here. Let me say what this is NOT saying. This does not mean that we don’t share the gospel with other people. It doesn’t mean that we don’t call out lies and that we cease from proclaiming the truth. It doesn’t mean that we agree to being silent about Jesus so as not to offend people with the gospel message. We are not to “stay in your own lane” when it comes to sharing the truth that can set people free from their bondage.

Yet, we are not to live unruly lives. We are not to be out of control. But we are to be under the Holy Spirit’s control. We are to do nothing willfully to harm another, so we are not free to continue living in sin just because of God’s grace. For, God called us to holiness. He did not free us to live in wickedness without guilt! So, we need to live self-controlled lives, which is really Holy Spirit controlled, for that is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit.

Bottom line? We just need to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him. And, we are to no longer walk according to the flesh. We are not to be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. But we are to be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from sin to walks of obedience to our Lord. And, there we will find peace. And, there we will find love, too.

Soldiers of Christ Arise  

Lyrics by Charles Wesley, pub. 1741

Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,

Strong in the strength which God supplies, through His Eternal Son.

Strong in the Lord of Hosts, and in His mighty power,

Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.

Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,

But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;

That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,

Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.

Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul;

Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole.

From strength to strength go on; wrestle, and fight, and pray;

Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN2bUvWjfDA

*Caution: This link may contain ads

Without Excuse

Romans 1:18-20 ESV

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Do you know that God has revealed himself to all humans? He has shown us his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – through the things which he created. These things are plainly seen, they are not hidden from us. Ever since the creation of the world these things about God have been clearly perceived. They are not ambiguous at all. Nothing shaded!

So, why is it then that so many people do not worship (revere, fear, honor) God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit? Why is it so many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ truly do not worship (fear) God, either?

It is because they suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, not because they don’t know the truth about God. And, notice with me here how they suppress the truth. It isn’t by their words so much, but it is by their actions – by their unrighteous deeds, which the rest of this passage makes clear.

So, what this means is that all humanity is WITHOUT EXCUSE, if they choose to deny Jesus Christ (God) by their unrighteous thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors. And, especially those who have known the Word of God for a long time, if they have chosen the way of unrighteousness, instead, they have no excuse for continuing in their unrighteousness.

Romans 1:21-23 ESV

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

And, here is the crux of the matter. It isn’t that people don’t know the truth. It is especially true that those who have been brought up under the Scriptures know the truth about sin and righteousness. And, it isn’t that they are not cognizant of God and who he is and of what he requires of us.

For, not only do they suppress the truth that they know by their unrighteousness, but they choose to worship (honor, esteem, value) what is created, rather than the creator. It truly is that simple.

Their flesh leads them to unrighteousness, and so they choose to follow the flesh rather than to follow God. It isn’t that they can’t change how they are. It is that they choose not to change. It isn’t that they can’t be faithful and moral. It is that they choose adultery, lying, and immorality over God, and over spouse, and over family, because they love darkness rather than light.

Romans 1:24-25, 28-32 ESV

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Not one of us is a marionette. We all have been given free wills to choose God or to choose our flesh; to choose righteousness and holiness, or to choose wickedness and impurity. But, if we choose wrongly, there is a cost associated with that. We will die in our sins (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

So, since we have free wills, and we are not marionettes hanging on a set of strings which someone else pulls and decides for us what we do, if we choose our flesh over God, God lets us. He lets us go our own way. And, we pay the consequences for the wrong choices that we make. So, we have no one to blame but ourselves if we choose the flesh over God. It is no one else’s fault!

But this doesn’t mean that God no longer pursues us. He definitely pursued the children of Israel through many generations of not only rebelling against God by their wickedness, but through their many refusals to listen to God and to his messengers who were telling them the truth, and who were calling them to repentance and to obedience.

But, if we, the people, rebel, and we choose to go our own way, and if we, the people, refuse to listen to God, and we refuse his calls for repentance and obedience, it will cost us our lives for eternity if we do not repent and turn to our Lord Jesus to follow him in surrender and in obedience to his will.

And, this goes for all people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too. It doesn’t matter what prayer you prayed, or what confession you made. If you do not turn away from your sin, and if you do not turn to the Lord Jesus to follow him in obedience, you do not fear God, you don’t honor him, and you don’t know him (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Gal. 5:16-21).

So, it isn’t what you confess with your lips that matters. What matters is what you practice and whether you walk in the fear of the Lord. What matters is if you choose God over your flesh, and you choose to worship him instead of what is created. What matters is not what you know, but what you do (Rom. 6:1-23; Lu. 9:23-26; Eph. 4:17-24; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8).

Soldiers of Christ Arise  

Lyrics by Charles Wesley, pub. 1741

Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,

Strong in the strength which God supplies, through His Eternal Son.

Strong in the Lord of Hosts, and in His mighty power,

Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.

Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,

But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;

That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,

Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.

Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul;

Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole.

From strength to strength go on; wrestle, and fight, and pray;

Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN2bUvWjfDA

*Caution: This link may contain ads

Our Tears in His Bottle

Psalm 56:1-2 ESV

“Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;

    all day long an attacker oppresses me;

my enemies trample on me all day long,

    for many attack me proudly.”

How is man trampling us, the people of the world, and the people of God who are of faith in Jesus Christ? What is man doing to oppress us? How is man attacking us proudly? What is the flesh of man trying to do to us?

He (Adam, the flesh of man) is trying to get us who are followers of Christ to renounce our faith in Jesus Christ. He is trying to get us to renounce the true gospel of our salvation. And, he is trying to get us to deny the name of Jesus and to accept a generic term of “god” which covers all religions and all gods, instead. For, that is more acceptable to all people, and it will unite people.

And, he is trying to get us to accept this more generic “god” which is non-offensive to people of all religions. And, he is trying to get us to compromise our values, our morals, and our beliefs so that we can unite with people of all faiths.

For, he wants us all unified as one people, with one mind, and with one voice, but not with the mind or voice of God, but with the mind and voice of the antichrist/beast. He wants us to bow the knee to the beast, for he wants the beast to be our god and our savior in place of Jesus Christ.

So, what is he (the flesh of man) doing to accomplish all this? He is bringing suffering upon us, and he is dividing us, on purpose, to eventually unite us under a new global government and under a new global religion (all inclusive).

He is leading us to separate, one from another, to serve as spies to our neighbors, and to get us afraid of one another. He is removing our freedoms, and forcing measures upon us which make no sense, and which cause us undue stress. And, he is getting people to hate and to be angry and to fight with one another, too, over things which may not even be real.

And, all this is resulting in the loss of jobs and income for people, the shutting down of businesses and the economy, the shortage of food and supplies, the putting of people under house arrest, the use of military force, the possible changing of laws, and, again, people fighting one another. And, this is all part of the scheme for how to get us to bow to the beast.

The Plot

So, first he has to create the chaos, and then he can come to the rescue as the “savior” with the pre-planned solution to our “problem,” which he created, or which he ignited. So, he creates disunity, hatred, fear, violence, unrest, poverty, famine, etc. so that he can come to the rescue with a new world order which will be the answer to our “problem.”

And, he attacks the true gospel of our salvation, and he demonizes it, and he demonizes those who still teach the true gospel, and he makes us out to be bigots and haters and disunifiers and people who don’t love others, etc. And, he tries to force us to not say the name “Jesus” so that we don’t offend people of other religions. And so he paints a picture of Christianity as hateful and narrow-minded, and that which divides people, not unites them, etc.

So, then he can come to the rescue with an all-inclusive religion that unites the people of the world, and which doesn’t offend other people, and which breaks down all that divides us as the people of the world, so that we can all now live in harmony with one another.

So now he can shove into place a new ruler of the people, a world leader, who will unite the people of the world, who will now be their “savior.” And, he will attempt to supplant Jesus Christ, and many people will follow him because he will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. For, they will believe that he cares about them, and that he is there to help them. And, so many will bow the knee to him.

Psalm 56:3-4 ESV

When I am afraid,

    I put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

    What can flesh do to me?”

But we are not to succumb to man’s evil plots against us. We are to not be afraid of what they might do to us or what they might say about us, or how they might falsely accuse us of wrongdoing when we aren’t doing wrong (if truly we are not). And, we aren’t to fear famine or income loss or rejection or loss of freedoms, or persecution or death.

We must remain steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ, and we must never compromise our faith or the truth in order to unite with the people of the world, no matter what names they may call us or how many people will hate us. We must stay true to our faith in Jesus Christ and to his word, and continue to share the truth of the gospel of our salvation to all who will listen. And, we must continue to obey our Lord over man, and be bold in our witness for Jesus Christ.

And, we must bow the knee only to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, Jesus must be our ONLY Savior and Lord! And, we should look to him only to rescue us from tyranny and oppression and to show us the way we are to walk during these difficult times in which we now live and will be living. And, we must look to Jesus to supply all our needs, not to the flesh of man.

Psalm 56:8-11 ESV

“You have kept count of my tossings;

    put my tears in your bottle.

    Are they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

    in the day when I call.

    This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

    in the Lord, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

    What can man do to me?”

And, we are to know that our God is with us, even in the storms of life we are now facing, and which are yet to come. He knows us inside and out. And, he has a plan and a purpose for it all, to make us holy, to mature us in our walks of faith, and to draw us closer to our Lord in surrender to him.

Our Lord feels our pain and our suffering, and he completely understands how we are feeling. And, he knows the emotional battles we are going through and that we will probably yet go through as things get worse.

And, he will rescue us from all our troubles, though not necessarily physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually, as our faith grows stronger through our trials and we learn to put more and more of our trust in our Lord to see us through it all.

So, hang in there! Don’t let the enemy destroy you or take you out. Stay the course! Be of courage! Trust in the sovereignty of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do not agree to remove his name and to only say “God.” Don’t compromise truth or morals for the sake of unity with the world. Be willing to die, if need be, for your faith in Jesus Christ and for your testimony for him. For, you will be richly rewarded with the blessings of God for eternity.

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/379406352

The Will of My Adversaries

Psalm 27:1-3 ESV

“The Lord is my light and my salvation;

    whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

    of whom shall I be afraid?

“When evildoers assail me

    to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

    it is they who stumble and fall.

“Though an army encamp against me,

    my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

    yet I will be confident.”

We live in very troubled times right now. Fear is being promulgated daily in the news, and especially on social media, it would appear. And, it is causing panic in the hearts of many people, as well as it is igniting anger and hatred and violence.

So, we have to inquire of our God, and we must ask him to show us what is truly going on, what is at stake, what is the overall objective, and who is to gain by all of this. For, Satan, our true enemy, is the great liar and deceiver. And, he is a trickster, too, who is really good at sleight of hand, so that something that is one thing has the appearance of being something else.

So, when we come up against a situation that, on a surface level, appears to be one thing, we should not automatically assume that what we think we are seeing or hearing is the truth, even if it has the appearance of truth. Instead, we need to step back from the situation emotionally, and we need to take some deep breaths, and then we need to pray to God.

Then, we need to ask God: “Who are the evildoers in this situation?” Don’t assume who they are. “Who are the ones assailing us?” “Who is trying to “eat up our flesh”? “Who are our true adversaries and foes in this specific situation?” “What armies are encamping against us?” “What war is rising up against us?” For, if we don’t know who the real enemy is, we may fall into the devil’s trap, and we may assign blame in all the wrong places.

Now, it is true biblically that behind our flesh and blood enemies is our true enemy, who is Satan (the devil). And, the battle really is a spiritual battle, not a physical one. But this is not saying that we don’t have flesh and blood enemies. We do. It just reminds us that Satan is behind them all, and he is the one we are truly at war against, and that this is a spiritual battle which must be won with spiritual weapons, not physical ones (Eph. 6:10-20).

But, since we do have flesh and blood enemies, what I am saying is that we should not assume automatically who those enemies are just because of something we see in the news or that we see on social media. For, anything can be faked (think Hollywood). Anything can be staged to look like one thing while it is another. And, so we need to ask God and ourselves, “Who gains from this?” “Is there a bigger picture than what we are seeing?”

And, then the other part of this is, we must not fear our enemies or what they may do to us. But we are to love our enemies (or who we think are our enemies). We are to pray for them, do good to them, and say what is for their welfare to them and about them. And, that includes speaking the truth to them, in love, confronting them with their sin, and calling for repentance.

Since this is a spiritual battle, not a physical one, we must fight our enemy with spiritual weapons such as our faith, our salvation, prayer, truth, the Word of God, and the gospel. And, since our enemy is the great liar and deceiver, we must never assume that everything we hear and see is the truth. For, his goal is to deceive us, to get us afraid, to get us fighting each other, and to totally miss what is really going on while we are distracted.

Psalm 27:4-6 ESV

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,

    that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

    and to inquire in his temple.

“For he will hide me in his shelter

    in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

    he will lift me high upon a rock.

“And now my head shall be lifted up

    above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

    sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.”

When we are presented with situations in the news or on social media, or coming from the mouths of our government and/or church leaders, which trouble us in our spirits, we need to guard against reacting emotionally to the situations and doing what is not smart, and which may be harmful.

Instead, we need to take these situations immediately to the Lord in prayer, NOT TO SOCIAL MEDIA. And, we must inquire of our Lord as to what our response should be to what we have just seen and heard. And, we also need to pray for much discernment to recognize truth from lies, too, for even if we think we have seen it, it may not be what we think we saw or heard.

So, hide in the shelter of the Lord, not in the shelter of your government or a political party or social media or your friends, etc. Seek after the Lord and his righteousness, not after the opinions of other humans. Dwell in the house of the Lord, his body, his temple, not in the institutions of men. Seek His counsel, not the counsel of the ungodly.

Then, our minds will be lifted above our enemies, and they will have no real power over us. Yes, they can cause us physical harm. Yes, they can falsely accuse us and falsely imprison us, and they can take away our rights, and they can put undue restrictions upon us to make our lives miserable. But they can’t control our minds and our hearts unless we let them.

So, seek the counsel of the Lord. Go to him and to his word. Find your comfort and peace in God, and in God alone. Find your direction from him, too. Then, follow him and his lead. And, you will have peace, and you will have joy, even when the world is crashing all around you. You will mourn over the evil and the violence and the injuries of others, and you will call on God to intervene, but you won’t be taken out by these situations.

Psalm 27:11-14 ESV

“Teach me your way, O Lord,

    and lead me on a level path

    because of my enemies.

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;

    for false witnesses have risen against me,

    and they breathe out violence.

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord

    in the land of the living!

Wait for the Lord;

    be strong, and let your heart take courage;

    wait for the Lord!”

In all things that life throws at us, we need to know the way of the Lord. We need to have him teach us what to do, what to say, and how to respond. We need the wisdom of God just to survive the onslaughts of the enemy.

But we need to be led on a level (straight) path, which is the path of righteousness and holiness. We need to have godly responses to our situations, not human and emotional responses. It doesn’t mean we won’t feel the emotions, but we need to cry them out to God and pray that we will respond with his love, grace, and mercy.

The way in which we are not given up to our adversaries is when we, in the power of God, and according to his Word, resist the devil, flee temptation, and draw near to God in full assurance of faith. It is when we, in the strength of the Lord, say “NO!” to Satan and to sin, and when we say “YES!” to God and to his righteousness.

We can’t control what people will say about us. We have control over what we do and what we say, but we have no control over what others do or say. So, we just have to give those situations over to the Lord and pray that we will have the grace to respond to them in the right way, in a godly manner.

Our hope in all of this is that this world is not our permanent home. We are just passing through. We are only here for a time, and for a purpose, but it doesn’t end here. We have a future home waiting for us in glory where there will be no more evil, no more pain, and no more sorrow. Amen!

So, we have to be those who wait for the Lord, who trust him to accomplish his purposes through all the stuff going on in the world. We have to surrender it all to him and believe that he is still in control. And, in the strength of the Lord, we must go on in our walks of faith, knowing we are going to be persecuted. It is here. Censorship is already in place. They are trying to silence us. But, commit it all to God. He is faithful!

Eternal Father, Strong to Save

William Whiting

Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm does bind the restless wave,

Who bids the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

O hear us when we cry to Thee

For those in peril on the sea.

O Savior, whose almighty word

The winds and waves submissive heard,

Who walked upon the foaming deep,

And calm amid the rage did sleep;

O hear us when we cry to Thee

For those in peril on the sea.

O Holy Spirit, who did brood

Upon the waters dark and rude,

And bid their angry tumult cease,

And give for wild confusion peace;

O hear us when we cry to Thee

For those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and pow'r,

Your children shield in danger's hour;

From rock and tempest, fire, and foe,

Protect them where-so-e'er they go;

Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee

Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BrcQ9_sV3M

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Continually in Angst

Satan wants us living in fear, constantly upset, continually in angst over this or that, fighting among ourselves, possibly over things that don't even exist. We must resist him! And, we must put on the armor of God, and be at peace.

In Troubled Times

I Shall Not Want

Psalm 23:1-3 ESV

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

      He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

     He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

    for his name's sake.”

Because the Lord Jesus is my Shepherd, I am not lacking in any good thing. I have all that I need to survive, for as long as the Lord wants me to live. I trust completely in his sovereignty over my life. And, I believe that he is working everything in my life for my ultimate good, as he defines good.

I have no cause to fear anything, for I know God is in control. I know that nothing will come my way unless God allows it, and he allows it for a purpose. And, I believe he will bring good out of it in my life, even out of some of the most painful of circumstances I have had and may yet have to face in my life. For, he is a loving God. So, I rest in him secure.

He teaches me to rest in him, and to find my security in him alone. He instructs me in the way he would have me to go. He leads me to peace in him, and to find my all sufficiency in him alone. He counsels and helps me when I don’t know what to do or what to say, or which way to turn. And, he leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake. Amen!

Psalm 23:4 ESV

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

    your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.”

I have had many dark valleys in my life, but the Lord has brought me through them all to safety. And the way things are going in our world today, and based on prophecy of Scripture, I know there are many more to come, and that they are only going to get more severe with the passing of time.

When we read prophecy of Scripture, we know the kinds of things that are coming and that are already here. So, none of what is going on in our world or in our nations should unsettle us. The Bible foretold this all a long time ago. So, we don’t have to be afraid. And, we definitely should not let it lead us to fight among ourselves, especially over things which may not even exist, in reality. For, Satan is the great deceiver, remember?

No matter what we go through, though, if we are walking with Jesus in close fellowship with him, we can be assured that he is with us, that he is watching over us, and that he will lead us step by step in what to do. He will prod us if we are going the wrong direction, and he will show us the right way to go. And, he will help us through every circumstance that we will face.

Psalm 23:5-6 ESV

“You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.”

The Sovereignty of God

I was talking with someone this evening about what I consider to be the biggest turning point in my Christian walk. The year was 2002. I was reading through a book called, “The Bondage Breaker,” by Neil T. Anderson (1).

And, I came to the part about asking God if there was anyone I had not yet forgiven. The only name he gave me was “Jesus.” The Holy Spirit immediately pricked my heart, and I knew right away that this was of God, and that he was revealing this to me.

And, I understood immediately what that meant, too, although I had never considered it before. The Holy Spirit revealed to my heart that, because of all the abuse I had faced in my life, that I was holding unforgiveness in my heart toward Jesus for not protecting me from it all, and there was much that I had suffered, too (over the span of 70 years now)!

And, the reason all this unforgiveness was in my heart, too, was because I didn’t trust in the sovereignty of God over my life. Intellectually I did. But, in practice, I didn’t. For my actions revealed the truth about what I believed, even though in my mind I believed the opposite, or so I thought.

So, at that moment in time, I accepted God’s sovereign plan for my life. And I have had to continue to accept it, and to yield to God’s purpose for my life, even at times when I didn’t understand it all.

And, I still must do that. I must believe that God has my best in mind, and that he is working all things in my life for my good, and that his purposes are way above what I am going to always comprehend. But I still have to trust him and yield to his control. And, I must rest in HIM in all things.

The enemy wants me living in fear. The enemy wants me lamenting my suffering. The enemy wants me escaping reality as a way of dealing with the pain. So, when I trust God’s sovereign plan for my life, and I don’t cave to what the enemy wants for my life, then God gets the victory, and I am able to live in that victory over the enemy. Glory to God!

Armor of God

The second half of this, which I found in the same book, was my discovery of what it means that Jesus won the battle against Satan for us, and how that works in our everyday lives.

I was severely abused as a child. I was deathly afraid of my dad. So, when he would come at me, I would cross my arms in front of my face, hoping to not get hit, yet pretty sure I was going to get hit anyway.

What I realized is that, a lot of times, I was resisting Satan’s advances against me in the same way, hoping to not get hit, but fairly sure I was going to get hit anyway. So, I had a defeatist approach to Satan’s attacks against me. So, there were times when he did defeat me, and I caved.

So, what I learned is that this battle has already been won. Satan has no power over me. Jesus already defeated him at the cross. There is not a question as to who is going to win. Satan is already a defeated foe.

So, I must take up that shield of faith and that Sword of the Spirit, and I have to fight Satan with full confidence, based on God’s Holy Word, and fight his lies with the truth. I realized I had to use offensive weapons against my enemy, not just defensive ones, especially not ones with holes in them.

And, through the power of the Spirit, I have been able to live in victory over the enemy of my soul, and to trust in the sovereignty of God over my life.

And, two years later the Lord Jesus called me to this present ministry of writing what he teaches me each day from his word, and of placing these writings on the internet, and the Lord takes it from there.

But this would not have happened if I had not yielded to the Lord’s sovereign plan for my life and if I had not learned how to resist Satan.

Soldiers of Christ Arise 

Lyrics by Charles Wesley, pub. 1741

Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,

Strong in the strength which God supplies, through His Eternal Son.

Strong in the Lord of Hosts, and in His mighty power,

Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.

Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,

But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;

That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,

Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.

Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul;

Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole.

From strength to strength go on; wrestle, and fight, and pray;

Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN2bUvWjfDA

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(1)       https://www.amazon.com/Bondage-Breaker%C2%AE-Neil-T-Anderson-ebook/dp/B00377151Q

*Not an endorsement of everything written in this book or of the author

Members One of Another

Romans 12:3 ESV

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”

The grace of God is a gift to us who believe in Jesus to be Lord and Savior of our lives. Our salvation from sin is a gift to us, of God’s grace. And, the faith to believe in Jesus Christ is also God’s gift to us. So, we have no reason ever to boast as though we did not receive all this from God (Eph. 2:8-10).

So, we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought. So, this means we are also not to think of ourselves lowlier than we ought, too. So, whether we are puffing ourselves up or we are putting ourselves down, it is still pride, for it is still about self. If we are trying to make ourselves look better than we are, or if we are demeaning ourselves, it is still focused in self, and both are about getting others to give us attention. Not good.

Instead, we are to have a realistic and honest view of ourselves. And, we are to give credit and glory to God, and not to ourselves, for what God is accomplishing in and through our lives. It doesn’t mean that God does it all and we do nothing, as though we are marionettes on strings, though. We still must choose to obey. But what we do as followers of Jesus should be done in the power of God and in his strength, and not of ourselves.

Romans 12:4-5 ESV

“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

God made us all different. We are all uniquely designed by God for a specific purpose. But we are all necessary. Not one of us should feel as though we are less important and thus not needed, nor should others treat us as though we are less valuable, and thus not wanted or welcomed (1 Co. 12).

Now, this does not mean that we aren’t discerning or that we are not testing the spirits. But, if we do test the spirits, we need to make certain we are doing so by biblical standards, taken in biblical context, and not by human standards, nor by personal prejudice, nor by the traditions of men.

We have to be so careful that we don’t exclude members of the body of Christ from our fellowships and from ministry opportunities within the body of Christ based on worldly criteria, especially if we embrace the ungodly and include them in the fellowships of church congregations.

For God placed all of us, who have genuine faith in Jesus Christ, together as one body. And, he made us individual members of the body of Christ. So, we are to function together as one body, and each part should do its work for the building up of the body of Christ unto unity of faith in Jesus Christ, and unto spiritual maturity in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Romans 12:6-8 ESV

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

We aren’t all gifted in the same way. Even if many of us have the same gift, it may be expressed in many different ways which are unique to the individuals. And, that is a good thing as long as it is not contrary to the fundamentals of the Christian faith and practice, as defined in Scripture.

We must be so careful, though, that we don’t put God in a man-made “box,” and that we limit him, and how he works, to the mindset of man-made religion. For, look at all the many ways in which God used people since the creation of humans. God is not confined to human methods. He is not obligated to “We’ve always done it this way,” unless it is God’s way.

So, we need to be very cautious about assigning methodology to spiritual gifts that is not of God and thus ends up shutting out sincere servants of the Lord from opportunities to use their gifts within the body of Christ.

Yes, everything needs to be tested, but by God’s standards, not by human standards, and especially not by business marketing schemes which teach how to draw in large crowds of people from the world to church gatherings. And, the equipping of the saints for ministry must also be by God’s standards, not by the standards of Marketing 101 for churches.

In other words, we need to make a place for everyone within the body of Christ to minister to the body of Christ using the gifts assigned to him or her by the Spirit of God, and then permit them to fulfill the God-given roles assigned to them by God, and not by humans.

Everything should be done in order, and everything should agree with the Word of God and not be contrary to the teachings of Scripture. But we need, as the body of Christ, to make room for the gifts and ministries God has given to all of us. For, the building up of the body of Christ happens as each part does its work to the glory of God (Eph. 4:1-16; 1 Co. 12:1-31).

So, let each part do its work.

Near the Cross 

Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869

Music by William H. Doane, 1869

Jesus, keep me near the cross;

There a precious fountain,

Free to all, a healing stream,

Flows from Calvary's mountain.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,

Love and mercy found me;

There the bright and morning star

Sheds its beams around me.

          

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me;

Help me walk from day to day

With its shadow o'er me.

Near the cross I'll watch and wait,

Hoping, trusting ever,

Till I reach the golden strand

Just beyond the river.

        

In the cross, in the cross,

Be my glory ever,

Till my raptured soul shall find

Rest beyond the river.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BasJqHsCIo4

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Renewal of Minds

Romans 12:1 ESV

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

This appeal is not only to those who are truly in Christ, by genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ, but to those who believe they are in Christ, who have professed faith in Jesus Christ, but who deny him by their lifestyles.

We who believe in Jesus Christ, or who are convinced that we have faith in Jesus Christ, are being strongly urged here to live what we say we believe. We are being passionately encouraged, based on what Jesus Christ did for us on that cross, to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ unequivocally, without reservation.

And, this surrender to Jesus Christ is to be holy, which means to be separate (unlike, different) from the godless world, because we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ in our character, attitudes, and behavior.

And, this surrender of our lives to Jesus is also to be acceptable to God. And, we learn what is acceptable and not acceptable to God through the study of his word (in context). For, there we learn that faith in Jesus Christ – the kind that is acceptable to God – denies self, dies to sin, and lives to God and to his righteousness, in the power of God (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

And, this surrender of our lives to Jesus Christ, via dying with him to sin, and living to him and to his righteousness, as our daily practice, is our spiritual worship of God, too.

For, true worship of God is not just singing hymns or praise songs, or praising him with our lips, or saying our prayers, or even just reading the Bible. For, we can go through the motions of worship and never truly worship God because our lives are not surrendered wholly to Him.

Romans 12:2a ESV

“Do not be conformed to this world…”

So, this means we will no longer live like the world does, nor will we think and behave like they do in their unbelief. But we will now adopt into our hearts, minds, and behaviors the likeness of Jesus, by the grace of God.

Nonetheless, many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are living just like the world. And, this is the scenario the Lord Jesus is giving me today:

Many professing Christians today are pleasure-seeking, living for self-gratification, exercising self-indulgence, and living lives which are out of control, because they are not living under the control of God, but they are still under the control of sin and of the flesh.

They are spiritually lazy, slothful, and apathetic. They do not take God and his word seriously. They do not honor or respect God, and they do not fear God. Instead, they belittle (demean, lower) God, and they try to bring him down to their level, as though he is altogether like them, but he is not!

So, they feel they can continue in sin and that God will do nothing about it. And, so the lusts of the flesh still have a stronghold over their lives. So, while they go through forms of worship of God, it is fruitless, for they have not surrendered to the Lord, and so the flesh keeps hanging on.

Thus, they end up making the lusts of the flesh their god instead of God, who is the true light. And, instead of giving their lives to God as living sacrifices, they give their lives over to the sinful cravings of their flesh, instead, because they are lazy, and because they don’t fear God.

So, the powerful influence in their lives is not the Holy Spirit of God but an evil spirit of the flesh, which is in direct opposition to God and to his truth and to his righteousness.

So, although they may go through the motions of worship of God, they aren’t worshiping God, but a false god of the flesh, which is their idol. And, so they end up trapped in a cycle of living to the flesh while trying in the flesh to worship God, and it is futile!

Romans 12:2b ESV

“…but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

So, they need to be transformed by the renewal of their minds, which is an ongoing process for all of us. And, this transformation is like the change of a caterpillar into a butterfly. We were one thing. Now we become something else. We were traveling west, and now we go east, in the opposite direction.

So, how does this transformation take place? By the renewal of our minds. And, how are our minds renewed (changed)? By the Spirit of God, via our cooperation with the Spirit’s work in our lives, by faith, by us submitting to the Lordship of Christ over our lives, and by us surrendering our lives over to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him.

A Problem Exists

But there is a problem with this. And, that is that so many preachers of the Word of God today, and of his gospel, are cutting God’s authority in half, and they are reducing his gospel to something man-made which appeals to the flesh of man, rather than putting the flesh to death.

And, people are following this half-truth gospel by the droves because it tickles their itching ears, and because it gives them license to continue walking in the flesh. For, it makes no demands for repentance, for obedience to Christ, or for surrender of their lives to God. But it leaves the door wide open for all manner of evil, lewdness, immorality, and self-indulgence.

And, added to that is that they are putting the true gospel of grace to disgrace by claiming that it is teaching works-based salvation, and that those who are proclaiming the true gospel are legalists and judgmental. And, so they are leading people to reject the truth and to embrace the lies.

And, very few men of the pulpit are standing up and are preaching the unadulterated truth of God’s word, and are exposing the lies for what they are, so that people will be led away from the lies and to the truth. For, very few can be trusted to tell the truth and to expose the lies, for so many of them are deceived themselves and are living in adultery against God.

So, the Lord is trying his adulterous ones with fire, via divine discipline and correction, to bring about this change of heart and mind which is necessary for them to be in proper communion and relationship with God.

For, it is the only way in which he can get their attention and can help them to see what is in their hearts and minds, which needs to come out, so that their hearts and minds can be renewed (revived, changed) of the Spirit of God.

And, in this way, they will then be able to discern the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect, for they will no longer have cloudy vision or stubborn and unrepentant hearts, but now they will have moldable hearts eager to follow their Lord in surrender to his will for their lives.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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