The Teeter Totter

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV)

 

I read this whole section to get the context, but I am going to focus my attention here on just verse 14:

“..so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

Now, the Lord put in mind a picture of a teeter-totter (See-Saw) which is a recreational object (piece of equipment) found on some children’s playgrounds. It is a long board centered on what might be called a “sawhorse.” And one person sits on one end of the board, and another person sits on the other end. And they push themselves up off the ground with their feet and legs so that one side goes up while the other side goes down, and so this gets repeated over and over, going up and down. 

And I definitely saw this in relation to children being tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. For if you can imagine with me that it is the same person sitting on both sides of this teeter-totter, then this is a person who is pushing himself up and down and up and down, and sometimes he is up, and sometimes he is down. But let’s look at this from a spiritual perspective. And to help us understand this, we will look up these words in a thesaurus:

Teeter-Totter (See-Saw): teeter – waver, stagger, wobble, sway; totter – falter, stumble, flounder, walk unsteadily.

Teeter-Totter’s can be found on children’s playgrounds.

Children – (in this context) the immature, childish, irresponsible, foolish, self-indulgent, pleasure-seeking, selfish, self-centered

Playground – where children Play – recreation, amusement, fun, diversion, perform, playact, fool around, waste time.

So, collectively, what this gives us a picture of is a person who is childish, immature, pleasure-seeking, foolish, selfish, and self-indulgent who is wavering and swaying back and forth between what is right and what is wrong, basically. And so he (or she) is stumbling, faltering, and floundering spiritually, going back and forth between trying to follow the Lord but following the flesh, instead. For this is a double-minded person, in other words. And he is focused much on being amused and entertained, and on having fun and fooling around and wasting time, but while he is giving the appearance of wanting to do right and to obey the Lord.

But in James 1, where such a person is called “double-minded,” it says that that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, for he is double-minded, unstable in all his ways (which is what is meant by teeter and totter). And we read in other Scriptures that we either are for the Lord or we are not. We are either walking in obedience to the Lord, in practice, living holy lives, or we are walking in disobedience to the Lord, in practice, living in sin and in wickedness. This is not saying we are perfect people, but we can’t be those who deliberately and habitually sin against God and other humans, and who are not walking in obedience to the Lord.

So, the encouragement here is that if you are one who is teetering and tottering, and you are living in self-indulgence and in selfishness, and not according to the will of God, honestly, you need to decide if it is the Lord you want to obey, or if it is self you want to please, instead. For this going back and forth and back and forth is not a picture of someone who truly wants to obey the Lord. It is a picture of someone who is still running his own life hoping he can please God while still walking according to the flesh. And that will never work. 

So, surrender your life to Jesus today, and daily deny self and die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

The Teeter Totter

Video Talk

April 26, 2023

https://vimeo.com/821304374

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

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 

Caution: This link may contain ads

In the Stillness of the Midnight

In the stillness of the midnight

When all’s quiet and serene

All the hustle bustle still now

And a person rarely seen

You can hear a drop of water

Hear the tinkle of a bell

Hear the ticking of an old clock

And can say that all is well

It is peaceful now, so quiet

All that chitter chatter gone

All the noises of the daylight

Will now wait ‘til break of dawn

All the noises and confusion

All distractions – this or that –

All the busyness and actions

Now are quiet, that’s a fact

Now it is the perfect timing

To have quiet time with God

For reading of His holy word

While reflecting on what’s taught

It is time to hear Him speaking

And for us to lend our ears

For us taking in His teachings

And relieve then all our fears

For it’s in these quiet moments

That we listen to Him best

When we’re free from all distractions

And we find in Him our rest

An Original Work / March 2, 2024

The Unfolding of Your Words

“Your testimonies are wonderful;

    therefore my soul keeps them.

The unfolding of your words gives light;

    it imparts understanding to the simple.

I open my mouth and pant,

    because I long for your commandments.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

    as is your way with those who love your name.

Keep steady my steps according to your promise,

    and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Redeem me from man's oppression,

    that I may keep your precepts.

Make your face shine upon your servant,

    and teach me your statutes.

My eyes shed streams of tears,

    because people do not keep your law.” Psalms 119:129-136 ESV

I love reading the 119th Psalm. It is so rich in biblical truth, not that the Bible itself is not, obviously, but what I love about the 119th Psalm is the Psalmist’s love for the Lord, and his love for the word of the Lord and his desire to obey it. He doesn’t see the commandments of the Lord as a drudgery or as a burden, but as a delight. And even under the New Covenant we still have commandments of the Lord that we must obey.

There is no sense here that he had his time of devotions with the Lord quick in and quick out, so that he could check it off his list for the day, and so that he could now go about his daily routines. What I get from reading the 119th Psalm is that the word of the Lord was what he breathed in and out each day, and what he lived by, from morning till night. Instead of longing for the pleasures of this world, he longed for the commandments of God. Wow!

He wanted the Lord to guide his steps and to make them steady. He wanted the Lord to help him so that no iniquity would get dominion over his life. But, as we know from reading the Scriptures, as a whole, we have a part in this we must play. We must resist the devil and flee temptation and keep our lives and our eyes and minds centered on Christ and on his word. We must take that way of escape provided for us. And we must cooperate with God.

And he wanted the Lord to redeem him from man’s oppression. And oppression can be acted out in many different ways. It can be in the form of persecution of those who are walking in faithful obedience to the Lord Jesus and who are sharing the truth of the gospel with others. And it can be in the form of others attempting to tempt us to do wrong and to compromise our faith and convictions and to lower our moral standards in order to be accepted. And it can be in acts of cruelty, spite, and malice against us.

But, there again, we must then do as the Lord leads, and as he commands. We must follow the leading of the Lord in how to respond to such situations, and in what to say, or not say. We must not let other humans intimidate us into doing wrong or into compromising our faith and convictions. We must not let the fear of man (humans) overtake us so that we back down and so we retreat and so that we don’t end up doing the will of God for our lives.

And we should be so in love with God, with Jesus Christ, and with his word, with such a strong desire to follow him and to do his will, and with such a strong conviction regarding what the Scriptures teach about what will happen to those who refuse to obey the Lord, that literally our eyes shed streams of tears because other people, especially those professing the name of Jesus, do not obey the Lord and his New Covenant commandments.

It should grieve us. It should break our hearts to see the condition of so much of what is called “church” today where so many are deserting the truth of the gospel to follow after the lies of charlatans. We should be those who weep over the knowledge that so many professing Christians are still walking in sin, ignoring the commands of our Lord, many because they love their sins more, and they are being told that their sins no longer matter to God.

But no matter what we go through in this life, and no matter how many tears we shed, and no matter how much persecution we face, or hardships we experience, if we are following the Lord Jesus with our lives, he is there with us giving us the strength we need to endure. And he will give us all the counsel and help and guidance we need to make it through every trial until the day he comes to take us to be with him for eternity. Praise His Name!

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

When I Go Home

By G. M. Eldridge

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…” Revelation 21:4

In the moment He appears

And the light from heaven shines,

I’ll forget ev’ry fear,

Ev’ry pain I’ll leave behind.

Then I’ll see Him as He is

And I’ll know Him as I’m known.

Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.

Ever present is the tho’t 

That a moment waits for me

When unworthy as I am,

His glory I will see.

I will empty all my praise

Before my Father’s throne.

Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.

If the trial I endure,

And your presence I can’t find,

Be near me, Lord, I pray,

Bring back unto my mind

That your promises are firm

And I’m never on my own.

Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z98Zvr1CyXg 

Caution: This link may contain ads

Looking Through the Window

Now I am looking through the window

In the corner of my room.

I see people walking here and there

Seemingly without a care.

I wonder, “Do they truly know Him?

Do they think of Him at all?

Do they think of what He’s done for them?

Have they given Him a call?

“Do they wonder if He’s listening

To the words they choose to say?

Do they think on how they live their lives?

Do they stop, and to Him pray?

“Now is He barely even mentioned

When they’re talking to their friends?

Or is He given not a thought at all,

For on Him they not depend?

“Or is there just a vague connection

With the man who gave His life,

who on that cruel cross He suffered,

To set us free from sin and strife?”

So, I now pray for them in earnest,

That they come to know Him well,

So that their sins will be forgiven,

And forever with Him dwell,

So that they walk now with Him daily,

In obedience to Him,

And that they serve Him as their only

King of kings, who lives in heav’n.

An Original Work / June 10, 2023

That We Should Be Holy

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:1-10 ESV)

The words spoken here are addressed to those who are the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus. And a saint is a holy one, and to be holy is to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because being conformed to the likeness of character of Christ Jesus, our Lord. This is of the Spirit of God and not of human flesh, but it involves our full cooperation with God’s work of grace in our lives as we submit to him as Lord, and as we surrender our lives to his will and purposes for our lives, and as we obey his commands.

[Romans 12:1-2; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-32]

And the faithful are those who are full of faith which comes from God, is authored and perfected by Christ Jesus, and is gifted to us by God. It is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man so that we don’t brag that somehow we obtained our own salvation via our own fleshly good works. So we don’t even get to determine what this faith looks like. God does. And this faith is persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness, of our sinfulness, and of our need to turn from sin and obey God.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]

Jesus Christ described those who are his true followers as those who deny self, die to sin daily, and who follow him in obedience to his commands. They are his sheep who listen to him, not just with their ears, but with their hearts and minds, with the intent to obey him, and then who obey him in his power, strength, and wisdom, by the grace of God. They are not those who merely profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips, but they are those who follow him in obedience to his commands in holy living, in God’s power.

[Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 7:21-23]

We are those blessed of God in Christ Jesus with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We are those whom God chose before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. We are those whom God predestined that we should be the children of God via faith in Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. And the purpose of his will is that we should deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of holiness and righteousness in obedience to his commands, in his power.

In him we have redemption through his blood. For Jesus Christ gave himself up for us on that cross that we might die to sin and live to his righteousness. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery (addiction) to sin so that we would now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience and in surrender to his perfect will for our lives. So, by faith in him, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him to walk, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Acts 26:18]

Through God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in our Lord we are forgiven our sins and we are given the hope of eternal life with God in heaven. But we need to understand that biblical faith must be continuous, and biblical salvation is progressive sanctification. Biblical faith must be proved genuine through our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living. For, if sin is what we practice (our habit), we will NOT inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what faith in Jesus Christ that we profess with our lips.

[Matt 24:9-14; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 8:24; Rom 11:17-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; Gal 6:7-8; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 3:6,14-15; 1 Pet 1:5; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10]    

Trust and Obey  

Words by John H. Sammis, 1887

Music by Daniel B. Towner, 1887

When we walk with the Lord 

in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, 

He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey. 

Not a shadow can rise, 

not a cloud in the skies,

But His smile quickly drives it away;

Not a doubt or a fear, 

not a sigh or a tear,

Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, 

not a sorrow we share,

But our toil He doth richly repay;

Not a grief or a loss, 

not a frown or a cross,

But is blessed if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove 

the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows, 

for the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet 

We will sit at His feet.

Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.

What He says we will do, 

Where He sends we will go;

Never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB4KcleYiWM

Caution: This link may contain ads

When God Shuts Up the Heavens

“Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.’” (2 Chronicles 7:12-15 ESV)

A House of Sacrifice

The house of the Lord that Solomon built was a physical temple. Today the temple of God is within the hearts and lives of all who are believing in Jesus Christ, our Messiah, with God given faith, who have died and are dying daily with him to sin, and who are walking in obedience to his commands. And all of this was made possible for us by Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins on that cross that we might be set free from slavery to sin and become slaves of God.

And we are now to give our lives to the Lord Jesus as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is our acceptable worship of God. And no longer are we 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 living in sin to now living to God and to his righteousness. For Jesus died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us.

We are no longer to conduct our lives in practice like the ungodly who have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way that we should have learned Christ if we were taught the truth in Christ to put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We are, therefore, to no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions. For sin shall no longer have dominion over us. So we are not to present ourselves as instruments for unrighteousness but for righteousness, and no longer present ourselves to sin, but to God as those who have been brought from death to life – all because of God’s grace which trains us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return.

[1 Co 3:9,16-17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:1,15,21; 2 Co 6:14-16; Eph 2:19-22; Eph 4:11-16; Rom 12:4-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Col 1:24; Jude 1:20-21; Eph 2:8-10; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; Eph 4:17-32; Tit 2:11-14]

Divine Discipline

Those who the Lord loves he disciplines, scourges, reproves, rebukes, and chastises. It is for discipline that we endure. God disciplines us for our good so that we may share his holiness. When we are being disciplined of God, it is painful, yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness in our lives. So, we are to rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, character, and hope.

So, we are not to be surprised when a fiery trial comes upon us to test us, which I believe is the object of God shutting off the rain and sending locusts and pestilence among his people. But we are to rejoice that we share in Christ’s sufferings. For we are destined for afflictions. But we are to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds, for the testing of our faith produces steadfastness with the goal of us reaching spiritual maturity.

[Heb 12:3-12; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Matt 5:10-12; Lu 21:12-19; 2 Co 1:3-11; Jn 15:1-11]

If My People

So, first we were told that God’s house is to be a house of sacrifice. And then the conversation went right into God sending trials and difficulties upon his people, and then it went right into a call for repentance. So, I believe we can fill in the blanks here and we can assume that the message being conveyed is that God’s house, his temple, his body, is to be a house given over to God, dedicated to him and to his service, according to his will and purpose.

Today this would be the body of Christ, his church, and individual believers in Jesus Christ. Our lives are to be given over to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him. And the purpose of the discipline, in this case, would be because his people were not treating God and his temple as a place of sacrifice to God, but they were engaged in some kind of wickedness, perhaps to a large degree and involving many people, which is the situation with much of the Lord’s church today, at least in America.

And the purpose of God sending the divine discipline is to strongly encourage his people to turn from their sins and to turn back to God and to be those living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. And I believe that is why we are going through much of the difficulties our nations are going through right now, because God is judging his wayward people in order to encourage them to humble themselves, to seek his face, and to turn from wickedness.

Yet, I believe he is using these difficulties in all of our lives to get all of us to examine our lives and our relationships with the Lord, and to grow us in our walks of faith to maturity in Christ before our Lord returns for his bride. He is pruning and purifying us to make us ready for his return and for our marriage to him and our salvation yet to be completed when he returns. And the healing that will take place will be that our hearts are right with him.

And all of this is possible because of God’s glorious grace to us. Even the divine discipline and correction is his grace to us because we all still live in flesh bodies, and we all still have a propensity to sin against him, and so it is possible that some might wander from their purity of devotion to the Lord and fall back into sin and will need to be brought back into pure fellowship with the Lord. And only there do we find true healing and perfect peace!

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev. 2-3; Rev 18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Glorious Grace  

An Original Work / August 8, 2012

Based off Ephesians 1:3-10 NIV

Praise be to God, the Father of Jesus,

Who has blessed us in heavenly realms.

For He chose us in Him from beginning

To be His holy children of God;

All in accord with His will and pleasure;

To the praise of His glorious grace.

In Jesus Christ we receive forgiveness.

We have redemption through His shed blood.

Glorious grace God freely has given us

In the One He loves and adores;

All in accord with the riches of His grace

Which He pours out on those He loves.

With all His wisdom and understanding,

God has made known His will unto us,

According to His will and good pleasure,

Purposed in Christ till all be fulfilled;

To bring all things on earth and in heaven

Under our Lord Christ; be unified. 

https://vimeo.com/119441766 

When We Desire a Human King

 

To Open Blinded Eyes

“But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:16-18 ESV)

The Apostle Paul was being held in prison for sharing the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people. At this time he was standing before King Agrippa giving his defense against all the accusations of the Jews (select Jews, I presume). And so he shared his testimony of how he (Saul) was a Pharisee who persecuted Christians, but how Jesus Christ visited him in a vision on the road to Damascus where he intended to persecute and perhaps have put to death even more followers of Jesus Christ (of The Way).

And in that vision Jesus Christ called him to be a minister of the gospel of Christ, which was not yet written out for the people like it is for us now. Jesus Christ had shared the gospel message when he lived on the earth. And Paul was one of the apostles of Christ who first brought the message of the gospel to the people, to both Jew and Gentile. But a lot of this was shown to him by the Holy Spirit, some of it in visions and in dreams. And he believed the Lord and he shared with the people what he was being shown by God.

Now here I believe the Lord wants me to share a little bit of my own testimony, which is not exactly like Paul’s but with some similar character traits. For I believed in the Lord Jesus as a child at age 7 and I was dedicated to following the Lord with my life. I was not a perfect child, but I was not a rebellious child. I was a rule follower, for the most part. I took God and his word seriously from early on, but more so the older that I got. But along with that came rejection and persecutions of many kinds.

Without going into much detail, let me just say that I was raised by an abusive father and an emotionally distant (good) mother, and so I had a lot of hurt very early on in my life. But the closer that I walked with the Lord, the more I faced even more mistreatments, some from pastors of church congregations, some from fellow professing Christians, some from friends, and some from family members. And the hits just kept coming, one after another after another, until one day I gave up and I caved to my flesh.

So I struggled with my faith and with the persecutions that I had faced and was still facing whenever I obeyed God. And if I failed, and then I tried to get back on my feet, it seemed there was always someone there to “slam dunk” me, i.e. to treat me with disdain. And this went on for several years, on and off until the Lord turned me around and I slammed the door shut to my former way of life, never to reopen that door again. And that is when he visited me via his word and a vision, of sorts, and called me to this ministry.

And he opened up my eyes to many things that I had wrong or that I had learned wrongly or that I had been convinced of (brainwashed about) from childhood on up regarding what the Scriptures teach (in context), and what the gospel message is all about, and with regard to “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who are out to deceive the sheep, some of whom are pastors of “churches,” and some of whom are heads of governments, especially the government of the USA, which is where I live, which is not of God. 

And he called me, as well, to open the eyes of the spiritually blind that they may turn from darkness (sin, wickedness) to light (Jesus Christ, truth, the gospel, righteousness, godliness) and from the power of Satan (who tempts us to sin and who deceives us with his lies, too) to God (to follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands), that they may receive forgiveness of (and deliverance from) sins and a place among those sanctified (made holy, different from the world, for becoming like Christ) by faith in Jesus Christ. 

But, in reality, all of us who are His by genuine faith in Jesus Christ, who have been turned from the darkness to the light, are called of God to share with others the truth of the gospel so that their eyes can be opened to the lies they have been believing, and so that they will reject the lies, and so they will embrace the truth of the gospel. And this is so that they will, by faith in Jesus Christ, deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands until they die or until Jesus Christ returns.

[1 Pet 2:9; Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

To Open Blinded Eyes

Video Talk

November 6, 2024

https://youtu.be/NPPqQCjE7zw

Caution: This link may contain ads

Myopic  

An Original Work / August 19, 2013

Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11

Jesus has given ev’rything

Needed for life and godliness.

His great and precious promises

Free us from our sin and distress.

Add to your faith His goodness;

Knowledge; patience; godliness;

Brotherly love and mutual affection;

Kindness and unselfishness.

If you possess these qualities,

Growing in your maturity,

They will keep you from vanity.

You will bear fruit effectually. 

Nonetheless, if you lack them;

Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,

Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.

You have closed your heart to Him.

Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,

Your calling and your election.

Do this by showing diligence:

Obey your Lord; be repentant.

Practice all these qualities

God provided on a tree.

He died for our sins so we’d be given

Life with Him eternally. 

https://vimeo.com/115839336

When I Don't Know What to Pray

So, when I don’t know what to pray

I don’t know what to God to say

He intercedes for my requests

For He knows what is truly best

He counsels me when I’m confused

When I am hurting or misused

When things in life just don’t make sense

When people live lives in pretense

He shows the way I am to go

And how His truth I am to know

He leads me in His righteousness

And comforts when I’m in distress

For He’s my Lord, my Savior King

To Him I give my everything

I want to walk with Him each day

To read His word, to bow and pray

I want to make Him Lord of life

So I do not live life in strife

He gives me peace I would not know

If love for Him I did not show

So He’s my life, my everything

My life to Him my offering

I follow Him where’er He leads

While on His Word I daily feed

An Original Work / November 8, 2022

In The Interest Of

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:1-6 ESV)

[Greek interlinear of verse 1: “I exhort therefore first of all to be made entreaties prayers intercessions thanksgivings on behalf of all men.”]

“On behalf of” – “In the interests of a person, group” (Oxford Languages). 

“In the interest of” – “In order to achieve a particular goal/result” (MWD).

And what is “in the interests of” all people? What is the intended particular goal or result? The answer is found in verses 3-4:

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

We need to be praying for the salvation of all people, including those people in high up positions within our nations, that they would all come to the knowledge of the truth of the gospel of our salvation. We must pray for them that – by the grace of God, and because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on that cross in putting our sins to death with him, and by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ – they would deny self, repent of their sins (die to sin daily) and follow our Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands from this day forward, to the end of time on this earth or until they die.

[Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Acts 26:16-18; 2 Chronicles 7:12-15; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-24]

Today in America

*The Lord has been having me write these devotions 2 weeks in advance, so this was originally written on November 6, 2024.*

Yesterday was voting day in the USA, and this morning Donald Trump was declared to be the next president of the USA, beginning his term of office in January of 2025. Many (not all) professers of Christianity here in America apparently voted for him because they believe he is “the chosen” of God at this time to lead our nation, and that he is going to make life better for us than what we have had under the present administration. And so they are thanking and praising God that this man is going to be our next president.

But is that biblical? No! It isn’t! For they are treating this man as though he is our “savior” instead of Jesus Christ being our only Savior and Lord. They are looking to this man to save them from what ails us as a nation, but what ails us are the sins of the people, and only Jesus Christ can deliver us out of our slavery to sin and empower us to live godly and holy lives for the glory and praise of God. And they are trusting in the words of human flesh when that man may be lying to the people with a grin on his face.

We are not to look to other humans to save us from what ails us as a nation, but we are to be looking only to God. We are not to put our trust in princes who cannot save, but our trust needs to be in God and God alone, who is the only one we can trust in 100%. For this man very well could be the man of perdition, the antichrist, our betrayer, who betrays with a kiss but who is truly our enemy. He may be a “Pied Piper” leading many people of this nation to their deaths while he portends to have our best interest at heart.

So, “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save” (Ps 146:3). “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes” (Ps 118:9). “They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction” (Hos 8:4). “Where is your king, that he may save you? Where are your rulers in all your towns, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’?” (Hos 13:10).

“..and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Co 2:1-5). “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men” (1 Co 7:23). “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph 4:14; cf Col 2:8; 2 Pet 3:17).

The Purpose of Our Prayers

So, if we are going to pray for our leaders, we need to pray first of all for their salvation, but salvation from sin as defined by God and by the Scriptures, taught in their appropriate context. For just because they call themselves “Christians,” as some of them do, and they profess the name of Jesus as their Savior, it does not mean automatically that they are truly the children of God, saved by God’s grace, and on their way to heaven. It could mean that they are proclaiming Christ as their Savior falsely, and perhaps even with the intention to deceive those who profess to be his followers.

And do not look to those humans to be your “saviors,” to save your nations from what ails them. Look to God and to God alone. Do not make idols of men who are flesh and blood. Do not raise them up above other men to where you have blinders on and cannot see who they might really be when they are behind the curtain. All flesh is flesh. For there is ONE GOD and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, and that man is CHRIST JESUS, who gave his life as a ransom for all, that we might all be saved from our sins.

If you have not done so before, I would encourage you to play the video of the following song, not for the purpose of being entertained, but for the purpose to grasp the meaning behind the words and the images which tell us the story of my nation (USA), but any nation, in reality, which is governed by human beings who lie, cheat, steal, and betray their own people:

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

Can Humans Be Trusted?

Psalms 118:5-9,14-15 ESV

“Out of my distress I called on the Lord;

    the Lord answered me and set me free.

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.

    What can man do to me?

The Lord is on my side as my helper;

    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in princes.

“The Lord is my strength and my song;

    he has become my salvation.

Glad songs of salvation

    are in the tents of the righteous.”

Should we put our trust in other humans? What do the Scriptures say about that? We are not to put our trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. God’s pleasure and his delight is not in the legs of a warrior. Our faith is not to rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. The wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. So, let no one boast in men. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. And more…

Trust Not in Man: 

[Psalms 146:3; Psalms 118:9; Isaiah 40:23; Hosea 8:4; Hosea 13:10; Psalms 147:10-11; Jeremiah 17:5-61; Corinthians 2:1-5; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9,18-23; 1 Corinthians 7:23; Galatians 1:10; Galatians 2:12; Ephesians 4:14-16; Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 2:8,20-23; Colossians 3:23-24; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-8; 1 Peter 4:1-5; 2 Peter 3:17-18]

Instead, the Lord is to be our strength. He is to be the one in whom we should place our absolute and total trust. And if our trust is in the Lord, and if he is truly Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and so we are walking in obedience to his commands, and we are following him wherever he leads us, then when life kicks us hard, which it will, and when other humans reject and persecute us, which they will, we can know the Lord is on our side, and so we have no reason to fear what other humans might do to us. For the Lord is our helper, and so we can live in victory over our enemies.

Now, there are many voices speaking to us in this world. We have government heads, and people running for political office, and people of renown, and famous people, and the news media, and pastors, preachers, and evangelists, as well as those who are purportedly putting out “Christian” literature, videos, movies, and TV shows, and the like, who are all trying to convince us of something, or they are trying to get us to follow them. But should we listen to them? Should we follow them? We should never put our blind trust in any human being, but we should test them all.

Why? Because there are so many liars and deceivers in this world of ours. Lying is so commonplace now, even among those professing faith in Jesus Christ. It is socially acceptable even within the gatherings of the church. And even some (or many) pastors of “churches” here in America are being trained in marketing tricks, schemes, and manipulations, in order to draw in large crowds of people from the world, in order to get people to do what they want them to do, and in order to silence those who are not accepting of their marketing schemes and who are speaking the truth of God’s Word.

So, don’t believe everything anyone says. It doesn’t matter who they are. Just because so and so said it doesn’t mean it is the truth. Remember that Satan’s servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Remember what the Scriptures teach us about liars and deceivers and wolves in sheep’s clothing. Just because he looks like a sheep doesn’t mean he (or she) is one. Don’t make other humans your gods and/or your saviors. Learn to test everything you read or hear or think you see in prayer and against the Scriptures in context. And make God the Lord your trust!!

Test Them All: 

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

Can Humans Be Trusted?

Video Talk

April 24, 2023

https://youtu.be/W02Wio4NxOE

Caution: This link may contain ads

Mighty in Power

An Original Work / June 17, 2019

Jesus, our Savior, reigneth forever;

Mighty in power, His name we honor.

He’s our refuge from all evil.

God our righteous, He’s our fill.

He satisfies us with all His blessings.

We magnify Him. Our praise to Him sing.

Glory and honor, praise to the Father,

Perfect in wisdom, He is our vision.

He delivered us from all sin

So, in Christ, we’d be forgiven.

He purifies us. His love will guide us.

He is beside us, holy and righteous.

Our Holy Spirit, comfort in sorrow,

Strength in our weakness, hope for tomorrow.

He gives courage to be bold in

Witnessing for Jesus Christ.

He teaches all things about our Savior.

New life in Jesus, we found His favor. 

https://vimeo.com/343126112

A Mighty Fortress is our God

By Martin Luther

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:

For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,

Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us;

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth;

The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth;

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;

The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak0Bc8rO6L4

Caution: This link may contain ads

Obedience to Authorities

1 Peter 2:13-16 NASB

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God, that by doing right you silence the ignorance of foolish people. Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God.”

I believe this is self-explanatory, so I am not going to expound much on this subject. What I am going to talk about are the exceptions to this rule. Why? Because so many people are using this to try to persuade people to obeying them and not God, or to obeying them over obedience to God. And I am going to give you some biblical examples of this so that you do not think that you have to obey all human authority over obedience to the Lord.

Jesus Christ is our prime example. The religious and governing authorities of his day tried to get him to stop teaching and saying the things that he said and taught, and they tried to get him to stop healing people on the Sabbath. And what was Jesus’ response to them? Did he comply with them? No, he didn’t. He continued obeying God the Father regardless of what the authorities over him were trying to convince him to stop doing. And he had some pretty strong words for them, in fact, where he spoke the truth of God in love to them, and where he accused them of being hypocrites.

Then we have Peter and John. The authorities over them commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. And what was their response? Did they comply with the governing authorities over them? No, they did not. Instead they answered them and said, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). Amen! Praise God! They stood for what was right even in the face of possible death for their disobedience.

And then we have the example of Daniel from the Old Testament. He was commanded to stop praying to his God, but he continued to pray openly to his God as had always been his practice. So, he was thrown into a den of lions, but God rescued him. And then there were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were ordered to bow to a golden statue. And did they comply with the governing authorities? No! And they were thrown into a fiery furnace, but God rescued them. But don’t expect to always be rescued, for many of us will be persecuted and martyred for our obedience to God.

And then we have many “pastors” of “churches” today who are teaching what is false and who are trying to shame their people into submission to them. And they are trying to get Christians to stop speaking the truth of the gospel, but to comply with the diluted and altered gospel message which was created to appease human flesh and to be more acceptable to the world. But just know that you do not have to remain under the authority of any man who calls himself a pastor if he is not teaching the truth of the gospel and/or if he is trying to persuade you to follow him over God.

For we have many “shepherds” of the flock now who are charlatans and who are wolves in sheep’s clothing, who are leading the people of God (and those who give lip service only to God) to follow after marketing schemes and business goals and plans, and to reject much of the teachings of the Scriptures with regard to faith and salvation and eternal life with God. And they will try to lead you away from following the Lord, in purity of devotion to him, by trying to shame you into submitting to them. But you can walk away from that, and you should (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Revelation 18:4-5).

Now, the only way we can walk away from our governing authorities is to move to another country, but they are pretty much all headed in the same direction, toward the rule of this beast (Revelation 13), and we may end up in a worse situation than we have now. So, we obey them unless they command that we disobey God, or unless they command that we commit some kind of sin against the Lord. We never have to obey sin! Please know that! We should be people who will die for our Lord and for righteousness and holiness and for doing what is right and for not doing what is wrong.

Obedience to Authorities

Video Talk

April 19, 2023

https://youtu.be/efZCFxsfnoI

Caution: This link may contain ads

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.

http://youtu.be/_XQkomPFz4Y

Caution: This link may contain ads

Lockstep

Lockstep, lockstep, all in place,

No one asking, all a gaze.

Mindless foll’wers do their thing,

Foll’wing without questioning.

Do always what they have heard,

Matter not how so absurd. 

Minions giving service to

Their slave masters, one and two.

This reveals what they were taught

Early on is not for naught.

Worship taught, but not to God.

Worship taught is but a fraud.

Fly those flags, and sing those songs,

Not to God do these belong.

Worship idols, all a row,

Your allegiance, it does show.

Praise the flag, your nation, too,

Praise your government, one, two.

Follow leaders where they lead,

Even so God you don’t heed.

Think not if God’s truly pleased

With your idols, one, two, three.

Worship men, but not your God.

“Praise and worship” is a fraud.

How then can you remedy?

To your God now bow the knee.

Turn from your sins, idols flee.

Walk in love, in victory.

Question all your idols say.

Take their words to God and pray.

Ask for wisdom, truth to know,

So your idols no more know.

An Original Work / September 14, 2021

Obedience to God Over Human Authorities

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” (Romans 13:1-7 ESV)

Let’s compare this passage of Scripture to a few others so that we have the correct biblical context and balance on this subject.

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.’” (Matthew 23:1-3 ESV)

We are to obey the authorities over us with the exception that we are not to follow their examples in doing what is evil and against God. So, if any authority commands that we must obey them and not God, we are to obey God rather than the human authorities.

“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.’” (Acts 5:27-32 ESV)

Here is yet another example showing that we are not to obey the authorities over us if they are commanding that we go against God and against the authority of the Scriptures and that we not preach the true gospel of Christ.

“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads… One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast… Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them… Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed… This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” (Revelation 13 select verses ESV)

We who believe in Jesus Christ need to have the discernment of God in recognizing these “beasts” so that we do not follow them in undivided loyalties and devotion to our deaths. We are not to take the “mark of the beast,” which may end up being some kind of physical mark or a chip or whatever, but more importantly we are not to take its mark (influence, characteristic, attribute, dishonor, contamination) on our minds, hearts, beliefs, emotions, and practices. We must follow Jesus’ example.

For, if Jesus Christ was in complete compliance with the authorities over him on this earth, they would not have hated him. They would not have plotted evil against him. And they would not have put him to death. But Jesus always submitted in obedience to God the Father first and foremost, even if it meant doing what the authorities told him he was not to do, such as healing people on the Sabbath, which was his regular practice. And Jesus had some strong words of accusation against those authorities, too.

And then we have the example of Daniel who refused the edict that said he could not pray to his God. He prayed anyway, just as he had always done. And he was thrown into a den of lions. But God rescued him. And then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded to bow down to a golden statue, but they refused, so they were put in a fiery furnace. But God saved them out of that fiery furnace. And we must follow their example, even if it means our deaths or false accusations or whatever.

Basically, if the governing authorities over our heads require that we do anything contrary to the commandments of our Lord, we must refuse to obey them, regardless of the cost to us. And this is why we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in their full context, so that we know what the Scriptures teach us so that we will then obey the Lord over and above obedience or loyalty to any human authority. And we must pray much for discernment so we don’t end up following “the beast.”

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; Luke 6:26; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

But let me add here that we are not required of God to submit to any man (or woman) who calls himself a “pastor” if he is not following the Scriptures and if he is teaching what is false, for he is not anointed of God, and therefore he has no biblical authority over us. But if we find ourselves in a position to where we cannot submit to any “pastor” over any “church” congregation, then we should depart from there. For the Scriptures teach us that we are not to be in partnership and fellowship with the ungodly who are those who are going against God and his Word.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

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

Keep Walking with the Lord

“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

“’Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.’” (Matthew 24:3-14 ESV)

We are living in the last days before the return of Jesus Christ, our Lord. And many of these things mentioned here are presently taking place and are increasing. And deception abounds. And many indeed are being led astray by clever enchanters who are cunning and crafty in their deceitful scheming, and who are experts at mind manipulation and at hidden and subliminal messages buried inside what might have the appearance of truth.

And these liars and deceivers are government heads, CEOs of corporations, medical professionals, heads of church denominations, and pastors of church congregations (or of what is falsely being called “church”). And they are the news media, social media, the music industry, the movie industry, and the sports industry. And they are teachers and authors and writers of devotions and singers, etc. Not all are liars, but many or most appear to be.

Now I am not personally aware of anyone who has said literally, “I am the Christ.” I am not saying no one has, only that I am not aware of it. BUT.. many have said it, without actually saying it, by their actions and by the words they speak when they take the place of Jesus Christ in the hearts of the people, and when they demand the kind of loyalty and devotion to themselves only meant for God alone, and when they want us to treat their words as though they are God’s words to us, when they may not be at all.

And regarding wars, I believe my nation (the USA) has been at war with someone all the time I have been alive, and it could be that they have been in continuous wars ever since the founding of our nation. I think I heard that somewhere, and they listed all the wars, too. And our nation (government and military) are in so many other countries in this world creating wars with them, so it does seem that wars are increasing (in view of Revelation 13).

And Christians throughout the world are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ and for their testimonies for Jesus Christ and for his gospel. And many are running for their lives, and many are being put to death because they believe in Jesus Christ. And here in America that kind of persecution is not the norm (standard). But Christians who take seriously the Scriptures and their walks of faith in holiness and in obedience to the Lord, and who are sharing the truth of the gospel in opposition to the lies, they are being persecuted – rejected, cast aside, ridiculed, falsely accused, and abandoned.

And many who profess faith in Jesus Christ have fallen away, or else they never came to true faith in Jesus Christ to begin with. And many of them are hating others who profess faith in Jesus Christ because the others are living holy lives, pleasing to God, and they are walking in obedience to his commands, and they are spreading the truth of the gospel, and they are refuting the lies, exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness for what they are.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this is the truth of the true gospel message. For we aren’t saved just once and now we are good to go to heaven. We are saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ returns, which is when our salvation will be complete. But this depends on us enduring to the end and us walking in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord and not in sin, and not in defiance of our Lord and of his commands.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Amen!

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Keep Walking with The Lord

Video Talk

April 7, 2023

https://youtu.be/JXyFbrCghAs

Caution: This link may contain ads

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 

Negatives and Positives

 

In the Wilderness

“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” (Isaiah 40:3 ESV)

This was prophesied by Isaiah, but it was fulfilled in John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus Christ’s physical ministry on the earth and for the people to receive him as their Lord, Savior, and Messiah. 

But this is not limited to just John the Baptist, for in truth, we as followers of Jesus Christ are to be sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is preparing the way of the Lord for people to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah. And in the wilderness is in an area that is neglected, abandoned, and unused, which is the hearts of many people, even many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are following after the ways of the world.

And the wilderness is in these institutional market-driven churches, which are not the true church, but they are the church to most people. Now, most of these are not open to the truth of the gospel, and there is no provision there for one to share the gospel. But we can do so on the internet and on social media where people are present who attend these market-driven “churches” where most of them are not being taught the truth of the gospel.

And we are to make straight in the desert a highway for our God. And the straight way is also the narrow way, and it is the way that is upright, honest, morally pure, trustworthy, faithful, and committed to Christ and to following him in obedience to his ways. And not too many people these days are doing that. So many of them are teaching the broad road as though it is the narrow road and vice versa. And so many are deserting the true faith.

So, we need to be people of God who are sharing the truth of the gospel, the straight way, the way of holiness and righteousness. But we will be sharing it at a time when so many have abandoned the true faith, and so many have now chosen to follow after the lies and to reject the truth, and to follow wolves in sheep’s clothing in place of following the Lord. So we are going to be persecuted for sharing the truth, too, but the people need to hear it.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Matthew 24:9-14; Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:35-58; John 8:31-32; John 10:27-30; John 14:15,21,23-24; John 15:1-11; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

In the Wilderness

Video Talk

April 6, 2023

https://youtu.be/miY8rb4-z3A

Caution: This link may contain ads

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

Written in a Song

Who is right and who is wrong?

It’ll be written in a song.

Who’s pretending he is right?

Who from truth has taken flight?

Who are actors playing you,

Hoping you will think they’re true?

Stage productions wearing thin

While they look at you and grin.

Does deception really exist?

Do you in your thoughts resist?

Do you live in fairy land

Thinking all is surely grand?

Idols have you made of man,

Thinking on them you’ll depend?

Think that they’ll not fail you,

And that to you they’ll be true?

Not a good idea to do,

Set up humans as gurus.

Blindly follow, stay in line

Without question who’s behind.

Testing, testing, that we’ll do,

Ask our questions, through and through.

Don’t believe them just because

They are someone with a cause.

Check them out. Listen to their words.

Learn to listen and discern.

Watch their patterns, watch their gates,

Who they love and who they hate.

Pray to God in heaven above

Ask for wisdom. Ask for love.

Make decisions prayerfully,

And keep testing dutifully.

An Original Work / September 26, 2021

Do Not Wrong Your Neighbors

Loving One Another

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10 ESV)

When we read this passage of Scripture, in the English language anyway, it is easy, if we are not careful, to interpret this word “love” according to our human flesh, and according to our culture and the standards of the world (including the worldly church) rather than according to God, who is love, and rather than according to the teachings of the Scriptures. And that is what many people do, including many who are teachers of the Scriptures. But this is not a love which is of human flesh, but which is of God, and is holy.

In the Greek, this is agape love which means to prefer what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord, in practice. It is loving others the way in which God loves us and gave himself up for us on that cross for our salvation from sin. So when we love with this love we are not going to deliberately and habitually sin against other humans, but we are going to speak the truth of God’s word to them, in love, for their salvation and eternal life with God.

So many “Christians” today have this concept of love that it is to do and to say what other people will like and what will make them feel good about themselves, and it is to avoid speaking the truth that people do not want to hear and/or which might offend them. But Jesus told people the truth, all of it, which was hard for many of them to accept, and that is partially why he was hated and why he was persecuted and put to death. And if we are being like Jesus, we will speak the things that he spoke that people need to hear.

So, “doing wrong” to people is not just obvious and blatant sin against them. But it is also deliberately withholding from them the truth that Jesus taught, and that his NT apostles taught, which can save their souls from hell and can assure them deliverance from bondage to sin and eternity with God. Love that comes from God is willing to be hated, rejected, persecuted, and lied about in order to tell people the truth they need to hear, i.e. the gospel that Jesus and his NT apostles taught, and not the diluted one offered today.

Wake Up From Sleep

“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:11-14 ESV)

With regard to our salvation from sin, this is not a one-time event which takes place in our lives which assures us of heaven as our eternal destiny regardless of how we live. When Jesus died on that cross he put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we would now be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, in walks of obedience to his commands.

And the gospel that Jesus taught was that if we are to come after him that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands, then we have the hope of deliverance from slavery to sin and empowerment of God to live holy lives, pleasing to God, provided that we continue in walks of obedience.

So, if you are believing a different gospel from that, and if you are convinced that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ now guarantees you heaven as your eternal destiny, but that how you live does not matter to God with regard to your eternity, then you are someone who needs to wake up from your slumber and to study the Scriptures (in context). And then you need to do what Jesus and his NT apostles taught we are to do as those who are genuine followers of Jesus Christ, and that means death to sin.

For the salvation message that Jesus and his NT apostles taught is not the one that is so popularized today here in America. For what they taught was progressive salvation (sanctification) whereby we must continue in walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands, and not in walks of sin and disobedience, if we want to have the assurance of salvation from sin and eternal life with God when he returns for his faithful bride, which is when our salvation will be completed, and not until then. So know the truth and obey the truth.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

I Stand in Awe

By Mark Altrogge

You are beautiful beyond description

Too marvelous for words

Too wonderful for comprehension

Like nothing ever seen or heard

Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom?

Who can fathom the depth of Your love?

You are beautiful beyond description

Majesty, enthroned above

And I stand, I stand in awe of You

I stand, I stand in awe of You

Holy God, to whom all praise is due

I stand in awe of You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmZTz5H49zw

Caution: This link may contain ads

Loving Your Family

“Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

    I will not fear;

what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:1-6 ESV)

Brotherly love is agape love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, who by God-persuaded faith in our Lord have died with Christ to sin and who should now be walking in obedience to his commands in holy living. It is loving the family of God as we would love our natural birth family, providing that we do love our birth family. And this includes encouraging one another, praying for one another, and speaking the truth to one another in love, and exhorting one another so that we are not led astray by false teachings, and so that we are not led astray by the deceitfulness of sin. See:

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

And we are to be hospitable in having people over to our homes for meals and for Christian fellowship, but this also includes strangers, i.e. people we just met and never knew before. We should be people who are hospitable. And we are to remember our fellow Christians who are being persecuted for the sake of the name of Jesus, and for the sake of the gospel. And all persecution is not physical. Some of it is via rejection, being cast aside, being falsely accused, and having our hearts stomped on, etc. So we should pray for one another and encourage one another in the Lord Jesus.

And we are not to be adulterous in our marriage relationships. And adultery is not all just having a sexual relationship with someone other than your spouse. Jesus defined adultery as lusting after someone else, that we are committing adultery in our hearts. So, if you regularly view sexually explicit material, or if you are engaged in sextexting, or in flirtations, or extramarital affairs, whether physical, emotional, or romantic, you are giving your heart and your passion to someone other than your spouse, and therefore the marriage bed is defiled. So don’t do that! Love your spouse as you ought!

And we are to keep our lives free from the love of money. This is not saying that we should not work for money, but that money is not to be our god. We are not to chase after the riches of this world. And we should be content with what we have and trust the Lord to provide for all our needs. For, if our hearts and our lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ, he will never leave us, and he won’t forsake us, but he will provide for us what we truly need, which may not be much, but it will be enough. For the Lord is our helper, so we are not to fear anything or anyone other than to show enormous respect to God.

Loving Your Family

Video Talk

April 5, 2023

https://youtu.be/ghzuPh79ioU

Caution: This link may contain ads

Abiding Peace

Pain and sorrow know no bounds.

Joy and laughter oft not found.

Life depressing, oft distressing,

Yields no blessing, so unresting.

Trials often multiply.

Friends are often passersby.

Friendships failing, foes are railing,

Hypocrites, they’re often bailing.

Feel abandoned, left behind,

By those who don’t know they’re blind.

Boats are sinking, folks not thinking,

Eyes are blinking, friends are finking. 

Answers now are hard to find.

Thieves and liars, one of kind.

Fires burning, stomachs churning,

None returning, are we learning?

Difficulties all around.

Someone honest, hardly found.

Lies, deceptions, few exceptions,

Thus, conceptions are rejections.

Hope, though, is not out of reach.

Jesus Christ we often preach.

Sacrificing, His blood buying

No more trying, blood applying.

Joy and laughter once again.

Jesus Christ now is our friend.

To Him listen, eyes will glisten.

He’s insistent you’re persistent.

Trusting Him with all your life.

Give your heart not up to strife.

Satisfying, sanctifying,

No more crying, peace abiding.

An Original Work / October 29, 2018

God Has His Reasons

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” (John 9:1-11 ESV)

I love this passage of Scripture! It is one of my favorites. Why? Well, let me tell you. For one, God allows things in our lives which don’t always make sense to us at the time we are going through them. And they may even be very painful experiences. Two biblical examples come to mind. 

The first one I thought of was Job. God allowed Satan to kill off his children and his servants and his livestock and then to inflict him with horrible sores. And what did Job’s friends do? At first they were sympathetic, but then they began accusing Job of sinning against God, and of that being the reason for his suffering. And then there was Joseph whose brothers sold him into slavery. Now Job told his friends that he had not sinned against God, but they would not believe him. And later in life Joseph told his brothers that what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good, for the saving of lives.

So, the point here is that one, the bad things that come into our lives are not to be assumed to have happened due to any sin on our part or because of anyone else’s sins. They could be, but God has his reasons for why he does what he does, and for why he allows what he allows, and for why he puts us in difficult situations. And sometimes it is to humble us, and to mold us into his likeness, and sometimes it is in preparation for what he has planned for us later in our lives in the way of his calling on our lives.

For in Psalms 139 it says that God knit me together in my mother’s womb. He put me in the family I grew up with. So this was God’s will for me. Yet, I was severely abused as a child by my father. And my mother, although she was a good woman, she was emotionally distant and neglectful, and she didn’t always pay attention to what was going on. But he was abusing her, too. And he was a mean and hateful and violent man, and he was scary, and he had a split personality, so we never knew what was coming or when we were going to get hit. It was a very fearful time for me.

But God allowed it, and not only did he allow it, but he put me in that family. He knit me together in my mother’s womb. All the days ordained for me were written in his book before one of them came into being (Psalms 139). But God had a plan and a purpose for my life, didn’t he? He allowed me to go through much suffering in my life, for it didn’t end with my dad. But through all this suffering I learned obedience. And I was humbled. And I learned submission to my Lord. And I gained great passion for ministry to the hurting, the neglected, and to those trapped in sin’s deceitfulness.

So, had I not gone through what I went through, I doubt that I would be here today doing what I am doing with the same heart and passion and compassion that God has given me through the things I suffered… So the man was born blind, not because someone sinned, but because God wanted to display God’s works through him. So, whatever you are going through, please know that God is sovereign, and he has his reasons for why he does what he does, and for why he allows what he allows, in order that all the praise and glory would go to him.

And then there is this part here about how we need to work the works of God while we still have time, for time is running out, and not one of us is promised the next breath, let alone tomorrow. So don’t waste your life on things that don’t matter for eternity. Make your life count for Jesus Christ today, and let him display his works in and through your life as you submit to him as Lord, and as you surrender your lives to him, and as you walk in holiness and righteousness, in obedience to your Lord, in his power.

And another thing I see in this story is that healing isn’t always instantaneous. Sometimes it is a process of healing which takes time, and it requires walks of obedience. But I also see this on a spiritual level, that this speaks to our salvation, which is also a process, which involves us obeying the Lord and doing what he says to do. For Jesus could have just laid hands on the man and healed him at that moment. But he chose to do it a different way, and the man had to obey the Lord and go to the pool and wash, or he would not be healed. And we have to walk in obedience to our Lord so that at the end we have complete spiritual healing and eternal life with him.

And lastly, the man gave testimony that his healing came from Jesus and not from himself or by any other means. And when the Lord heals us spiritually, and he changes our lives, and when he turns us from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, we are also to give him praise, and to give testimony to his saving grace. And I am not talking about a testimony of when you first believed in Jesus, but a current testimony of what he is doing in your life right now in the spiritual healing process he is doing within you. But also we should be sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation.

God Has His Reasons

Video Talk

April 3, 2023

https://youtu.be/KHL9FmiQoFw

Caution: This link may contain ads

Keep Them Safe

Keep them safe, Lord, keep them safe.

Don’t let death, Lord, be their fate.

Keep them in your tender care.

Don’t let them be caught in snare.

Lead them in the way to go,

Show them truth, Lord, let them know.

Help them follow You each day,

Read their Bibles, kneel, and pray.

Keep them from the snares of death,

Till they breathe their final breath.

Help them to know lies from truth,

To not follow those uncouth.

Give them wisdom from above,

Help them know You, know Your love.

Help them follow You each day,

Live in truth, to know Your way.

An Original Work / March 24, 2024