Don't Flee! Stand Firm!

I Take Refuge

Psalm 11:1-3 ESV

 

“In the Lord I take refuge;

how can you say to my soul,

    ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain,

for behold, the wicked bend the bow;

    they have fitted their arrow to the string

    to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

if the foundations are destroyed,

    what can the righteous do?’”

 

When we are truly following Jesus Christ with our lives, Satan will do everything he can to try to stop us, to get us discouraged, and to get us to give up and to run away. His goal is to dishearten and to defeat us in any which way he is able.

 

So, he will use other people against us, even other Christians, and even people in our own fellowships or in our own families and households. He knows how to get us where it hurts. And hurting us is his goal. For he wants us to “blow it.” He wants us to surrender to him.

 

And there are so many different ways he uses people against us, too. He gets them to sin against us, or to attack us verbally for our faith, or to try to trip us up with our words, or to try to confuse us or to manipulate us. Or he will use them to slander us, too.

 

One of his weapons is to try to confuse us by twisting our words in order to accuse us falsely of saying what we did not say. Or he will try to make us feel guilty for confronting sin and for calling it what it is, and so he will attack us by accusing us of being unforgiving.

 

Trough it all, through all the lying, the twisting of words, the false accusations, the sins committed against us, the attacks on our beliefs, and attempts at trickery, guilt trips, manipulations, and gaslighting, we are to remain steadfast in faith and not give up!

 

Even when we see all around us, and even within the gatherings of the church, all the immorality, all the wickedness, all the diluting of the gospel and the misrepresentations of Jesus and His Word, we must not surrender to the enemy, but we are to take refuge in the Lord.

 

Testing the Righteous

Psalm 11:4-5 ESV

 

“The Lord is in his holy temple;

    the Lord's throne is in heaven;

    his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

The Lord tests the righteous,

    but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.”

 

When we are faced with these difficulties mentioned, or others like them, we must not forget that the Lord is in his holy temple. He is still God. He is still on his throne. He is still sovereign over all he has made, and he is still in control. Nothing can happen to us outside of what he allows.

 

Thus, we must recognize that God is allowing us to go through these trials and tribulations for a purpose. And so we need to seek his face and his counsel in asking him what he wants us to learn and how he wants to mature us in our walks of faith through them.

 

For, the Lord does allow us to go through difficulties to test our faith, the purpose of which is to prove our faith as genuine, to mature us, to prune us, to purify us, to make us holy, to teach us perseverance, and to teach us reliance on God and not on ourselves, etc.

 

[Ro. 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; Heb. 12:3-12]

 

Judgment on the Wicked

Psalm 11:6-7 ESV

 

“Let him rain coals on the wicked;

    fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

For the Lord is righteous;

he loves righteous deeds;

    the upright shall behold his face.”

 

Even though the Lord uses the wicked to test his righteous ones, that does not mean he approves of what the wicked do. He does not. He is not on their side. Even though he allows the wicked to continue in their wicked deeds, for a time, he will condemn them to eternal damnation.

 

He will one day judge the wicked for their evil deeds unless they repent of their evil ways and turn to God in humility and in obedience to his commands. And repentance is not just feeling sorry you sinned or that you got caught, nor is it merely confession of sin.

 

Repentance is a change of heart and mind away from living in sin to now living in the power of God in holiness and righteousness for the glory and praise of God. It is dying with Christ to sin and walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17).

 

Some people who walk in wickedness and who want to appear righteous will try to convince you that they have repented of their sins, but it wasn’t repentance, because the heart did not change. The mind did not change. And so the defiant and deliberate sinful practices continued.

 

For, we are not made righteous in God’s sight by mere words said in a prayer or in a public confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to his righteousness. He died to deliver us from our slavery to sin, not to leave us in bondage.

 

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Rom 6:16 ESV

 

So, we can’t be slaves of sin and be servants of righteousness at the same time. Those the Lord considers to be the upright are those who are saying “No” to ungodliness and fleshly passions, and who are living self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit 2:11-14).

 

Thus, the upright will see his face. We have eternal life with God because we are walking according to the Spirit, by the Spirit, and we are not walking (in practice) according to the flesh. But those who are walking (living, conducting their lives) according to the flesh will die in their sins.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6]

 

So, don’t be one who is serving the devil, and who is walking according to the flesh, and who is coming against the righteous because they are living for Jesus Christ. Turn your heart and your life to Jesus Christ today.

 

And, if you are one who the wicked is coming against in many of the ways mentioned here or in other ways less or more severe, do not give up on your faith and do not give in to Satan’s evil schemes against you. Find your refuge in God and let the Lord be your strength and support.

 

Awaken the Dawn  

 

An Original Work / January 15, 2013

Based off Psalm 57 (NIV 1984)

 

O my God, have mercy on me!

In the Lord, my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow of Your wings, Lord,

I find shelter till the storms pass.

I cry out to my God Most High.

He fulfills His purpose for me.

He sent His Son to die for me,

So I could be saved.

 

I am in the midst of lions;

Men whose teeth are spears and arrows;

Whose tongues are sharp; words accusing.

They spread a net, my feet to catch.

They dug a pit, in hopes I’d fall.

O God, be exalted o’er all.

Let Your glory shine to all men,

So they may be saved.

 

Steadfast is my heart, O my God;

I will sing of all Your wonders.

Awake, my soul! Sing praise to God!

Early I will rise and praise Him!

I’ll praise God among the nations;

I will sing among the peoples.

God’s love reaches to the heavens,

So we may be saved.

 

https://vimeo.com/115213982

My Soul Thirsts for You

Earnestly I Seek You

Psalm 63:1-4 ESV

 

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.”

 

We live in a day and time where this type of devotion to God is rarely being taught. It appears the opposite is being taught in much of the church today. Humans are being given the glory instead of God, and they are earnestly seeking after men, in place of God.

 

If you were to get on social media like Twitter, for example, you might see that many people who call themselves Christians are raising up men to god-like status, and their praise of them and their loyalty and devotion to them sound as though they worship them.

 

But it is not the names of men (or women) that we are to be lifting up as though they are worthy of our worship. We are to be those who seek after God with our hearts, and with passion, and with strong desire and longing for him and for him alone.

 

And this longing for God is not satisfied in a short time of personal devotions each day while the rest of the day is spent hungering after other things, even things that are evil and that are against God. The Lord should be sought after in everything that we do.

 

To long for the Lord in this way is to desire him above all else, and it is to make him the Lord (master) of our lives in place of self. It is to hunger and thirst after his righteousness and to want to obey him and to walk in fellowship with him, doing what he has called us to do.

 

And, it is to want to give him praise in public, but not in accolades that merely mouth words of praise, but in sharing his heart, his passion, and his desire for our lives, that we live holy and godly lives unto him in his power and strength at work in our lives.

 

When I Remember You

Psalm 63:5-8 ESV

 

“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

    your right hand upholds me.”

 

I think most people enjoy eating. Some people who have little eat in order to live while others who have plenty may also eat for the pleasure of the taste of the food. And the fat in food is often what gives it flavor. And rich food is often pleasing to the taste, the aroma, and the texture.

 

So, for those of you who are able, if you can imagine one of the best meals you have had and the enjoyment that you had in eating it, the enjoyment we are to have with our Lord in fellowship with him is to be far greater than that. And our praise of him is to be far greater than our praise of that food.

 

And our praise of God is not to take place only during a “Praise and Worship Service” in a church gathering. He should be on our lips throughout the day, every day of the week. And he is to be on our minds and on our hearts all the time, not just at specific times.

 

If we are earnestly seeking after God, thirsting for him, thankful for his love and grace to us, and for his deliverance of us from our slavery to sin, we should ever be aware of his presence with us all the time. And we should be in communion with him day and night.

 

We should be able to hear our Lord speaking to our hearts any time of the day or night, no matter where we are or who we are with or what we are doing. And if he wakes us in the night because he wants to speak to us or through us or because he wants us to pray, we need to obey him.

 

And I am fully aware that many of you are still of the age where you are working full-time, but we must all let God be the God of our schedules. It is amazing what he can do through us when we are surrendered to him and when we trust him with our sleep, too, or lack thereof.

But I Rejoice in God

Psalm 63:9-11 ESV

 

“But those who seek to destroy my life

    shall go down into the depths of the earth;

they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

    they shall be a portion for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God;

    all who swear by him shall exult,

    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.”

 

When we are genuinely and earnestly seeking after the Lord, our souls thirsting for him, and we are truly worshiping him with our lives in obedience to his commands, and our lips are praising him by speaking his truths, we are going to be hated, rejected and persecuted.

 

In America, we have not yet consciously been under the threat of losing our lives for the sake of our testimonies for Jesus Christ, but there is a plot afoot to destroy us in any way that they can. If they can’t get us to deny Christ by our lives they will try to destroy us in other ways.

 

In case you haven’t noticed, they have been building a case for a one world religion for some time now. Pope Francis is one of the strong voices for this, as was Barack Obama when he was president of the USA. I believe he is still pushing this global unity message.

 

But this has been going on in evangelical Christianity for some time now, especially since the church partnered with the government and big business in turning the church gatherings into a marketplace to be marketed to the world with worldly means.

 

They have severely diluted the gospel message to the point to where anyone who makes a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ is now considered “saved” and on his way to heaven, regardless of whether or not he honors Christ as Lord or obeys his commands or dies with Christ to sin.

 

But the Lord will have the final word in this. He will one day stop the mouths of the liars. And, he is presently, through his servants, confronting those lies and proclaiming the truth of his gospel so that many will be saved before his return to take us to be with him forever.

 

And all that is going on in the world and in our individual nations is the Lord getting us ready for that day when he comes to take us home. He is preparing our hearts for his soon return, and he is turning hearts back to him, one at a time, for his glory, honor, and praise.

 

Sing to Me of Heaven

 

Songwriters: Ada Powell / Benjamin Burke Beall

 

Sing to me of Heaven, sing that song of peace

From the toils that bind me it will bring release

Burdens will be lifted that are pressing so

Showers of great blessing o'er my heart will flow

 

Sing to me of Heaven, as I walk alone

Dreaming of the comrades that so long have gone

In a fairer region 'mong the angel throng

They are happy as they sing that old, sweet song

 

Sing to me of Heaven, tenderly and low

Till the shadows o'er me rise and swiftly go

When my heart is weary, when the day is long

Sing to me of Heaven, sing that old, sweet song

 

Sing to me of Heaven, let me fondly dream

Of its golden glory, of its pearly gleam

Sing to me when shadows of the evening fall

Sing to me of heaven, sweetest song of all

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMeC-hZnhuo

*Caution: This link may contain ads

A Strong Fortress to Save

In You, O Lord

Psalm 31:1-2 ESV

 

“In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

    let me never be put to shame;

    in your righteousness deliver me!

Incline your ear to me;

    rescue me speedily!

Be a rock of refuge for me,

    a strong fortress to save me!”

 

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are not promised that life will be easy or without problems. We are not promised that things in this life will always go as we had hoped or as we had planned. In fact, we were promised a life of suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus and for the sake of his gospel.

 

So, it should not surprise us when this world of ours comes unraveled before our eyes, and there is more confusion and unrest than there is anything that makes sense, from a worldly standpoint. Thus, none of what is going on in our world or in our nations should take us back.

 

We were also warned of a time of great deception when many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets and teachers will arise during this time and will lead many astray. Lawlessness will increase, and the love of many will grow cold (See Matt 24).

 

I believe we are already in this time. And it is a time when true believers in Jesus Christ are being persecuted and when the gospel is under siege, and many are being led astray by a false gospel which has created lawlessness, for it requires no repentance, no obedience, and no submission to God.

 

When we are being taught in the “churches” that salvation from sin and eternal life with God, which come from God, give us free license to continue living in sin, and that we do not have to submit to God or obey him or leave our sins behind us, then lawlessness definitely increases!

 

So, what do we do when we see these things taking place? We call on God in prayer, first of all, and we take refuge in Him, and not in humans. And we pray for his grace and his strength in our lives to not succumb to the pressures of this godless world upon our lives.

 

And, then we speak out against all the lies, and all the deception, and all the godlessness that is taking place in the “churches” and in our governments so that we are not deceived by all the fakery and by all the smokes and mirrors, and by all the clever enchanters who want to take us captive to do their will instead of God’s will.

 

And, then we tell people the truth of what the Scriptures teach (in context) regarding our salvation from sin and our eternal life with God. For they teach we must die with Christ to sin and live to Christ and to his righteousness if we want to be saved from our sin and have eternal life with God.

 

[See: Luke 9:23-26; John 8:31-32, 51; John 10:27-30; John 14:23-24; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-17; Acts 26:18; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 2 Corinthians 5:10, 15, 21; Galatians 5:16-24; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 4:17-24; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 1:21-23; Colossians 3:5-11; Hebrews 3:6, 14-15; Hebrews 10:26-31; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:5-9; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 2:24-25; 1 John 5:3]

 

You are My Rock

Psalm 31:3-5 ESV

 

“For you are my rock and my fortress;

    and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;

you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,

    for you are my refuge.

Into your hand I commit my spirit;

    you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”

 

Yes, yes! Amen! The Lord is our Rock and our fortress. In him alone we find our strength and our support and the guidance and direction for our lives. For, when we sincerely believe in him with God-given faith, we do truly look to him to lead us and guide us into truth and into the path of righteousness.

 

He is not our Rock and our fortress if all we do is pray a prayer to “receive Christ” and then we go on living like we did before we “believed,” or perhaps even worse, because we now feel at liberty to sin as much as we want without guilt since we are “under grace.”

 

A net is a trap, so to be taken out of the net hidden for us can be many things. But I look at it here as the Lord rescuing us from all the lies and the false gospels which would lead us to rebellion and lawlessness instead of to Christ’s righteousness and holiness.

 

For, when Jesus delivers us from the bondage of sin and Satan, he opens our blinded eyes, so we see the traps for what they are so that we don’t fall into them. He rescues us from those traps via God-given faith in Jesus Christ whereby he turns us from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so we can be forgiven our sins and be sanctified by faith in him.

 

Belief in Jesus Christ is not just about having our sins forgiven so we can go to heaven when we die, so we escape hell. It is a life commitment to Jesus Christ and to his service. It is turning away from the lives we lived before, and it is now surrendering our lives to Jesus and to his will for our lives.

 

And it is now seeking out his guidance and direction for our lives and walking in obedience to his commands, daily dying to sin and to self by the power of God’s Spirit within us. It is total reliance on him in and for all things in this life, and it is making him Lord and master of our lives in place of self.

 

Hating Worthless Idols

Psalm 31:6-8 ESV

 

“I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,

    but I trust in the Lord.

I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,

    because you have seen my affliction;

    you have known the distress of my soul,

and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

    you have set my feet in a broad place.”

 

Part of our commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives is taking on his character, becoming like him in his death, and it is having his mind within us so that we end up hating what he hates and loving what he loves.

 

Well, he hates worthless idols, which for us can be entertainment, possessions, politicians, preachers, institutional religion, wealth, prestige, laziness, self-pleasure, self-gratification, and/or control over our own lives. Basically, anything which has our hearts more than God is an idol.

 

He didn’t call us to blend in with the world or to immerse ourselves in our culture. He didn’t call us to be like the world around us so as not to offend the people of the world with the truth of the gospel, either. He called us to come out from the world and to be different and to be like him.

 

When we step out in obedience to him, and we choose to walk in his ways and no longer in the ways of this world, we are delivered from our enemy Satan so that we can now serve God with our lives. So, our trust needs to be in the Lord and not in the people or the things of this world.

 

God is With Us

 

An Original Work / June 11, 2019

Based off Psalm 46

 

God’s our refuge. He is our strength,

A present help to us when in pain.

Therefore, we will not be afraid,

Although the earth beneath us gives way.

 

Though the mountains be moved to the sea,

Roaring waters abound so free,

And the mountains now tremble so,

We will not fear, God is near, we know.

 

God is with us and He makes glad

The hearts of all who to Christ have fled.

Christ is in us, so we’ll not fall

When on our Savior our hearts do call.

 

God will help us, as mornings arise,

To be faithful to His design.

Nations raging, and tempers flare.

Our God is with us. We know He cares.

 

Come and see the works of the Lord.

He’s armed for battle with His great sword.

He’s the Word, and He is the Life.

He gives us strength in all of our strife.

 

Be still and know that He is our God.

He’s exalted where’er He trods.

The Lord Almighty, with us still;

The God of Jacob, our citadel.

 

https://vimeo.com/341717561

Other lords Have Ruled

Isaiah 26:10 ESV

 

“If favor is shown to the wicked,

    he does not learn righteousness;

in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly

    and does not see the majesty of the Lord.”

 

In America, we have had a lot of freedoms and provisions that people in other countries don’t have. Our grocery stores are usually filled with food and supplies, although during this time of the virus, there have been some short supplies of some things.

 

Not everyone in America is wealthy, but even our poor in America might be considered rich by some people in some other nations where they have little. So, certainly we have been blessed with much in America in the way of freedoms and possessions and provisions.

 

But having all these freedoms, possessions and provisions does not always mean the people of this nation are grateful to God or that they honor God with their lives in gratitude for all the Lord has allowed for us to possess. Even many professing Christians do not honor God with their lives.

 

So, sometimes having much in the way of this world and worldly goods can be a detriment to people living godly and holy lives. Thus, they don’t learn righteousness, and they don’t walk in the ways of the Lord, and even many believe they don’t have to even though they profess faith in Jesus.

 

Isaiah 26:11 ESV

 

“O Lord, your hand is lifted up,

    but they do not see it.

Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.

    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.”

 

Even though America and the rest of the world are undergoing some difficult times right now, which I do believe to be the hand of God being lifted up in judgment, still even many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but who are living far from him, do not recognize this as the hand of God.

 

Jesus is cleansing his temple in his zeal for the Father and for his house, but they don’t recognize it as such, and so their focus is in getting their lives back to “normal” rather than in responding to the hand of God in repentance, obedience, and in submission to Christ as Lord of their lives.

 

So, this (Is 26:11) is a prayer to God that the people would see the Lord’s zeal for His house, his church, the body of Christ, and that they would be ashamed of their idolatry and their godlessness. It is a prayer that the people would recognize the judgment as having come from God.

 

But this isn’t just a prayer that the world would see the hand of God and respond in repentance, but it is a prayer that those who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are living far from him would respond in repentance, obedient faith, and in submission to Christ as Lord of their lives.

 

Isaiah 26:12-15 ESV

 

“O Lord, you will ordain peace for us,

    for you have indeed done for us all our works.

O Lord our God,

    other lords besides you have ruled over us,

    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.

They are dead, they will not live;

    they are shades, they will not arise;

to that end you have visited them with destruction

    and wiped out all remembrance of them.

But you have increased the nation, O Lord,

    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;

    you have enlarged all the borders of the land.”

 

When we are born into this world we are born with sin natures, separate from God, and we come up short of attaining God’s divine approval. And not one of us can, in our own flesh, ever be approved of God no matter how many good things we may do in this life (Rom 3:23; Eph 2:8-9).

 

It is only by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, that any of us can be approved by God, be saved from our sins, and have eternal life with God. But we need to understand that God-given faith in Jesus submits to him as Lord, repents of sin, and walks in obedience to his commands (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

The whole purpose of our salvation from sin is not just so we can escape hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. The purpose of our salvation from sin is to deliver us from our slavery to sin (those other lords that ruled over us) and to wipe out all memory of them.

 

We are to no longer be under bondage to slavery to sin, but we are now to be slaves of God and of his righteousness. Sin should no longer have dominion over us, but Jesus is to be our only Lord (master). Now we are to live our lives for the glory of God and no longer for the flesh of man.

 

A Believer’s Prayer

 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

 

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

 

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

 

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

 

https://vimeo.com/114796263

Needing to Learn Righteousness

Isaiah 26:1-3 ESV

 

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

 

“We have a strong city;

    he sets up salvation

    as walls and bulwarks.

Open the gates,

    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.

You keep him in perfect peace

    whose mind is stayed on you,

    because he trusts in you.”

 

This city being spoken of here is not a physical city, for its walls and its fortification are our salvation from sin which Jesus provided for us on the cross of Calvary. This is a spiritual city, the city of God, which is not physical Jerusalem, but which is the church, the body of Christ.

 

And, when I say “church,” I don’t mean physical buildings or church denominations or businesses or corporations called “church,” but which are not the church. The church is comprised of all believers in Jesus who have died with Christ to sin that they might live to his righteousness.

 

The door to this city is Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to Jesus unless the Father first draws him to Jesus. And no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. He is the only way to God and to life everlasting with God in glory.

 

And the way in which we enter into this city is by faith in Jesus Christ. But that faith is not human faith, and so it is not defined by humans, either. For, this faith is divinely persuaded, and it is gifted to us by God, and since it comes from God, it submits to Jesus as Lord.

 

Since this faith means to be persuaded by God as to his divine will and purpose for our lives, this faith has us being transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from sin to God. So, this faith will repent of sin and will walk in obedience to our Lord in the power of God.

 

We cannot enter into relationship with Almighty God or be saved from our sins or have eternal life with God absent of this faith which surrenders to Christ as Lord, which repents of sin, and which walks in obedience to Christ (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

When we have entered into relationship with Jesus Christ and to his salvation by his grace, through this God-given faith, our sins are forgiven, we are promised eternal life for the one believing (present tense) in him, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, and we have peace with God.

 

We are no longer the enemies of God for we are no longer enslaved to sin, for Jesus has now delivered us out of our slavery to sin that we might now becomes slaves (servants) of his righteousness and holiness. But now we must keep our minds fixed on Jesus and remain in him.

 

Isaiah 26:4-6 ESV

 

“Trust in the Lord forever,

    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

For he has humbled

    the inhabitants of the height,

    the lofty city.

He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,

    casts it to the dust.

The foot tramples it,

    the feet of the poor,

    the steps of the needy.”

 

As we read in the book of Revelations, chapters 2 and 3, we find that it is possible for the church to stray from the Lord and to need repentance and renewed faith and trust in the Lord. Thus, all throughout the New Testament we are given warnings to the church to not stray from God.

 

We are warned by the New Testament apostles that we are to remain in Christ, to remain in his word, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, to put on the armor of God, to prepare our minds for action, and to put up guards in our hearts and minds against sin.

 

We are instructed in the ways of the Lord over again, and we are taught over again to put off all that is earthly and worldly and of this flesh and to put on Christ and his righteousness and holiness so we can run the race God has marked out for us with perseverance.

 

And, we are told that the Lord disciplines, chastises and rebukes those he loves, so we are strongly encouraged to throw off all sin which entangles us and all hindrances to our walks of faith and to repent and obey the Lord if we have wandered from our pure devotion to him.

 

And, in the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelations, and also in other New Testament books, we are warned that if we don’t repent, and if we keep going our own way, that God will visit us in judgment and in divine correction and chastisement.

 

And I believe that is where the church, at least in America, is today. For, the church at large in America has wandered far from the Lord and has gone the way of the world and big business and is following men over God and the ways of men over the ways of God.

 

So, I believe all the unrest, chaos, upheaval, and absolute craziness that is going on now in our nation and in our government and with the virus and its restrictions on the gatherings of the church are all part of God’s judgment on his church in order to bring her to repentance and obedient faith.

 

Isaiah 26:7-9 ESV

 

“The path of the righteous is level;

    you make level the way of the righteous.

In the path of your judgments,

    O Lord, we wait for you;

your name and remembrance

    are the desire of our soul.

My soul yearns for you in the night;

    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

For when your judgments are in the earth,

    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”

 

It is true that the path of the righteous is level, and He makes level our path. But by “righteous” is not meant all who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but all who are in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ by faith in Jesus via repentance, obedient faith, and submission to him as Lord (Rom 6:1-23).

 

But this is not something we do or even can do in our own flesh. We cannot be righteous in God’s sight by anything we do in our flesh. Only by faith in Jesus Christ and empowered of the Spirit of God via new birth in Christ can any of us live righteously in uprightness and godliness to God’s glory.

 

But, when we do trust in Jesus Christ, it should change how we think, what we believe, and what we do. We were bound in sin under the control of sin and Satan. That should be past. Now that we are in Christ, by faith in Jesus Christ, we should be free from slavery to sin, and we should be walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (Rom 8:1-17).

 

Now our souls should yearn for our Lord day and night. Our desire should now be for him and not for ourselves. Our goal in life should be to please our Lord in all our ways and to walk in obedience to his commands and to his divine will and purpose for our lives.

 

We don’t just set aside a few minutes for the Lord each day for prayer and devotions, but he is to be our life! We are to see Jesus not just as our Savior but as our Lord (owner-master) and ourselves as belonging to him, and for us to be for his praise and glory in honoring him with our lives.

 

We should be “on call” with our Lord 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for he is not going to ask us to do anything which he will not supply all that we need to do it. He knows our schedules, too, but our schedules should be submitted to him, too.

 

We need to be those who earnestly seek our Lord, to know his will for our lives, to hear from him what he has for us, and to follow him wherever he leads us. He needs to be our “all in all” and not just someone to supplement our lives with good things.

 

So, the purpose of his judgments is that we might learn righteousness, that we might seek the Lord, and follow Jesus in surrender to his will. And it is that we might repent of all sin and now walk in his holiness, daily putting sin to death, by the Spirit, and daily walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

 

A Believer’s Prayer

 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

 

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

 

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

 

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

 

https://vimeo.com/114796263

What is God Thinking?

Why Do You?

Isaiah 55:1-3a ESV

 

“Come, everyone who thirsts,

    come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

    come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

    without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

 

The church at large in America has been moving further and further away from the Lord and from his truth for many years now. In the 1950s and beyond they partnered with the US government in an unholy union via the 501c3. That put the government in a position of authority over the church.

 

So, they disobeyed God in several areas. They unequally yoked together with unbelievers, they turned the Lord’s house into a marketplace (incorporated the church), and they put above God another god, i.e. the government and the world of big business.

 

Then they began to market the church to the world with worldly methods and marketing schemes in order to attract the world to the “church.” Thus, they began to pattern the church gatherings after the world to attract the world to the “church.”

 

Pastors began reading marketing books and taking training in how to grow their “churches” (their businesses) following one main religious leader (Rick Warren) and his books, and thus many of them pushed the Holy Spirit right out of the church gatherings.

 

Pastors turned into comedians and entertainers to attract the world. Worship services turned into stage productions and into comedy and game shows to entertain the masses. And, the Bible was replaced with books written by mere mortals, and many of those books included false teachings.

 

Then, they also altered, manipulated, and twisted the gospel message to appeal to the world and to the flesh of man. They removed all requirements for walking in the fear of God, submitting to Christ as Lord, repenting of sin, and walking in obedience to His commands.

 

They cheapened God’s grace so much that they turned the narrow road that few travel into the broad road that many travel, which leads to destruction. And they give their adherents free license to continue living in sin without guilt and without the necessity of repentance or obedience.

 

Seek the Lord

Isaiah 55:2b-3a, 6-7 ESV

 

“Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

    and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

    hear, that your soul may live.”

 

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;

    call upon him while he is near;

let the wicked forsake his way,

    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

 

God has been confronting the adulterous church with her sins for many years now through his various servants and messengers, but still she moved further away from the Lord and from his truth, and she did not repent of her adultery or her idolatry, despite his warnings of divine judgment.

 

And, he is still calling out to her, although, at this point, I believe she is already under judgment. And he is confronting her with her sins and with the lies she is believing, and he is proclaiming the truth of his gospel to her in order that she might repent and obey him.

 

He is letting her know that he did not die on that cross just so she would be forgiven her sin and just so she could escape hell and go to heaven one day. He died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21).

 

When Jesus died on that cross, he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now be God’s possession, and that he would be our Lord (owner-master), and that we would now glorify God with our lives and with our bodies (1 Co 6:19-20).

 

Jesus was put to death on that cross so that we would be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. He died for us to deliver us out from our slavery to sin and to empower us to walk in his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Lu 9:23-26; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Eph 4:17-24; Tit 2:11-14).

 

Therefore, we must walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

 

For, if we sow to please the flesh, we will from the flesh reap destruction. But if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

God doesn’t think like we do

Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 

During all this time the beast (of Revelation) has been rising. And he (they, it) has been conquering nations and peoples and Christians just as prophesied in Revelation 13. And, the USA is the harlot, I believe, which has been riding the beast but who the beast hates and intends to destroy.

 

Basically, who we believe our government leaders are is false, for they are mere actors on a stage playing their roles in a temporary position until the new world order can take hold and take their place. Thus, the de facto government of the USA is a group of elites of this New World Order.

 

And God is using them to judge his adulterous people in order to bring them to repentance and to renewed faith and submission to Christ as Lord. And, so the institutional church is being judged, and it is being brought down as is our present form of government.

 

So, out of the ashes of the old religious system and out of the ashes of the old systems of government in the nations of the world a new order can rise which is of this beast, which is presently taking down the US government. And our “leaders” are party to this take down.

 

But the Lord’s goal is that out of this judgment on his adulterous people that revival will take place and many will make their hearts right with God, and the gospel will go forth and many will be saved before our Lord returns. So, we should expect that this is what is happening now.

 

Broken Cord

 

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

 

Your bond is broken

With your Lord and Savior

And, your testimony is

Separate from Him.

 

Your words not matching

Your actions today.

Repent of your sin and

Bow down and pray.

 

Live what you testify

In truth always.

 

Purity’s lacking in

Your life and witness,

For you profess one thing,

But other you do.

 

Not moral, spiritual.

Still of the flesh.

Not living in truth to

What you confess.

 

Lying about it

Puts you in a mess.

 

Living a lie is your practice,

‘tis true of you.

Masquerade righteousness –

None of it true.

 

Your heart is not given

To your Lord God.

Because of how you live,

You are a fraud.

 

Turn from your sin and

Give your life to God.

 

https://vimeo.com/287303934

When it Feels God is Silent

Psalm 28:1-3 ESV

 

“To you, O Lord, I call;

    my rock, be not deaf to me,

lest, if you be silent to me,

    I become like those who go down to the pit.

Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,

    when I cry to you for help,

when I lift up my hands

    toward your most holy sanctuary.

Do not drag me off with the wicked,

    with the workers of evil,

who speak peace with their neighbors

    while evil is in their hearts.”

 

Do you ever feel like God is not hearing your prayers? That he is not listening to you? Does it seem like he is being silent, and that he is not responding? When you experience such feelings, do you feel lost, alone, abandoned, confused, and distressed, not knowing which way to go?

 

If you are experiencing that now, do not surrender to those feelings, for they are just feelings unless, of course, you are not a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ or you are deserting your Lord by living in sin and in adultery and idolatry against him.

 

If you are not a true follower of Jesus, then you need to first trust in the Lord Jesus for your salvation from sin, by faith in him, repenting of your sin and choosing to now surrender your life to him and to walk in obedience to his commands, following him in his ways (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17).

 

If you are a believer in Jesus but you have fallen back into sin and thus you are living in adultery against your Lord, then you need to turn away from that sin (repent) and turn back to walking in the ways of the Lord in obedience to the Lord’s commands and in surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.

 

Then, make your appeal to the Lord in prayer, and if you do not hear him immediately, wait on him to answer, and walk by faith and not by sight. Trust that he is there, and that he has not abandoned you, and live by that faith and not by what you are feeling.

 

Don’t give in to the enemy whose goal is to defeat you and to destroy your faith in the Lord Jesus. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you or overtake you to the point to where you lose faith, or you give up in despair. Remember that feelings can be so deceiving. So, trust the Word of God.

 

Psalm 28:6-9 ESV

 

“Blessed be the Lord!

    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults,

    and with my song I give thanks to him.

The Lord is the strength of his people;

    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!

    Be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

 

The Lord is not deaf to the cries of his holy ones in whom is his delight. He hears our prayers, but that doesn’t mean he is always going to give us an immediate answer. Sometimes his response is “wait,” or it is “trust me,” or it is “I am doing something here that you can’t see.”

 

So, if our trust is in him, and if we are walking in his ways, and in his truth, and he is the desire of our hearts, then we must believe he is who he says he is, that he is completely sovereign, and that he is working things out for good for us who love (obey) him (Rom 8:28).

 

We must believe he is in control of our circumstances and that nothing escapes his notice, and nothing surprises him, either, for he is God. So, we may be surprised by things going on in our lives, but he isn’t. So, we need to rest in him and in his love through whatever we are going through.

 

So, we may pray, and we may feel he is not listening, and we may not see an answer immediately, but as we keep trusting and resting in him we begin to see things coming together, and we begin to understand why things are happening the way that they are.

 

And, then we begin to sense his intervention in our lives, and we can see that his mercy was at work even when we couldn’t see it. And our faith is strengthened, and our eyes are opened to a greater understanding of how God works in our lives, and so we learn to trust him more.

 

So, we thank him, and we praise him for his goodness to us and for answering our cries for mercy. And we thank him that he is our strength and our song and our present help to meet us in all our needs.

 

And, then we are able to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ with the same encouragement that we received from the Lord (2 Co 1:1-7).

 

Believe Him  

 

An Original Work / July 15, 2013

 

My heart cries: Lord, won’t You hear me

Seeking You for the answers

To my heartache and questions

I have concerning my life?

Speak, Lord, to me right now.

 

“Oh, dear one, why don’t you trust Me

With your life’s circumstances?

Give your all on the altar

In submission of your will

To My purpose for you.

 

“Surrender your life completely

To your Lord and your Savior.

He has all things planned for you

For His glory and honor.

He’ll work all things for good.

 

“Believe Him. He will fulfill all

Of His promises to you

For your life and your future.

Trust Him. Rest in His love.

He’ll give you peace from above.”

 

https://vimeo.com/115945593