Saved Out of It

Monday, March 25, 2013, 8:08 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 30 (quoting vv. 4-9, 12-15, 17 NIV):

These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear are heard—

    terror, not peace.

Ask and see:

    Can a man bear children?

Then why do I see every strong man

    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,

    every face turned deathly pale?

How awful that day will be!

    No other will be like it.

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

    but he will be saved out of it.

“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,

    ‘I will break the yoke off their necks

and will tear off their bonds;

    no longer will foreigners enslave them.

Instead, they will serve the Lord their God

    and David their king,

    whom I will raise up for them.

…“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound is incurable,

    your injury beyond healing.

There is no one to plead your cause,

    no remedy for your sore,

    no healing for you.

All your allies have forgotten you;

    they care nothing for you.

I have struck you as an enemy would

    and punished you as would the cruel,

because your guilt is so great

    and your sins so many.

Why do you cry out over your wound,

    your pain that has no cure?

Because of your great guilt and many sins

    I have done these things to you…

But I will restore you to health

    and heal your wounds,’

declares the Lord,

‘because you are called an outcast,

    Zion for whom no one cares.’

A Time of Trouble

The time of trouble to come upon God’s people may have had an immediate fulfillment in some respects, yet it is clear that there is also prophecy here concerning the time of tribulation at the end of time prior to Christ’s return. Whereas the false prophets had been prophesying (and still are) a time of peace, Jeremiah had been prophesying judgment on God’s people for their many sins against God. It would be (and will be) a time of terror. The distress of that time will be like that of a woman in labor (cf. Matt. 24; Mark 13), “unequaled from the beginning of the world until now” – “no other will be like it.”

While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief (1 Thess. 5:3-4).

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:9-14).

“The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world… This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people” (Rev. 13:5-10).

Break the Yoke

God’s people at the end of the age (and since Christ died and was resurrected to purchase our redemption) are those who have accepted God’s invitation to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior via repentance (turning from sin) and obedience (turning to God) – see Luke 9:23-25; Eph. 2:1-10; 4:17-24; Rom. 3; 6; Gal. 2:20; 1 John, et al. Those who were once non-Jews by birth were excluded from citizenship in Israel, but now in Christ Jesus we are able to be brought near to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. God destroyed the barrier that once stood between Jew and Gentile and we, by God’s grace and through faith, have become one in Jesus Christ. So, we who have trusted in Jesus Christ are now fellow citizens with God’s people, and both Jew and Gentile have access to God by one Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ (see Eph. 2).

Isaiah 2 (and most of the book of Isaiah) is a parallel prophecy concerning the last days to that of Jeremiah 30. The mountain of the Lord and the temple of God are clearly synonymous with Jesus Christ, as the embodiment of the kingdom of heaven – his life, death, resurrection, gospel of salvation, life of the true church, etc. Jesus Christ is exalted above all and all nations are and will stream to him, to his eternal kingdom and to his gospel of salvation, thus becoming one with Christ and with his Body, the true church. Jesus Christ is also synonymous with the law and the word going out from Zion and from Jerusalem, initially from these literal locations and then and now from spiritual Zion and spiritual Jerusalem, i.e. from Christ’s body, his followers - the true church.

The picture painted for us in Isaiah is that God’s people (the church of the last days) who are rebellious, idolatrous, spiritually adulterous and unrepentant will be judged by God during this time of tribulation (cf. Rev. 2-3). She will thus repent of her sins, be revived, and as a result all nations will flock to Jesus Christ, to his gospel and to his eternal kingdom, of which we are a part. Then God will restore her and she will dwell with him in safety during the time known as the millennium and also for eternity with God in glory.

Jeremiah painted a similar picture here in Jeremiah 30. Although this would be a terrible time for God’s people to have to endure, she would be saved out of it. How? For those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord in word only but not in heart, their salvation will truly come through new birth, yet to those who had trusted in Christ as Savior but had forsaken their first love or who had become lazy, complacent and/or rebellious, idolatrous and spiritually adulterous, even refusing the idea that they need to repent, their salvation will come through judgment because it will open their eyes to the reality of what they have been doing against God, they will repent, and God will revive and renew them. As revived and renewed followers of Christ they will thus go forth with the gospel of Jesus Christ and many will flock to Christ and to salvation as a direct result.

This breaking off of the yoke, thus, for the church of today, I believe has to do with breaking off the yoke of slavery to sin via divine discipline and correction and also the yoke of slavery to men, man-made religion, false gods, et al. In other words, many are following the ways of men instead of the ways of God, so through judgment God will get their attention and they will realize their sin, they will repent and thus they will be delivered of those yokes of slavery and their desire will be for their Lord God alone; for Jesus Christ. May that be so in our lives without us having to be divinely disciplined by God Almighty.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord / Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934

George C. Stebbins, 1846-1945 / Tune: ADELAIDE, Meter: 54.54 D

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Search me and try me, Master, today!

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,

As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Wounded and weary, help me I pray!

Power, all power, surely is Thine!

Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Hold o'er my being absolute sway.

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see

Christ only, always, living in me! 

Shepherds and Prophets

Thursday, March 21, 2013, 6:46 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “He Gives Purpose” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 23 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2023&version=NIV

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.” (cf. Ezekiel 34)

The shepherds referred to here are kings, rulers, civil leaders and spiritual leaders. I see two main ways in which these shepherds (and the ones today) destroyed and scattered the sheep of God’s/Christ’s pasture (and are doing so today).

Oppression

There are sheep that these shepherds drive away. These are the sheep who are following after Christ and the true gospel, who have child-like faith eager to please their Lord Jesus in every way, but thus serve as a threat to the kingdoms of men and their man-made religion. One pastor told me that he was taught (not by God or by God’s word) to watch out for people who might come into his church who have “strong convictions,” because they potentially have their own agendas which may create divisions within the church. This may or may not be true about people with “strong convictions.” A lot depends on the convictions.  So, I shared with him the scripture in 1 Corinthians 12 where it says we are not to say to another part of the body “I don’t need you!” And, I lovingly shared what the Lord was teaching me through this passage of scripture. I received no response from the pastor.

Desertion

There are sheep that the shepherds fail to give proper care for. These shepherds are more focused on feeding and caring for themselves and their own interests (building their own earthly kingdoms) than they are in caring for the true spiritual needs of the people. In other words, these shepherds are looking out for number one (themselves), and they will say whatever the itching ears of the people want to hear instead of telling them the truth of the gospel, because they want the people to like them and to keep coming to their institutions of men. By doing so, they have not strengthened the spiritually weak, or healed the hearts which are wounded by sin’s deceitfulness, nor have they searched for the spiritually lost or backslidden Christians in order to bring them to repentance and obedience to Christ.

And among the prophets of Jerusalem

    I have seen something horrible:

    They commit adultery and live a lie.

They strengthen the hands of evildoers,

    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.

The “Prophets”

Personally I believe that we no longer have “prophets” in the sense of those who once spoke God’s exact (God-breathed) words to the people. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, for they all pointed to him. Now God speaks to us through his Son and his word. Yet, we, who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, have the Son within us in the person of the Holy Spirit, who still speaks to our hearts, and who gives us words to speak in encouragement, counsel, teaching, instruction, in sharing the gospel and discipleship. So, we are, in this sense, God’s messengers, so it is imperative that we understand what scripture teaches so that we can correctly handle the word of God.

So, in looking at God’s “messengers” today, which includes all of us who give testimony to Jesus Christ and to the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to understand, Biblically speaking, what qualifies someone today as speaking falsely.

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;

    they fill you with false hopes.

They speak visions from their own minds,

    not from the mouth of the Lord.

They keep saying to those who despise me,

    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’

And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts

    they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’”

Those who speak falsely fill people’s minds with false hopes. This is happening in today’s institutional church here in America in sweeping numbers. A movement has swept across evangelical Christianity which teaches faith in Jesus Christ absent of the cross of Christ in our lives, i.e. minus repentance and a walk of obedience to Christ and to his commands. They teach that all one has to do is “believe”, yet they give the impression that believing is merely an emotional decision or an intellectual assent to what Christ did for us, yet it does not teach death to our old way of living in sin and for self, and it does not teach the necessity of a walk of faith and obedience to Christ and to his commands.

They also teach that once you pray the prayer to receive Christ that you now have your ticket into heaven, that no one can take it away, and as an added bonus, you will be raptured out before the time when God visits this earth in judgment. Yet, nothing is required other than an obscure understanding of the word “faith.” One man told me one day: “I don’t have to repent. I just have to believe.” That says a lot. Yet, scripture teaches that repentance and obedience are indeed essential elements of saving faith (see Eph. 4:17-24; Luke 9:23-25; Rom. 6; 1 John; Gal. 2:20; et al). So, anyone who is teaching that repentance and obedience to Christ are not required for salvation is teaching a lie and is giving people a false hope, and if they tell people that God will not judge (discipline or correct) them, even though they may be following the stubbornness of their own hearts, then they are, again, filling the minds of people with false hope (see Rev. 2-3).

But if they had stood in my council,

    they would have proclaimed my words to my people

and would have turned them from their evil ways

    and from their evil deeds.

Amen! The passage goes on to say that these false prophets (messengers) declare their dreams (visions: ideas and thoughts) and goals (purpose statements) that they create and think up in their own minds, and that they also borrow from other messengers. Wow! Does this speak to today’s church! This sweeping movement across evangelical Christianity in America not only dilutes the gospel of Jesus Christ and does not turn people from their evil ways, but it is man-made, created in the minds of men, and carbon-copied from one church to another to another to another. Each has a “vision” and “purpose statement” that they have decided is for their church and that everyone should follow, and if you are not on board with them, then they suggest you go someplace else where you can “fit in.” And, it is the same message from church to church to church –borrowed from other “prophets.”

These “visions” and “purpose statements” created in the minds of men and borrowed from one ‘prophet’ to another often are just words on a piece of paper that are sometimes not followed at all, sometimes altered to accommodate some while excluding others, and are frequently used as threats to keep people in line, or to suggest that they leave and go someplace else.

Yet, they may well be taken right from scripture and perfectly practiced in all respects. God is not against us having dreams, goals, visions or to formulate purpose statements, as long as they are centered in the word of God, consistent with scripture, and that their goal is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in obedience in leading people to repentance and toward faithful and humble surrender to God and to his purposes for our lives. And, if our visions and goals are in line with scripture, and we make public declaration of them, then it is essential that we do our best to practice what we proclaim, because the world is watching us.

He Gives Purpose / An Original Work / June 9, 2012

“Listen to Me when I’m calling to you.

Obey freely My word.

Follow Me in all of My ways.

Do all that I say.

Hear Me gently whisper to you

My will for your life and future.

Give all of your life and heart to

Follow Me always.”

Repent of your sins and worship Jesus.

He’s your Lord and Master.

He died for your sins so you could

Live with Him today.

He has a plan for your life and

He gives purpose and direction.

He gives meaning to your life,

So follow Him today.

“I love you so much I gave My life for

You to walk in My ways,

Living for Me each day as you

Bow to Me and pray.

Witness for Me of your love for Me and

Of My grace and mercy,

How I died to save you of your

Sins now and always.”

http://originalworks.info/he-gives-purpose/

In Faithfulness He Leads Me

Our God is a faithful God. He fulfills all his promises and all that he has said that he will do. He is completely truthful and trustworthy. We can depend on him. He loves us with an unconditional love that surpasses our human understanding. His wisdom is fathomless; his mercies unending. His word is absolutely faultless, i.e. that which was God-breathed and that which even now exists as he is a living God and he is still speaking to us.

In faithfulness, truthfulness and righteousness he leads his children (followers of Christ) in his ways and in his truth. He changes our hearts to make them more like him. He protects us spiritually from the forces of evil that would come against us. He provides all that we need for life and love. He created us so he knows us inside and out like no other. So, he is the best one to diagnose the wounds of hearts and to show us the way to healing.

When we accept God’s invitation to faith in his Son by God’s grace, by Christ’s death and resurrection, and by faith in what Jesus did for us in freeing us from our sins, Jesus Christ becomes our husband and we become his bride. It is important that we understand this relationship in this respect, because when we marry Jesus we vow to love, honor, obey, and be faithful to him, forsaking all others (our sins, self and “other gods”).

In Faithfulness He Leads Me / An Original Work / March 20, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

(Ps. 26:3; 86:11; 91:4-5; 111:7-8; 119:73-76;

Is. 25:1,4&9; 42:6-7; Hos. 2:16-20)

Teach me Your ways, Lord, and I’ll walk in them.

Give me a pure heart. I’ll fear Your name.

Your love is always, ever before me.

Continually I’ll walk in Your truth.

You will cover me with feathers.

Under Your wings I’ll find refuge.

My Lord’s faithfulness will be my

Comfort and my shield.

The works of His hands are faithful and just.

Trustworthy are all of His precepts.

Your hands have made me, and they have formed me.

Give understanding of Your commands.

I have put my hope, O Lord, in Your word.

Your teachings, O Lord, are righteousness.

Lord, in faithfulness You have

Afflicted me so I may learn of

Your unfailing love and comfort

And Your truthfulness.

You are my husband; You have betrothed me

In love, compassion and faithfulness.

O Lord, You are my God, I’ll exalt You.

In faithfulness You’ve done wondrous things.

You’ve been a refuge for those who’re needy;

A shelter in storms; shade from the heat.

This is the Lord, we trusted in Him,

Let us be glad and rejoice

In His salvation which He

Provided through the Lamb.

Open the blind eyes; free all the captives.

Tell them of Jesus: “Be born again!”

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

http://youtu.be/8r7ahtueUFk

Our Refuge

Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 8:59 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Awaken the Dawn” playing in my mind. I also woke from a dream.

THE DREAM: My husband and I visited a church where we had gone before and where we had been rejected. I think the name of the church was “Providence.” There was a lady there in the Sunday School class who was trying to encourage me to come back to the church. She was very aggressive, and she kept kissing me on the lips (yuck). She encouraged me to come back and to be friendly with the people, but I told her I was not very “outgoing.” She didn’t accept that. I was really weirded out by her aggressiveness and her kisses on my lips. Yet, I wondered if God allowed this to help me get over some fears from my past. I inquired of the Lord if I should go back to this church.

In another part of the dream I was helping someone – perhaps a child – to be able to climb down a series of metal bars, which appeared to be up against rows upon rows of sets of bunk beds (perhaps more than two beds per set, for they seemed rather high up). The child appeared to be stuck on these bars, so I gave the child instructions on how to get down off these bars so that he (or she) did not fall. I taught the child to put hand over hand in climbing down these bars. Yet the child appeared to vacillate between going up and going down the bars, so he or she had not yet come off of them. END

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 21 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2021&version=NIV

The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said: “Inquire now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: …I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath…’

“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’

“Moreover, say to the royal house of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:

“‘Administer justice every morning;

    rescue from the hand of the oppressor

    the one who has been robbed,

or my wrath will break out and burn like fire

    because of the evil you have done—

    burn with no one to quench it.

I am against you, Jerusalem,

    you who live above this valley

    on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—

you who say, “Who can come against us?

    Who can enter our refuge?”

I will punish you as your deeds deserve,

    declares the Lord.

I will kindle a fire in your forests

    that will consume everything around you.’”

The Kisses

In other dreams I have had where there was kissing on the lips from one person to another it was symbolic of people attempting to or putting words in other people’s mouths. The fact that I rejected this kissing, and I thought it was very weird and yucky, shows that I did not accept the words (thoughts, ideas, or beliefs) as my own. I rejected them.

When I read that King Zedekiah (king of Judah) had sent envoys to Jeremiah to ask him to inquire of the Lord, and that perhaps God would perform wonders for them as in times past so that King Neb might withdraw from them, I saw that King Zedekiah was trying to put words (thoughts, ideas, or beliefs) in Jeremiah’s mouth that were not his own, and that certainly did not represent the messages God had been giving him to give to the people.

There are many people in today’s church who reject the idea that God would judge his church. Many of them pull scriptures out of context that have to do with the final judgment and the final wrath of God in sending people to hell, and they try to convince others that God would not ever judge his church, yet that is contrary to other scriptures that teach just the opposite, including in the New Testament, and it is especially contrary to many OT prophecies related to the last days that teach very much that the apostate or the idolatrous and spiritually adulterous church of the last days will most certainly face divine judgment if she does not repent of her evil ways (see Rev 2-3 and the book of Isaiah, in particular).

Providence of God

Yet, it was not just that King Zedekiah tried to get Jeremiah to get God, basically, to withdraw his threats of judgment against the people because of their hardened and stubborn hearts, but Zedekiah wanted God to deliver them from their enemies absent of any true repentance or indication of desire to do the will of God with his or their lives (the people of Judah). Zedekiah wanted to change the providence of God in their favor absent of “the cross” in the lives of the people of God of that day.

Many in today’s church are doing exactly the same. They want the resurrection without the cross. They want the promise of eternity with God and new life in Jesus Christ without death to sin and to self. They want to twist the words of scripture in their favor so that they don’t feel guilty about lifestyles of living for self and sin. They want to believe that a simple prayer is all that is required of them to have their tickets into heaven, yet James says that even the demons believe, and they shudder.

Faith that is absent of true repentance, and is absent of a goal and desire to do the will of God is no faith at all, for scripture teaches that repentance leads to salvation and that obedience to God is evidence of having a relationship with him, and that we must die to our old lives of sin, be transformed in heart and mind, and we must put on our new lives in Christ Jesus, walking with him and following him wherever he leads us, and doing what he says to do (see Luke 9:23-25; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 6; I John; and Gal. 2:20, et al) – all made possible by God’s grace, and in his strength and power within us.

So, in the dream, the lady (church) from “Providence,” i.e. the church teaching a diluted gospel absent of the cross of Christ in people’s lives, trying to change the providence of God into something else, was also trying to get me to dilute the gospel message and to teach something else that would invoke the favor of God on the rebellious, adulterous, and idolatrous church of today in place of him requiring repentance and obedience for salvation. But I would not.

I would not say that an empty coke can should be the image of the space that is available for people to come to in place of the cross of Christ being available, just so I wouldn’t offend people with the cross. I wouldn’t throw out (replace) people just because they did not have what it took to draw in large crowds of people. I wouldn’t tell a lie just so I would not be rejected. I wouldn’t deny and be ashamed of the calling of God on my life just so I would be included in groups. I wouldn’t support (approve of) leadership which placated sin, displayed it openly in worship services as a stumbling block to others, and which willfully and knowingly followed false teachers, man-made teaching, and a false gospel just so I wouldn’t be asked to leave a church. I wouldn’t accept a human pastor as God’s words to me as though he were to be in place of God in my life, just so he would accept me in his congregation, and I would not accept his words over the words of God, and so on.

Life and Death

In this passage of scripture the people were instructed to submit to the Babylonians if they wanted to live. This meant they were not to resist the takeover by physical force, yet it did not mean that they were to adopt the ways of the Babylonians. The idea was that they were not to try to hold on to their religious institutions, homes, properties, etc., but they were to willingly yield them over to the invading forces. Fleeing Jerusalem meant leaving their temple behind them and yielding to God’s providence over their lives.

Yet, the Lord showed me something else here. He showed me that Babylon has already invaded the church (the institution) via 501c3 (yoked with the US government), and through the church adopting the ways of the world system (Babylon). In Revelation 18:3-5 we read that we are to “come out” of her so that we don’t share in her sins, “for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.” So, coming out of the institutional church here in America, which has largely yoked itself with the U.S. government and the ways of this world’s system, is a lot like fleeing the city of Jerusalem and its temple, representing institutionalized religion, and it is a handing over of institutional religion to the enemy forces, as well, rather than trying to fight them off when we have already given them much access to the church.

The lady in the dream wanted me to return to the institutional church and to make nice with the people, basically, but I told her I was not very “outgoing”. In other words, instead of surrendering my faith and beliefs over to the ways of man and a false gospel (Babylon), i.e. by “going out” to “Babylon,” I was not very “out going,” i.e. I did not surrender my faith and beliefs, values and principles, integrity and my relationship with Jesus Christ to the enemy. I came out from her so that I would not share in any of her sins. That is why I left the institutional church, and I believe that is what is meant for us all to do, as well, as stated in Revelation 18. We should let the enemy have it, and we should meet together as a body of believers in Jesus Christ in the way God intended in the first place (see the book of Acts).

Rescue from the Oppressor

In the dream I was helping someone (teaching someone) to come down off these metal bars that were up against these rows upon rows of sets of bunk beds. Always in my other dreams bunk beds were symbolic of multiple covenant relationships, one on top of the other. For instance, the institutional church has a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, supposedly, but they have added on top of that a covenant relationship with the U.S. government, which may override the first covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. And, on top of that covenant with the government they have added additional covenant relationships with mankind – human philosophies, marketing schemes, big business, and man-made religion designed to appeal to and entertain the flesh of mankind, which includes a diluted gospel so as not to offend people with the cross.

This passage teaches that we should rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed, and that God is against “Jerusalem” (the institution of religion absent of true faith), which says “Who can come against us? Who can enter our refuge?” They thought they were impenetrable, i.e. that no harm would come to them. So, who has the church of today “robbed”? The church has robbed all those to whom they have given out a false gospel message and thus a false hope of eternity with God, and they have robbed those who believe in the true gospel from having a profound impact on today’s church in order to spare them the judgments of God. The church is represented by these rows of bunk beds (multiple covenant relationships) with iron bars keeping out the truth from getting inside, and the only way to let go of her is to put hand over hand, i.e. God’s hand over that of man’s, and then we can escape her influence and we will not share in her sins.  

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.

http://originalworks.info/awaken-the-dawn2/

The Lord is With Me

Monday, March 18, 2013, 7:46 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Sing Praises” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 18-20, but will summarize most and quote only some.

The Potter’s House

Jeremiah was instructed by the Lord to go to the Potter’s house and there God would give him a message. So, Jeremiah went, and there he saw the potter working at his wheel. “The pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” Then, the Lord said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?”

God/Jesus is our potter and we are the clay (see Rom. 9; 2 Co. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:20). And, he does have the right to do with us just as this potter did with his clay, because he is God – our creator, Savior, Master & sustainer. If he announces disaster to any nation, and if that nation repents of its evil, then he will relent and not inflict the disaster he promised, but if he announces blessings, provisions and abundance, and if that nation does evil in his sight and does not obey him, then he will reconsider the good he had intended for it.

So, Jeremiah did as the Lord said and he told the people that God was preparing disaster for them, so they were to turn from their evil ways, and reform their ways and their actions. I believe the Lord is giving a similar message to his unrepentant and adulterous and idolatrous church of today. A lot of people have the idea that judgment only means the final judgment, but we read in Revelation of the judgments of the final days, and we read in other New Testament passages concerning our Lord’s divine discipline (judgment) he will bring on his church because he loves her, and because he wants her to turn from her evil ways; and to reform her ways and her actions (see Rev 2-3; 1 Co. 11:31-32; Heb. 10:29-31; 12:6; cf. the book of Isaiah). This is called repentance.

The Evil Plan

The people were not happy with the messages Jeremiah was assigned by the Lord to give to the people, so they concocted a plan against him. They said, “Come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.” So, Jeremiah prayed to the Lord:

Listen to me, Lord;

    hear what my accusers are saying!

Should good be repaid with evil?

    Yet they have dug a pit for me.

Remember that I stood before you

    and spoke in their behalf

    to turn your wrath away from them.

Jeremiah was just serving his Lord. He was just obeying God. Yet, he also loved his people very much, and he did speak often to God on their behalf. He did only good to the people, yet they did not see it as good, and so they chose to repay his good with evil, i.e. to attack him with their words, and to pay no attention to anything he said.

Opposition and Resistance

When we give out God’s full gospel message, we may meet with some of that same type of response as what Jeremiah faced. Not many people want to hear that they have to daily die to their sins and to self-will, and that they have to walk in obedience to Christ (see Luke 9:23-25); that they have to be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and that they have to live completely new lives, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (see Eph. 4:17-24); and that they should no longer conform their lives to the pattern of this world, but they should live lives holy and pleasing to God (see Rom. 12:1-2).

They also probably don’t want to hear that they must love Christ above all else – above family, possessions, their own desires and goals for their lives, etc. He must be first place in our lives and in our hearts! And, I am quite sure many don’t want to hear that following Christ with their lives may cost them their reputations, their friendships, their homes, possessions, career choices, et al, and that they will be hated and persecuted for their faith and testimony for Jesus Christ, even by members of their own families.

So, if we are giving out the true gospel message to people, we are likely to face some of the same resistance as what Jeremiah faced, because many people do not want to give up their own way of living and to have to reform their ways and their actions in order to be pleasing to God and to his service. They will even make up lies and try to convince people that a loving God would not require anything of us – no repentance, no obedience. And, they will try to convince the people, as well, that God will never discipline us (judge us) for our idolatrous and adulterous ways. Yet, does this even compute with a loving parent? What loving parent would permit his child to keep doing wrong and to never correct him or to never try to instruct him in the right way that he should go?

The Lord is With Me

When Jeremiah gave the people the messages from the Lord the priest Pashhur had Jeremiah beaten and put in the stocks, yet he released him the next day.

In America we have not yet to face much of this kind of persecution for preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but it is coming to America, just as it has come to so many other nations throughout the world. And, I believe it is coming to shake up the church, to get us on our knees in repentance, to get us to turn back to our God in faith and obedience, and to get us to reform our ways and our actions so that we do live lives holy and pleasing to God.

Jeremiah then voiced a prayer to God that was a mixture of faith and trust in God and also of much emotion and pain due to all the suffering that he had to endure for speaking God’s truths to the people. He said (only quoting part of his prayer):

I am ridiculed all day long;

    everyone mocks me.

Whenever I speak, I cry out

    proclaiming violence and destruction.

So the word of the Lord has brought me

    insult and reproach all day long.

But if I say, “I will not mention his word

    or speak anymore in his name,”

his word is in my heart like a fire,

    a fire shut up in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in;

    indeed, I cannot.

I hear many whispering,

    “Terror on every side!

    Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”

All my friends

    are waiting for me to slip, saying,

“Perhaps he will be deceived;

    then we will prevail over him

    and take our revenge on him.”

But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior;

    so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.

They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;

    their dishonor will never be forgotten.

Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous

    and probe the heart and mind,

let me see your vengeance on them,

    for to you I have committed my cause.

Sing to the Lord!

    Give praise to the Lord!

He rescues the life of the needy

    from the hands of the wicked.

So, if you are giving testimony to the Lord and to his true gospel, and if you are calling the people of God (the church) to renewed faith, repentance and to reformation of their ways, and if you, as a result of your obedience to the Lord, are being faced with much resistance and opposition, then be encouraged. The Lord is with you like a mighty warrior!! Don’t get discouraged, and don’t ever give up! Keep on sharing your faith, and keep on giving forth God’s messages from his holy word, and do not hold them inside out of fear of what others will think of you, say about you or do to you. You may not be voted “Most Popular” while you live on the face of this earth, but you will be rewarded in heaven! So, give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to him, for he rescues the needy from the hands of the wicked.

Sing Praises / An Original Work / November 30, 2012

Based off Psalms 6-9

Sing praises to the Lord!

Tell of His wondrous works.

Afflicted, they cry out;

The Lord will not forget;

The needy, not desert.

The Lord’s our refuge now;

A stronghold when we fear.

The Lord will ne’er forsake

The ones, who Him pursue!

Sing praises to the Lord!

With all my heart I sing.

I will rejoice in Him;

Sing praises to His name;

Tell of His wondrous works.

My shield is God Most High.

He saves those who believe

In Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

His grace has pardoned you!

The Lord accepts my prayer!

The Lord has heard my cries.

He is so merciful.

He heals my anguished soul.

The Lord has made me whole.

Give thanks unto the Lord.

Give praise unto His name.

Our Lord is righteousness.

Sing praises to the Lord!

http://originalworks.info/sing-praises-2/

Confidence in Him

Sunday, March 17, 2013, 4:30 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Living Sacrifices” playing in my mind. A few hours later he put the song “Not Be Silent” in my mind, and then a few hours after that the song “In That Day” came into my mind.

In That Day / An Original Work / May 21, 2011

Based off of Isaiah 12

In that day you will say: “I will praise You, Lord.

I know You were angry; anger’s turned away.

God is my salvation; I’ll trust; not afraid.

The Lord, the Lord, my strength; the Lord, Lord, my song;

He is my salvation; Lord, my comforter.”

With joy you’ll draw water from salvation’s wells.

In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord.

Call on His holy name; make Him known today.

Proclaim: He’s exalted. Tell what He has done.

Sing, for He is glorious; make this known to all.

Shout aloud; sing for joy, people of Zion;

Great is the Holy One, who among us dwells.”

http://originalworks.info/in-that-day/

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 14-17, most of which I will summarize.

The People’s Condition

Lord, my strength and my fortress,

    my refuge in time of distress,

to you the nations will come

    from the ends of the earth and say,

“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,

    worthless idols that did them no good.

Do people make their own gods?

    Yes, but they are not gods!”

“Therefore I will teach them—

    this time I will teach them

    my power and might.

Then they will know

    that my name is the Lord. ~ Jer. 16:19-21 NIV

The people of God of Jeremiah’s day, not unlike many of God’s people (the church) today, were prideful, stubborn, unrepentant, not willing to listen to God, idolatrous, adulterous, arrogant, morally unclean, backsliders, loving to wander, morally unrestrained, and who trusted in man over God; trusted in the strength of man over God’s strength; and who put their faith, hope and confidence in mankind (the flesh of mankind) over confidence, faith, hope and trust in Almighty God. This is a huge problem in today’s church.

God had sent his messages and messengers time and time again to call his people to repentance, but they were unwilling. He also sent warnings of judgment if they did not repent, and yet they still refused. We serve a very loving, patient, compassionate and merciful God who is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Yet, we also serve a just and loving God who will only be patient with his people so long and then he says “Enough!” We can try God’s patience so long, but he will eventually act in divine discipline and correction, out of love for us, in order to purify us, to get us to repent, and to get us to return to him in faithful obedience. This is taught in both the Old and the New Testaments (see 1 Co. 11:31-32; Heb. 10:29-31; Rev. 2-3; book of Isaiah; Rev. 19:6-8; Heb. 12:6).

So, God brought judgment on his people, but the result was that his people were repentant, and they did return, and they gave up their idols and their adultery, and so he restored and revived them. Yet, there are messianic overtones in this prayer of Jeremiah’s that is reminiscent of Isaiah 2:1-4. In fact, much of the book of Isaiah is given over to prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, his life and ministry, his death and resurrection, the life of the church in the messianic age, the same spiritual condition of the church at the end of time as was indicative of God’s people of Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s days, God’s promised judgments on the church if they do not repent, but yet his promises of restoration and revival to the repentant, and that as a result, people from all nations will flock to Jesus Christ, to the gospel, to salvation, to the church (the people of God) and to God’s eternal kingdom.

Not Be Silent / An Original Work / December 3, 2012

Based off Psalm 30

O Lord my God, I’ll exalt You.

I called for help, and You healed me.

O Lord my God, You brought me from

the grave. You spared me from hell.

Sing to the Lord, you saints of His;

Praise His holy name today.

Weeping may remain for a night;

Joy at break of day. Our debt He did pay!

O Lord my God, I said, “I will

Ne’er be shaken.” Secure, I felt.

O Lord my God, You forgave me.

Confident I stand in You.

When I could not see Your face

I was dismayed. I called to You.

O Lord, You are my help. You were

merciful to me; By Your grace set free!

O Lord my God, I’m so thankful for

Salvation through my Jesus.

You turned wailing into dancing;

Clothed me with Your joy today,

That my heart may sing To You

and not be silent. Praise Your name.

O Lord my God, I will give you

thanks forevermore. My Lord, I adore!

http://originalworks.info/not-be-silent-2/

Blessings and Afflictions

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

    who draws strength from mere flesh

    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;

    they will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

    in a salt land where no one lives.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

    whose confidence is in him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water

    that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

    its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

    and never fails to bear fruit.” ~ Jer. 17:5-8 NIV

Our Lord God has much to say against us putting our trust in mankind for our “salvation,” not speaking here of our eternal salvation, but trust in human flesh to rescue us from difficulties in life, as well as against us putting our trust in humans to satisfy our emotional and/or physical needs that should only be met by God alone (see Ps. 118:8-9; Ps. 20:7; 40:4; 146:3; Is. 31:1; Jer. 9:4-5; et al). We can’t trust in human wisdom and strength at the same time as we trust in the Lord. Now, we can trust the Lord to give us wisdom and strength, but if we are relying upon our own resources and strategies instead of relying upon God and his word, then we will falter in our walk of faith. Much of today’s institutional church is built upon human wisdom and intellect, manipulations and deceptions, marketing schemes, and human plans and philosophies, and thus the gospel is diluted to appeal to the flesh of man.

Yet, if we put our confidence, faith and hope in the Lord instead of in the wisdom or strength of human flesh, then we have no need to fear our circumstances or what may come our way. We can be at peace and rest even if all hell is breaking loose around us. We will experience an abundance of God’s blessings, we will bear spiritual fruit for his kingdom, confident in the Lord and in his mighty power, and we will grow in our faith and will branch out in faith and love to others with Christ’s love, and we will share his gospel with others. We will love our Lord, desire to serve him in obedience to his will for our lives, and we will desire to please him in all that we do. This is where we all need to be.

Living Sacrifices / An Original Work / September 14, 2012

Based off Romans 12:1-2; 6:11-14 NIV

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you,

In view of God’s mercy,

To give yourselves to God in love

As living offerings,

Pleasing to God, holy in love.

This is your true worship.

Do not conform to worldly lives.

Let God transform you today.

Then you’ll be able to

Test and approve of what

God’s will is – His pleasing

And perfect will.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –

Offer yourselves unto God.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –

Do not be conceited.

Humble yourselves before your God.

Do not be self-righteous.

The strength you have to live in love

Comes from your Lord God, so

Live your new lives in pow’r of God.

Be changed in heart, mind and will.

Do this because of what

Christ did for you when

He died on the cross to save

The world from sin.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –

Humble yourselves before God.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –

Count yourselves dead to sin,

But be alive to God in Christ.

Do not let sin reign in

Your earthly lives so you

Obey its evil desires.

Offer yourselves unto your God

As those who’ve been born again.

For sin shall no longer be

Your lord and master.

Give of yourselves to God

For righteousness.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –

Be alive to God in Christ.

http://originalworks.info/living-sacrifices/

How Will We Manage?

Saturday, March 16, 2013, 7:06 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Here is Your God!” After I read the scripture he put the song “Awaken the Dawn” in my mind.

Here is Your God! / An Original Work / July 18, 2012

Based off Isaiah 40:9-31 NIV

You who bring good tidings to Zion,

Lift up your voice; raise with a shout,

And do not be afraid of the people.

Say, “Here is your God!”

See how the Lord God comes now with power.

His arm rules for Him; His reward with Him.

He tends His flock just like a shepherd,

His lambs in His arms.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from beginning?

Our Lord sits enthroned above all things.

None to Him compare.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens.

Who made all of these? Who calls them by name?

Because of His great power and strength,

All accounted for.

Why do you say, “My way is hidden

From the Lord, and my cause forgotten”?

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord, He is your God.

He will not weary. He gives us power.

Those who trust in Him will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings just like eagles;

Walk and do faint not.

http://originalworks.info/here-is-your-god/  

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 11:18-12:17 (NIV):

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2011&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2012&version=NIV

The Plot

Jeremiah was a prophet of God of the Old Testament. That meant that he spoke the very words of God to the people, i.e. they were the Lord’s God-breathed words exactly. God had Jeremiah confront the people with their sins of idolatry and spiritual adultery; the sins of forsaking their God to follow after other gods and of their breaking of their covenant relationship with God. They were stubborn and rebellious people. God called them to repent of their sins, but they would not hear it. Time and time again God called them to repent, but they refused. We serve a very loving, patient, and compassionate God, but there is a time when he says “Enough!” So, he had Jeremiah prophesy judgment against the people if they did not repent of their sins and turn back to their God in truth and in righteousness.

This did not endear Jeremiah to his friends, his neighbors, and the people of his city and of his own faith. In fact, they hated him and they conspired to end his life and to cut off the fruit of his labor. So, the Lord God revealed their plot to Jeremiah, so that he would be aware of what was happening. And, thus, Jeremiah appealed to God’s justice and mercy.

But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously

    and test the heart and mind,

let me see your vengeance on them,

    for to you I have committed my cause.

Why the wicked prosper?

Although the Lord promised to punish Jeremiah’s conspirators, still Jeremiah appeared to grow impatient with God or perhaps to question God’s justice or his slowness in acting. He wanted to know why the wicked prospered. That is an age-old question. He wanted to know why the faithless seemingly lived at ease. He described the wicked as a people of whom God was always on their lips but far from their hearts. He asked the Lord for what appeared to be immediate judgment. He lamented over the obvious results of the wicked being permitted to take root and to bear their evil fruit in the land. And, he appealed to God on the basis of his own faithful relationship with God and God’s testing of his own heart.

God’s Response

God gave Jeremiah what I believe was a gentle rebuke, a caution and a warning, too. If Jeremiah was worn out to the point of exhaustion because of the wickedness of men in times of relative safety (by comparison to what was yet to come), how would he manage to stand strong in battle when things got much, much worse? And, God was saying that it was going to get much worse. These were mere men. He would soon come up against much greater forces than these.

And, then the Lord told him something that must have come as a blow to him, or must have been disheartening. He told him that his relatives, and members of his own family have betrayed him and had raised a loud cry against him, so he was not to trust them, even though they seemed to speak well of him. The Lord gave me a mental picture this morning of a mixture of blood family and God’s family gathering together, seemingly to bring comfort or encouragement, and this came back to mind when I read this section (12:6) of scripture again this afternoon. So, the idea is that those within our own blood families and church family, who may seem cordial and even concerned about us, may not truly be our friends, so this calls for much discernment, but not paranoia.

What about us?

I believe not one of us is a prophet in the sense of the prophets of old who spoke God’s exact words to the people. All the law and the prophets were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and now God speaks to us through his Son. Yet, the Son is within the hearts and lives of Christ’s true followers, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and the Son does speak through us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, to be the Lord’s witnesses (Acts 1:8), to encourage and to build up (spiritually strengthen) the church, to exhort, to caution, to warn, to instruct, to disciple (Matt. 28:19-20), to expose sin, to offer words of forgiveness and restoration, to mend, to call for repentance and renewed faith, to heal, as well as to speak words of prophecy.

Gift of Prophecy: “A person with this gift, like its Old Testament counterpart, has a keen awareness of current events and the cultural implications of not following God’s word. This is important because each church is made up of people, customs, and circumstances that are different from others. Prophecy helps us apply the scriptures to where we live. A person with this gift has a burden to warn of God’s judgment and the need for us to repent... This gift helps the church live holy in the culture and time that they are appointed. It rebukes, strengthens and encourages believers.” http://spiritualgifts.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/65/

Jesus said that we would be hated, rejected, persecuted, mocked, accused falsely, beaten and even put to death for our faith and testimony (witness) for Jesus Christ and for the true gospel. He told his brothers that the world hated him because he told them that what they did was evil. He was speaking of his own (faith) people and his religious leaders, primarily. He said we would be treated like he was, and his greatest opponents were the members of his own family and those of his own faith, race and culture. Those who put him to death on a cross were of his own faith and culture, and of the religious leaders among them.

The book of Revelation tells us of a time to come when God will pour out his wrath on mankind and on the earth in judgment. He will give authority to the beast, the false prophet and the dragon to rule over mankind harshly and with unjust treatment. He will give the beast permission to pursue the saints of God, to persecute them, to falsely accuse them of wrong, to beat them, imprison them and even put them to death for their faith and testimony for Jesus Christ, and for their refusal to accept the mark of the beast on their bodies, minds, deeds and character.

So, the encouragement here to us is to be patient, to wait on the Lord, to pray, to not get discouraged or disheartened when we are mistreated for our faith, but to keep persevering in the strength and power of the Lord Jesus Christ within us, and to be prepared for things to get much worse, and for the church to undergo a time of great persecution in order to purify us and to make us a bride ready for the wedding with her husband (our Messiah, Savior and Lord Jesus Christ). If we fall to pieces now when things are fairly peaceful (at least here in America), how will we make it when all hell begins to break loose and the church in America is severely persecuted. This is coming. We are already beginning to see some of it taking place. It has already begun within the church. Yet, we must be strong in the Lord and in his mighty strength and put on the full armor of God daily!

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.

http://originalworks.info/awaken-the-dawn2/