The Curse of Blindness
Julije Klovi? – Elymas Struck Blind by St Paul before the Proconsul Sergius Paulus – WGA05091 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So many times we wonder how someone can not see the reality of a situation. We wonder how they miss the obvious and twist reality into something totally different. In this world of craziness it is as if a fellow blogger said the other day, we are living in an upside down world. As if the Mad Hatter is in charge of the world and whatever we view is in their eyes something totally different.
According to wiki.answers.com In the King James version
- the word – blind – appears 82 times
- the word – blinded – appears 5 times
- the word – blindeth – appears once
- the word – blindfolded – appears once
- the word – blindness – appears 7 times
There is a physical blindness, a mental blindness, and a spiritual blindness. We see Jesus use blindness in ways to get His message across, whether it is healing, as in:
And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:
Matthew 15:14Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
But one way that it is used is the way God uses a type of blindness in the days preceding the Day of the Lord:
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
King James Version (KJV)
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God is not allowing some to see the truth and nothing we say or do will remove their blindness. At some point they made a deliberate decision to be unrighteous. To these whom the seed of faith and truth will never grow, they will only find the truth when it hits them in the face.
It is an object lesson to all of us to choose righteousness, if we willfully choose to do wrong, we will not be able to see the truth. My friends consider your actions carefully, understand that when you see someone who will not see the truth and takes reality and turns it into something totally different, that it is sometimes God’s will that they do not see. Prophecy has to be fulfilled in order for the Lord to return. What it shows us is that God’s word is true and that His will is being done!
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The Holy Spirit: Wild-eyed Fanatics
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.—1 Thessalonians 5:19-21
This is a crude illustration, but let me tell you what we did after planting a field of corn when I was a young fellow in Pennsylvania. To save the field of corn from the crows, we would shoot an old crow and hang him by his heels in the middle of the field. This was supposed to scare off all of the crows for miles around. The crows would hold a conference and say, “Look, there is a field of corn but don’t go near it. I saw a dead crow over there!”
That’s the kind of conference that Satan calls, and that is exactly what he has done. He has taken some fanatical, weird, wild-eyed Christians who do things that they shouldn’t, and he has stationed them in the middle of God‘s cornfield, and warns, “Now, don’t you go near that doctrine about the Holy Spirit because if you do, you will act just like these wild-eyed fanatics.” The Counselor, 63.
“Keep us, Lord, from shying away from such valuable truth and experience as the ministry of the Holy Spirit because of the excesses of a few fanatics. We lose too much, and we can’t afford the loss. Amen.”
Bible Gateway
Watchman Nee : Lights in the World
Source: upload.wikimedia.org via Linda on Pinterest
Without fear of challenge Jesus could say: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). His claim does not surprise us in the least. What is surprising, however, is that he should then say to his disciples, and so by implication to us: “Ye are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). For he does not exhort us to be that light; he plainly says that we are the world’s light, whether we bring our illumination out into places where men can see it, or hide it away from them. The divine life planted in us, which itself is so utterly foreign to the world all around it, is a light source designed to illumine to mankind the world’s true character by emphasizing through contrast its inherent darkness. Accordingly Jesus goes on: “Even so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” From this it is clear that to separate ourselves from the world today, and thus deprive it of its only light, in no way glorifies God. It merely thwarts his purpose in us and in mankind.
It is true that, as we saw earlier, the career of John the Baptist was rather different. He did in fact withdraw from the world to live austerely in desert places apart, subsisting, we are told, on locusts and wild honey. Men went out there to seek him, for even there he was a burning and a shining light. Yet we are reminded that “he was not that Light.” He came only to bear witness to it. His testimony was the last and greatest of an old prophetic order, but it was so because it pointed forward to Jesus. Jesus alone was “the true Light which lighteth every man, coming into the world”; and he certainly “was in the world,” not outside of it (John 1:9, 10). Christianity derives from him. God can use a John crying in the wilderness, but he never intended his Church to be a select company living by the principle of abstinence.
Earlier we saw how abstinence-”handle not, nor taste, nor touch”-was merely one more element in the world system, and as such was itself suspect (Col. 2:21). But we must go a stage further than this, and once again the apostle Paul comes to our help. In Romans 14:17 he shows how the Christian life is something removed al. together from controversy about what we do and what we don’t do. “The kingdom of God is not eating.and drinking”-not, that is to say, to be conceived in those terms at all-”but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost,” which are in a realm wholly different. The Christian lives, and is guided, not by rules specifying just how far he may mix with men, but by these inward qualities which are mediated to him by God’s Holy Spirit.
Righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost: It may be good for a moment to direct our attention to the second of these. For peace, we find, is a potent element in God’s answer to his Son’s prayer that he would keep us from the evil one (John 17:15).
In God himself there is a peace, a profound undisturbedness of spirit, which keeps him untroubled and undistressed in the face of unspeakable conflict and contradiction. “In the world ye have tribulation,” Jesus says, but “in me ye may have peace” (John 16:33). How easily we get troubled as soon as something goes wrong! But do we ever pause to consider what went wrong with the great purpose upon which God had set his heart? God, who is light, had an eternal plan. Causing light to shine out of darkness he designed this world to be the arena of that plan. Then Satan, as we know, stepped in to thwart God, so that men came to love darkness rather than light. Yet in spite of that setback, the implications of which we appreciate all too little, God preserves in himself a quite undisturbed peace. It is that peace of God which, Paul tells us, is to garrison our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).
What does “garrison” really mean? It means that my foe has to fight through the armed guard at the gates before he can reach me. Before I can be touched, the garrison itself has first to be overcome. So I dare to be as peaceful as God, for the peace that is keeping God is keeping me. This is something that the world knows nothing about. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I untoyou” (John 14:27).
How utterly men failed to understand Jesus! Whatever he did was wrong in their eyes, for the light that was in them was darkness. They even dared to identify the Spirit that was in him with Beelzebub the prince of devils. Yet when they accused him of gluttony and drunkenness, what was his response? “Father, I thank thee!” (Matt. 11:19,25). He was unmoved, because in Spirit he abode in the peace of God.
Or recall that last night before his passion. Everything seemed to be going wrong: a friend going out into the night to betray him, another drawing a sword in anger, people going into hiding, or running away naked in their eagerness to escape. In the midst of it all Jesus said to those who had come to take him, “I am he,” so peacefully and so quietly that instead of him being nervous it was they who trembled and fell backwards. This was an experience that has been repeated in the martyrs of every age. They could be tortured or burned, but because they possessed his peace, the onlookers could only wonder at their dignity and composure. It is no surprise to us therefore that Paul describes this peace as beyond understanding.
How striking is the contrast Jesus draws between “in the world” where we are to have tribulation, and “in me” where we may have peace. If God has placed us in the one, to be thronged by its pressures and claims and needs, he has placed us also in the Other, to be held by him undisturbed amid it all. Jesus himself once asked, “Who touched me?” The believing touch of one in that Capernaum multitude registered with him. It matched his own heart of compassion, whereas the pressure of the rest crowding upon him had no such effect. All their impatient jostling did not touch him in the least, for there was little in common between them and him. “Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” If our life is the life of men, we are swayed by the world. If it is the life of the Spirit it is unmoved by worldly pressures.
“Righteousness and peace and joy”: with such things is the kingdom of God concerned. Never let us be drawn away, therefore, into the old realm of “eating and drinking,” for it is neither the prescription of these things nor their prohibition that concerns us, but another world altogether. So we who are of the kingdom need not abstain. We overcome the world not by giving up the world’s things but by being otherworldly in a positive way: by possessing, that is, a love and a joy and a peace that the world cannot give andthat men sorely need.
Far from seeking to avoid the world we need to see how privileged we are to have been placed there by God. “As thou didst send me into the world, even so send I them into the world.” What a statement! The Church is Jesus’ successor, a divine settlement planted here right in the midst of Satan’s territory. It is something that Satan cannot abide, any more than he could abide Jesus himself, and yet it is something that he cannot by any means rid himself of. It is a colony of heaven, an alien intrusion on his territory, and one against which he is utterly powerless. “Children of God,” Paul calls us, “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15). God has deliberately placed us in the cosmos to show it up for what it is. We are to expose to the divine light, for all men to see them, its God-defying rebelliousness on the one hand and its hollowness and emptiness on the other.
And our task does not stop there. We are to proclaim to men the good news that, if they will turn to it, that light of God in the face of Jesus Christ will set them free from the world’s vain emptiness into the fullness that is his. It is this twofold mission of the Church that accounts for Satan’s hatred. There is nothing that goads him so much as the Church’s presence in the world. Nothing would please him more than to see its telltale light removed. The Church is a thorn in the side of God’s adversary, a constant source of irritation and annoyance to him. We make a heap of trouble for Satan simply by being in the world. So why leave it?
“Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). This is the Christian’s privilege. It is also his duty. Those who try to opt out of the world only demonstrate that they are still in some degree in bondage to its ways of thinking. We who are “not of it” have no reason at all to try to leave it, for it is where we should be.
So there is no need for us to give up our secular employments. Far from it, for they are our mission field. In this matter there are no secular considerations, only spiritual ones. We do not live our lives in separate compartments, as Christians in the Church and as secular beings the rest of the time. There is not a thing in our profession or in our employment that God intends should be dissociated from our life as his children. Everything we do, be it in field or highway, in shop, factory, kitchen, hospital or school, has spiritual value in terms of the kingdom of Christ. Everything is to be claimed for him. Satan would much prefer to have no Christians in any of these places, for they are decidedly in his way there. He tries therefore to frighten us out of the world, and if he cannot do that, to get us involved in his world system, thinking in its terms, regulating our behavior by its standards. Either would be a triumph for him. But for us to be in the world, yet with all our hopes, all our interests and all our prospects out of the world, that is Satan’s defeat and God’s glory.
Of Jesus’ presence in the world it is written that “the darkness overcame it not” (John 1:5 margin). Nowhere in Scripture does it tell us of sin that we are to “overcome” it, but it distinctly says we are to overcome the world. In relation to sin God’s word speaks only of deliverance; it is in relation to the world that it speaks of victory.
We need deliverance from sin, because God never intended we should have any touch with it; but we do not need, nor should we seek, deliverance from the world, for it is in the purpose of God that we touch it. We are not delivered out of the world, but being born from above, we have victory over it. And we have that victory in the same sense, and with the same unfailing certainty, that light overcame darkness.
“This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4, 5). The key to victory is always our faith relationship with the victorious Son. “Be of good cheer,” he said. “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Only Jesus could make such a claim; and he could do so because he could earlier affirm: “The prince of the world … hath nothing in me” (John 14:30). It was the first time that anyone on earth had said such a thing. He said it, and he overcame. And through his overcoming the prince of the world was cast out and Jesus began to draw men to himself.
And because he said it, we now dare say it too. Because of my new birth, because “whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world,” I can be in the same world as my Lord was in, and in the same sense as he was I can be utterly apart from it, a lamp set on a lampstand, giving light to all who enter the house. “As he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). The Church glorifies God, not by getting out of the world but by radiating his light in it. Heaven is not the place to glorify God; it will be the place to praise him. The place to glorify him is here.
Many more wonderful sermons and writings, as well as audio and video at Sermonindex, it both a great resource and an amazing opportunity to read and hear the words of so many amazing pastors and even laypeople. God bless you!
The Tricks of the Magician
SATAN SAYS (Photo credit: rafaelm)
“1 Corinthians 14:20
King James Version (KJV)
20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
Ephesians 4:27
King James Version (KJV)
27 Neither give place to the devil.”\
Have you ever watched a magician? It is amazing at how fast their hands are and at how good they are at the art of distraction! While we watch one hand they are doing something totally different with their other hand. As children we think that they are really performing magic, as adults most of us realize what they are doing and yet still admire their skill and ability, even if we are not sure how they do it. That is the thing, we recognize that it is not real, that it is simply illusion. And yet it seems that more and more people are not recognizing the illusions of this world and are simply accepting them as fact.
Update from Missionary Pastor Kerry Mauldin
Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai. NB – slightly cut down – for full size see here (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Fw: Huge Cobra in the Path
Prayer Request
Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is a prayer request from a dear friend! Her husband is under severe demonic attack! He is a dear man and a good friend as well as being a compassionate example to others. He has suffered terribly in the past and yet with God‘s help, has been able to help and minister to many others, including me. Please add him to your prayers and ask for God’s divine intervention!
Dear Lord, you have told us that we will be tested and my friend is being tested to his limits Lord! The evil one is attacking him in a time of weakness. Please make him aware that he is not alone Lord! Remind him that You are there, that You will hold him up Lord. That no matter what Satan throws at him, that you have given him the power to defeat him. Add Your strength to his Lord, for without You we are nothing. In Your wonderful Son, Jesus name, we ask this Lord God and Father! Amen and amen!
Ephesians 6:10-17
King James Version (KJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Psalm 39
King James Version (KJV)
39 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
3 My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
4 Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.
5 Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
10 Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
Strength in Weakness
King James Version of the Bible (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Thorn in the Flesh
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Avoid Those Who Cause Divisions
Jesus from the Deesis Mosaic (Photo credit: jakebouma)
Avoid Divisive Persons
17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus[a] Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
The Way
The Way
Do you know it? There is only one way! Jesus is that way.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Not Buddah, not Mohammad, not by any false idol dreamed up by foolish men. Satan tempts man, giving what he desires. The wide gate, not the narrow.
But it is the wrong way!
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. NIV Matthew 7:13
It is so tempting to listen to those who promise God freely. Those who tell you all you have to do is say a word. Half truths that lead astray those who think that He is their true desire. It is only the first step on your journey to accept Him. And only through Him will you find what you are looking for. He is the “narrow gate,” and you have to be willing to give up everything to go through.
“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who will find it.” Matthew 7:14 NKJV
Mark 8:34-35
King James Version (KJV)
34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
Saved from what? Judgment and condemnation! Saved for what? God’s Kingdom!
Dear Reader, take that first step and accept Him into your heart and into your life, but do not be like Lot’s wife. Do not look back to your old life, for surely if you do, you have indicated that Jesus sacrifice was in vain.God knows that you are not perfect. He will forgive you if you falter. But for those who think that they can continue with their old lives just because they accepted Him in one fleeting moment, they are denying Him if they continue on their way thinking that they can do anything that they want. And denying Him is saying that the sacrifice was unworthy. Woe to those who deny Him, they will have their name removed from the Book of Life.
The Dead Church
Revelation 3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.[a] 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You[b] have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
The Faithful Church
7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:[c] 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it;[d] for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold,[e]I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
The Lukewarm Church
14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans[f] write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[g] I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”
If you truly love Him, keep your eyes on the prize and look to heaven for that is where your treasure is, not here on this earth.
Matthew 6:19-21
New International Version (NIV)
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
There is only one way, and that way is through Jesus, the Anointed One, our Savior and our Lord. Do not be fooled into following the easy way. Do not let Satan convince you that all you have to do is accept and nothing more. He said, pick up your cross and follow me. Luke 9:23
New International Version (NIV)
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 3:9-11
New King James Version (NKJV)
9 and to make all see what is the fellowship[a] of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;[b] 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
He is the way but He warns us that the way will not be easy, but instead hard, so why are you falling for the lies that tell you it is easy, just say the word? Is it because you just want to appear to follow Him? Because if you truly do, you must make the effort to do what He asks of you.
Don’t pile up treasure here on the earth and expect it to make a bit of difference when you stand before that Throne of Judgment! Don’t expect to have the Lord open the door just because you believe in Him. Even the demons do that!
James 2:19
New International Version (NIV)
19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder.
What price are you willing to pay? He paid the ultimate price. He made the sacrifice so that you would have the chance. But it is a chance, not a surety. You have an obligation once you accept, and that is to follow Him. Not through the wide gate, that just leads to destruction.He is the way, the only way, He will not give you more that you can bear, but He does expect something from you in return.
Be warned, it will not be easy, you will suffer for His name. But the rewards are great and the peace that you will recieve is wonderful.
Psalm 34
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel[a] of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Keep Your Integrity
Plate 22 of 22 for the Macklin Bible after Loutherbourg. Bowyer Bible. Satan Bound (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Job 2:1-10
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
“But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
So the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
But he said to here, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
The Second Assault of Satan (On Job)
Satan before the Lord (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Job 2:1-9
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
“But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
So the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Justifying Our Way to Hell
Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Justifying Our Way to Hell
Everyday we make choices, some small, some large, that we know before we choose them that they are wrong. And yet, we choose to do them anyway. We justify them by saying “Oh, this is just a little sin, God won’t condemn me on just a little sin.”
What fools we are! There is no difference between a little sin and a big sin. We cannot justify it away! Jesus died for all our sins, but when we continue to choose sin, deliberately, we make a mockery of Him.
Do we truly believe that when we stand before God on judgment day that He will simply overlook our transgressions? We are justified by grace, forgiven by the blood that Jesus shed, but if we ourselves have turned our back on that, do we honestly believe that we are still under that grace?
2 Thessalonians 1:8 tells us that when Jesus returns from heaven “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” that 1:9 “These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,” 1:10 “when He comes, in that Day, to be glorifed in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”
So, how much do you believe if you choose to disobey? And if we choose to disobey a Word given by our Lord and Savior, are we still under His grace? If we choose to turn our backs on Christ‘s example and live according to Him, are we deliberately saying that the Holy Spirit did not enter us? How far will we go in denying Christ? And how far can we go and still recieve His mercy
2Thessalonians 2:8-12 “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Do we have the “love of the truth,” that we might be saved? Or are we wilfully and blindly choosing deception in order that we may take “pleasure in unrighteousness”?
2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.”
If we know the Word is the truth, we have an obligation to follow the Word, to “stand fast and hold the traditions” that we are taught. We always retain that choice, in following God, if we have been saved by the Grace which came down through the Holy Spirit, we are changed and we become new. We know because we are told that we will be tempted, Jesus Himself faced that temptation. Sometimes we falter, we are only human, but we are also told that we have a way out, if we let Him, God will help and He will not allow us to be tempted more that we can bear.
So, when we deliberately choose to give in to temptation and justify it by saying that it is “no big deal,” who are we fooling? Not, God! “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3
Consider your actions, my friends! Consider your future! Consider those who watch you and make their own decisions on whether to follow Christ based on what they see in you. If you are willingly choosing sin, what are you telling the world? Above all, what are you telling God and His Son?
This is not a condemnation of any who follow Christ, this is an exhortation to you and to me, to remember. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 “But as for you brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.”
The Source of Temptation
The Temptation of Christ, 1854 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
James 1:13-18
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God“; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desire and enticed.
Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
A House Divided Cannot Stand
Luke 11:14-23
And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitues marveled.
But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.
But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.
“If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.
“And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
“But if I cast out demons with finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
“When a strong man, full armed, guards his own palace, his good are in peace.
“But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.
“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
1 Corinthians 4 and 5
Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Let a man so consider us , as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
But with me it is a very small thing that should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do no even judge myself.
For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts; and then each ones praise will come from God.
Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.
For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?
You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us— and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!
For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men are condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.
We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!
Even to the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.
And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure it;
being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.
I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.
For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.
But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.
For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—- that a man has his father’s wife!
And your are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.
For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged, as though I were present, concerning him who has so done this deed.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.
Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioner, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or and extortioner—- not even to eat with such a person.
For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves that wicked person.”
Abounding Lawlessness – Signs of the Last Days (via The Ignorant Fisherman)
The lawlessness that we are seeing abounding in the whole of the world is a sign that we need to pay attention. The time of sorrows that is spoken of in Matthew 24:8 seem to be taking place. If Jesus did not want us to be aware and know the signs of the last days, He would not have given them to us. It is important to be aware and listen and observe, but more than anything, we must read what He tells us in the Scriptures and give warning to those who have a chance and desire to be saved. This is our mission and our responsibility. The Ignorant Fisherman always educates us. The post below is another excellent example. I have excerpted a paragraph, but please read the whole thing.
Abounding Lawlessness – Signs of the Last Days
The Bible speaks of these Last Days and testifies to what the social conditions will be at this time among those who profess Christ and have a “form” of godliness.(Romans 10:2-4, 1 Tim. 3:1-7,2 Tim. 4:1-3, Jude, 1:10, Rev. 3:14-22). At this time, a secular progressive movement – initiated by the super fallen intelligences of fallen angels (i.e., demons ) will begin to dominate and influence the entire world preparing the world for Lucifer‘s lawless minion and the global worship of himself and his lawless super -ultra fascist world leader (2 Thess. 2:3-12, Rev.13). Some of the signs of these last days will be the abounding lawlessness of society and the demonically led anti -marriage movement along with other apostate teachings. As we see this ever growing lawless moment sweeping the world, especially in the West. We today can see the very shadows of the things which are about to come. This lawless spirit dominates the West’s progressive Left, but what is most alarming is how it is sweeping into moderate and some conservative circles as well. When these groups begin to embrace this rebellious movement against the very bedrock of the world’s most sacred institution how long will it truly be until we are face to face with the Day of the Lord! Read the rest at The Ignorant Fisherman….
Thank You Jesus – Terry Clark – Worship Video with lyrics
I am also including a prayer request with this post. We will be attending the funeral of the fourth family member in less than a year tomorrow. Thank you friends and God bless you all.
The Holy Bible – Matthew Chapter 24 (King James Version)
We know not the hour or the day of His coming but like the watchman on the wall, we must be ever vigilant. Trust in the Lord, knowing that you will be received by Him, but do not be negligent and let your guard down lest Satan use that opportunity to deceive you, and in doing so, cause you to lose out.
Image via Wikipedia
Matthew chapter 24— Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple.
And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying “Tell us, when will these things be?And what will the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
“For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
“All these are the beginnings of sorrows.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
” And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and the shall the end come.
” Therefore when you see the ‘abominations of desolation’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads , let him understand),
“then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
“Let him who is on the housetop no come down to take anything out of the house.
“And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
“But woe to those who are pregnant and to those with nursing babies in those days!
“And pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath.
“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
“And unless those day were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
“Then is anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ! ‘ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
“See, I have told yu beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it.
“For as the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
“For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light’ the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
“And He will send His agnels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
“So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the very doors.
“Assuredly, I say to yu, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled. “Heaven and eath will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
“But of that day and hour no one know, no, not enen the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
“For as in the day before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah enter the ark,
“and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
“Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
“Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left,
”Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
“But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.
“Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his master made rule over his household, to give them food in due season?
“Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
“Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his good.
“But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’
“and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
“the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour when he is not aware of,
“and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Betraying Ourselves
Image via Wikipedia
Do you hold back? Do you worry about how other’s look at you? Do you think that your physical disability or lack of knowledge makes you worth less than others?
That is a human thing isn’t it? To consider the opinion of others. To put beauty ahead and hold the plain behind. Our eyes automatically turn to beauty and glide over the ordinary.
But isn’t this a trait of the “old man?” Didn’t we leave this behind when we accepted the Lord? After all isn’t what He sees the “new man?”
How many times have you heard “beauty is only skin deep?” Or “real beauty is what is on the inside?” Or even “God see’s your heart!”
But still we have that doubt, don’t we? We betray ourselves with our doubts and hold back from giving our all to the Lord. We say that we believe that He see’s the “new”, and yet we let Satan slip that kernel of doubt in there. That seed that leads us to our own destruction.
Let me ask you this “is there anything uglier that what Jesus went through when He went to the cross? Is there anything more beautiful than the sacrifice that He made in order that we may have eternal life? How then can we think so little of ourselves when we remember that He took the ugly away and what He gave back was beautiful?
What God sees when He looks at us is not the “old man”, it is what Christ gave us, and it is the most beautiful thing in the world. Who cares about the outside, it is not forever, only temporary. There is so much better waiting, if only we are able to accept it. We only have to ask and accept!
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
2Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 5:15-16 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him no longer.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled with God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become righteousness of God in Him.
Ephesians 2:1-3 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lists of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
What God Honors In All People (via DISCIPLEGIDEON)
One of the most discussed questions among Christians and those who are not Christian, but wish to know about God, is the question of free will and choice. DISCIPLEGIDEON has an extremely enlightening post about this subject. I posted part of it below, but please read the rest at DISCIPLEGIDEON!
What God Honors In All People
Image via Wikipedia
I was listening to a Christian broadcast radio show this evening and it was one of those call-in shows, something like “Ask the Pastor”, where they took live phone calls and answered questions. I was privy to an excellent Q&A started by a 10-year old boy. The question went something like this: Do angels have free will like men do? And if God created angels to do his work, why did Satan turn away from God?
The pastor explained how angels and men have their own wills and can make choices on their own. That Satan chose to try to elevate his glory to that of God’s. And that God above all, honors choice. The pastor referred back to scripture and explained that when Satan rebelled, that he took one-third of the angels in heaven. Thus showing that angels indeed do have a choice…just like man has a choice.
This got me thinking. Everything in creation is under the law of God. His majesty is magnified in His creation. The laws of physics, the laws of the universe, the laws of light and energy, the laws of life and all of its processes. The only thing not under the law of God is choice. And if you think about it, it is what makes choice valuable…to God! The choice to love God is precious in His sight; if God had made us without the choice and we “automatically” loved God…then there is no intrinsic value in it for Him! So our choice to love God, brings Him glory and is the supreme desire of His heart. Do you believe that? Read the rest at DISCIPLEGIDEON
