ez3728

Great Exploits…

Posted on April 1, 2014 by ez3728

I firmly contend that the verses in Matthew 24 have their final FULL-FILLMENT at the end of this Age. They’ve been partially fulfilled many times over history. But never fully. Let me tell you why (by the way, I am not omitting any verses to strengthen my viewpoint, only for expediency sake – they are unquestionably cohesive):

(Matthew 24:21-30)
21 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. (THE TROUBLE OF THOSE DAYS WILL NOT BE TRUMPED BY ANY OTHER OCCURRENCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. THAT DISQUALIFIES 70AD TEMPLE DESTRUCTION FROM FULFILLMENT OF THIS WORD)
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 “ Then if anyone says to you, ‘ Look, here is the Christ! ’ or ‘ There! ’ do not believe it.
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (IF POSSIBLE – ONLY IF WE ARE NOT ROOTED IN OUR BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF WHO GOD IS AND HOW HE OPERATES, IN RIGHTEOUSNESS)
25 See, I have told you beforehand. (DON’T MISS THIS, SAYS OUR LORD TO US)
26 “ Therefore if they say to you, ‘ Look, He is in the desert! ’ do not go out; or ‘ Look, He is in the inner rooms! ’ do not believe it.
(IN THE SAME BREATH HE NOW PROCEEDS TO EXPLAIN HIS SECOND APPEARANCE)
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 “ 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.
30 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.
(IMMEDIATELY, IN GREEK [eutheos], MEANS JUST THAT – IMMEDIATELY, STRAIGHTWAY, FORTHWITH. JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT END TIMES AND HIS APPEARANCE, IMMEDIATELY).

All that said, the saints obviously will be on earth when He returns – because the above is written to His saints – they are the ones who will be looking for His return (v 26). And the times will indeed be troubling, with an intensity never before seen on earth. That speaks to me of an intensity and troubling exceeding past world wars, past persecutions, past holocausts, past civil war, past natural disasters, past financial crises, past evil empires and wicked plans.

We were not told all this in advance to instill panic. Instead, we were told all this so that when these things begin coming to pass, when our Lord in His wisdom and intent begins shaking heaven and earth to draw men, in desperation, to Him, that we His saints would not panic or faint or fall away.

Reference: Here’s the “I WILL SHAKE” promise, repeated in Hebrews to the NT believer, quoting from the book of Haggai, chapter 2:
(Hebrews 12:25-29)
25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,
26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “ Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”
27 Now this, “ Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Back to Jesus’ discussion of end-times: And how do we see the unprepared saints potentially responding? Did Jesus allude to anything?

(Luke 21:25-28)
25 “ And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; (AND WE ARE INVITED TO EXAMINE THOSE SIGNS – Col 2:16)
26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (MORE SHAKING REFERENCE. Haggai 2)
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

So the prepared saints are told this will be their finest hour, and to lift their heads up in hope. Meanwhile, ones who recognize these things happening (“expectation of the things which are coming on the earth”) are at least in better shape than the ones who want to think “life goes on unchanged”. A bunny trail, for a moment, into Beatles lyrics – Peter contradicts the Beatles. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da is NOT a biblical principle. It is a deception. Life does not simply go on:

(2 Peter 3:3-4,9)
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
4 and saying, “ Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.

9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Paul, meanwhile is fully convinced that what God has begun in each and every saint, throughout all time, He indeed is fully capable of completing, and fully intent to complete:

(Philippians 1:6)
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

The ball is therefore in our court. How we choose to live our lives has much to say re the outcome of our faith.

(Ephesians 6:10-13)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

How does that compare to:
(Proverbs 24:10)
10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
Your strength is small.

“Having done, all, to stand” means just that. How ridiculously and inarguably clear and straightforward is Paul’s writing to the Church throughout all times.
1. As things get tougher (and we see that happening), we are reminded of the spiritual component of the battle trumping the physical situation in which we might find ourselves.
2. The armor of God is required, and available to us.
3. It is our choice and our proper response to this admonition – to put and keep on the armor.
4. In the most evil of days, simply not losing ground will be a good thing.
5. And we’re told it will take full effort. Having done ALL.

Interestingly, during the inter-testamental time of the primary anti-christ figure before the New Testament era (Antiochus Epiphanes), Israel was hopelessly being tormented by the oppression of Greco-Syria. Fortunately, a Jewish clan called the Maccabees got hold of the earlier writings of Daniel, and read and believed and acted upon these verses of promise. Although all odds were against them, their faith and their actions shifted the course of military history, bringing it into alignment with prophetic destiny:

(Daniel 11:32)
32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

It is notable that our Lord, responding to end-times questions, specifically pointed His followers (us included) back to that very same prophetic book.

(Matthew 24:15)
15 “ Therefore when you see the ‘ abomination of desolation, ’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand)

I believe our Lord, in pointing us back to Daniel, was also pointing us back to the promise of great exploits in Him.

David declared this victory pronouncement in 2 Samuel and it is repeated in Psalm 18:

(2 Samuel 22:33-35)
33 God is my strength and power,
And He makes my way perfect.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
35 He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Our assurance is success. Our anchor is the word of God. Our response to the invitation of “having done all, to stand” tells us we can, when we lay hold of the grace to walk in the fullness of what the Lord calls us into.

So our righteous response would then be: “Lord, I want Your fullness in my life. I want it all. Whatever it takes. Whatever needs to be shaken, removed, adjusted, revealed, repented of, embraced, strengthened, put on. Expose my worldliness. Kill my religiosity. Your will be done in me, as it is in heaven”.

Be careful. If you pray that our God will hear you.

all scripture NKJV

Posted in End Times Related, Everything, Movement of God, Personal Relationship, Prayer, Prophecy, Repentance, Revelation(s), Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | 1 Comment

Warning Every Man

Posted on February 24, 2014 by ez3728

“PERFECT” has a huge component of completeness to it, and it would do us all well to understand that the perfection of God’s word, message, and plans, is therefore complete. It doesn’t require, need or want our additions, subtractions, or deletions. In fact, it has been to the detriment and even destruction of the people of God, whenever someone ventures to modify, modulate or manhandle that which God has spoken.

Up through the end of the book of Revelation there remain warnings regarding additions and deletions to the word of God:

Rev 22:18-19
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Hey wait a minute: The God of love warning New Testament saints about Him sending plagues? That’s an admonition to the saints? Whoa. Powerful words of warning. Yep. Don’t add, don’t delete. I didn’t write it.

Arguably, one might want to limit that stern warning, ascribing it exclusively to the book of Revelation itself, and perhaps also regarding the “sin of deletion or addition” as being limited to physically cutting and pasting away at some “new printed version”. But why?

In consideration of the following verses, it would seem safe to interpret such warnings as pertaining to the entire word of God. Our great God has always been proactively jealous over His word:

Prov 30:6
6 Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

Deut 12:3232
“ Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it…”

My personal takeaway from these verses is that the call of God to the saints was, is, and always will be to proclaim the entire gospel, the whole message (whole enchilada, if you will) – because ALL that God has told us is for ALL men, ALL the time.

Paul surely understood that charge (and this is the man who said “imitate me as I imitate Christ” – 1 Cor 1:11).

Before we read Acts 20:26-27, we would do well to see what those verses did NOT pertain to – the sins he committed prior to his Damascus road encounter with Jesus – before which he (the apostle Paul) had been, at very least, an active accomplice to the murder of saints:

Acts 26:10-11
10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

With that horrific past, it is glorious and notable how Paul fully accepted the absolute and unquestionable full-forgiveness afforded him by the redemptive work of the cross.

Meanwhile, and for our purposes, SUBSEQUENT TO his salvation experience and moving forward into his call to function as a believer, he understood that there remained for him (and by implication, for all of us) an ongoing accountability to be preaching the entire gospel of our God:

Acts 20:26-27
26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

He was not speaking about the blood of the saints martyred in part by his arrest-crusade, conducted prior to his conversion. He was talking about his innocence in fulfilling the ministry call to preach it all, to all. Paul was saying that his freedom from accountability to God was a result of him not failing to declare the whole counsel of God.

There you go. The whole enchilada. Nothing held back.

And what was the message of Paul’s day? What was the effectual message preached that ignited the Book of Acts church and launched the gospel into the world, with signs and wonders following? (And isn’t that what we are longing for in our time?). It was a gospel of repentance, promise, hope, and sober warning (note verse 23):

Peter proclaimed:

Acts 3:19-23
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. ’

I personally bristle at the old Christian-hippie slogan:
“Give Jesus a chance”.
Are you kidding me? God is offering mankind a way to escape destruction, and saints have the sickly sweet audacity to turn it into: “Give Jesus a chance”?

Peter quoted Moses, in telling the people that any who would not receive the Christ would be in jeopardy of destruction.

Stephen (the first martyr), quoted the very same verse from Deuteronomy in his very last message:

Acts 7:37
37 “ This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear. ’

Paul said it this way:

Col 1:28-29
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Of course it is a message that must be spoken in love, otherwise it is simply harsh, and religious. Nevertheless it remains the message that must be spoken to all men. It is the full message that activates the power, conviction and hope of the Holy Spirit. It is the charge to, and the accountability of, all men.

The world needs to hear it, and our proclamation of the full truth frees us from the liability of omission. Warn every man.

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world…..” we can all finish up that love-proclamation verse. But what does John 3:17-18 tell us?

John 3:16-18
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.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The love of God offers man a way out of the condemnation that is already in place, and the judgment already upcoming. Jesus didn’t bring condemnation because condemnation was already here, due to disobedience and sin.

It is our love for man, our healthy fear of the Lord, and our willingness to tremble at the Word of God, that would cause us to never omit, delete, soften, toughen, or in any way try to customize, modulate or mishandle the full message of our great God.

Psalms 19:7-11
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

All scriptures NKJV.

Posted in Everything, Fear of the Lord, Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Onomatopoeia

Posted on February 19, 2014 by ez3728

The very word “ONOMATOPOEIA” can trigger an instant, mental knee-jerk reaction: “I don’t want to see it, read it, nor attempt to speak it out. It’s too big a word, too long, too weird. Too many vowels in a row. Whatever.

Ironically, the definition of that word is all about sounds and speech, and their meaning. First, let’s get past the pronunciation challenge: “ON-O, MOTT-O, PEE-UH”. There you go. It wasn’t that difficult.

Onomatopoeia is a long word to describe other words that SOUND like what they are:
BUZZ, ZIPPER, HICCUP. CRUNCH. You get it. It sounds like what it is. Now we can get on to GILGAL.

Gilgal is first mentioned in Deuteronomy 11:30, it being cited as the destination for the children of Israel to enter the Promised Land. Joshua 4:19 then confirms that Gilgal indeed was the place where Israel entered. It is rather a miraculous story, involving a supernatural parting of the waters not unlike the prior parting of the Red Sea many years earlier, as Israel was being chased by the Egyptian army.

Regarding the Jordan parting:

Josh 3:14-17

14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,

15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest),

16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

The Lord (in Joshua 4) then commanded the Israelites to take twelve large stones (one per tribe) and stack them as a memorial (“cairn”) that would prompt later generations to inquire as to why they were stacked. This would then incite memorial conversations to recount the greatness of the deeds of God in making a way for the people to enter in. And they entered in to a place called Gilgal. That is where the stone memorial was erected.

Gilgal in Hebrew means “a wheel, or rolling”. As you can see, it is a Hebraic onomatopoeia – sounding like a wheel rolling, but not a perfectly smooth wheel rolling, because then one would be inclined to think the place should have been called Gil-Gil, or Gal-Gal, mimicking a smoother rolling, uninterrupted cycle. Instead, we have two sounds, one a little different from the other, almost pointing to a less than perfectly smooth road, or perhaps the differentiation in sounds is due to a hand-made wheel a little out of round. Whichever may be responsible for the GAL sound after the GIL, somehow I have found encouragement in the implication that the journey the Lord has His people on is not necessarily a smooth road. Mine sure hasn’t been.

There seems to be something in the human psyche that longs for the smooth things, the easier high-speed route, the predictable, the methodical, the uninterrupted.

Meanwhile we find ourselves in a fluid, living relationship with a God Who, unlike carved images that will look like how they looked years ago when they were first carved, is described by His Son as a Spirit (or wind):

John 4:24

24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 3:7-8

7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

8 “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Our religious inclinations seem to bend towards formality and process. Predictability. We want it the same all the time. No surprises, please.

To their detriment and eventual destruction, when the prophets of the Old Testament, in obedience spoke tough words to the wayward people, the masses sadly responded and sought out prophets who would tell them “smooth things” (Isa 30:10). They were willing to forsake the bumpy road of righteousness, requiring humbling and always inconvenient repentance and turning, in favor of the uninterrupted broad highway of convenience and pleasure.

To lesser jeopardy, but nonetheless also sadly offline with the higher plans of the Kingdom, Tevye the patriarch (“Fiddler On The Roof”) explained much of the what the Jews followed and embraced in Tsarist Russia by singing that now-famous song, “Tradition!”. Biblical accuracy stood in jeopardy of being trumped by how they’d done it in the past. A formula for trouble. Relationship arthritically morphing into religious protocol.

Traditions are great. Memorials and commemorations are totally wonderful. But it appears, both biblically and experientially, that our great God, Who indeed loves process, order, planning and methodology, also speaks clearly to our spiritual adventure into the unexpected and the inconvenient:

Ps 84:5-7

5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.

The pilgrimage of God is guaranteed to take us into unknown and even uncomfortable realms. It is in these places, when the Gil and the Gal seem to take us to our limits of unpredictability, that faith finds its proper home – where we realize we are invited to a place of intimacy with the Comforter, as opposed to a place of comfort. It is that place we are being called into, where we can say as the psalmist says in psalm 116:

“I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord”.

Whatever the will of God is for my life, I want and accept that will.

Peter went so far as to tell us that when we find ourselves in tough situations, we would do well to not explain to God how He ought to be handling our deliverance, but instead committing our souls to Him, recognizing His ongoing creative nature:

1 Pet 4:19

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

I believe His Kingdom coming is Gilgal – a bumpy road. Church progress will be Gilgal. Our personal progress will be Gilgal. Relationships. Communications. All of it. But it will be good. He will be glorified in our trusting while not knowing the HOW or the WHEN of His deliverance. We find ourselves in faith.

Meanwhile The Faithful One promises He will not leave us nor forsake us. And we are admonished and invited to not leave nor forsake Him.

Heb 4:9-16

9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus, our High Priest, walked His own Gilgal and can fully relate to ours.

I believe part of the work of our relentless enemy, the Accuser, is to falsely present to us a counterfeit, smooth gospel – in fact, a gospel so smooth and easy that when the reality of God invades our life we can, if not biblically founded, become susceptible to discouragement, complaint, and even anger. That is why the writer of Hebrews clearly points us to the supernatural and proactive work of the Word of God to keep us centered on the King and the Kingdom, so that we do not fall prey to misconceptions and complaint.

What a great plan. What a great God.
Gilgal to you, pilgrim.

Another bump. Another step closer to our destination.

There remains a rest for the people of God.

Posted in Everything, Fear of the Lord, Openness, Personal Relationship, Prayer, Suffering, Testing, Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | Leave a comment

The Outhouse Incident

Posted on February 5, 2014 by ez3728

There was never a greater king in Israel than David, the son of Jesse. Meanwhile, the king prior to David would be in the running for one of the worst. That would be Saul.

Saul had already blown it, time and again, by the time David was anointed (by Samuel) to be king. So the anointing was upon David, and yet the man remaining on the throne was Saul.

In fact, by the time David was anointed by Samuel, God had Saul in His cross-hairs:

1 Sam 16:13-14
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.

It would therefore appear pretty obvious as to who was in line to rule, and who was in line for eventual replacement (at best) and destruction (at worst). Still, Saul remained on the throne because God still had some work to do. I believe some of the work still to be done was in David, and was for us to behold, for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have come.

Learning the Kingdom dynamics of ruling and reigning, authority and power, accountability and position, will become more critical, both as this age accelerates toward its conclusion, and as the next age comes upon us.

Prior to David’s anointing, Samuel’s word to Saul clearly reveals the state of affairs:

1 Sam 15:27-28
27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.
28 So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

The prophet’s robe was torn in desperation. It was a prophetic act by a desperate man.

Meanwhile, David’s plight/flight continues, as Saul musters his army and he himself goes to hunt down the one who would eventually replace him. Jealousy and desperation are two terrible taskmasters.

1 Sam 24:1-4
1          Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”
2          Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
3          So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)
4          Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.'” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

Are you kidding me? A potty story in the Holy Scriptures?
Amen, and amen.

I believe our great God was, and remains, so intent upon making a divine point abundantly clear, that He orchestrated the affairs of men, at a time and in a place that would leave no wiggle-room for any misunderstanding. This account almost appears as hyperbole, except for the fact that it remains in the timeless canon of Scripture for all generations, for our edification and admonishment.

We are not talking about a king on his golden throne, holding a scepter. We’re presented a desperate king on the “other kind of throne” – actually probably squatting in the dark, doing what one must do. Demeaning, lowly, inglorious. Some privacy please. But God wanted David’s holy response to be publicly proclaimed. So the lights are on and the stadium is full of onlookers, including all students of scripture, for all time. Apologies, Saul.

As “chance might have it”, David and his followers just happen to be hiding in that very cave.

David’s men (accurately) looked at this “coordinated incident” as a divine opportunity from the Lord, to take out the one who was eventually going to be taken out by God Himself.

Verse 4, again:
4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.'” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

Unlike desperate-Saul tearing Samuel’s robe, desperate-David cuts the robe of the king.

But David was a man of God. Although these events occurred centuries prior to Daniel’s prophetic revelation of “authority dynamics”, David already knew in his spirit Who was in charge of the heavens and the earth.

Daniel 2:21
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings and raises up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

Meanwhile, back to the cave:

1 Sam 24:5
5 Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.
6 And he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.”

The New King James bible translates the Hebrew word “masiyah” as “anointed of the Lord”. We would recognize it better as messiah. The anointed one.

As a result of his own intimacy with God, David understood eternal Kingdom principles, and in that understanding recognized that Saul, not yet having been removed by God Himself, still sat in the position of anointing, even though he was not living the lifestyle of anointing. It did not matter to David.

David’s theology was not corrected by God, although there are many times in Scripture when God in His love, mercy, and accuracy would correct false statements or faulty conclusions made by even His most beloved servants (He corrected Elijah when the prophet bemoaned his being the only righteous one left in Israel – 1 Kings 19:14-18. And He corrected Nathan when the prophet agreed with then-reigning David that David building God a temple would be a good idea – 1 Chron 17:1-5). It would therefore seem reasonable to consider God’s silence in the cave (at David’s proclamation about “messiah Saul”) as being His quiet affirmation of David’s theology.

Further studying the subsequent dialogue between David and Saul, we can see that David clearly understood who he was, who Saul was, who God was, and what would be the eventual outcome to the injustices of life. David was no chump. And yet David chose the very highest ground, and in so choosing postured himself for promotion by God.

2 Samuel 24
8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down.
9 And David said to Saul:“Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘ Indeed David seeks your harm ’?
10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed. ’
11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it.
12 Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.
13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘ Wickedness proceeds from the wicked. ’ But my hand shall not be against you.
14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?
15 Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”
16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “ Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
17 Then he said to David:“You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.
18 And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.

God’s kindness to Saul, via David, should have led Saul to repentance. Instead, it only led him to regret. Regret being insufficient without the added component of complete turning, Saul was destined to eventual destruction by the hand of the Lord.

Where is all this going to? It is going to the New Testament, to the days of grace, to the intense times in which we live.

The Kingdom principle of God placing sometimes unlikely people into anointed positions, and still sovereignly reigning over it all, continues to mystify many. But it appears to not mystify those closest to the Lord.

Rabbi Paul is a good example. Ananias the high priest was actively opposed to the gospel message, and yet the anointed apostle demonstrated his own David-and-Saul-in-the-cave theology as he stood before a courtroom of ungodly men and repented for basically calling a spade a spade:

Acts 23:1-5
1          Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”
2          And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
3          Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
4          And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”
5          Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'”

There is a more divine realm than the one in which we physically function daily. Our great God is watching us, testing us, and training us to live by the principles of that divine realm. Those principles include understanding and recognizing our God’s sovereignty over all things. Either He is God of all, or else He is not God at all.

Leaderships come and go. The ones in higher places, with higher callings, have the greater, not the lesser, accountability. The Centurion got it. He told Jesus that he was a man “UNDER authority”, not “IN authority”.

I believe we’re being invited to allow God to be God, and to humbly recognize His jealousy over His bride, the Church. His intent is to put the right people into the right places, for the right times – to grow people, sovereignly as well as experientially, into their own fullness.

He is therefore dealing with us all, wanting to perfect us all. Iron will continue to sharpen iron, with sparks. His timing is not our timing. His desire is for all of us to walk in intimacy, and therefore in success. The exercising of our free will is what will determine our individual success or failure.

Leader or follower, the redeemed are called to be stewards of the greater grace. God is rooting for us all. He wants us all to make it. His desire is that we all live up to our destiny calls.

The warnings put forth towards all (saved or unsaved) who would choose to continue to walk in error, or rebellion, arrogance, or unbridled authority, are clear. And they are severe. An admonition for the saved, the servant of Luke 12 is master over other servants, but acting as a cruel authority. This is from the lips of our Lord:

Luke 12:45-49
45        “But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,
46        “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, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
47        “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48        “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
49        “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

God is cooking up something radical these days. The whole creation groans, waiting for the revelation of us.

This is why we are told to pray for those in authority. This is why we’re told love covers a multitude of sin. This is why we’re told that the world would know we are His disciples by the love we have one for another.

I believe a radical demonstration of our true faith has and will remain our belief in God’s ability to accomplish His purposes, to prepare His people, and to perfectly coordinate who will be in what position in His church. The only person who will ever be able to prevent any one of us from realizing our full destiny call, will be ourselves. No man, no ministry, no created being will be able to separate us from the fullness.

We’re invited to have a heart like David.

All scripture NKJV

Posted in Everything, Fear of the Lord, Movement of God, Personal Relationship, Prayer, Repentance, Suffering, Testing, Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | 1 Comment

What Does ALL Mean?

Posted on January 14, 2014 by ez3728

noun:
the whole of one’s possessions, energy, or interest: giving their all for what they believed.

God has made it abundantly clear that He prioritizes, deserves and, yes, requires our giving it all. That might sound demanding, but in fact it is part of the eternal covenant. All is His in the first place, He owns it all, including us:

(Psalms 100:3-5)
3 Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

The psalmist admonishes us to know this truth which endures to all generations. We are His.

(Psalms 144:15-B)
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

Happy are the people whose God is the Lord means just that: “Happy are the ones who have enthroned Him into the place of absolute lordship and mastery over everything”. It does not mean “happy are the ones who no longer lie, cheat or steal because they had a God-experience and now attend a fellowship”. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord of their lives.

The Ten Commandments, apparently prioritized by order of content (we’ll see Jesus’ response to a priority-commandment question by His disciples), starts off with this truth:

(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
4 “ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Jesus, in fulfilling the righteous requirements of the Mosaic Law, did not do away with Commandment Number One, nor do I believe He was implying, “I’ll take care of that one for you by dying on the cross”. I believe He in fact both:
(A) Reconfirmed its validity for the NT saints; and thankfully also
(B) Made a way, through His atoning work, for us to walk in the intimacy of holiness so that we now have the freedom to choose to give it all to God, always.

After all, if Jesus took care of that one for us by His atoning work, then it would be logical to conclude that we now no longer needed to worry about coveting our neighbor’s wife or BMW, since He took care of them all for us.

(Mark 12:28-30)
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “ Which is the first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him, “ The first of all the commandments is:‘ Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’ This is the first commandment.

“This IS the first commandment” means it IS and REMAINS. Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus clearly told folks when He was initiating a new way. He doesn’t say to them (or us) – “But now I tell you a better way that trumps your being commanded to be loving with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength”.

That is the foundation of our gospel message – not that we were set free from our sins to now go live our good and restrained-from-sin lives as we so choose, but rather that we were made free to finally be able to make the ongoing daily choice to completely surrender all to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and to enter that most holy place of intimacy. Yea God!

Jesus in fact made it clear that now that our lives were our own, our good choices would mean eternal life, and our poor choices would mean otherwise. Note that our Lord clearly was not speaking to the unsaved. He was speaking to those already His disciples:

(Matthew 16:24-27)
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “ If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

RE: My Own Journey.
The following verses in 2 Corinthians strike a resonant chord in my own life, and have been illuminated by the Holy Spirit to my mind and heart. Apparently this is something the Lord is wanting me to be attentive to, and to be working on.

The question to myself: what does “every thought into captivity” really look like? Can I get there? Can we get there? Are we called to get there – because if we are (and I believe we are) then there is sufficient grace to succeed in that goal:

(2 Corinthians 10:3-6 NKJVS)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

For many years I read 2 Cor 10 as meaning casting down strongholds and arguments in others, as we present, declare, and defend the gospel message. True – but I have come to believe these verses pertain more clearly and more accurately to our own inner man. Oh help me God. How much of the authority of the Kingdom is available to us, to me, as we/I die to self?

We are called, charged and invited to surrender all. That is our calling, that is our victory, that is our shalom, that is our goal while awaiting His return. The creation continues to groan, waiting the revelation of the sons of God, the Spirit-led ones who will do the greater works. I don’t believe the creation will need to groan any longer once our Lord returns – so that would mean that the total surrender of the saints should be now, for us to fulfill our greater-works mandate. Makes sense.

The psalmist, rallying everyone and everything to praise, is encouraging the creation that its groaning days will be concluded:

(Psalms 98:7-9)
7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord,
9 For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity.

I digress.

Back to ALL.

Written in 1896 by Justin DeVenter, and now public domain is the song I have begun singing to the Lord. I believe He wants to hear it. He certainly deserves to hear it. He made a way for us to get to this place:

All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
- Refrain:
  I surrender all,
  I surrender all;
  All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
  I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

Justin DeVenter obviously was called to a place of total surrender. I love the conclusion of this song. Feeling the sacred flame. I want that.

Posted in Communion, End Times Related, Eternity, Everything, Giving, Movement of God, Personal Relationship, Thanksgiving, Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | Leave a comment

You Might As Well Kill The Dog

Posted on December 11, 2013 by ez3728

I so love dogs. But typically, in Scripture, they represent something unclean. I’m sure the Hebrews loved their pets. “Unclean” meant you didn’t eat it, you didn’t offer it as a sacrifice, stuff like that. Needless to say, the dogs were likely relieved to find themselves on the “unclean” list, as opposed to on the altar.

THAT SAID – the verses in Isaiah 66 that refer to breaking a dog’s neck are not offering forth a pro-animal-cruelty doctrine. To the contrary, they are a pictorialization as to how worthless their “worship” and religiosity had become. Because they were not living by the Word of God, nor trembling at its specific accuracy and eternal potency, even all of their acceptable and prescribed acts of worship – offering a bull or submitting a grain offering – were being regarded by holy God as both unclean and unacceptable – likened to acts of unclean sacrifice. We cannot serve God and play religion at the same time.

The people of God, at all times, are invited to tremble at the Word of God. That is a good thing.

2 “But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.

3 “He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,

4 So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.
(Isaiah 66:2-4 NKJVS)

It comes down to relationship and holy living, in the fear of the Lord, according to His standards, and never ours. To the contrary, God actively despises and resists the “updating” or lax interpretation, or purposed ignoring, of His Word so that it might fit more comfortably into society’s ever-changing vision or fleshly wisdom. It has always proven to be a design for guaranteed failure, inside the church/synagogue, or outside.

God was saying, through Isaiah, if you choose by My grace to adhere to My Word in its entirety, I will look upon you for your blessings.

If not, then you might as well kill the unclean dog and offer it as holy. Your religion becomes putrid.

We need to be so careful, in these purposely turbulent days, that we are accurately dividing the word of God (as Paul admonished Timothy). We must be in it, and we must allow the Bible to interpret itself. Commentaries are dandy, and can be most helpful. But unless a doctrine fits the entire Word of God, reject it. No fresh revelation from the Throne of Eternal God (and there surely will be fresh revelation as He continues to speak to His people) will ever contradict that which He has already revealed to us in the canon of scripture. Got that?

Deut 8 (reaffirmed by Jesus) says that man lives by every word that proceeds (ongoing, active state) from the mouth of God. And we are accountable to know the Word of God, so that we have a standard by which to discern what is of the Lord, and what is not.

I’ve recently been studying backwards, time-wise, from the Babylonian captivity, to gain more insight into the failure of leadership (as well as followership) prior to those terrible 70 years, and the years directly preceding them. There were never times without warnings from our gracious God.

Good king Josiah provided a temporary reprieve in that he went about righting some serious wrongs. There is hope in our recollection of his ministry and reign.

The people, from the top down, sobered up when they went back to the word of God and stopped toying around with the doctrines-du-jour. Sound familiar?

PRE-BIRTH PROPHECY OF JOSIAH’S BIRTH AND MISSION (by an unnamed yet mighty man of God). Note the intensity of the judgment prescribed for ungodly leadership, who would have the people sacrifice to false gods:
2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you. ’”
(1 Kings 13:2 NKJVS)

JOSIAH COMES TO THE THRONE, AND CALLING A SPADE A SPADE, HE CHOOSES TO FULFILL HIS PROPHESIED DESTINY:
13 “ Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us
(2 Kings 22:13 NKJVS)

JOSIAH GETS BLESSED BY GOD, AND WHY:
18 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, “ Thus says the Lord God of Israel:‘ Concerning the words which you have heard —

19 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord.
(2 Kings 22:18-19 NKJVS)

He will always look with favor upon those who tremble at His Word.
That is the invitation. Therein lies the blessing of intimacy, and true knowing. Yada.

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8 NKJVS)

Posted in Everything, Giving, Movement of God, Personal Relationship, Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | Leave a comment

A Lesson from the Apocrypha

Posted on December 4, 2013 by ez3728

6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
(Malachi 3:6 NKJV)

That was and remains a promise of our merciful God, written in the OLD Testament, to us all – both the bloodline of Jacob as well as the children of promise, the Gentile ingathering through Christ.

That, in combination with this next NT revealed truth ought to end all arguments as to God’s constancy regarding crime and punishment – Hebrews might even cause the sober-minded to conclude the Lord has actually upped the ante on our accountability, along with providing us with the greater intimacy of sonship through the atoning work of the cross:
2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,
3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him
(Hebrews 2:2-3 NKJV)

The writer of Hebrews rightly brought that admonishment forth in the NT, for us.
“Every transgression received a just reward” ought to quickly sober us to the fact that God is ultimately fairer and more merciful than we will ever be.

Pre-Flood, the world became more and more evil, until the thoughts of men’s heart were only wicked continually (Gen 6:5).

Likewise, the current world is simply not as wicked as it is eventually going to become. Jesus told us that, so if you care to disagree, I’d say argue with Him:

21 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.
26 “ Therefore if they say to you, ‘ Look, He is in the desert! ’ do not go out; or ‘ Look, He is in the inner rooms! ’ do not believe it. (Local looking by the way. Few argue His target return destination is His beloved Israel)
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
(Matthew 24:21-27 NKJV)

Personally I do not see Matthew 24 being conclusively fulfilled during 70AD (a popular belief among some) simply because the far more wicked and numerically greater genocides of Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Lenin, etc. all trumped the horrific destruction of Jerusalem by Titus’ Roman army. And v 27 told us that the “coming of the Son of Man” is attached to that (never-to-be-trumped) final troubling.

Because the current world is not as bad as it will eventually be (re: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 – referring to last days), when the Church reads verses about God’s prophesied final actions towards a fully-matured wicked world (in both OT and NT writings), some are inclined to struggle, in their limited-perspective human mercy, to allow God to be God. Yet He will not change. Nor will He be made in our image.

The jeopardy of embracing a doctrine denying God’s judgments and corrections can be understood from a quick look into the historic account from the book of 1 Maccabees, in the Apocrypha.

10 The wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus the Third of Syria, was a descendant of one of Alexander’s generals. Antiochus Epiphanes had been a hostage in Rome before he became king of Syria in the year 137. (That 137 citation is a year-dating from Greek calculations used during that period. All of history confirms that Antiochus Epiphanes lived during the inter-testamental period)
11 At that time there appeared in the land of Israel a group of traitorous Jews who had no regard for the Law and who had a bad influence on many of our people. They said,
Let’s come to terms with the Gentiles, for our refusal to associate with them has brought us nothing but trouble.
12 This proposal appealed to many people,
13 and some of them became so enthusiastic about it that they went to the king and received from him permission to follow Gentile customs.
14 They built in Jerusalem a stadium like those in the Greek cities.
15 They had surgery performed to hide their circumcision, abandoned the holy covenant, started associating with Gentiles, and did all sorts of other evil things.
(1 Maccabees 1, Good News Translation)

God had instructed His covenant people to follow His commandments, at which time they would prosper. And He had told them in the past that disobedience would often be punished by the “blows of the sons of men” – God utilizing the services of other nations:
14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. (2 Samuel 7:14 NKJV)

During the period between Malachi and the New Testament, God may have ceased prophetically SPEAKING with His errant people, but He did not stop DEALING with His errant people.

Their sin rendered them ripe for correction. Along comes Antiochus Epiphanes, the prototypical anti-christ of the era before Jesus. Israel was ripe for his coming onto the scene (sound familiar?). Through disobedience and justification of their ways, instead of repentance, the people of God had ceased being the salt of the earth, they were therefore fit to be trodden underfoot…..

Those folks, having abandoned scriptural truth, and refused to accept the fact that God would proactively correct them and punish them for their sins. They could therefore come up with no other conclusion for their troubles than to presume that their sufferings were because they were “different”:

“Let’s come to terms with the Gentiles, for our refusal to associate with them has brought us nothing but trouble. ¹²This proposal appealed to many people…”

See the dilemma here? When the people of God refuse to accept the word of God, and the revealed personality of God, as being timeless and true (and fair, perfect, just, constant, etc., etc.) their/our buying into saccharin mercy and grace (Hey – I love real mercy and grace, they keep me going, daily!) what we will steadily morph towards will be this doctrine: “Hey – let’s coexist! The problem with the Church is that we’re not relevant to an ever-changing society. If we’re going to win the world for Christ, let’s be like the world, so they can relate”.

That would mean we no longer are called to hold up a standard of righteousness. That we’re no longer called warn every man. We’d draw no lines regarding lifestyles unacceptable to God – ours or theirs. We’d dial-down our preaching against sin.

The first thing to disappear from the church, when the church modifies or ignores the Word of God, is the power and presence of God. We’re already wondering where the power of God is to heal, deliver, convict and convince. We see a little, at best.

We might still look, smell, and pretend to be Christians, but we’d be preaching and speaking a “kinder and gentler” doctrine than what is biblically presented to us by God. And instead of chancing offending men, to bring them to repentance, we’d be offending God, getting deeper into the hole, denying His jealous dealings with us (as He refuses to affirm our bad behavior), and it can only get worse and worse.

First of all, no one will ever be really kinder and gentler than God. But His kindness and gentleness is wrapped in holiness.

When the Church concludes that being like the world is the answer to our survival (and even key to our flourishing), and refuses to accept the biblical truth that often our troubles MIGHT JUST BE GOD HIMSELF dealing with our sinful nature, then we would be opening the doors to yet another Antiochus Epiphanes – except the one upcoming will fulfill ALL of the prophetic qualifications of Anti-Christ. He is titled that right now, only because we do not yet know his name.

Hosea puts it this way, as he puts forth a timeless call to the people of God to admit they are wrong and to recognize that God was, is, and will always be, right – and that in our repentance (sorrow, regret, and turning back) we are promised the true mercy of outpouring, on His terms.
1 Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
(Hosea 6:1-3 NKJVS)

Posted in Cleanliness, Communion, Eternity, Everything, Fear of the Lord, Personal Relationship, Repentance, Understanding & Knowing God | 2 Comments

Spending

Posted on October 17, 2013 by ez3728

Gal 6:7-9
7        Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8        For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9        And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Wow – how clear is that?

Christian-common-sense, except that collectively The Church somehow seems to have degraded this inarguable truth to a bumper-sticker.

(SOBER NOTE: “…in DUE TIME….” may mean then next age, after our Lord has returned, and sets all things in proper order. The Hebrews 11:36-37 heroes of faith understood that.

Gal 6:7-7 ought to be our mantra, our life-quest, the plumbline for every decision we make. How we SPEND our lives, our time, our energies, our resources. I believe, as the clock ticks louder, all of those “spending decisions” will become more critical. Every shot will count, and in fact the Lord is teaching us that escalating truth right now, in this very season. He loves us so much He continues to refuse to affirm less than holy behavior.

I have not been a great investor, in this age. Not to justify any poor financial decisions I may have made, I nonetheless see in scripture the temporal futility of only current-age investment:

Ps 49:10-11
10 For he sees wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

I am more and more of the mind to spend the rest of my life (“SPEND” the rest of my life) on things and issues of the Kingdom, for the King. Prioritizing what He prioritizes. De-prioritizing what simply doesn’t matter.

Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God (Rom 8:someplace). The Spirit will always be leading us to redeem the time, because the days are evil, and we are therefore invited/charged to discover the will of God (Eph 4)

Isa 55:1-3
1        “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2        Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3        Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you– the sure mercies of David.

Buy without money. But buy.

Isaiah knew it would cost everything, but also tells us the cost cannot be paid monetarily. Jewish history tells us Isaiah was martyred by being sawn in half, per Hebrews 11. He paid the price.

Seeking the Kingdom first assures us of all things working out for our eternal good if/when/once we’ve made (and continue daily to make) the decision to come into the calling of His purposes – as we align with His will.

We must be careful to not be deceived. Digging into the Book of Truth is our assignment. No matter who tells us anything contrary to scripture, it remains contrary to God’s plans, and He is not mocked.

Posted in Everything, Fear of the Lord, Giving, Worship | Leave a comment

Salty Talk

Posted on October 3, 2013 by ez3728

Col 4:6
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Paul knew how to talk to all men. He spoke as a father to those needing fathers. He rebuked sharply when it was time to rebuke. He encouraged when it was time to encourage. That is the true gospel of Christ – not a formula of religiously nice and kind and artificially positive words, but rather a Spirit-led tongue, attached to a Spirit-led mind, understanding the times and purposes of God.

Peter, who had earlier in his walk demonstrated good intention eroded by impetuous declarations, later came under the sway of the Spirit and said it this way:
1 Pet 1:11
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The goal, as well as the motivation, ought to be the glorification of God. That can come forth in joyful and light-hearted conversation, a business negotiation, a sermon or teaching.

At the same time, the nuclear-warhead recessed in our mouths is presented as a potentially dangerous weapon by James, the Lord’s brother. He understood the accountability of the tongue. He identified speech as a weathervane of our self-control in other areas of our life.

James 3:2
2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

God spoke the world into existence, and we as His children are invited and commanded to continue the holy and creative process of speaking forth the Kingdom.

It’s no wonder that a war-of-words streams through our environment, in negativity, accusation, false doctrine, blasphemies.

Our response is a sanctified tongue. Lord help me. Help us.

Matt 12:35-37
35      “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36      “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37      “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

As things progress forward towards the end of this age, I believe the Spirit-led saints will learn, more and more, of both the potential as well as the jeopardy of our words.

All scriptures NKJV

Posted in Cleanliness, Everything, Fear of the Lord, Holiness, Holy Speech, Prayer, Repentance | 1 Comment

The Divine Invitation To Tremble

Posted on September 5, 2013 by ez3728

I sometimes muse over different human traits, characteristics, body-action responses, etc.

EXAMPLE: Tickling is a marvel. You cannot tickle yourself, yet someone else can cause the effect. Why, God? How about yawn-suggestion from one person to the next?

I have no answers for those two issues yet. Nor do I plan to spend much time on such mysteries.

Shaking is something different.

Random House Dictionary defines it this way (the first two of seven descriptions):
shake (shayk) v. <shook, shak-en, shak-ing> n.
v.i.
1. to move with short, quick, vibratory
movements.
2. to tremble with emotion, cold, etc.

Our God promised (in Haggai) some serious shakings. It was reiterated in Hebrews:

Hag 2:6-7
6 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
7 ‘and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts.

The writer of Hebrews (chapter 12) posting the Haggai prophecy (v 26) confirms that it had not yet happened at the time the book of Hebrews was being written. And reading carefully, you can see the Lord said “YET ONCE MORE” – so it has a set timeframe and period. It will be purposeful and notable – and there will indeed be a temple that will be filled with glory when our Lord steps through that Eastern Gate.

Haggai, and then the book of Hebrews, cites this future one-time season-of-shaking to describe God’s plan for end-times in-gathering. The Lord knows, more often than not, that folks are most inclined to come to Him when things are troubling – tribulating, if you will.

That is therefore the un-negotiable plan of heaven. Since He is not willing that any perish but that all will come to repentance, He will trouble this place to motivate the higher purpose – repentance and reconciliation.

Meanwhile, the saints are assured that in Him, and only in Him, we cannot be shaken by any outside source:

Ps 112:6-7
6 Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

The righteous – the ones who, by the grace of God, make daily and ongoing choice to do that which is right in the sight of God.

Following up in Hebrews, the writer finishes his confirmation of the Haggai prophecy by saying this:

Heb 12:27-29
27      Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28      Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
29      For our God is a consuming fire.

So God will indeed shake things, so that what cannot be shaken might remain. It is the purpose of the Lord of Hosts – Adonai T’sva-oat. King of the Universe and Commander of the Armies of Heaven. That is His action-name, if you will. No wonder God titled Himself in that manner, in His revelation of that word to Haggai.

Meanwhile, we are invited to find our safe, unshakeable place in Him by digging deep into the inarguable truths of His Word.

Here’s the invitation to shake, daily, at what is worthy of our shaking. It is the divine ticket into His watchful-eye presence over you, no matter what the season:

Isa 66:1-2
1 Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Take the Word lightly and it becomes dangerous. It can cut. It can destroy. And it will.

Tremble at the Word of God, honor it.
Eat the whole scroll, and you are good to go.