Monthly Archives: November 2015

Table for Four

Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Headed to dine
Not alone will we sit
A table for four
Will be the perfect fit.

God says he is with us
In our midst if two
So that makes three
If we include You.

Solomon wrote here
Of the strength of three
Cords greatly strengthened
By Godly friends you see.

Prayer warriors and friends
Always praying for each
Living life for Him
The Gospel to preach.

Knowing their needs
Even miles apart
Of one accord
Is each others heart.

God built this cord
Together for a season
Separated by sovereignty
We know not the reason.

Godly friends are priceless
They show us His grace
Through them we grow
We begin to see His face.

Intercessory prayer plays
The most important role
Deep caring thoughts
Nourishing the soul.

This world teaches self
The Bible teaches not
Relationships you see
Is all eternally you’ve got.

The center is Christ
Without him you will die
But when you truly know him
You will live in the sky.

Earthly relationships matter
Unlike possessions they remain
Nothing here on earth
Is truly any gain.

Godly friendships a gift
Are priceless treasures you see
The two of you mean
This world to me.

When we dine soon
We need room for One more
He will dine with us
We need a table for four.

Apple Trees

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Today, so many of us could skim over this passage, one of the most beautiful pictures in scripture of our relationship to Jesus. We could pass through it because we are lost at the analogy of the vine, the grape vineyard that was so prevalent in Jesus’ time. What about if I present it as an apple tree? What about understanding that Jesus is the tree trunk, we are the branches, the soil is the Bible, and the apples are good works? We can’t do anything as a branch that is not joined to the tree. Branches that aren’t joined end up on the ground, end up dead, and many be thrown into a fire and burned just as John 15 states.

If Jesus is the tree, he is everything to us. He is our foundation, he is where we get our nourishment from, and he is rooted in God’s Word. If the soil he is feeding each of his branches with, is the Bible, is the food that we need to survive, how will we not die if we do not feed on it? That is what causes us to die, to fall away from God, to become spiritually weak, to lack everything that comes from daily time with God, studying his Word. We will fall away, we will fall back to the ground, joined to the world again, dead, awaiting the fire. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

If we are a branch, growing with Jesus, we are getting higher with the tree, getting farther away from the ground. We find ourselves feeding on Jesus’ nourishment he pulls through the soil, we find ourselves becoming strong enough in our faith to produce fruit. What are these apples that begin to come forth? They are the heavenly works that come from a true heart of love for Jesus. They are heavenly works that produce evangelism, that produce integrity, that produce love and forgiveness when the world breeds selfishness and hate. Through the love of God, through the love of his Word, we begin to stand out from the crowd, we begin to look like Jesus to a hateful world; what God designed us for, (Romans 8:29)

All it takes to produce this heavenly fruit, is to slow down and just seek to abide for each day. Seek to just concentrate on today alone, to just spend one day at a time pursuing what God has for you. That will mean prayer, time in his Word, time seeking him throughout the day, time looking just to make it through the day, not worrying about tomorrow. Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Tomorrow is what the world preaches to you every day; to worry about what will come, when you don’t even know if tomorrow will come. You will likely miss the blessing of today, the blessing Jesus has laid before you, if you worry about a day that may not even arrive. If you just worry about your daily relationship to Jesus, the cares of the world seem small. You also realize the blessing at the end of John 15:5; for without Me you can do nothing. All you must do is to abide for each day, and let him produce that heavenly fruit through your life.

Time Lost

1 Peter 2:11-12 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
I have lost time
I know not where it be
I do not understand
What my Lord has done to me.

In a fog I walk
In my mind it stays
Will I remain
Here for my days?

Nothing seems clear
Time seems lost
Is this my cross
Is this the cost?

People demand time
They demand of me
I really care not
Only that they would see.

We are in the last days
Jesus’ imminent return
Repent and believe
Or Ye’ shall burn.

My country only cares
About the idol of me
Tangible worship
For all to see.

Our god of self
Is directing us to Hell
Only repenting of sin
Will make us well.

Jesus demanded we live
Holy as Thee
Idolatry of self
Is condemnation you see.

God first in your life
Jesus above it all
All else in life
Begins to become small.

Time looses it’s meaning
You focus on eternity
You live your life different
Selfless for others to see.

Time here is meaningless
Only a grain of sand
Eternity lies before us
Where will you stand?

Praying Without Ceasing

1 Thessalonians 5:16-23 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If there has been any point in my life, any point in which I could say I understood continual prayer, it was the twelve days in mission from which I just returned. It was not a requirement, not a duty put on the itinerary, not a feeling of obligation to the Lord, but a work of the Lord within the team. He was doing a greater work in us, likely than the work that he did through us. You must understand that we lived the book of Acts in the New Testament; we witnessed miracles before us, the works of God that are undeniable; if you deny the work of God, you are denying God himself. We can’t justify them through education, through explanation, through any means but God himself working his Spirit before our very eyes. All throughout the Bible are the request of men for a sign from God. All throughout the Bible the signs were given, and through many reasons, denied and explained away, but, rejoicingly, many came to faith as a result of them.

Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians church was one of great encouragement. Timothy had returned and told Paul of their great faith, but also of troubles in the church. Satan always seeks to divide the church; division is one of his greatest weapons. The division can be of any sorts, many sorts, and Satan is at work in all of them. Paul sought to encourage the believers, to unify the believers, to bring them together understanding the error of the false doctrine dividing. They were arguing of Jesus’ return; had he already – NO! Paul clearly lays out in this epistle what we understand as the Day of his return; the Rapture, the gathering of those first who died in faith, and then those of faith still living; the gathering of his church. 4:15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Listen to me! There is urgency of the gospel felt all around the world. There is evil peaking in terrorist attacks; Christian persecution, even martyrdom is it’s highest in history; God is giving you the signs of his imminent return. Will you worry more about work, about the Panthers game, about vacation, about Christmas presents, about the next purchase to make you feel good? What does Paul tell us; this letter to the early church pertains to us today also. Many try to explain away the relevancy of the Bible, but the God tells us a thousand years to us, is but a day to him (2nd Peter 3:8), so how can you justify your excuse of time that does not apply to God? 5:4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

You too can live a life of continual prayer. A life of continual prayer is a heart that is truly seeking the Lord with all their mind, body, and soul out of their love for him. It is a heart that seeks to abide in him, to walk in the Spirit, to live their life for the next one, and not pursue all the cares of this one. It is a life that seeks to lay down their cross, to dedicate each day to the One who is giving them breath for the day. It is one who seeks God in prayers and his Word each day with expectancy of hearing from him, for encouragement and direction for each day. When you seek God with everything you have, the Holy Spirit is praying without ceasing, on your behalf, with words to beautiful to be uttered. He is interceding for you before God; he is going to God on your behalf so that you are staying in God’s will for your life each day. Praying without ceasing is easy, you just turn your life fully over to God, and he will continually pray for you.

Pride’s Fall

Ezekiel 1:1-2 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ” ‘In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god. (NIV)

I was asked even before I went to India, why I thought they were so open to the gospel of Jesus Christ? My presumption was because of the poverty, because of their economic need, they thought Jesus was the answer. There I saw the poverty, yet I saw something different also. I saw them clinging to countless tangible idols; god’s they could see and touch; symbols of desires for anything they wished. Yet wrapped up in all their requests to countless gods, were countless failures. Their needs were never met, their idols always failed, their hearts were always seeking something that could not be attained. If pride had ever creeped into their society, it was only at the top, the temple workers who maybe felt some pride, but truly should feel defeated, for they failed their parishioners repeatedly. I did not see pride in their society like I see as the spine of America. Pride is ingrained into our minds at an early age, pursue the American Dream, you can have and do anything you wish. Pride is fed from our pulpits, feeding our beast that lies within us.

Look how God warned against the prideful king of Tyre. The prophet continues to tell of the coming fall in great detail; the death of the king due to his pride. The book of Proverbs says 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. It is very easy for me to speak of pride, because it is the spine of my testimony, a prideful man greatly humbled by the hand of God. It is painful, lasting, punishment thankfully before results could have been the same as the king of Tyre. Pride is the root of all evil, and pride has found it’s way into many grand pulpits today. Many a pastor is so rooted in their education, they become Pharisaical. Many a pastor is so prideful in their money, they spend millions on themselves in false pretense. Many a pastor have simply become entertainers, seeking the praise of the crowd. Many a pastor are feeding their sheep with a soft gospel, speaking only of the blessings of heaven, never preaching on the punishment of hell. All of these false teachers will be held to a higher accountability before our Lord on Judgement Day. Many will suffer eternally for leading astray so many souls. Remember what Jesus said about leading his children astray? Matthew 18:6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Satan has opened the door, Satan has the right to open that door of pride into our churches, how pride has become our idol even in our church! We are blinded and led astray by false teachers in many grand pulpits who feed their beast. We are told the American Dream is what we are to pursue, rooted in pride and fed from the pulpits where political correctness is greater than the Truth. The truth is not spoken any longer; only of blessings and not of punishment. The church has become weak and is falling away from God in astounding numbers under the poor leadership of these pastors. The miracles of God; the power of the Holy Spirit that is taught so little here in America is alive in India. I have seen the hand of God at work before my eyes; demons cast out, lame walk, blind see, cancer healed, thousand repent and recommit their lives to the One True God. They see their idols have failed them, but their hearts are more receptive because their idol is not themselves. They are not root in pride, they are not witness to pride in pulpits, their society is not taught pride. The American Church needs ( and is about to receive) a great humbling by God. The American Church needs revival, and that revival begins at the breaking down of the idol of self.

Acts 2:43 Then fear (awe) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

The early church was growing by God’s math. Thousands were being saved as the apostles shared the gospel and performed signs and wonders before the people. God was stirring their hearts by seeing the miracles of God before them. They knew God was in their midst because they saw these things; they were in holy, reverent fear of our Lord. The heart many times must be greatly humbled before it is weak enough to truly hear and know God. We must be broken by God to hear his still, small voice, the voice that says, “I have been here all the time my child. Even when you suffered many things, I was with you; I allowed that suffering to do a work in your heart. Be still and listen to me, now use your life for my purposes; to share your testimony of the works of miracles, mercy, and grace. Your testimony is one to me, one that Satan cannot destroy, one that I have built in you to carry you and those you influence into eternal paradise. If you will lay down your cross daily and follow me.” (Paraphrased)

As I shared every time I spoke in India, I am no different from you. There is nothing special about me (or you), we are children of the same God if he is, or has been tugging at your heart. It does not take any college degrees to understand the Word of God; it only takes a true humble heart and the Holy Spirit to reveal the truths of God to you. Your understanding is only measured my your true heart; if the heart is double minded with still holding onto cares of the world, likely the Bible just does not seem like a big deal to you. If you have come to believe you only understand what is being preached to you on Sunday, you are being led astray by a Pharisee, and only God can change your heart with a pure desire for him.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. My heart is so burdened for those who do not seek God daily. My heart is so burdened for pastors who rely on planning and intellect, and not the Holy Spirit. How can we say we know Him, if our heart does not pursue him daily? How can we preach about Him if we rely on lesson planning and timing of service’s? Where is God in our daily lives? Where is God in our hearts from the pulpits? We are living in a false hope if we are not walking and teaching in the Spirit. Those around us daily, those around us in churches, those affected by our every aspect of our daily lives either see us abiding, or relying on ourselves; their is not another choice. John 15: 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. Are you abiding?