Father

Therefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 1Peter 4:19

Father,

You are able to keep my soul bcos i only exist at all bcos you decided that i should exist.

You decided i should exist, so i can trust your decisions concerning me. You created me in every sense. I am your idea, i am your making. And when i was dead to you by my own sins your shined the light of your Son into my heart and raised me up with Him.

When i think that our origins are totally in you, that you have begotten me by your Word, i’m overwhelmed, and how could i NOT entrust my soul into your keeping?

Father, we ourselves can’t handle the suffering and the awful realities that have happened and will happen even worse on the earth, BUT we are not alone, and we trust you to keep our souls thru the dreadful firestorms that are coming to shake everything that can be shaken.

Father, you said you will pour out your bowls of wrath on the earth, but not on us, you will keep us for yourself.

In the sight of God

2Co 2:17  For we are not as many, who corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Church, Christianity, ministry – in the sight of God or in the sight of men?

Don’t the things today considered great in the sight of men appear foolish in the sight of God?

If you could take the whole thing and place it before the Throne of God, then how would it appear? Stupid? A joke? An abomination?

Everything in the Christian life MUST be done in the sight of God. If it wouldn’t appear right before His Throne, then don’t do it.

The Father knows

…who seeks His face and who hides his face from Him.

Seek you the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have kept his commands; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be you shall be hidden in the day of the LORD’S anger. Zeph. 2:3

A note on prophesying

If prophecy in the church is to be judged on the spot, as we are commanded to in 1 Cor. 14:29 , then how could it be predictive prophecy? A predictive prophecy can’t be judged till later, by whether the thing happens or not.

( This doesn’t mean predictive prophecies can never occur, just that they don’t constitute what prophecy is. Which is HIGHLY relevant today as perhaps the majority of Christians don’t understand this. When we think ‘prophecy’ or ‘prophetic’ we have been conditioned to think ‘predictions’, but prophecy is not defined by the predictive element in the NT, nor is a NT prophet defined as one who make predictions.)

So the gift of prophecy used in the church, max of 3 at one meeting, is not predictive prophecy.

As several other scriptures support, it is for edification, exhortation and comfort, and it is the testimony of Jesus : what He is currently speaking to His people.

Also, 1 Cor. 14:30 shows that prophesying in the church can be interrupted, if a word is given to another, so that means we are not to prophesy in the first person, “I the LORD say unto you…” , bcos then it would be problematic to interrupt, if someone is talking that way. Also problematic to judge it.

https://ianvincent.wordpress.com/false-prophet-warnings/

The servant of God

…should not seek after worldly influence, but rely upon the Holy Spirit to provide whatever influence is necessary to do the will of God.

– Mark Finger

The rest of Mark’s article here:

http://markfinger.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/jesus-and-his-words/

Why does God always address practical things?

When we sat for prayer yesterday we read 1 Peter chapter 4 and got fed many things by the Holy Spirit out of that chapter.

It came to me to comment that it is a very practical chapter. The question then arises, Why the stress on practical things? Why not just talk about heavenly things? Why not just solely ponder on the heavenly glory of God?

It is because He has come to live in us, and with us. Christ in you the hope of glory. The living God has tabernacled with us, His people. He dwells with us in the temple of our bodies.

So, the glory and the worship is IN the practical life bcos God is with us. He’s here, where we are : in our home, anywhere we are.

The glory and the worship is not in heaven, for us, at this time. It’s not on some mountain somewhere, it’s not in some ‘anointed’ special church.

The glory of God is 24/7 how we respond to Jesus Christ.

When Christians understand this and live in Him then we have a glorious church.

This relates to an American preacher i heard yesterday he talked very nicely about the glory of God, but he doesn’t obey the most basic of Jesus’ commands, so it’s just talk.

Half-truths

Doesn’t that hit the mark concerning so much teaching these days?

Not an obvious lie, a half-truth, which, on its own is not the truth.

Lofty talk, but not the commensurate life

Following a traditional program, programmed by men, no consideration for the leading of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit present in the assembly, so little REAL consideration for the glory of God in practical, real life. Lofty talk, but not the commensurate life.

The fear of God

…is easy to understand.

You meet a professing Christian who is a compulsive liar. You mention to him that the word of God declares all liars have their place in the lake of fire, and he says to you,  Oh, no , no , no! Jesus loves me! He would never cast me into the lake of fire!

But if He did not, then He would be a liar Himself, for He said that ALL liars have their place in the lake of fire.

So that professing Christian has no fear of God, as is typical today.

Bibi asks, Have you no shame? Have you no decency?

People with the real gift of prophecy

…have an eternal Holy fire burning in their hearts. It never goes out, and when Jesus speaks they can’t be silent.

Amos 3:8 The lion has roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD has spoken, who can but prophesy?

And, alternatively:

Jeremiah 23:26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart…

What is important to you?

Speaking with a friend recently, my friend wondered about someone he knew and said he didn’t really know where they are at with the LORD.

I suggested that he would know by what they talk about, how they live, and what is important to them.  What a person deems as important in their life tells a lot about where they are with the LORD Jesus.

Jesus LIVES!

That’s what we’re supposed to proclaim, and people can then make up their minds what they are going to do with this Jesus who rose from the dead and who is coming soon to judge the living and the dead.

Beware! The Marvinists!

Once there was a guy named Marvin. A good believer, though he didn’t perfectly understand everything.

Anyway, his main message was, By grace you are saved!

Soon Marvin became very famous. So famous that if anyone preached, By grace you are saved, they were instantly labelled as Marvinists, bcos that is what Marvin preached, among other things.

Few had the nous to think that Marvin got that truth from the Bible, they just assumed it was Marvinistic doctrine.

Yeah, Marvin also believed things that were unBiblical, but even if someone acknowledged Marvin’s errors, they were still labelled as Marvinists if they preached, By grace you are saved.

They must have had some source of income

…someone asked, on the Muesli forum. I replied:

.

.

.

.

Their source of income was God.

Is it possible? Could God actually supply a man of God’s needs even if he doesn’t ask for money, or expect payment, or sell his message?

Could it be that there is such a God?

Could this be true?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, How shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for tomorrow: for tomorrow shall take thought of the things for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
(Mat 6:31-34)

The core issue in money transactions is whether the relationship is a real one in Christ or whether it is a defiled relationship; defiled by it being conditional on money.

Real love gives and is not conditional upon getting something out of someone. If you hired someone to be your friend, they may be very friendly while you are paying them, but it’s not the love of Jesus, it’s a defiled relationship.

http://www.charismamag.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4127&p=78292#p78292

Why not

have a look thru the archives?

Have a great day IN Jesus our LORD.

You need Jesus

He alone can liberate you from sin’s power. He alone can lift you up out of the miry clay and set your feet on the Rock forever.

He who trusts in Him shall never be moved and never be ashamed.

FINDING NEW STRENGTH

http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/2009/09/finding-new-strength.html

The Hook

Ever got one of those Nigerian emails promising you millions? The first time, did you secretly wish it was a real offer? You didn’t take the bait, you didn’t get hooked, bcos it was an obvious scam. But there are similar traps for Christians which are not as obvious as those.

In the spiritual realm there is a hook, like a fishing hook, and it looks to hook-in to our flesh, to get a hold. Prosperity preachers hook-in to our greed and covetousness; there’s a hook there.

Nearly everywhere you turn in Christianity there is a hook, an appeal to different aspects of the fallen human condition.

If we ever get hooked into something which does not represent Jesus then we have to acknowledge that there was some flesh inside us where the hook could get hooked in : got hooked into my pride, my ego, my selfishness, my greed….

Above everything, have fervent love for one another

But the end of all things is at hand: be therefore sober minded, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover a multitude of sins. Practice hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man has received a gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  1Peter 4:7-10