Thanksgiving Truth

Turkey is but a light to us flies in the dark of night. Fear, unbelief, and condemnation; or, faith, hope, and love? From whence are we thinking and speaking on this Thanksgiving Day? A kind word turneth away wrath. (Proverbs 15:1) Win souls today! Goodness makes for a pleasant temporary social bliss, however, goodness does nothing to requite sin and justify us before a holy God who absolutely requires repentance and faith in his Son whose blood alone can cleanse from all iniquity. By our attitudes and example, let us invite the lost and the blind to come to Jesus just now.

Am I Wrong?

Have I misunderstood the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of God unto salvation? Who’s report have I believed? Who is really on the Lord’s side? If I judge my brother and look at him sideways because I discover that he has engaged in all manner of sinful activity while professing to be a Christian man of God, then, aren’t I just as guilty of sin? Does the Bible not say, written in red letters no doubt, that I should judge not lest I be judged? (Matthew 7:1) Furthermore, are we saved by grace or by our good works? (Ephesians 2:8, 9) And, does Galatians 6:1 not tell those who are spiritual, whoever they may be, to restore the one who has been overtaken in a fault and to do it in the spirit of meekness lest the restorer also be tempted?

If God has truly begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled according to His abundant mercy (1 Peter 1:3, 4), then who among our accusers, the good, the bad, and the ugly ones, have erred because they know not the scriptures nor the power of God? (Matthew 22:29) If I judge my brother unfavorably according to his sins, am I not operating in unbelief and discounting the power of God, as if God’s arm was too short and could not save? And, in so doubting the power of God and the heavenly intercession of Jesus our high priest to completely deliver my brother from his body of death and save him to the uttermost according to His own sovereignty, faithfulness, and perfect will (Hebrews 7:25), haven’t I undermined my own chance at holiness, giving in rather to the accusatory temptation planted in me by the spirit of Antichrist, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16) while exhibiting selfish self righteousness and the opposite of the love Jesus commanded in John 13:34.

If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, doesn’t the Word of God say that I am nothing? (1 Corinthians 13:2) How many say they are praying for that prostitute or drug addict but yet, in reality, they are loftily sitting in moral judgment and discussing what a shame it is that such people just will not do the right thing. How blind we fools are when we dare to think we are wise. (Romans 1:22) Some of us are measuring ourselves by ourselves, and comparing ourselves among ourselves. (2 Corinthians 10:12) We have either lost the compass or thrown it away altogether while blindly condemning ourselves, ignorant of the fact that we shall be held accountable for every idle word. (Matthew 12:36)

If it is I who is blind, please, rather than discuss my shortcomings among yourselves, help me pray for God to anoint my eyes that I may see more clearly and completely the way, the truth, and the life. One may very well be on the edge of their wilderness or in the middle of their Gethsemane when you see them broken. Yet, if we have no faith to believe God for their complete deliverance, restoration, and redemption, let us at least have the scruples to keep our negativity and discouragement to ourselves, unspoken. Let us be “looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble us, and thereby many be defiled.” (Hebrews 12:16)

Corrupt communication fuels the enemy's tanks in battle. (Ephesians 4:29) If we have correctly understood the gospel, then let us have a bit more faith in God’s ability to save the lost and deliver those who, like the apostle Paul in the seventh chapter of Romans say, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Now is the time, the daylight hours during which to speak boldly the truth in love rather than mutter faithlessly about the weakness and unfaithfulness of those who are yet climbing Jacob's Ladder on the way to purity and the highway (Isaiah 35:8). In our weakness, the strength of Christ is made perfect (2 Corinthians 12:9) and Jesus has prayed that we be one body even as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one (John 17:22). Please correct me according to God’s Word if I am mistaken. I thank God for every instance of chastening I received as a child because I would not enjoy prison today. Let us enjoy the liberty that comes bundled with the goodness and mercy inherent in God’s presence and shining countenance. The light of the world dispels the darkness of this world. Amen. May the grace of our Lord be with us now and always, and, may we stay blameless until He returns for the bride He himself has prepared and made worthy though she was an harlot in times past, resurrecting dead and putrid things to an abundant life of prosperity and peace with God Almighty in Heaven. Let it be unto us according to the Word breathed from God's own mouth by the prophets and the apostles as we encourage and inspire each other to fulfill the commission. We indeed have a charge to keep and a Holy God to serve.

If I never say another word, hear this from me: faith is the preeminent, most crucial and absolutely necessary ingredient in a fruitful relationship with God. Have it, sustain it, and guard it as if your eternal life depended upon this one thing alone. You are the apple of God's eye and nothing shall separate us from the the love of Christ. Nothing and nobody... (Romans 8:35-37) Jesus paid it all and He is not leaving the mall without His package. Be encouraged all! This is the good news written in the blood of our passover lamb. Rejoice and be glad! "The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof." (Psalm 97:1) I, for one, am ecstatic about it and moved to action and devotion. Pray with me that all the brethren be so converted that we would dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1) and be that answer to the prayer Jesus so urgently prayed in John 17:22. Let's not be the weak link in the chain of salvation. Let us pull each other up instead of down! One love (Spirit), one heart (body)- let's get together and be (not just feel) alright! Search the Scriptures daily whether these things be so. (Acts 17:11) If you can't encourage, be silent until love makes such positivism possible for you. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

The Rescue Mission

Humanity was created in God’s image and enjoyed perfect fellowship in right standing with God until the fall when sin entered in and humanity's condition changed from perfect and blameless to condemned and lost. Humanity would thereafter be separated from God. Yet, God promised in Genesis 3:15 that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent and thus restore humanity to a state of sinless and blameless fellowship with him through this seed that we know to be Christ. God sent his Son to serve as a perfect sinless sacrifice able to satisfy the wrath of God that was due to humanity because of sin. Jesus, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3)

As Jesus was sent by the Father with the means of salvation, now those who received that salvation are sent or commissioned to take that saving grace, love, hope, and charity to those who need it in the entire world. The condition of the lost cannot be overcome without the efficacious grace of God. Without this grace, the lost are condemned by the depravity within them to spend eternity separated and estranged from God. Without grace there is no hope. Without grace there is no improvement of the condition. Without grace there is only darkness without even the possibility of light. Only by God’s grace can the lost be rescued from eternal spiritual death and damnation. Without grace, the unmerited generosity of God directed towards humanity, one would not be capable of desiring to be rescued. By faith in God’s ability to save and in the expectation of the availability of the grace and means by which salvation is made effectual, namely repentance, confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus, and believing in the heart that God has raised him from the dead, the lost can be saved. (Romans 10:9) Hence the work of salvation is of God through the external means (the “doings” of the church) ordained by Him to those who are in turn entrusted with the responsibility of communicating this grace to the whole world. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

God pursues the lost because of his love for his creation and it is with this perfect love that he gets their attention and begins drawing them to himself. If the church is full of the fruit of the Spirit and walking in God’s love, only then can the church be a truly useful instrument in the service of God’s purpose. “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

A Short One

I'm breathing in fresh flowers that were planted in my soul by my beloved today.
Blossoming even after I was buried, dark, cold,
And waxing old in the wee small hours of a nightmare.
I am so happily not the man I used to be.
Not knowing what the clue was;
Sealed.
Interestingly and amazingly to me,
I could have been who I thought I was, now look at me.
And by His stripes, I am inexorable, and purely healed.

A Little Prayer

A wonderful change has come over me! I am just a little nicer today, a bit less stubborn, and a tad more aware that I am less than nothing without the grace and mercy of God that I have experienced in my life. I desire more each day to disappear until only the image of Christ, my Lord, remains in this mirror. I have been such a vampire in my life thus far. And yet, because of Christ's love, I am not ashamed. The Gospel of Christ is the powerful detergent that is cleansing me and delivering me from all unrighteousness day by day. It is the glorious power of God and I am growing in grace. I am one day closer to the day I surrender the rest of my life to save another. Hopefully, and in faith, I am fortunate enough to be on my way to being conformed to the image of The One who was sent to pay my ransom. Lord, give me grace in suffering and spare me a life of ease. I accept my mission, Lord. As you were sent, and as you sent the Holy Spirit, so now I accept my marching orders. I will go and do as you have commanded. I will lay down my life and not look back. Like the Boys of Summer with a deadhead sticker on a Cadillac, I won't look back. I can never look back. Thank you for making tomorrow so much more relevant than yesterday. You are my beloved and I am yours. Hallelujah! I am so grateful to be closer to being wholly yours. In faith, believing that you are able to perfect that which concerns me, and, elated to know for sure that you are faithful and perfect in all of your glorious ways, I lay this at your feet and move onward through the night knowing that joy comes in the morning. "Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope." (Psalm 119:116) In Jesus' name, believing that it is so. Amen and amen.