Be Still and Know I AM

The entire reason Christ came to earth was to reconcile mankind to God- God wants to completely embrace us in his love and spirit. He wants to immerse you in himself, just as Moses went up alone on that mountain. He met God after being alone for forty years in the desert.
God told Moses, “I Am that I Am.” 

And Christ told us, “I AM the bread of life;” “I AM the truth, the way, the life;” I AM the living water.” 

People have been looking for God in the wrong place. They keep “going to church,” and church keeps dividing and controlling and confusing them.

God said, “I AM that I AM!”

When Christ was conversing with the woman at the well she said to Him concerning the place they were at, “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” John 4:20

The woman was opening up a spiritual argument with Christ about where the right place of worship truly was. The Samaritans were divided against the Jews- they had religious division. 
Christ answered her, (21) “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither in THIS mountain, NOR at Jerusalem worship the Father. You do not even know what you are worshiping. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. (23) But the hour comes, AND IS NOW, when the TRUE worshipers shall worship the Father in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. For the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (emphasis mine)
Jesus put to silence her argument and BROKE DOWN HER WALL OF DIVISION! Amen! Essentially he said, neither one is right- THIS WALL HAS GO! This is NOT what God cares about. What God wants is a true worshiper. (someone who worships from their spirit with honesty)

God wants to isolate you as an individual. Christ taught us that the “Kingdom of God is within you.” 

Religion is just division! “Babylon” is symbolic of religious confusion- all religions erected have become a “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. “ Rev. 18:2-3

They worship the “SYSTEM” instead of GOD- as Christ taught at the well. They cease to be intimate with the true God. They are entangled in their doctrines, creeds, rules and regulations and their belief that these things make them SUPERIOR to all else.  And They have made quite a market of the whole religious system.

Christ did not come to establish a “NEW LAW AND ORDER.” Yet that is exactly what so much of religion does. Most of them agree that the OLD LAW was done away with, but they take the New Testament Bible and each religious faction creates a new law and order out of its pages and with the dictate of Judge and Jury, they hammer out the New Testament scriptures as “Thus saith the Lord,” according to their own peculiar interpretation of them. Thus, faction upon faction is formed- Division, fighting and ugliness that Christ himself became martyred by, is created.

This is NOT what Christ died for.

What did Christ come into the world to do? Why did He die such a horrible death? And why did He rise from the dead?

In the simplest, purest form—- LOVE!

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son…”

He gave us Christ, and whoever believes in Him, listens to Him, HEARS him, will not perish, but will have eternal life.
WHY?

“I AM”

“I AM the life.”

Christ came to turn our hearts to God- the children’s hearts back to the Father. He came to reconnect us to the source of eternal life. We, who were/are walking in darkness, He came to connect us to the source of light; I AM

“I AM the light.”

We, who cannot find out way, who feel so lost. He came to reconnect us to the GREAT I AM!

“I AM the way.”

He came to SAVE us! Praise God!

He came to show us the beauty and value of our own soul.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Matt. 10:29-31

God wants to immerse you in his Holy Spirit. He wants to encapsulate you in His love. He wants you to “be still” and to listen to HIM!

Religion will proselyte you and make you one of them. But Christ will clean you up and make you one with HIM!

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Christ is Our Only Mediator

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus”
1 Timothy 2:4

One of the most saddest and frustrating things I see in the religious world today, is religion taking advantage of the good and sensitive souls that just want to please God. The Bible is so clear- CHRIST ALONE is our mediator. We can go to HIM ALONE!!! We need not go to ANY MAN- NO MAN!!!! Yet, so many, looking for a closer walk with God, naturally turn to “church” and assume that the people there in a religious setting must understand God better than themselves and slowly their freedom in Christ is stripped from them and replaced by the dogma and fear of men’s ideas of God- which, so many times, is no more than an ugly dictatorship.

Here is a documentary that chronicles such a teaching. Cultish teachings range from mild to extreme but they all have very common signs. If you read about them and study them, you can begin to recognize their tactics. If you are being held inside the grip of one, Christ wants to set you free. The ultimate message they use against people is they will not go to heaven, they will not be “good enough” if they leave, if they don’t do whatever they are being told to do. “FEAR FACTOR”- becomes their source of CONTROL.  They represent themselves to be the “mouth piece of God.”

Did you know that the gospel means, “GOOD NEWS”? The good news is that CHRIST is right beside you this very moment, and is listening  for your prayer. He alone  is the mediator- the one who connects us with God. You need not go into any building or to any man. You simply need to turn to, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to HIM ALONE! Watch this video and be amazed…

Lifting the Veil of Polygamy

 

Also see my post:  19 Cult Characteristics

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Who Are You Lifting Up?

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. (John 3: 14_15)

Jesus is referring to an old testament story of told in Numbers 21 of a time when the Israelites grew weary on their journey out of the land of Egypt and began to complain against God and Moses. The Bible says that God sent serpents that bit the people and many died. The people asked Moses to pray for them and when he did, God told Moses to take a pole and then to make a bronze snake to put at the end of it and set it up for the people. Then when one was bit by the snake, if they looked at the bronze snake lifted up on the pole, they lived.

So here, Jesus is likening himself to the bronze snake in the old testament. He is to be lifted up and when He is lifted up and people look to Him they will live. This is so important, and really so missed by religion.

Many times the pastor or dynamic speaker is lifted up, the bands and entertainment are lifted up, the religious doctrine is lifted up, the rules or the way a certain denomination holds things are lifted up, the works of a church are lifted up, the arguments of what is right and what is wrong are lifted up, etc . . . and CHRIST is lost in the background.  God has even witnessed to me that much of what goes on by way of  “praise” today are crowds gathering together and working themselves up into a frenzy shouting and getting “high on the moment” and not even realizing that Christ is not being lifted up at all, that the reality is, they are full of  themselves.

How will you know if you are lifting up Christ or not? Christ said himself- “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32  Now here He is speaking of his crucifixion, however he states the purpose of lifting the Savior up is to draw all people to HIM! Its not just about saying his name either. Its about really seeking him with all your heart, reading his words, talking to him with a prayerful heart and listening to his leading in your life. Its about desiring to be a proper representative of him in this world, because when you say you are a follower of Jesus and you misrepresent him, you dishonor his precious name.

People wonder, why they are dying spiritually? Who is being lifted up in your life? Turn your eyes fully upon Jesus, lift him up in true praise and worship and you will come alive. This “alive” will be to the things of God- the souls he loves and wants to see healed, and to reconcile to himself. God sent Christ to seek and save the lost. God sent Christ to teach people the way of righteousness. God sent Christ to show us how to love each other. God sent Christ that whoever would believe in him would be saved – saved from sin and the condemnation, and separation from God that sin brings. God sent Christ because He loved us. He loved us so much he gave us himself in his Son Jesus Christ.

God help us daily to remember that Christ suffered horribly, was lifted up on a cruel and torching cross, that we who have been bitten by the serpent might be redeemed from an otherwise certain death. We need to keep our eyes on Christ alone. He is the one we worship. Not our pastors. Not our church affiliations. Not our reputation amongst “brethren.” But we lift up the Lord Jesus Christ, and when we do, we live and souls will be drawn to him.

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Remember to Whom You Belong

This morning I attended our neighborhood church service and the minister brought the thought that when ever you attend a court of law, you have both the one who stands for you and those who stand to oppose you. And so it is in the heavenly.  But when we are saved, Christ stands for us. We now have royal blood coursing through us and the Bible tells us in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [33]  Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;” If the king of all kings, and Lord of all Lords is standing on my behalf, who can stand against me? [34]  who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” 

Again the Bible says in Romans 14:4 “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

The popular saying goes, “You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can not please all of the people all of the time.”

So I would like to encourage you this morning by reminding you who you belong to when you belong to Christ.

“[F]or through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,   having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:18-22

• You are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16)
• God has your name written in the palms of his hands. (Isaiah 49:16)
• You are God’s child (John 1:12)
• You can go to God in confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
• You do not need to go to any man, but Christ alone. (1Timothy 2:5)
• King Jesus has made you all glorious within. (Psalms 45:13)
• No man can take you out of God’s hands. (John 10:27-29)
• You are free from all condemnation (Romans 8: 1-2)
• All your circumstances are working for your good. (Romans 8:28)
• Nothing can separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:31-39)

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The Knowledge of Good and Evil

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. . . And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened  .  .  .” (Genesis 2,3)

Dear Adam and Eve,

Now that your eyes are opened, tell me what do you think of the knowledge of good and evil? How do you perceive the goodness of God?

“For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matt. 5:45)

“He hath made every thing beautiful in His time:” (Eccl. 3:11)

And He hath said, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jer. 31:3)

And what about the evil. We all have well drunk of the knowedge of evil .  .  .

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Gen. 6: 5-6)

So Adam and Eve, you have been given the great gift of the knowledge of good and evil, and you have passed that gift onto us, your children. I for one have found it too much to bear. I have read in God’s Holy word that all the wisdom in the world cannot save you nor keep you saved, for King Solomon was the wisest man there ever was and he died by suicide having departed from the living God.

I will leave you with a couple scriptures that I believe are the sum of this post:

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1 Cor. 1:26-29)

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.“ (1 Cor. 2:1-2)

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Eccl. 12: 13-14)

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If Any Man Sin

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  1 John 2:1

Advocate: one that pleads, defends, maintains, supports, promotes the interest of another;

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. . .

When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.  (John 8)

And behold, some men carried in a bed with a man which was sick with the palsy: and they looked for a way to lay him before Jesus, but they could not find a way to bring him because of the multitudes, so they went up onto the housetop and lowered him down right in front of Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason within themselves, saying, Who is this which speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them saying, What is this that you are reasoning about in your hearts? Which is easier to say? Your sins are forgiven you or to say, Rise up and walk? But to the intent that you now understand that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins, (and he said unto the sick of palsy,) I say unto you, arise, and pick up your bed and go your house. And immediately he rose up before them, and picked up the bed that he was laying upon and departed to his own house, glorifying God. (Luke 5)

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (James 5:14-15)

And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat to eat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabastar box of perfumed ointment, and stood at Jesus feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears, and to wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Now the Pharisee which had invited him saw it, HE said within himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what manner of woman is touching him; for she is a sinner.
And Jesus aswered him saying, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
And he said, “Master, go ahead.”
And Jesus said to him, “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: One owed him five hundred dollars and the other fifty. But when they had nothing to pay him he gratiously forgave them both their debt. Now you tell me, which of the two will love him the most?”
Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave the most.”
And he said unto him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said unto Simon, “See this woman? I entered into your house and you gave me no water to wash my feet: but she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
You gave me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with precious oinment.
For this cause I say unto you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
And he said unto her, “Your sins are forgiven…your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

And it happened, while Jesus sat eating in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with him and his disciples.
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, “They that are whole have no need of a physcian, but rather they that are sick.
But you go and learn what this means, ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice:’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matt 9)

And one of the evil doers which were hanged with him, railed on him saying, “if you are the Christ, save yourself and us.”

But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God? Seeing you are in the same comdemnation? And we indeed justly are receving our due reward for our deeds: but this man has done nothing amiss.”
And he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom”
And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Come every soul by sin oppressed
There is mercy with the Lord
And He will surely give you rest
By trusting in His word

For Jesus shed His precious blood
Rich blessings to bestow;
Plunge now into the crimson flood
That washes white as snow.

~J. Stockman

There is no shame to admit when you sin. Jesus paid the price for sin. It is okay to tell him when you feel lost. For Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Christ said, “For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever beleiveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

The world is already under condemnation. Christ came not to condemn it but to seek and save those that would be saved. Jesus is our saviour, our friend, our advocate. We need only to go to Him.

“My little children, I write unto you that you sin not, and IF ANY MAN SIN, we have an advocate ~ JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS!”

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Repentance- The True Message of Christ

A common error in Christian discipleship, is the focus on getting a message to the world that says, “Cross on over to my side of the field. I am having more fun and enjoying a better life.” Although, that may be true, that was not the message Jesus sent us to take to the world. The message of Christ to the world is:

REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:2

Repent? Yes, turn away from sin- quit lying, stealing, cursing, sleeping around, fighting, hating, REPENT! Because the Kingdom on heaven is near- and if you don’t repent, you will not enter in. Its a serious message and it takes faithful men and women to carry it out.

In times past, and in some parts of our world, it was/is a serious thing to be called a Christian. It could cost you your very life and the lives of your children. It could mean prison, torture, being a social outcast. Those who made that decision did not take it lightly. To REPENT- means to QUIT, once and for all- the life of sin- to turn to Christ for atonement and for the infilling of his Holy Spirit, that we would have POWER, to live HOLY!

The true message of Christianity? It has never changed- Read your Bible- from the Old Testament throughout the New, God is calling people everywhere to REPENT!

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Extraordinary Sand Sculptures

I have seen a LOT of amazing and extraordinary Sand Castles and Sculptures . . .

Works of art respresenting just about anything the imagination can conjure up, or the world has ever seen . . .

But following a storm . . .

Or after the tide came in . . .

It was ALL gone! Not a trace to be seen . . .

And so it is in this life. Everything that you build here will one day be gone- all your dreams, plans, accomplishments- all you believe and don’t believe- ALL- like grains of sand will be washed away in the tides of time. The only thing that will remain, is your soul, which belongs to God;

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: Matthew 6:19-20

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:15-17

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 2 Peter 3:11-14

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Matthew 7:24-27

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The Beauty of Holiness

“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness;”
Is. 35:8

What images are conjured up in the imaginations of people at that sacred word of holiness?  Monks segreatated from society? Nuns bound to a life of celibacy? Catholic priests with long robes or popes with jewel studded mitrates upon their head? Images of the virtuous Madonna with a babe at her breast?

Holiness is a hotly debated issue among the religious. Some say to live holy is impossible, contradicting the word of God which tells us that without holiness, no man will see the Lord. [Hebrews 12:14]

Yet many inwardly recoil at the thought of being holy themselves for we have come to accept the human perception of holiness as the way of God. “Set Mother Mary in a picture frame and burn candles in honor of her fidelity, but leave me alone to live my life as a normal human being.”

The famous King David echos through the corridors of time, “O worship the LORD in the BEAUTY of holiness.“ We blink our eyes in a blank stare-for his words fall on hearts void of understanding. Why would this ruddy young warrior who slayed Goliath and cut of his head, bought his first wife with 100 foreskins from the philistines, was crowned the second King of Israel, adored by the multitude, sung from the lips of hopeful virgins- why would he display such a passionate love for the beauty of holiness?

I wonder what scenes passed through David’s imagination while worshiping the Lord, as a young lad out in pastures,  amidst hundreds of sheep, when he sung about the beauty of holiness.  King David lived thousands of years before the day of Catholicism, Mother Mary and other insipid displays of that sacred word of holiness that we see in our world today.

Zacharias prophesied at the birth of his son, John the baptist, that Christ would usher in the day where God’s people would once again be set free to serve God in holiness and true righteousness. [Luke 1:75]

To be holy is to be like God. To be a Christian is to be holy. But what does that mean? We read the word of God and search and ponder and wonder about that perfection of heart, and we see Christ. . . The Lord Jesus Christ. Have we left him as a babe in a manger? or a sacrifice on a cross? Or have we pulled back the curtains of our own human thinking and let the glorious beauty of his holiness penetrate our heart?

Pull back the curtains, and see him walking among his disciples, from city to city, teaching about God, training his disciples how to live, love and work for God. He ate with them, slept and worked among them. And his disciple yearned to be holy- to them, holiness was an exalted position walking in long robes and being called of men Rabbi, Rabbi! And Christ tells them, do not any of you be called master amongst yourselves, but if you would be great, serve one another. But still longing for more they must know, and so they ask, “LORD, tell us, who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

A silence falls amongst them. The moment of truth has come. They hold their breath. Will Christ recognize the leadership qualities in them? Will he point to one of them as an example of perfect exaltation? Jesus looks around about him. How shall he bend the minds of these earth-bound, fleshly creatures to the heavenly heights of exaltation? Where on earth will he find a lesson that might help them understand the very nature of God? What earthly source could acquaint their darkened hearts with the true beauty of God’s holiness?

And then, just beyond them his eyes meet with the unwavering eyes a small child-windows to the very face of God. Jesus calls to him and the child comes running with great eagerness. Jesus picks him up in his arms and carries him to his disciples and gently sets him down in the midst of them.

The disciples look on, amazed. A child? And Jesus says to them, “Here is a truth that I am going to tell you; unless you change and become as little children, you will not even enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself, like this little child, that is who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.“ And Jesus draws the child up again in his arms and continues, “And whoever receives a little child such as this, receives me. But whoever would cause even one of these little children that believe in me to sin, it would be better for that man to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. . . Take heed, that you do not despise even one of these little children that believe in me; For their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven!“

The eyes of a child are like windows to the holiness of God. Would we but put away all our preconceptions of holiness and find a very young child, even a babe and gaze upon its frail and untainted countenance; We would just begin to see the true beauty of holiness. And who of us who have held a little baby in our arms have not been moved with a desire to shield that beautiful innocence form the ugly ravages of sin?

You see, true holiness is not in a man or a woman who hold a certain position in a church. Its not in long dresses, certain hairdos or don’ts. But the true beauty of God’s holiness is found in;

“whatsoever things that are true, whatsoever things that are honest. . .

whatsoever things that are just. . .

whatsoever things that are pure. . .

whatsoever things that are a good report. . .

If there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy. . .”
[Philippians 4:8]

True holiness is the absence of sin, darkness and everything hateful and ugly. The beauty of true holiness can only come to us from Christ- to those who would humble themselves as a little child- when he calls, they come running; True holiness comes when our sins are washed away in the blood of Christ, and we become as little children-Gods little children; True holiness is BEAUTIFUL!

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The Beauty and Wonder of Serving God

AT AGE 42 many things in my life are getting old; they are loosing their original luster. I am reminded of that fact when I first set out in the day. It is more difficult to get up and going in the morning. My reflection shows signs of fading youthfulness.

MY ONCE EXCITNGLY new van is now making strange noises and being put in the shop regularly for repairs.

OLD FRIENDSHIPS, though still highly valued,  are becoming more distant.

MY LITTLE CHILDREN are maturing,  sprouting their wings and getting ready to take flight;

YES, CHANGE IS in the air…

YET ONE THING that never has lost its luster, that has been as consistent as the sunrise, is the Beauty and Wonder of serving the true God of the universe in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  In fact, not only has this treasured relationship not lost its luster, but it has become more precious, beautiful and completely glorious, day by day.

GOD TRULY HAS been an ever present help in time of need; (Psalms 46)  His mercies have never failed to be renewed day by day. (Lamentations 3:22-23) His eye has never slept nor slumbered but He has kept a close watch over all my ways;  (Psalms 121)  He has been a Mighty God in my midst, a valiant warrior. (Zephaniah 3:17) He has supplied my every need and lavished me with special love-gifts from heaven. (Ezekiel 34:26) He has ravished my heart; my heart is fixed on Him (Psalms 108:1) He has placed his banner of love over my head. (Song 2:4) Yes, he has become brighter and brighter inside my soul with each passing year; (Proverbs 4:18) My God is an AWSOME God!

WHEN I OPENED my Bible and read from Psalms 96, my heart reflected, and magnified and rejoiced with the words, as if their source had come from my inner being:

“O SING UNTO THE LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

DECLARE HIS GLORY among the heathen, his wonders among all people.  For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

HONOUR AND MAJESTY are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

O WORSHIP THE LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the LORD:

FOR HE COMETH, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.”

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