Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Foundation of God's Covenant

He comes to kill, to steal and to destroy. The devil goes around like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. The weapons of satan are deception, violence, intimidation, death and destruction. 

But the Lord's weapon is love. Because of His love, He sent His Son to die for us so that those who believed in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Let love rule your heart. It is the mightier weapon. Nothing can separate us from this love.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[Romans 8: 38 - 40].


13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. [1 Corinthians 13: 1- 13]


And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.[Ephesians 3: 17 - 19].

Who can comprehend the love that would cause one to sacrifice His one and only Son for the sake of another? What measure of love is this? What would you do if, after such horrendous sacrifice, the one on whose behalf the sacrifice was made, spat on it and rejected it?

If you were God, El Shaddai,  the All Mighty and All Powerful God, how would you respond to such contempt and disdain? Was the holy, pure and perfect blood of Christ poured out in vain? Was His terrible and horrendous suffering at the cross for nothing? Was His pain futile? Have we rejected the offer of salvation from the guarantee of death than awaits us? Can we grasp eternity in unending fire? 

I tremble to imagine and conceive of this  endless conclusion to "life."  To envision this eternal death is almost an impossibility yet any moment it may befall us because we delayed to accept the offer of Life. We delayed to accept this Perfect Sacrifice.  Instead of falling on our knees in repentance, we dilly dallied. We sought intellectual pleasures of 21st century philosophical past times instead of seeking the voice of the King of Life. We stood as though equal to the Creator lacking understanding that He is Sovereign. No court or jury directs His decisions or offers Him counsel. 

His covenants are established in love. We must reciprocate in love or perish. If love then obedience. If obedience, then perfection. If perfection then holiness. Do not wait. There is no time. Can you not hear the sound of His coming? Do not perish with the foolish. Instead, act will speed and precision to seize the moment of your salvation.

May the Holy one of Israel be with you.

The Beautiful Ones

One Sunday morning I saw the feet of a woman. I never saw her face but the voice of the Lord spoke and said: See how she seeks purity! See how  beautiful  she is!

Then I understood that in the Kingdom of God, true beauty is defined by spiritual purity. And so it is written:
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God. [Matthew 5:8]


Then the word goes on to say:

How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news [Isaiah 52:7]


Yet still:
Depart, depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
    you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.[Isaiah 52:11]




Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Before they disobeyed and ate the fruit of this tree, they were naked and yet felt no shame. But once they ate, they saw nakedness and were ashamed.So what was this Tree?

 Gen. 2: 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Gen. 3:4-13 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,knowing good and evil.” 


When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

God had purposed innocence. There was no awareness of nakedness, no grasp of the concept of immorality, no shame. They had no understanding of good and evil. These things did not cross their minds. Animals are still like that today. No dog looks for shorts to cover its nakedness. 
There was innocent beauty. Man was enthralled by woman. Fascinated, Captivated. Yet there was no capability for guilt until they ate from the Tree.
She listened to satanic voices
She was with her husband but never consulted. One wonders: Did Adam hear this conversation? If he did, how come he kept quiet? Was the woman's beauty a hindrance to true wisdom? Was his admiration for her greater than his fear for Jehovah?
God did not hide the Truth but prohibited its total consumption. Stay within the limits of our God. Keep away from the prohibited and you shall sustain your life. Eat the prohibited and you shall surely die. Respect God's secrets. It is better to obey the Word of God  than to seek esoteric mysteries that lead to eternal death. Do not be tempted to seek Satan’s so-called deep secrets. The worm hides the hook whose object is death. Do not be enticed into the realm of sorcery and witchcraft for that is where satanic voices will lead. Where the Lord is absent, there is sorcery and witchcraft. It's inevitable.

The Edge of the River



15 He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers [Psalms 78:15 - 16]

We must now wade into this river. We must now drink deeply of its water; wash in its currents; soak it its depths. Deeper and deeper we shall wade until we are covered up; until we descend into its depths, conveyed by the currents, revived, renewed, invigorated , healed, purified, uplifted!

LORD of All Creation, draw us into this Mighty River. Teach us your ways. Release your understanding; your insight; your revelation and your secrets to your humble servants. To those who seek your will, those who enlist for service to the King, those who submit to your authority. 

They desire life, they desire victory, they desire joy; a hunger for worship, a craving for the Bread of Heaven, a thirst for the the Spring of the Water of Life. We wade in to seek knowledge of the Word of God. To breath in the Breath of Life. To wield the Sword of the word of God. To unleash its power upon the slave master and release the captives.

We wade in to learn your ways O LORD. To gain understanding. To walk with you. To receive your counsel, your guidance, your direction. To hear your voice.

I desire to serve with perfection. You O LORD are perfect. Make me perfect in service. I desire to harvest a mighty harvest for the LORD. You are the LORD of the harvest. Help me O LORD. I desire to establish your sheep in righteousness, the currency of heaven. Shine upon them Sun of Righteousness.

We want to stand close to you Father. Inaugurate this fellowship O Mighty King. Your sons are ready to move into position. Let them sit in the seat of sons. Let them receive the favour and blessings of the firstborn of the Spirit. Let them obtain a double portion of anointing. May they become true servants who do exploits for the Master. Admit them into the echelons of priesthood that they may take charge of your courts. Send them to the muddy villages to seek the sheep of your flock. Dispatch them to the dusty hills to seek the lost ones, the broken ones, the deceived, the wounded, the despairing, the ensnared and imprisoned.

It is the hour to march out in formation; to raise up a standard; to go into battle. We must cross the Jordan and take territory for the LORD. Amass at the edge of this river, the last river, the last vale, the last battle. Wrap yourself in zeal O Mighty God of Israel. Let your fearsome fire go before you. Overthrow the enemy. Route them out. Smash their demonic altars. Crush dagon; every dagon; every dragon; every snake; every hand that practices divination and sorcery; every knee that bows to the devil. Let it be a day of Your unassailable and terrible presence.

Open the eyes of those who are veiled in darkness; the stoppered ears of the deaf. Strengthen the weak legs of the lame. They must relocate onto the Way of Holiness; they must walk with You there. Let your glorious splendor light up the way. Let the thunder of Your voice resurrect their souls. Restore hope. Rehabilitate peace. Reconstruct faith. Revive joy.

They are lost LORD. On the mountains and hills. On the seas and oceans my King. In sinister forests and dank dungeons. Lost in philosophy. Astray in doctrine. Marooned in the ocean of tradition. Disoriented at the colonnade of pride. Blinded by the pitch darkness of this hour. Help them find this River whose current saves.


The Dying Seconds of the Age

What I say to you, I say to everyone: “Watch!”’ [Mark13:37]

These are the words of caution by He who is called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace [Isaiah 9:6], Lord of lords and King of kings [Revelation 17:14]. Those followers of this Prince who seek common ground with eastern religions will find none unless they subsist on deception. Christ is God. In His own words, He said He would call out His people [John 5:25] on that Day. A day dreadful for many but for others, the completion of their salvation.

Christ is our Victory because He will put all His enemies under His feet [I Corinthians15:25]. He is above all, even death. He comes conquering [Revelation 19:11 - 21] with a  fierce demeanor accompanied by the raptured saints. To those who reject Him: No more Saviour; no more Mercy; no more love; no compassion. But now Destroyer of God's enemies.

The time to chose sides is now when grace is still available. When mercy can still be found. There are two sides. The side of evil and the side of the God of Abraham. There is no middle ground. The qualifications for membership to His Kingdom are not negotiable. It is "Be holy for I am holy." It is "Without holiness, no one shall see God." It is "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Those who preach the doctrine of compromise are liars at best for the wages of sin is death. The eyes of the Lord can not tolerate sin. Sin can never enter heaven. That is why repentance is indispensable. How else can our sins be erased except by repentance?

The choice before us is not a passive choice but an emphatic, unequivocal assertion of allegiance to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He has no time for wilted hearts and half-hearted soldiers. He demands wholeheartedness. Nothing less.  When asked what was the greatest commandment, He responded:


‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’ [Matthew 22: 37 - 40]. 'All' = 100%. He does not accept 99%.

To those who are halfhearted, He says: I will spit you out! It means they taste nasty in His mouth. Once spat out, they are for ever condemned because spit is never retrieved and somehow purified and re-ingested. Spit means violent rejection. It means to be despised and disowned. Condemned. Cast out. The place of the rejects is the fire where all that is unfit for the Kingdom of God is cast. Heaven has it rubbish dump. It's called hell.

Therefore, we can not love God and hate His creation yet claim membership in His Kingdom. And love can not be demonstrated by reciting verses in scripture but only by our acts. For He says: By their fruits you shall know them. By their behaviour, you are able to identify them. Not merely their outward behaviour but their thoughts and feelings and attitudes are under His keen scrutiny. We can't fake it. We must become new. Transformed. The Transformer is the Spirit of God Himself: The Master of renovation and rehabilitation. Only He can reengineer and restore. Therefore, after repenting out past wickedness and evil, now we must walk very close to the Spirit of God so that we may hear His whispered directions. He knows the Way into the gates heaven. No other Guide has been sent except He.

The gates of Heaven do not respond to dollar inducements nor can the Highway of Holiness be traversed but 4WD SUVs or luxury limos. No way. Only the prepared can walk there. Only the few find the little gate. But the promise still stands:
'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.' [Matthew 7:7]
. Not casually but strenuously, intensively, passionately seek Him.

David beseeched his son thus:
And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him,he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”[1Chronicles 28:9 - 10]

And remember, He does nothing without informing His servants the prophets, [Amos 3:7]therefore, pay close attention to His one true Mighty Prophet.

May the God of Moses, the God of Israel, shower you with abundance of perception, understanding and forgiveness. May He purify and prepare you. And may the Holy Spirit be your  guide across this dark Valley and into the Kingdom of God. Amen.