Christianity is not a religion of restraint. It is a religion of freedom. Sure it restrains the flesh but hey! isn't your soul more free with the shutting of the flesh? Christianity is to remove every snake wrapped around you and to untie every rope holding you back. It is freedom from this world, from worries, from carnality and from the agony of an eternal judgment.
The greatest freedom is to be a slave of a perfectly holy God. What a privilege it is to be a slave of the Lord! A slave to a gracious God no longer worries about himself, his needs or his future. They are all taken care of! He does not have plans to prosper himself nor does he indulge in absurd activities that bring no real fruit. He no longer enjoys the pleasures of this world. He no longer finds his generation attractive or relevant. Because the gracious Master promises to provide everything, the only concern a slave of God has is to do His Master's will. No wonder Christ could cast down any burden! Isn't He the only load? Oh, Jesus is my great load that brings no heaviness! How light is His heavy yoke!
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and the rest will be added unto ye."
How the world is truly veiled as Scripture foretells! Woe to the world's definition of "liberty"! How foolish to assume that the more you are dressed in accordance to our sensual culture, the more relevant and liberated you are! Is this not proof that you are a slave to sensuality? And how wicked to proclaim that freedom is to be under no law! Even if grace is under no law, it is not lawless and neither does it produce lawless men!
"A slave of God... Seek ye first... Cast unto Me your burdens... Do not concern yourself with the things of this world... My yoke is light... My grace is sufficient... A slave of God" I find such truths so liberating. I no longer have to concern myself with what to eat or where to live by. I don't even have to worry if I worked hard enough or think that "maybe this could have happened if I was better". No, His grace is sufficient and I am but a slave under a sovereign God. All I am about is complete submission to His will as the Holy Spirit drives me into His hands. I don't have to concern myself with the world, with reputation or with the the carnal things of this planet. I run this race, spending all of my energies on conforming to His will. That's all. That's all my life is about. Doesn't that bring unspeakable joy and comfort to a regenerate heart? Doesn't that fill your day with madness? To be free from worries? My dear Christian, no angel or demon, not even death or hell can bother your sleep. If you are of the Lord, rejoice and be glad! Esteem His Name, cherish His Kingdom and press on the things that further His glory. That's your only concern. That's your only life. And even in doing His will, there is also a promise of sustaining grace. As if salvation were not good enough, the Father provides more than the escape of judgment! He provides the greatest gift: Himself. What unspeakable joy, unmerited privilege and unbelievable honor to be a slave of God!
Live and be free.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
BLESSED IS HE WHO LOOKS AT THEE
I am grieved with the things that I witness in modern day Christianity. I wish to write something that will talk about the greatness of God but how can I when my heart, transformed by the grace of our Lord, is buried in sadness? There is comfort, peace and joy in knowing God but to see His elect struggling in ignorance, how can I not weep? How can I not weep over the fact that this great God who is infinitely worthy of praise is not highly esteemed?
But in my weeping I find the greatest comfort and joy in my life. My soul is resting at the sovereignty of this holy God who maketh earth a mere footstool. I can rest, knowing that He, above all things, can do anything that He pleases in accordance to His good and holy will. What majestic God! What a Lord who governeth this universe?
There are so many days were I would stop mid-sentence in prayer. Before the throne, with empty hands and in the shallowness of my mind, I would lay and say nothing. I would just look into Him and say, "blessed is he who looks at Thee".
Even the Seraphs could not look at this infinitely blessed God without covering themselves and trembling in reverence and yet I, by the merit of the Lord Jesus, can stand justified without the veil of separation. What magnificent proof that God blesses those whom He wishes to bless, under no obligation and solely based on His own holy will!
Oh, how I wish His Church be rekindled! How I wish for the time where the King would step in and take His rightful place in this new order who seeks to deprive the selected lambs of their precious food. Oh I wait anxiously in peace! Those who switch hard meat with junk and those who water down sweet honey into a bunch of spoiled filth, know that the Lord has restrained His wrathful hand in accordance to His own pleasure. And those who have been given over to the Spirit which empowered Christ, preaching madly and feeding His lambs faithfully with the food that cometh not from man's mouth, know that the Lord whom you serve shall come soon in full glory. Fast, keep yourselves pure and be encouraged that His Word shall not come back in vain without its purpose accomplished.
My restless heart has found its satisfaction in Thee, Lord of Lords. Do as you please. May we, Your elect, be less and broken as You become the only One that matters in us. May we be lost in love and passion for You and the things you care about. May we be dead and alive, restless and peaceful, mourning and celebrating and finally, one with You in reverence worship and truth, as You had made us a part of Thee.
But in my weeping I find the greatest comfort and joy in my life. My soul is resting at the sovereignty of this holy God who maketh earth a mere footstool. I can rest, knowing that He, above all things, can do anything that He pleases in accordance to His good and holy will. What majestic God! What a Lord who governeth this universe?
There are so many days were I would stop mid-sentence in prayer. Before the throne, with empty hands and in the shallowness of my mind, I would lay and say nothing. I would just look into Him and say, "blessed is he who looks at Thee".
Even the Seraphs could not look at this infinitely blessed God without covering themselves and trembling in reverence and yet I, by the merit of the Lord Jesus, can stand justified without the veil of separation. What magnificent proof that God blesses those whom He wishes to bless, under no obligation and solely based on His own holy will!
Oh, how I wish His Church be rekindled! How I wish for the time where the King would step in and take His rightful place in this new order who seeks to deprive the selected lambs of their precious food. Oh I wait anxiously in peace! Those who switch hard meat with junk and those who water down sweet honey into a bunch of spoiled filth, know that the Lord has restrained His wrathful hand in accordance to His own pleasure. And those who have been given over to the Spirit which empowered Christ, preaching madly and feeding His lambs faithfully with the food that cometh not from man's mouth, know that the Lord whom you serve shall come soon in full glory. Fast, keep yourselves pure and be encouraged that His Word shall not come back in vain without its purpose accomplished.
My restless heart has found its satisfaction in Thee, Lord of Lords. Do as you please. May we, Your elect, be less and broken as You become the only One that matters in us. May we be lost in love and passion for You and the things you care about. May we be dead and alive, restless and peaceful, mourning and celebrating and finally, one with You in reverence worship and truth, as You had made us a part of Thee.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
HEARTCRY MISSION CONFERENCE
This is another "must see" video of HeartCry Mission Conference sharing the work of God and what is truly essential in missions.
HeartCry Mission Presentation 2006 by Paul Washer
LINK: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=15242003
HeartCry Mission Presentation 2006 by Paul Washer
LINK: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=15242003
LOVE IN THIS WORLD
Love in this perishing world is also perishing. The only way to sustain our love for our loved ones is to continually seek the grace of God through His Word. Do not believe is trivial things such as "True human love lasts forever". The only love that will last for eternity is the love of our Father. Anything we define as love that is outside of our Father's love is absurd. Our love, as powerful and heartfelt as it may be, is only a shadow of God's love and fidelity for His people. If we still have not accepted that our love is bound to fail, we will only be disappointed at our failures.
"But lo, I am here" says the Lord. It is true that we fail but it is also true that God, in this life or the next, is with us. Yes, we may utterly fail in our duties or lose control in anger with our loved ones but God, who is faithful, will make things right for His children. In a sense, we are to accept that we are failures. But now that we have the Lord in our new regenerate life, we are to enjoy victory.
For children, love your parents failingly, accepting that you cannot love them as God does but victoriously, accepting that by the grace of our Lord, anything is possible.
For young men, seek to love your young women in a godly relationship that is fully grounded on the Word of God. To love them means to lead them in spiritually and to cut down anything in your relationship that is of the flesh. In diligence and humility, with trembling knees and a worshiping heart, continually approach God's blessed throne together in prayer for guidance, renewal and sustenance.
For husbands, love your wives with continual dependence on God and His Word. Persevere and believe that God has a purpose for everything. Seek also to depend on one another in everything. Be as one body, one mind and one spirit as you worship Him daily.
For grandfathers, its time to pass your love, memories and wisdom to the next generation. Be glad, your time here is almost up.
Have peace with the Lord.
Mike
"But lo, I am here" says the Lord. It is true that we fail but it is also true that God, in this life or the next, is with us. Yes, we may utterly fail in our duties or lose control in anger with our loved ones but God, who is faithful, will make things right for His children. In a sense, we are to accept that we are failures. But now that we have the Lord in our new regenerate life, we are to enjoy victory.
For children, love your parents failingly, accepting that you cannot love them as God does but victoriously, accepting that by the grace of our Lord, anything is possible.
For young men, seek to love your young women in a godly relationship that is fully grounded on the Word of God. To love them means to lead them in spiritually and to cut down anything in your relationship that is of the flesh. In diligence and humility, with trembling knees and a worshiping heart, continually approach God's blessed throne together in prayer for guidance, renewal and sustenance.
For husbands, love your wives with continual dependence on God and His Word. Persevere and believe that God has a purpose for everything. Seek also to depend on one another in everything. Be as one body, one mind and one spirit as you worship Him daily.
For grandfathers, its time to pass your love, memories and wisdom to the next generation. Be glad, your time here is almost up.
Have peace with the Lord.
Mike
GROWING UP
One thing I can say about growing up is this: its not what we think. In my early Christian years, I have so craved to grow. I wanted to mature quickly. I wanted to be on fire. I wanted to be smart. I wanted to be strong. In the end, I realized that I wanted everything but God. I was in love with the fellowship, the maturity, the preaching and the knowledge you gain in the circles of Christianity. I never realized that there is only one thing that really matters: God.In our growth as regenerate folk, no amount of desire, effort or works can truly make us grow. Unless we fully understand that spiritual growth is by the grace of God alone, He will not allow us to move on the the next level. Our God, Who is a Consuming Fire, will never allow us to grow until we have realized that it is by His power alone that we can grow. He will destroy anything, even the good things, that take your heart away from Him or replace Him as your source of strength.
There are many times where the knowledge that I gained took the place of God in my life. You know what He did? He showed me the failure of all my knowledge until I was down on my knees begging for His grace to sustain me. There were also many times in my life where my desires to be matured got the best of me. It was as if all there was to Christianity was growth and maturity. You know what He did? He prevented me from advancing further to stop me from enjoying the power of regeneration. Whenever we take our eyes off Him, He shows up and does what He always does to those He loves: prune. To truly grow means to be pruned constantly by the Vine Dresser. Spiritual growth means to becomes less of this world and more like Christ.The Lord knows how I deeply desired power in the form of knowledge, supremacy in the form of faith and maturity in the form of emotional discernment during my early stages. During those years, I was still drenched with the world which also explains why I mentioned power and supremacy in such a way. I didn't realize that it was all up to God. I didn't realize that it was all about Him. I didn't realize that I was in the way. I was arrogant and self-centered. I created an image of Christianity thats all about "who is the greatest among us" rather than "who is the least among us". I've went through many roller coasters trips just to understand these truths. I was adamant on doing it my way. I thank God that He is sovereign and that indeed, no stubborn man can bend His will.
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