Friendly Fire

The Church of the body of Christ is the city of refuge; a safe home base in the midst of the spiritual battle against the darkness of this fallen world. Men of God are asylum seekers, fleeing from the persecution of the enemy and the powers of Darkness. The Lord is our refuge and strength, He is our fortress and our high tower. Our mission is to reach out to the asylum seekers of this world so that we together can stand strong in the power of his might… A mighty fortress is our God. A bulwark never failing.

Even within the apparent security of the Church, many Christians are victims of “friendly fire.” We must guard our hearts to love as Jesus loved us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. Our challenge is to love others regardless of their response. This is the essence of the love of God… to love unconditionally. However men of God are not taught how to avoid becoming a victim of “friendly fire” in the Church. To love the world is really no chore. The real chore is to love the neighbor next door.

In John 2:23, At the Passover feast, many witnessed the miracles that Jesus did and they marveled. However, Jesus knew their hearts and that the heart of man is full of deception. Jeremiah 17:9 says “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” According to an article by Oswald Chambers, Disillusionment is to be free from the illusions of emotional deception. However when we turn from the illusions of emotion, we often end up at the other extreme and become coldly analytic. We become critics against our own emotions and against the emotional responses of the people of this world. We look for a different kind of response from those to whom we give our love and affection. This will result in disaster. Our Lord, knowing the heart of man, did not place his confidence in people. If we put our trust in human beings, we will be disappointed, for all we humans are fallible in the flesh. However, the life that I now live, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Worldly love is reciprocal… it requires love in return. However, there is only one kind of love that does not require a reciprocal response from the other party. This is the unconditional love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. Jesus knew their heart… that all men are liars… that they are incapable of keeping their commitments and their promises. He did not rush to conclusions from the illusion that men are inherently righteous and good. Any fool can claim his human rights, and any devil will make sure he gets them. Suspicion is the first thought of worldly men in a reciprocal relationship. Men always treat each other unfairly… they can’t help it because it’s hard wired into their fallen human nature. People will break your heart. However, the love of God gives unconditionally… it never burns bridges and is not sensitive about the reaction of others. Cruelty is to hurt others, whether intentionally or unknowingly, without any remorse. When someone leaves a personal relationship, we must realize that this is not a personal affront… it’s just part of our fallen sinful nature.

Only our Lord Jesus Christ can love unconditionally…. to love regardless of love given in return. Therefore, put on the mind of Christ. In Philippians 2, Jesus humbled himself, took upon himself the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even unto the death of the cross. How could Jesus have loved even though he was reviled, persecuted, tortured, and crucified? He, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross and is seated on the right hand of God. What was the joy set before him? His joy was your redemption and mine.
Doubting Thomas said to Jesus, “unless I put my finger in the nail prints in his hands and thrust my hand into the wound in his side, I will not believe.” Jesus told Doubting Thomas, “blessed are those who have not seen the wounds in my hands and side, and yet believe.”
Men of this world say, “I just want my just desserts.” However, the Word says, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” God loved the unlovable by giving us his only begotten son… He who knew no sin became the prefect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.

The key to loving others is to not feel uncomfortable in their presence when you see them, even after a long period of separation. This truth will set you free. Judge not lest ye be not judged. The love of God is unconditional. Love gives without expecting anything in return. Loving and forgiveness go hand in hand… both require nothing in return. The love of God is to love the unlovable. The forgiveness of God is to forgive the unforgivable. Herein lies the secret to avoid killing and being killed by “friendly fire” within the body of Christ… I forgave and set the prisoner free, only to find that the prisoner was me.

Therefore, be ye kindly affection-ed one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

May God richly bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

To Whom Do You Pledge Allegiance?

In today’s culture, there is no shortage of devotion and loyalty… to ourselves. The culture teaches us to look out for “number one.” Looking out for number one is the same lie that the devil used to seduce Eve in the garden: God’s not God, you are… you shall be as God, knowing good from evil. Ever since Eve bought the devil’s lie, men have been under the bondage of the sin of self-centeredness. The world’s definition of humility says, “I may not be much, but I’m all I think about.” There is nothing new under the sun.. today we are in the midst of a spiritual battle… for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness from on high. Our fight is not against the culture and against the doctrines of this world, rather our fight is against the powers of darkness and against the rulers of the darkness in high places. The battle is for the hearts and souls of mankind.

Even we as Christians after having been born again, are in a constant battle against the sin nature that we inherited from Adam, for in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. The question is, to whom are you devoted? Is devotion, loyalty, and commitment to God an infringement of your personal right of freedom? If you buy into this doctrine of self, you are part of the atomization and disintegration of our culture, where devotion to self is preeminent.

When the crisis comes, God expects his men to overcome the darkness of this world… totally devoted not to self centeredness, but totally devoted to him. This commitment comes only by allowing the holy spirit to move within our hearts. For in him we live and move and have our being. In Revelation Chapter 3, God commanded the Apostle John: “to the churches at Laodicea write, I know your deeds, that thy works are neither cold nor hot: I would that thou were cold or hot. So then because that thou art neither cold nor hot: I will spew you out of my mouth.” Laodicea had no springs so they built an aqueduct to send water to the city. Because the city was so far from the springs, the water was tepid and bitter. Laodicea was a rich city, and the wealth and prosperity of the city dazzled and blinded its citizens. Because they were rich in material things, they did not realize that they were poor, blind, naked and wretched in spiritual things. In contrast to the riches of this world, Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Humility is the prerequisite for turning to the Lord. Therefore humble thyself under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time.

According to Psalm 1, Blessed is the man who sitteth not in the seat of the scornful. The man who is in the deepest darkness is the one who thinks he is in the light but sits in spiritual darkness. John 3: 20 says, “He that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” David said in Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.” 1 John 1:6-7 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we live in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” Righteousness is not in the eyes of man. Righteous judgement is according to the righteous standard of the Word of God… The robes of my flesh are filthy rags. However, God’s righteousness is imputed to those who are covered with the righteous robes of Jesus Christ.

The book of James says, “he who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” The devil willl shame us into wallowing in the depth of sin and depravity… he reminds us that in the flesh dwelleth no good thing. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this dead body? We may deceive ourselves, but Jesus will reveal our hearts when we come to him with a humble and a contrite heart. For when we walk in fellowship with him, according to 2 Corinthians 3:18, “we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed from the glory (of the flesh) to the glory (of the spirit,) even by the spirit of God.”

The story of the prodigal son is the story of the forgiving father. Like the prodigal son, in the midst of the pig pen of this world, when we “come to ourselves” and realize that of myself I am nothing,” only then can we say to ourselves, “I will arise and go unto my father.” This is the point of repentance.. to turn from the darkness of this world and toward the light of the word, the son of God.

Wealth is not in the riches of this world, rather it is in the riches of the spirit. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh to the father but by me.” He also said, “I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will enter in and will sup with him and he with me…” We will eat together as friends in fellowship.

God has called his men for such a time as this… to live in the light as he is in the light. One committed man is all it takes: only one man speaking by the spirit of the living God. For it is God that worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure. God has called us to be good stewards of that which he has entrusted to our keeping… the gospel of repentance, forgiveness, salvation, and freedom from the bondage of sin.

Where is your allegiance? To whom are you devoted? Who is number one in your life? Do you value your human rights above your righteousness in Christ? Who is your commander in chief? The question is not who we are, but rather, whose we are. For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live I live by the faith of Jesus Christ who loved me and gave himself for me. Therefore, chose ye this day whom ye shall serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Let your light so shine before men, and in the midst of the darkness of this fallen world… Give ’em heaven!

Your brother in Christ,

Michael

This is Amazing Grace, This is Unfailing Love.

The love of God surpasses understanding. It’s better to be loving than to be right. When we meditate on the love of God, we understand that there is no fear in love… Perfect love casteth out fear for fear has torment… he that feareth is not made perfect in love.

The love of this world is a conditional love… it is reciprocal and requires love in return. Real love is unconditional. This is the Love that God had for us… in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly. The twelve apostles were called to witness up close and personally the greatest life ever lived. Jesus’ disciples were “disciplined followers” trained to follow in their Master’s footsteps. As their role model, Jesus gave them a new commandment that ushered in a new way of life… The new commandment Jesus gave them was this: “love one another even as I have loved you.”

Religion honors God with its lips, but not with its heart. In Matthew 15:17 Jesus said, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Religion is devoid of the love of God. However, Love is full of grace, it begets love unconditionally… Love is patient, love is kind. It is never envious, never boastful or proud, never promotes itself, is never haughty or rude. It never demands its own way. It is never unreasonable or touchy and sensitive about what others say. Love is the opposite of pride. Love has no pride… it seeks only to live for the object of love. It never notices when others go wrong. Love thinks no evil… it only thinks the best of others. Love forgives and sets the prisoner free… only to find that the prisoner was me.

According to 2 Timothy 3, those who are lovers of their own selves rather than lovers of God will accuse you falsely so that they look right to others while making you look wrong. They are traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God… Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof… ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth… from such turn away.

If you’re only friendly to your friends, you’re no different from the rest of the world. Even evil men are good to them who treat them well. However, true followers of Christ love when others treat them unjustly and despitefully use them. Love does not recompense evil for evil, but recompenses evil with good.

Therefore let this mind be in you which was also in Christ… who humbled himself and took upon himself the form of a servant and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. This is the ultimate act of love. Even though Christ’s love is unconditional, our initial response to his love is reciprocal… We love him because he first loved us. To learn to follow Jesus Christ unconditionally we must acknowledge that our righteous justification is not in our own flesh, but in his strength alone. For he who knew no sin, became the perfect sinless sacrifice for sin on our behalf, that we who were dead in trespasses and sin, may become the righteousness of God in him.

Humility is the prerequisite for love. We must come to God with a broken and a contrite spirit, so that he can reconcile us back to him… Humility is the key to receiving the love of God. We as Men of God must be humbled. Only then can we love our enemies, bless them that persecute us, and pray for them that despitefully use us, knowing that our reward is not of this world, but great is our reward in heaven.

1 John 4:7-11

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

In the immortal words of the poem “The Love of God” penned in 1050 by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai:

Could we with ink the oceans fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the Love of God above,
Would drain the oceans dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky…

Beloved of God, May God richly bless you, Your brother in Christ, Michael

The reason why democracy works is not because the government oversees the people, but because Godly people follow Godly rules. Democracy works in America not because Americans are faithful to the government, but because Americans are faithful to God. If you take away religion from the land, you can’t hire enough police.

When the focus on God and the fellowship of believers wanes, the power of darkness is unleashed. The culture crumbles when the power of light is removed from the culture. When the church becomes corrupt and the glory of “Churchianity” takes precedence over the godly culture of men of God, the culture will fall.

The Word of God must be preeminent in Men of God for Godly culture to prevail. When men of God question their calling and subscribe to the politically correct culture of this world, God removes his hand and his blessing from the land.

Lutzer wrote a book about Nazi Germany. The lesson is that you cannot negotiate with evil. You cannot sign a peace treaty with the devil. To compromise with the world is to forsake God. When men set themselves upon the throne of their own hearts and worship self actualization and the comfort of worldly things, the culture will crumble.

Some things are non-negotiable. The choice is Truth or consequences. God said, thou shalt have no other Gods before me. The first and greatest commandment is this: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

The devil has deceived men of God to compromise and acquiesce to the culture and the affairs of this world. However, the word says, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ. His humility was toward God to serve the people and to meet their needs. What needest thee? All I need is thee.

God called us through Jesus Christ to die to self in order to live for him. However, the self is heavily defended territory.

In order to make a difference against the darkness of the world, men of God cannot compromise the standard of Truth. Meekness and humility are the prerequisites to following the Master.

Can you accept Jesus as your savior and not your Lord? Oswald Sangers accepted Jesus as his Savior but not as Lord. This “partial acceptance” was because of poor teaching. No one had taught him about the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Sangers said, “When I was taught correctly I accepted Jesus as Lord.”

In order to influence the world, men of God must accept Jesus as Lord. Whom do you serve? For whom do you live? Where is your allegiance? As Peter said, “Lord, where else can we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”

America has been blessed with material abundance and great prosperity. However, in the land of Vanity Faire, where the prevailing gospel is to worship the god of materialism, it’s difficult to change Lords… to turn away from the pursuit of the blessings and toward the pursuit of the Blessor.

When Jesus confronted the rich young ruler, he said, one thing you lack, thou shalt have no other Gods before the one true God. Therefore, give away all your wealth and come and follow me. In order to follow Jesus, you must loose your own life. He who looses his life will find it.

The issue of life is not failing in the things that are important, rather it is succeeding in the things that are insignificant. What is it that is important? What is it that is significant? The greatest disappointment in life is that after climbing the ladder of success, you discover that your ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.

According to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5:
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then he is no more.
It is a tale, told by and idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

What is the meaning of your life? Meaning means significance. Language is not significant if the words have no meaning. In a world of “relativism” there is no meaning.

Only the truth of the Word of God can define meaning and significance. Jesus Christ is the Word, the Truth made manifest. Jesus Christ, the Word in the flesh defines our significance and meaning. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me.” Truth is only in Jesus Christ and the message of God’s salvation. When we follow him, we are the witness of the truth. Truth is the significance of our life. Meaning is found only in Him.

God has called us to be disciplined followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, if you continue in my Word, then shall you be my disciples indeed.

The greatest influence is in the greatest humility. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ… he made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the father.

Meaning and Significance is only in our Lord. In him we live and move and have our being. Therefore, set your affection on things of God and not on things of this of this world.

He has not called us to proclaim the message of the moment, he has called us to proclaim the message of eternity.

The things of this world are fleeting… they will take wings and fly away. Whether riches and abundance, or pain, trial and tribulation… this too shall pass. What endures? That which is seen is temporal, but that which is unseen is eternal.

In the darkness of the times, God has called his men not to shadow box, but to significantly impact the world as the Children of the Light. The meaning and significance of our lives is to deliver the message and to be the message.

God has called men of God for such a time as this. Go ye therefore and teach all nations… and in doing this, Give ’em Heaven!

Your brother in Christ,

Michael