Clear Conscience

John said, If you walk in the light as he is in the light, we will have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The cleansing is in walking in the light of Christ. The blood of the lamb cleanses us from the sin of the world.

Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful above all things. Who can understand it? Our hearts often deceive us into thinking according to the world’s standards. However the light of Christ dispels the darkness and deception of this world. The world says that we should condemn ourselves when we sin.

However, Romans says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.

According to 1 John 4, If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things. Even if our heart condemn us, God does not condemn us if we have been born again of his spirit. For Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.

The heart is the Greek word Kardia. The heart biblically speaking is the heart of our physical being. It is the seat of our soul-life where our thoughts and emotions reside. Soul life is our biological life. However in our soul, we cannot do what God has called us to do. We need both soul and spirit to do God’s will. The spirit is the nature of God himself that we received when we were born of God’s spirit, not of corruptible seed that we inherited from Adam, but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever.

The church is the called-out of God’s people… those whom God has called to gather together as a body of like minded born again believers. When we assemble together in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, called according to the spirit of God we can fellowship together, worship together, edify and encourage one another as individual fittings within church, the body of Christ.

Jesus said, if you continue in my word then shall you be my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Jesus Christ came to set the captives free from the bondage of sin and iniquity of this world. As disciplined followers of Jesus Christ, we are witnesses of the Holy Spirit…we manifest God’s nature of mercy, grace, love and compassion in a world of darkness.

Jesus said, if the son has set you free you shall be free indeed. Not only are we freed from the bondage of sin, but we are freed to do the will of the Lord. How do we use the freedom we have in Christ? The answer is in Galatians 5: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Only use not liberty as an occasion to sin, but in love serve one another. True freedom is in serving the Lord by serving one another in the church which is the body of Christ.

1 Peter says, keep a clear conscience so that those who do evil against you will be reproved. It’s better to suffer for doing good than to do evil. In the last beatitude Jesus said, blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven. Romans 12 says recompense to no man evil for evil… provide things honest in the sight of God and men. It’s not the wrath of God but the goodness of God that calls a man to repentance. Too reconcile others to Christ, we do not bring them a declaration of war, but instead we offer them a peace treaty from the prince of peace. John 3 says, Jesus came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

The greatest victory is the greatest surrender. In order to defeat the enemy, we must surrender to God… Therefore make me a captive Lord, and then I shall be free. Force me to render up my sword and I shall conquered be. I sink in life’s alarms if by myself I stand. Imprison me within thine arms, and free shall be my stand.

Without God, men have their conscience “seared with a hot iron.” Conscience means “with knowledge.” A healthy conscience operates “with knowledge” of the word of God. God will guide us and direct us according to the knowledge of His word. Wisdom is acting upon God’s revelation he reveals to us in his Word.

There is such thing as healthy guilt that acknowledges and mourns over wrongs done. This type of a guilty conscience leads to repentance… to turn away from sin that separates our heart from God’s heart and to return back into the presence of the Lord. According to 1 John 1:9, if we confess our sins (of having broken fellowship with God) then he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then when we return our hearts to the Lord, we can walk in the light and the blood of Jesus Christ will (continue to) cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Blessed are they that mourn for Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of. When God opens the eyes of our spiritual understanding so that we can see the contrast between the sin nature we inherited from Adam, and the spiritual nature that we received when we were born again of God’s spirit, then we can change our minds and follow our Lord and master, Jesus Christ… Then we’re no longer a slave to sin.. We become bond-slaves, servants of Jesus Christ to serve him from a heart of love.

It’s important to keep a clear conscience, free of the condemnation of guilt, worry, and fear that separates our heart from God’s heart. This is the theme of Romans chapter 8. Instead of condemnation, we have been made the righteousness of Christ. Romans 8 concludes: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

… That we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Ambassadors to Israel

Pastor Matt and his wife Elizabeth serve at the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Jerusalem where Matt is the director. Israel is mentioned over 2500 times in the Bible. God is referred to the God of Israel in the Old Testament. It’s fitting to view Israel as God’s chosen people through the Bible’s perspective.

Phil Hanlen and Ryan Van Deussen’s ministry Ambassadors and Embassies has partnered with Matt’s church in Israel since 2016. Phil and Ryan consider themselves Ambassadors to Israel according to 2 Corinthians 5, and Matt’s church is their embassy in the Middle East.

When Matt was in his twenties he prayed that God would use him like he used Billy Graham. Over time his prayer has changed to, “Lord let me finish well.” Through patience, God will show us his character within our hearts when we are faithful through trials and tribulation to stand in the midst of the spiritual battle and the onslaught of flaming arrows of doubt and discouragement.

Elizabeth grew up in foster care. When she married her husband, they prayed where God would have them serve. She had been brought up in a foster home and became a disciplined follower of Christ. She and her husband were both convinced that God had called them to serve in Israel. They had a difficult time getting through the Beurocracy in Israel who opposed them at every turn. However, through persistence and God’s grace, mercy, and divine providence they became permanent residents of Israel.

Elizabeth didn’t know her biological parents until the age of 26. Through the linkage of her biological father, she found out that she was of Jewish origin. When he passed away at 98, he had given her the family’s documentation that proved they were of Israeli heritage. According to the laws of Israel, those of Jewish ancestors were welcome to make their home in Israel.

Only one percent of residents of Israel call themselves Christians. Matt and Elizabeth are blessed to live in a Christian enclave in Jerusalem. About 20% of Israelis consider themselves religious and most of these are liberal, not conservative Orthodox Jews. Even though the Israeli ministry welcomes those of Jewish ancestry, they are closed to Christians and other outsiders. The exception is that if you were of Jewish ancestry and you were brought up as a Christian “through no fault of your own.”

For four years Matt and Elizabeth appealed to The Israeli Ministry of the Interior to allow grant them Permanent Resident status but to no avail. They finally received help when an Israel Supreme Court judge intervened and ruled in their favor. For four years they were ostracized as foreign outsiders who could be deported at any moment until the judge ruled in their favor.

The prevailing Jewish religion leads to death. When their son required hospitalization the religious leaders said to Matt and Elizbeth, “he’s fourth generation Jewish, what is that to us?” They denied them medical insurance and medical treatment. Through these ordeals, God has shown them that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.

The biblical story of Israel continues today, even though the twelve tribes of the house of Israel have been scattered. In the midst of this spiritual battle, in the very place where the devil couldn’t stop Jesus’ resurrection, his priority remains to silence Christians and shut down Christianity. In the land of Jesus’ birth, Elizabeth and Matt have withnessed spiritual warfare first hand.

Through their struggles, Elizabeth has come to realize that they are on the front lines of the spiritual battle. In military strategy, you don’t confront the enemy head on. Instead you attack the weaker flanks. You don’t attack the enemy’s forward ranks by inflaming his passion for war, death, destruction and annihilation. The enemy’s flanks in the spiritual battle are to recompense no man evil for evil… but to love and follow Christ’s example to love your enemies, to bless them and to do good unto those who persecute you and say evil against you falsely for Jesus’ sake, for great is your reward in heaven. The light of the Word is a reflection of Jesus Christ himself. In Isreel there is a stark contrast between the darkness of the secular world and the light of Christ. Light always overcomes darkness.

As the salt of the earth, we represent the salt of truth amidst the flavorless lies of the devil. 2 Corinthians 5 says that God has called as Ambassadors for Christ. When we deliver the peace treaty from our Sovereign Lord, we are the sweet smelling fragrance and savor to them that God has called to salvation.

God’s blessing of Abraham to his dependents from generation to generation continues today. God said to Abraham, whoever blesses Israel I will bless and whoever curses Israel I will curse. Romans 11 is about God’s relationship to Israel in today’s world. According to Romans, we Christians who have been born again of God’s spirit, have been grafted into the root of Israel.

In 70 AD the zealots of Israel tried to rebel against Roman rule. However Rome put down the rebellion and destroyed the temple of Jerusalem and annihilated and ostracized many of the zealous Jews. Ever since the first century, Arabs, Muslims, and other nations in the Middle East have hated and detested those of Jewish origin.

Today the Zionist Christians who are one percent of the Israel’s population understand that in the midst of the spiritual warfare between Jews and Arabs, Jesus Christ is the one who reconciles… There is no peace without the Prince of Peace. To reconcile our hearts with one another we must first reconcile our hearts with God. There is only one remedy for irreconcilable differences…. for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

In Israel like America, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high. The battle belongs to the Lord. As Abraham Lincoln said, the best way to defeat your enemy is to make him your friend. We make friends through our mutual friend, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who brings peace by reconciling our hearts with God’s heart and our hearts with our Lord Jesus Christ. Then when we love God above all, we can love our neighbor as ourselves. This is our mission and our commission… building bridges instead of putting up walls… to deliver a peace treaty from the prince of peace. Therefore we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God…

In other words, Go give ‘em Heaven!
That together we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Light of the World

After Jesus preached the beatitudes in Matthew 5, he continued the sermon on the mount by teaching the multitude about the application of these beautiful attitudes. Those who choose to follow in the Lord’s footsteps are examples of the love of God and the peace of God.

The beatitudes are upside down from what the world considers successful attitudes. Jesus’ godly attitudes are the opposite from the earthly, sensual, and devilish attitutes promoted by the god of this world. The world thinks that godly beatitudes are to be avoided. Attitudes of poverty, mourning, meekness, mercy, purity, peacefulness, and persecution are failures in the world’s eyes. However, these attitudes are the keys to blessedness. In meekness and humility, when we come to understand, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, we can turn to God instead of the darkness of this world.

Jesus said, Ye are the light of the world. Therefore let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. The light of the truth of the word of God dispels the darkness of the world’s lies, deceit, deception and blindness. When we let our light shine on a hill and uplift the light of Christ on a lamp stand, God’s light will overcome the darkness. For God has shined his light in our hearts and our spiritual eyes were opened when we were born again of his spirit. Jesus Christ came to open the eyes of those born spiritually blind.

The world sees only through the eyes of the senses… they cannot understand the things of the spirit of God for the adversary has blinded the eyes of those who believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. For he that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth, those who humble themselves before the Lord come to the light that their deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought of God.

In order for the word of God to shine forth, God must break our earthen vessels of the flesh. Like Gideon, God’s plan to defeat Israel’s enemy was to break their clay pots so that the light could shine and confuse the darkness of the enemy.

When Nicodemus approached Jesus in John 3, he asked Jesus, how do you do the things that you do? How do you work miracles, signs and wonders? Nicodemus was a respected Pharisee and teacher of the Jews. However, he couldn’t understand the source of Jesus’ supernatural power. Jesus didn’t answer Nicodemus’ question. Instead he said, you must be born again. Nicodemus said, how can a man be born again? How can he enter again into his mother’s womb? Jesus explained he who is born of water, of his mother’s womb is born into the flesh… The nature of the flesh is the darkness of this fallen world. To be born again is to be born from above of God’s spirit.

Philippians says, You are the light of the world among whom you shine as lights in a world of darkness. As born again sons of God, we reflect the light of Christ. We are God’s photomultipliers shining forth the light of the truth of His word and Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. A born again son of God does not reflect the glory of the flesh but the glory of the Lord.

The devil tells the world, you’re number one. Everything is about you. You need to satisfy yourself… your purpose is to to pursue and grab all the gusto you can get. You need to follow pleasure, amusement, and the satisfaction of your own soul. The devil shows the bait, but hides the hook. Self centeredness and selfishness produces pride. Pride goes before the fall. Pride is the source of strife, contention, vengeance, vindictiveness, hatred, bitterness, wars, and rumors of wars. Pride focuses on self and self worship leads to self destruction.

Paul said, if you rail against the darkness, you will just make the world darker. You cannot fight darkness with darkness. No one will listen to you.. instead gently correct those who oppose themselves by shining the light of the love of God. You can’t let evil speculations make you quarrelsome. Instead love your enemies, be good to them who revile you and despitefully use you. Then when your light is shining, this will lead them to the knowledge of the truth. For the man of God must not strive but instead, gently correct those who oppose themselves. Then to to ones God has called, your example of the love of God will lead them to the knowledge of the truth.

Our first mission field is to our own mind and then to our own families. To reconnect our hearts with our wives, we must meet each other at the foot of the cross. The world says that if you disagree with your wife, then heap resentment and bitterness on top of these disagreements so that they become irreconcilable differences. Then these differences are legal grounds for divorce. However, with God’s power, there are no irreconcilable differences. In order to reconcile with our wives, we must first reconcile our hearts with God’s heart through Jesus Christ, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Then when we have our vertical relationship with God restored to an upright position, we can reconcile with our wives through Jesus Christ… He’s the one who unifies us together in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. When we love God above all we can love our wives like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. The love of God is the tie that binds our hearts together in the love of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That we may live harmoniously fitted together in the unity of the spirit to minister to one another in love…

…that we may love one another in the midst of the darkness of this world, and shine as lights holding forth the word of life to the praise of the glory of God’s grace!

Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Influencers Fullerton, Thoughts from Pete’s Message October 27, 2021

Light of the World

After Jesus taught the beatitudes, he began teaching the multitude about the practical application of these beautiful attitudes. Before we can apply the teachings of our Lord, we must first have heart of meekness and humility. Before we can obey our Lord and Master we need to humble our hearts. Obeisance, is required before obedience… bowing our hearts in humble adoration before him is required before we can serve him in obedience from a heart of love.

True peace is only in the presence of the Prince of Peace. The world, having inherited Adam’s fallen nature, cannot perceive and receive the beatitudes of Jesus Christ. When we confess Jesus is Lord and believe that God has raised him from the dead, we are born again of God’s holy spirit, at that moment we are reconciled with God through Jesus’ sacrifice for our redemption. Then we can reconcile our hearts with God’s heart for there is one God and one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus.

In every generation, the devil will persecute those who live and love as salt ad light in an unsavory world that celebrates darkness. For he that doeth evil hateth the light neither cometh unto the light lest their deeds should be reproved. However, they that walk in truth come unto the light that their deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought of God.

When we come to the understanding that it’s all of thee and none of me… that even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly, then we can come unto him with a heart of love… we love him because he first loved us. It’s only by grace that we can approach his throne of grace and mercy, not because of our righteousness, but because we have been made the righteousness of God in Him.

Jesus said, ye who have come to know the beatitudes are the salt and light. If we walk in the light as he is in the light the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. Light makes manifest the truth of the word of God.

The devil covers himself in darkness when he pits factions against each other so that they will strive and fight against each other… He tricks the power hungry into thinking that they in their own power are worthy of demanding the control and the respect of others. However, Jesus said, blessed are the meek and humble of heart. The greatest leader, he who is chief among you must be servant of all. The true power is the power of God manifest in a man of God who serves God and God’s people from a heart of love.

When we are attached to the Lord Jesus Christ, the joy is in the Lord and not in our circumstances and happenstance… the situations of this fleeting world. When our priority is in following in the footsteps of our Lord, then there is no bad news, it’s just news. Pete learned this truth when after months of treating his wife Suzan’s stage four brain cancer, the Oncologist said, the cancer has returned and has spread all over her brain. She said, if you want us to intervene, we will need to take immediate action. They asked, what do you mean by immediate action? She said, we’ll drill a hole through her skull, insert a port and inject medicine directly into her brain. They asked, how much more time will that give her? She said, It may not give her any more time. I’ve also seen cancer patients extend their lives for up to a year on rare occasions. I’ll give you twenty minutes to make a decision. Then she left the room.

Pete, Suzan and their son prayed, and then asked Suzan what she wanted to do. She said, Let’s do nothing and leave my life in God’s hands. As soon as Suzan said that, a peace that passes all understanding came over them.

There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear. He who feareth is not made perfect in love. When we love God above all, then love covers a multitude of sin. For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

The main question is, what do you love the most? When the rich young ruler asked Jesus, Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answered, why do you call me good? There is none good (in the flesh). Only God himself is good. He continued, you know the Old Testament Law… don’t commit murder, don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t covet… Love your mother and father. The man responded, I’ve done these things since my youth. Jesus loved him and said, then you need to do one more thing… sell all of your goods, give the proceeds the poor, and come follow me. The rich young ruler went away sorrowful, for he had much material wealth.

His problem was that even though he thought he kept the commandments, he had missed the first commandment: that thou shalt have no other Gods between your face and God’s face. His riches came between him and God. He had the wrong god.

When the student is ready the teacher will come. Life lessons are learned in the crucible of trials and the refining fire of tribulation. Pete recalls that he had been traded to the Minnesota Twins farm team. Although he had been an all star in the Southern League he found himself sitting on the bench. He was jealous of another player from the southern league who was in the starting lineup ahead of Pete even though this player was not an all star. Pete’s coach called him to pinch hit at a game in Indiana. He thought to himself, “this is my opportunity to get a hit and to move up into the starting lineup.” On the mound was a pitcher named Pedro Bourbon. Bourbon was later drafted by the Cincinnati Reds and pitched for the Big Red Machine who won two World Series. Pete says that his greatest contribution to the minor leagues was to get minor league pitchers into the big leagues. Bourbon struck Pete out in that game in Indiana.

That night Pete was reading in Hebrews 12 where it says that the Lord disciplines those whom he loves. God spoke to Petes heart, “you know how to be an all star, but you don’t know how to sit on the bench. Some things you can only learn on the bench. You’ll learn meekness and humility to put your team mates first…. to encourage them, support them, and build them up. It’s painful to forsake your pride.

Humility is learned in the refining fire and the crucible of my reproof. Reproof means to test and prove over and over that God alone is your strength and sufficiency. The purpose of reproduction is to correct us… to restore us to an upright position with God.

Then when we walk in fellowship with God our Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and with other Christians in the household of faith, even though the devil and his followers will revile us, criticize us, slander us, and persecute us, God will use our walk as a testimony to those he’s called to witness his love, mercy, and grace. We will be living testimonies of salt and light in an unsavory world of darkness. When the called of God witness the light of Christ in us, they will glorify our Father and praise his name…

That together we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Entering the Lord’s Presence

Psalm 84 is about entering into the presence of God. Unless God’s people enter into the house of the Lord according to His terms, they that build the house build it in vain.

Psalm 84 is a cross reference to Numbers 16 about the sons of Korah who rebelled against Moses, God’s prophet. When Moses confronted them about their murmerings and disputing, the sons of Koreh were swallowed up by a earthquake along with a number of the children of Israel who had risen up against God’s prophet and the Word of the Lord. God also allowed a plague to destroy the unbelievers in the ranks of the house of Israel.

Psalm 84 makes reference to the sons of Koreh whe were rejected because of their earthly lineage… the curse that had followed their tribe from generation to generation.

According to Psalm 84:

1 HOW amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.”
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

In 4M men’s groups we learn that prayer is the way to align our hearts in a vertical relationship with God. Corporate prayer is the way to collectively bind our hearts together in unity of purpose as members in the body of Christ. Praying together builds the dwelling place of the most High for we are collective God’s temple… His dwelling place.

Christianity is God’s rescue plan to deliver desperate men. When men are desperate and wondering how they will provide for food, shelter, and clothing, God will meet his men in their moment of need. It’s not the things of this world that meet our needs, it’s the Lord. He is our Jehovah Jireh. He is our supply, our portion, our allotment, our all in all.

We’re are instructed to keep and guard our heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. The eye gate protects our heart. What is it that you look at and regard longingly? If thy eye be single, with singleness of mind, the whole body will be flooded with the light of the Word of God. The eyelid protects the eye… we need to condition our eyelids to protect us from being distracted from the baubles that the world dangles in front of our eyes.

The epistles say, grieve not the Holy Spirit. As the deer longs for streams of water, Lord I long for you. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. Jesus Chrsit is the bread of life… he is the fountain of living waters. He who drinks from the water of life shall never thirst.

As the darkness of the world increases, we need to approach the presence of God. Repentance means to turn from sin, the missing of the mark, and unto the mark of the high calling of God in Chrsit Jesus. When we forsake our pride and approach his throne of grace with meekness and humility then God will welcome us into his presence.

According to verse 3, Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

God created the sparrow with an instinct to return home. Sparrows are called home because God has created a homing instinct in the depth of their beings. This is our prayer, that we would develop a homing instinct to be drawn unto the Lord.

As we God’s people pass through the the valley of the shadow of death, the valley of pain and guilt and shame, we can turn aside from the darkness and destruction and into the presence of the Lord. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The spirit of God in Christ in us is his homing spirit in our hearts. Without his Holy Spirit, those who attempt to enter into God’s presence are just “playing church.” Home is where the heart is.. When our heart is at home with the Lord, then we’re never alone… for Jesus. Said, take heed and beware of covetousness, for I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Therefore forsake the terrestrial to approach the celestial.

According to Psalm 84 verses 6 and 7, “Who passing through the valley of Baca (tears) make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.”

Psalm 56:8-10 says, “put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.”

What does it mean to put thou my tears in a bottle? An ancient belief in biblical times was to collect tears in a bottle that were shed when moved with compassion for God and in service to God and His people. These righteous tears were an individual’s most prized possession. They were buried with the person at death. People believed that these tears would be weighed to determine rewards after death as an indication of a life of compassion for God and his righteousness. They believed that their tears in the bottle along with their names written in thy book are the record of their compassion and service to God.

In Luke 7:37-38, “And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” She took her most prized possession, her righteous tears, and poured them on Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her hair. Then she poured precious perfumed ointment on his feet. This is an indication that she sacrificed everything she held precious in service to her Lord. She wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair which was considered a woman’s crowning glory. This was an act of extreme humility for her Lord and Master. At the feet of Jesus, in humility, all my trophies at last I lay down….

Psalm 118 says the Lord is our refuge and strength. When our own strength fails and we’re at the end of our ropes, thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient for me.

The blessings in Psalm 84 start with verses 4 and 5: Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.: The blessing in Verse 12 says: “O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”

God empowers us with his Holy Spirit to work within us to will and to do of His good pleasure as we delight in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not unto our own understanding. Jesus Chrsit is the solution to all of the problems of life. In the throes of addiction, He’s not the 12-step program…. he is the one step program. As we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

…. That we mean ever live to the praise of the glory of God’s grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Faith or Fear?

On the evening news “if it bleeds it leads.” The world’s media indoctrinates us to be fearful…. it constantly reminds us that this world is filled with danger, turmoil and uncertainty. When Moses led the children to the edge of the Red Sea, Pharaoh’s mighty army was pursuing them and they could see the dust clouds from the chariots in the distance. Moses said, wait upon the Lord and you will see his deliverance.

Oswald Chambers said, when the crisis comes and courage is required, God expects his men to have such confidence in him that they will be the faithful and reliable ones.

A crisis is a difficult or dangerous situation that needs our full attention. The Bible says, we are in the midst of a spiritual battle. The devil is on a rampage to divide and conquer. He inflicts pain, opression, distress…. an unstable situation that will precipitate an undesirable outcome. The tipping point is a crisis that is about to topple the status quo.

The crises around us are in the pandemic, politics, social media, schools, the government, the culture, and even in church. However, The heart of the righteous shall not be afraid for the righteousness of God shall prevail. From God’s perspective, there is neither god news or bad news, it’s just news. One more domino falling is just one more event that will lead to the ultimate return of our Lord Jesus Chrsit.

For Men of a certain age, it’s easy to fear for our children and grand children. We fear for the culture and society around us that has deteriorated from the “good old days” of our youth. However, the Bible says there is nothing new under the sun. The devil is up to his same old tricks. His purpose and his methods have not changed. His purpose is to divide and conquer…. to steal, to kill, and to destroy. Ultimately his purpose is to divide our hearts from. God’s heart.

Chambers said, if you Christian are afraid of the things of the world, what difference are you than the world? Has God not delivered you from the snare of the adversary… have you not witnessed God’s victories in your life? Has he not brought you through the snares of the Fowler and the arrows of the wicked one? If God be for us who can be against us? He who sees the sparrow fall, will he not surely hold you up?

When you ask someone, “Where do you think you’ll go after you die?”, their answer will determine whether their life is hid in Christ with God. If they answer, “I think I’ll go to heaven,” the next diagnostic qauestion is, “when you’re standing at the gates of heaven and God says, ‘why should I let you in?’, what would you say?” If they have a works based answer, then they don’t know that salvation is by God’s grace through Christ and not by their own performance.

The book of James says, faith without works is dead. Even though we have been saved by grace, even though Ephesians 2:8 says, “By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast,” The very next verse says, “for we are God’s workmanship (his great work of art, his poetry in motion) created in Christ Jesus unto good woks which he has foreordained that we should walk in them.”

The prophet Isaiah said, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
If we doubt, worry, and fear because of the circumstances around us, then we have believed the devil’s lies instead of the truth of the word of God. The battle is for hearts and minds… Therefore set your affections on things above and not not he things of the earth.

Men of this world seek refuge in the things of the world…. they seek comfort in drugs, drink, self indulgence, the pursuit of the riches of the world. They seek comfort in everything except the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12 says, in the face of evil, be not overcome for evil but overcome evil with good. It’s the goodness grace, mercy, and love of the Lord that calls a man to repentance. Lincoln said, the best way to defeat your enemy is to make him your friend. Contrary to popular opinion, peace is not the absence of war. The ultimate peace is to reconcile our hearts with God’s heart through Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf. You can’t have peace without the Prince of Peace… Jesus said, my peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The devil’s purpose is to lead us to sin by separating our hearts from God’s heart. Peace is the absolute end of all strife and contention between God and man. Jesus Christ is the one who reconciles… He is the one who reconnects our heart with God’s heart, thereby making peace with God… for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

With our hearts reconciled to God in the unity of the spirit of the bond of peace, we can dedicate ourselves to God’s purpose… for what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. God set us apart so that we can walk the path he’s prepared for us to walk in fellowship with him, his son Christ Jesus and one with another in the household of faith…

GK Chesterton said, courage is almost a contradiction in terms. In order for a soldier to survive, he must count himself already dead. A soldier dedicated to give his live to serve his brothers in arms greatly increases the probability of his own survival. If he values the protection of his fellow soldiers and the accomplishment of his military objective more than he values own life, he will not fear the enemy. The ultimate enemy is death. If he no longer fears death, this increases the likelihood he will survive the crisis of the battle.

Similarly, as the apostle Paul said, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 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 faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

The first and great commandment is to love God above all. This is also the first of the Ten Commandments… God said, Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. The literal translation of this verse from the Aramaic text reads, “thou shalt have no other Gods between your face and my face.” The reason that when we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, nothing will come between us.

When we love God above all, then we can love our neighbor as ourselves. First we need to have our vertical relationship with God in alignment so that we can relate horizontally with our neighbors. Colossians 3:14 says, “And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” Charity, the love of God, is the tie that binds our heart with God’s heart, our Lord Jesus Christ, and with one another in the household of faith.

The choice is faith or fear. God never honors fear but he always honors faith. According to Galatians 5:6, nothing else really matters, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

There is no fear in love, for perfect love casteth out fear. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind…

That in loving Him above all, we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,

Blessed Are the Reviled, Persecuted, and Slandered

The beatitudes lead us through the paths of righteousness for the Lord’s name’s sake. The path begins with humility… in realizing that we are poor in spirit without the spirit of God in Christ. Then blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek.. those who are receptive to receive God’s instruction. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousnes for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are those who are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

The last of Jesus’s beautiful attitudes is in Matthew 5:11-12. Jesus said, Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven…. for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

The road through the history of the Christian church is paved with the blood of the martyrs. However, because Jesus died for our sins, we should live for him…. a living sacrifice, transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

In Roman times, the early Christian message divided believers from unbelievers. To the Jews in Jerusalem, converts to Christianity were considered dead… they were outcasts dead to those who continued to worship in the temple and in the synagogue.

The Roman Emperor Nero, tortured Christians and set their bodies on fire to light the avenue that led into Rome. What was his motive for persecuting, torturing, and killing Christians? On the surface, Nero had burned Rome to rebuild it as a monument to his own egotistical power. However the citizens of Rome revolted against Nero for burning their city. Nero need someone to blame so he accused the Christians for setting Rome ablaze. From a spiritual perspective, Nero’s killing of the Christians fulfilled Jesus’ prophetic words… blessed are the persecuted, reviled, and evil spoken of, for great is their reward in heaven.

In totalitarian regimes the government and their authoritarian rulers will do everything in their power to stamp out anything that threatens their absolute power. This totalitarian ideology of power continues today. As British historian Lord Acton said, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot used genocide to annihilate the intellectuals, the educated, and the religious leaders that he perceived as opposition to his total authority.

Political powers divide families so that corrupt governments can indoctrinate their children. Then the children will learn to become subservient to the ruling regime. In Rome, Cesar instituted emperor worship… their official motto was “Cesar is God.” Anyone who did not bow down to Cesar and burn incense in his honor was persecuted and outlawed for disloyalty to the emperor. Jesus’ only offense was that his followers followed him as their Lord. Following Jesus Christ threatened the power of Rome.

Jesus said, “the world hates you as it has hated me. Ye are not of this world. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. These things they will do for my name’s sake for they have not known me.” The sin nature we inherited from Adam hates the nature of God. Each of the beatitudes is diametrically opposed to the attitudes of this fallen world.

In our country, those who seek to control Americans will do whatever it takes to subjugate citizens under their repressive governmental dictates. They will mandate the restriction of our God-given unalienable rights that were written into our constitution. In their lust for power they rationalize that removing the freedoms that were written into the first amendment are for ’public safety’ and the “good of the American people.” They use temporary emergencies such as the Covid virus or whatever happens to be the the crisis of the day to remove our freedoms. Their purpose is to control the people and stamp out opposition to their absolute power. They use national crises to deny Christians their God-given freedoms upon which our nation was founded as one nation under God.

The world alienates followers of Christ by emphasizing what they think Christians are against. Because they have no knowledge of a just and loving God, they perceive that Christians are closed minded, bigoted, and holier-than-thou. However, it’s not what Christians are against that matters… but what we stand for.. Therefore stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Stand up for Jesus. Stand in his strength alone.

The devil takes the truth of the Word of God and twists it to his own evil ends. Any fool can claim his rights and any demon will make sure that he gets them. Jesus said, “Set your affections on things above and not on things of earth.” Christians are distracted from their heavenly calling when they align themselves with a particular political party thinking that a political candidate can deliver them from the world’s problems.

Philippians 3:20 says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…” We’re not to stand for the politics of this world but for the politics of heaven, for our citizenship is in heaven. Our allegiance is to our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word translated “citizenship” is from the Greek word Politiea from which we get the English word politics. The root word for Politea is the Greek word Polis which is the basis of the English word Police. In Ancient Greece, the polis was the wall around the city-state that defined the citizens who lived inside the protection of its ramparts. These walls protected the city’s inhabitants from their enemies and defined the people as citizens and loyal supporters of the leaders of their city state.

As Christians we are citizens of heaven. Heaven defines our homeland and our ruler, God our Heavenly Father. As loyal subjects of our Lord Jesus Christ, even though we hold dual citizenship, we are Christians first and Americans second. We are Christians who happen to be Americans and not Americans who happen to be Christians. Our true homeland is in heaven and we pledge our allegiance to our Heavenly Father and our Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ.

The prophet Daniel had risen through the political ranks of ancient Babylon. Proverbs 18:16 says, “A man’s gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men.” Daniel sought God for wisdom and made wise decisions as God directed him. King Darius perceived that Daniel had an “excellent spirit” and appointed him the chief over the three presidents who served under the king. These three presidents were in charge of 120 governors or princes who ruled over the people of the kingdom of Babylon.

The other presidents and princes plotted to overthrow Daniel so they scrutinized his life and his actions to find something they could charge against him. However, they could not find any fault in him. Since they knew that Daniel served his God, they devised a trap to use Daniel’s service to God against him.

They appealed to the king’s pride to sign a decree that no one in the kingdom could make a petition to any man or god except to King Darius within the next thirty days. If anyone violated this decree, they would be thrown into a den of lions. The king signed the decree which could not be rescinded according to the law of the Meades and Persians.

Even though Daniel knew of the decree, he continued to pray to God three times a day with his window open toward Jerusalem as he had always done. The other governors observed and recorded that Daniel continued to pray to his God. They came to King Darius and said, Daniel has violated your decree that no one can make a petition to any man or god within thirty days. According to the law of the Meads and the Persians which cannot be altered, Daniel must be thrown into the den of lions.

King Darius was angry when he realized that the decree he signed was a trap for Daniel whom he had appointed as his chief advisor. He sought counsel to find a way to avoid sending Daniel to the lion’s den, but the terms of the decree could not be rescinded. Before Daniel was taken away to be cast into the den of lions, King Darius said to Daniel, The God whom you serve will deliver you.

Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den and King Darius spent a sleepless night worrying about Daniel’s fate. The next day, the king rushed to the opening of the lion’s den and said, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? “. Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” (Daniel 6:20-23)

As Suzan often said, joy is not the absence of pain, but the presence of the Lord. God allows persecution to teach us that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us. The word for experience means “proven character.” God’s character in us is proven by trials that refine us. Chuck Smith said, God will deliver us in the fire, by the fire, or through the fire. According to Proverbs, The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but God refines the heart.

We’re proven and reproved by the testing of the trials, tribulations, pressures, and persecution of this world. The Apostle Paul learned this lesson when he prayed three times for God to remove his thorn in the flesh. The first two times, God did not answer. The third time, God answered but the answer was not what Paul was expecting. God said to Paul, My strength is made perfect in your weakness, my grace is sufficient for thee.

Therefore, Jesus said, blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven. Through the trials of life, we will understand that there is no victory without a spiritual battle…. through the pandemic, pandemonium, pressures, and persecution of this world we will learn the greatest blessing of all…. thy grace is sufficient for me…

That we may live as living witnesses of His power to overcome, that this light affliction which is but for a moment is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall follow… for great is your reward in heaven!

Your brother in Christ,
Michael