True Worship

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. John 4:23

True: real or genuine 

Real: actually existing or happening... not imaginary...
         not fake, false, or artificial

Genuine: sincerely and honestly felt or experienced 

Worship: reverence for God... adoring reverence or regard...
                 to feel adoring reverence or regard

Reverence:  profound adoring awed respect

Regard: a feeling of respect and admiration for someone

Adoring: to love or admire (someone) very much...
              
Admire: to feel respect for someone... to regard with admiration


God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24

Spirit: Holy Spirit
 
spirit: the inner quality or nature of a person... Soul

Soul: the spiritual part of a person that gives life to the body and lives forever... a person's moral nature

Truth: sincerity in action, character, and utterance


The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  John 14:17

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13

for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth, Ephesians 5:9

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 1 John 3:24

'A Light Affliction'....

I had a kind of a spiritual 'meltdown' a few nights back... after praying deeply and weeping heavily off and on over the last couple weeks because of the slaughter of Christians going on in the Middle East; it came to a head when I saw the photo for the video of the recent beheading of James Foley. I just sobbed and sobbed, prayed intensely and sobbed some more. I have been praying for the persecuted church for years; praying for them to be given courage, for boldness, for strength and strong witness for those in prison.

But the peak of this was so awful... I felt all joy flee away... that there could never be joy as long as my brethren were suffering so terribly. I was overcome with the desperate emptiness of having no hope because there was no longer any joy. Life was meaningless without joy and I thought, “How can I ever have joy again or what right did I have to any joy or happiness while these tragedies play out in their increasing intensity as the days go by. And what of the world wide persecution yet to come (and the slaughter today is just a taste of that future time) when the anti-Christ rules and countless will be martyred for the name of Christ? How can there be any joy and how can there be any happiness... how could I be free to think pleasant thoughts in the midst of these troublesome days?

And I cried and prayed and sought the Lord's counsel. And slowly, the beautiful dawn of understanding began to sooth my soul and the Lord spoke scripture after scripture to me... calming my heart, comforting me and letting me see the 'big' picture. And these are the scriptures He gave me... and I pray they will comfort you as well and know in your heart that the Christian can have peace and joy even in the midst of atrocity.

I still pray deeply for the Brethren, but then I leave it all in Gods' very capable hands and I continue on in my day... taking joy in the quiet, sweet things of His creation and being ever more grateful and thankful for even the smallest of His kindnesses. I can have sorrow for the suffering of others and at the same time bless God by acknowledging His love and care and be uplifted and comforted in knowing that eternity is the real 'world' while I slowly pass through this one...

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 2 Corinthians 4:17 (When Paul wrote this scripture by the Holy Spirit, it was during a time of great persecution, and he called it a light affliction because of the wonderful grandness of eternity compared with the fleeting days of this short time in this present world which are in comparison with eternity... 'only a moment')

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ... James 1:2-3

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3

Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:32-33

We Died Before We Came...

 
As they arrived at the Islands the ship’s captain tried to turn him back, saying, “You will lose your life and the life of those with you if you go among such savages.” To which Calvert replied ‘We died before we came here.” James Calvert (1813–1892) was a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands.

*** 

We died before we came... we died to ambition, goals and dreams. We died to self and everything the self desires. We died so that Christ, and Christ alone may live in and through us. That whatever we attempt within this great missionary call of God, succeeds to bring Him glory... and only Him.

We died before we came so there would be no hindrance, no barriers within ourselves to follow Christ into areas of the world where there is great darkness yearning for light... We died so there would be nothing to lure us back to lives of seeming comfort, lives of our own wants, desires, dreams. We wanted God's call... and so in order that Gods' call would blossom, yield full baskets of fruit, acres of healthy crop... we died to all that would stand in the way of such a harvest. For where our treasure is, there our hearts are also... where Gods' desire, calling and work in our lives means more to us than anything or anyone... For our treasure is God, His kingdom and His call!

A call will 'kill' you, a dream will coddle you. That is the difference between a call of God and a dream of the flesh or the heart. There is a false teaching surrounding these two things. We are told by the world to 'follow' our hearts but the Word of God says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and utterly wicked, who can know it? But I the lord search the heart and mind of a man to reward him according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” What deeds? The deeds of 'embracing' the motivations, leanings and seductions of the heart that lead us away from the 'call' of God and convince us that a dream of the heart is the same thing as a call. That God wants you to discover your 'dream' that He supposedly gave you... but God does not give dreams, He gives 'calls'... The flesh gives dreams, not calls. The difference between the two is how they are played out and acted upon within our lives... the consequences on the flesh of following the 'call' or the smooth seductive influence on the flesh from following the 'dream' shows itself in the end to be of God or not to be of God.

And in the end, as Christians, we want to make sure we were following the call and not a dream of the flesh that disguised itself in shiny raiment and smooth words... but in essence feeds the flesh and not the Spirit. A true call of God will 'kill' you! It will not suffer the flesh to live, it will not feed the flesh, it will crucify the flesh. You will die on that cross many times... The first time is when you surrender yourself to Christ in repentance and embrace His redeeming salvation... then life in Him will continue to lead you there so that 'dying to self' and 'living for Christ' becomes as common and expected as breathing. The Christian should know no other way of life... anything short of this is not real Christianity... but is a false hope... for God will not leave you where you are and the words “I will not change' will be driven from your lips and your heart by the cross.

Any supposed 'dream' of God that does not kill the ego, self, personal ambition... is not Gods' call. It is merely the flesh feeling 'good about itself' and refusing to die. And the stronger the call of God, the more dying needs to take place. There must be no place for self so that the beautiful call of God can go forth and bring forth all that God plans and desires for His wondrous work. Because it is His work and He wants it done His way and He knows best how to do it.

And you will go forth on your knees, while He paves the way... and you will stay on your knees for the rest of your life. For no great missionary work of God ever went forth without continual sustaining prayer and continual death to self!

Walk Stand Sit...

“Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;”

Psalm 1:1

Blessed: of or enjoying happiness... bringing pleasure, contentment

*Notice that blessed is the man that Walks Not, Stands Not, and Sits Not.

Walks: to pursue a course of action or way of life :  conduct oneself :  behave... to be or act in association

*Notice that you start out 'walking', then you are 'standing' and finally you are 'sitting'. This comes from ungodly 'counsel' which leads to the walking of wrong 'paths' which lead to the final destination of having a 'seat' among the scoffers.

You don't start out in the seat... first you have to allow yourself to listen and take heed of 'ungodly counsel'. If you are not careful, discerning and a lover of the Truth... you will end up on the 'path' that this type of counsel brings you to. If you continue on this path and do not get off it (which is always an option), you will find yourself eventually having an actual 'seat' among the scoffers. You will become one of them and everything you held dear concerning the truth will be lost. You will have lost your way.

And it all starts with heeding ungodly counsel and allowing others who do not know God, to influence and steal the affection of Christ out of your souls. And you do not start down the 'path' without choosing to heed the 'counsel' which plants doubts and error into your heart where it takes root and begins pointing to the 'path'. The 'path' of error that leads you away from the truth. And the further you are led from the truth, the more confused you become. And if you choose to ignore the cautions God has placed within His Word (I have hidden your Word in my heart that I may not sin against You) and around you, such as urgings from the Holy Spirit, warning that 'something is just not right about this'... and if you do not have a love of the truth (“because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thess. 5:10&11 ) you will shrug it away and walk after the things and teachings that please the flesh but are ungodly...which makes sense because ungodly teaching leads to acceptance of ungodly thought processes, which always lead to pleasing the flesh.

And then after awhile, before you know it, there you are, standing. Standing for things, thoughts, ideas, philosophies, ideologies, etc... that you would have never stood for or with in the beginning. But now you are standing with them and standing with those who also 'stand' with and for these things. These ungodly things... things that began way back with 'ungodly counsel'. The source of the counsel did not stop being an ungodly source just because you have followed it this long way, just because you cannot now see where you are 'standing' is ungodly, does not mean it has somehow transformed itself into righteousness, godliness or truth. It is still right where it started from, only now it has masked itself as a very convincing 'angel of light'. A false angel of false light, giving false counsel to lead you on a false way to a false ending. And if not known, or heeded, or stopped in your tracks... there you are at last: 'seated'.

And when you are seated it is the worst of all, for now you have come to a place of great danger, to yourself and to others. To yourself: because those who have a 'seat among scoffers' are filled with a great and terrible, powerful pride that is so powerful it overrides all sense and rules you in such a state of deception that your conscience is now seared. To others: because now you are filled with falsehood and error and overflowing with ungodly counsel which will lead others to the same terrible, dreaded, ungodly destination.

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, 

deceiving and being deceived.

2 Timothy 3:13

Counsel: advice given to someone... to suggest or recommend

Ungodly: denying or disobeying God... immoral or evil... contrary to moral law

Deceive: to make (someone) believe something that is not true... to be false to... to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid

Stands: to take up or maintain a specified position... to be in a particular state or situation... to remain firm in... to participate in

Path: a trodden way... a way of life, conduct, or thought...

Sinners: syn: immoralist (related words) lawbreaker, miscreant, offender, reprobate, transgressor, corrupter ...someone who has done something wrong according to moral law...

Sits: to please or agree with one... to maintain one's position without change

Seat: (related words) settle; lay, lie, rest ...a special chair of one in eminence; also :  the status represented by it... a place from which authority is exercised...

Scornful: *toward all this is Holy ...a feeling that someone or something is not worthy of any respect or approval... harsh criticism that shows a lack of respect or approval for someone or something... an expression of contempt

***

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 1

Living and Active...

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Living: not dead : having life... full of life... true to life... Active having practical operation or results

Powerful: having a strong effect on someone or something... having great influence... leading to many or important deductions

Sharp: having a thin edge that is able to cut things or a fine point that is able to make a hole in things... sudden and quick... keen in intellect... keen in perception... keen in attention... Vigilent full of activity or energy... capable of acting or reacting strongly... involving an abrupt or marked change especially in direction... clear in outline or detail... set forth with clarity and distinctness

Piercing: seeming to have the power to see a person's thoughts or feelings... having a strong affect on someone : felt in a very noticeable way

Division: the act or process of dividing something into parts : the way that something is divided... something that physically divides or separates something else... something that divides, separates, or marks off... the act, process, or an instance of separating or keeping apart...

Discerner: to recognize or identify as separate and distinct :  discriminate <discern right from wrong> ... to come to know or recognize mentally...

Thoughts: an idea, plan, opinion, picture, etc., that is formed in your mind : something that you think of...

Intents: the thing that you plan to do or achieve : an aim or purpose... the state of mind with which an act is done :  volition …

Heart: the emotional or moral as distinguished from the intellectual nature... one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations...

The Imposter....

 There is a way that seems right to a man...

There is a way that seems right to a man concerning the way he seeks God. But it is not God's way, it is man's way and therefore the one he seeks and seems to find is in fact not God but an imposter. And when it comes to spiritual things, the understanding and practice of seeking and finding the true God is paramount in a Christians life.

The imposter, brazenly putting himself in the place of the One True God, will tell you anything you want to hear and will appear in the best 'light'. Truly, an imposter would never pose as himself because he would be recognized immediately and be avoided, shunned and fled from. So therefore, the imposter poses as something wonderful, something beautiful. God is beautiful and truly wonderful, but he does not travel the same roads and paths as the imposter does. He traverses and leads down only one road and He will never cater to the flesh or make you feel good about yourself without ever showing you your sin... but the imposter will. He will do everything possible and weave any and all deceptions to keep you from the real Truth.

He will so spin the web that entangles you that you will begin to believe anything he wants you to. He will be so convincing that 'good will be called evil and evil will be called good; darkness will be called light and light will be called darkness'. And you will believe it because he is a master at what he does. For this imposter is Satan himself, the enemy of our souls. He is a master deceiver and the father of all lies... and his greatest desire is to destroy you.

How are we to know then, if we are being deceived and the god we think we know, follow and serve is not the One True God, but an imposter? It is very simple... God, Himself has made a way for us to know Him as He really is. There is 'a small gate and a narrow path that leads to life, but few there are who find it'...Jesus Christ, The Son of God; is that gate and narrow path. 'He who has the Son of God has life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have life'. The cross is real, the atonement for your sins is real, Christ's resurrection from the dead is real... and His own promise that 'He who believes on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live' is real.

And if you have the real Truth; Jesus, residing in your heart... you will be kept from deception and God says, 'When you seek Me, you will find me if you seek Me with all your heart”.

And if the words of the god you are 'following, seeking, listening to; does not prick your heart with conviction that produces sorrow for sin, repentance of that sin and power over that sin... and you are not changing in the least toward 'holiness unto God' through a real relationship with Him; then you can know it is not God, it is the imposter. For the imposter will never ask you to change, he will tell you that you are wonderful just the way you are... but it is not true. Without the saving grace of Christ we are not wonderful or good and we are not right with God as long as we continue to be laden down with sin. God will always expose sin and lead us to repentance so we can be cleansed... and this continues throughout our entire lives as we go from glory to glory (being changed daily, brighter and brighter into the image of His Son). So if the god you are following is leaving you right where you are, you can know without a doubt, it is not God, it is the imposter... Absolutely!

And if the voice you are listening to tells you there are many ways to God, that in order to 'win' the world' you must compromise with it and/or become like it, that darkness and light can walk side by side toward a 'common goal', that Jesus is not the Christ, nor the Son of God...be assured that it is most emphatically not the voice of God but is instead the voice of the deceiver, the great imposter, the 'angel of light'... but his light is not the true light of Christ, it is a false light that is dark! It is evil and twisted and wicked... it is not God!

The key element here is Jesus, the Son of God, The Lord of Hosts, The King of Kings!... tossing Jesus aside as Messiah, as God; tossing the Holy Scriptures aside that show all throughout the entire book that the common thread is Jesus... is the surest of all signs that the imposter has just spoken. Absolutely and without a doubt.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

”John 8:32

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20

He hears you!

 

The Lord hears you! Those of you who have taken His warnings seriously and have cried out in repentance...He hears you! He will cleanse and purify you and lead you out of carnality and lukewarmness into righteousness! Be encouraged! Keep going, keep moving forward and the Lord will lead you into beautiful places and wonderful, deep relationship with Him! 

*Repentance: the action or process of repenting especially for misdeeds or moral shortcomings 

*Repent: to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life, to feel regret or contrition, to change one's mind. 

 *Purify: to remove dirty or harmful substances from (something), to free from undesirable elements,

to grow or become pure or clean.

*Carnal:  relating to or given to crude bodily pleasures and appetites 

*Lukewarm:  lacking conviction :  halfhearted (gave them only lukewarm support)

*Halfhearted: feeling or showing a lack of interest or enthusiasm

                         lacking heart, spirit, or interest 

 

" Love the Lord with ALL your heart, soul, mind and strength!" Mark 12:30

*Deep: going far inward from the outside, located far inside something, extending far from some surface.

 

*Relationship: the way in which two people talk to, behave toward, and deal with each other. 

                         the way in which two people are connected.