Monday, June 29, 2009

Looking unto Jesus

Hebrews 12:2
IT is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.” Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

Charles Spurgeon

Thursday, June 25, 2009

renewed life

Can you find rest apart from Christ?


"The dove found no rest for the sole of her foot."
Genesis 8:9
Reader, can you find rest apart from the ark, Christ Jesus? Then be assured that your religion is vain. Are you satisfied with anything short of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe unto you. If you profess to be a Christian, yet find full satisfaction in worldly pleasures and pursuits, your profession is false. If your soul can stretch herself at rest, and find the bed long enough, and the coverlet broad enough to cover her in the chambers of sin, then you are a hypocrite, and far enough from any right thoughts of Christ or perception of his preciousness. But if, on the other hand, you feel that if you could indulge in sin without punishment, yet it would be a punishment of itself; and that if you could have the whole world, and abide in it for ever, it would be quite enough misery not to be parted from it; for your God-your God-is what your soul craves after; then be of good courage, thou art a child of God. With all thy sins and imperfections, take this to thy comfort: if thy soul has no rest in sin, thou are not as the sinner is! If thou art still crying after and craving after something better, Christ has not forgotten thee, for thou hast not quite forgotten him. The believer cannot do without his Lord; words are inadequate to express his thoughts of him. We cannot live on the sands of the wilderness, we want the manna which drops from on high; our skin bottles of creature confidence cannot yield us a drop of moisture, but we drink of the rock which follows us, and that rock is Christ. When you feed on him your soul can sing, "He hath satisfied my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's," but if you have him not, your bursting wine vat and well-filled barn can give you no sort of satisfaction: rather lament over them in the words of wisdom, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!"
-Charles Spurgeon

Monday, June 22, 2009

where did this pain come from?

Where Did This Pain Come From?


If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
- 1 Peter 4:14-16
Not everyone who says they're going through a trial is going through a trial. Some people are suffering consequences. If you're hitting hard times, ask yourself, Am I suffering in a trial, or is my pain a consequence of something I've done? You need to identify the source of that hard thing in your life because your responsibility in the matter depends on it. What brought on this hardship? Is the difficulty you're enduring a wake-up call to the reality of your bad choices, or has it been allowed by God to train your character?
A painful consequence is something you reap when you plant a seed full of sin - something harmful you've done, harsh words you've spoken, places you've gone, wrong priorities you've pursued, commitments you've neglected, selfish choices you've made. If you are today harvesting heartache from a sin you've previously planted, then humbly repent of your actions right now.
Many believers are experiencing very painful consequences to sin in their lives. They may call those consequences trials, but "do not be deceived,” Galatians 6:7 says, "God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
Vote: Trial or Consequence?
"My marriage is in trouble after many years of neglect.” (Consequence.)
"My son has a serious illness and is in the hospital.” (Trial - for sure.)
"My husband lost his job because the automobile industry is suffering.” (Trial)
"My husband lost his job because he stole a bunch of stuff from work.” (Consequence)
In His kindness, God promises that trials will come. It's true that we are forgiven the penalty of sin, but we still must suffer the harvest of consequences. Wrong actions have wrong consequences, even for Christians. God will make sure of it.
I'll say it again, if you're suffering consequences, repent right now. Turn around and - don't walk - run back to God.
- James MacDonald

Friday, June 19, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

james mcdonald - are you saved?

click below to listen to the sermon and read the testimonies.
are you saved?

Monday, June 15, 2009

3sixteen.com


"salvation"

Vain pursuits are dangerous to renewed souls. - charles spurgeon

fountain


“Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Revelation 22:17
JESUS says, “Take freely.” He wants no payment or preparation. He seeks no recommendation from our virtuous emotions. If you have no good feelings, if you be but willing, you are invited; therefore come! You have no belief and no repentance,—come to Him, and He will give them to you. Come just as you are, and take “freely,” without money and without price. He gives Himself to needy ones. The drinking fountains at the corners of our streets are valuable institutions; and we can hardly imagine any one so foolish as to feel for his purse when he stands before one of them, and to cry, “I cannot drink because I have not five pounds in my pocket.” However poor the man is, there is the fountain, and just as he is he may drink of it. Thirsty passengers, as they go by, whether they are dressed in fustian or in broadcloth, do not look for any warrant for drinking; its being there is their warrant for taking its water freely. The liberality of some good friends has put the refreshing crystal there, and we take it, and ask no questions. Perhaps the only persons who need go thirsty through the street where there is a drinking fountain are the fine ladies and gentlemen who are in their carriages. They are very thirsty, but cannot think of being so vulgar as to get out to drink. It would demean them, they think, to drink at a common drinking fountain: so they ride by with parched lips. Oh, how many there are who are rich in their own good works, and cannot therefore come to Christ! “I will not be saved,” they say, “in the same way as the harlot or the swearer.” What! go to heaven in the same way as a chimneysweep. Is there no pathway to glory but the path which led the thief there? I will not be saved that way. Such proud boasters must remain without the living water; but, “Whosoever will, let him TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY.”

Friday, June 12, 2009

the question.


THE QUESTION that CHANGED MY LIFE
-by David Ryser.

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school
of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly
searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with
Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across
a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short
version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece
and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution;
it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and
became an enterprise. Some of the students were only 18 or 19
years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand
and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding,
"An enterprise. That's a business." After a few moments Martha,
the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not
imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was
self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless,
I acknowledged Martha's raised hand, "Yes, Martha." She asked
such a simple question, "A business? But isn't it supposed to be
a body?" I could not envision where this line of questioning was going,
and the only response I could think of was, "Yes." She continued,
"But when a body becomes a business, isn't that a prostitute?"

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or
spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the
presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were
on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was,
"Wow, I wish I'd thought of that." I didn't dare express that thought
aloud. God had taken over the class.

Martha's question changed my life. For six months, I thought about
her question at least once every day. "When a body becomes a
business, isn't that a prostitute?" There is only one answer to her
question. The answer is "Yes." The American Church, tragically,
is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we
love Him? We don't even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

... I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not
know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates
in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what
we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would
bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him
for His money, and we don't care if He lives or dies as long as we
can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business,
merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded
to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that's pretty
intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love
someone we don't even know? And even if we do know someone,
is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or
prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha's question again one day, and considered
the question, "What's the difference between a lover and a prostitute?"
I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does
what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but
only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, "What would
happen if God stopped paying me?"

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover
my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of
God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He
never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please
understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The
issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is
the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings
in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have
earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any
conditions? It took several months to work through these questions.
Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by
my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed
with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in
my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved,
but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute?
There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for
that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both
places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no
substitute or unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I
mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another
look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

-Dr. David Ryser.

10:27

I've been seen 1027 everywhere for past couple of years. I finally just had the assurance that this is the very verse God has been speaking to me.

Matthew 10:27-28 (New International Version)
27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Seeing the very things happening around me.. the mockery of Christ on the rise and becoming more profane, the economic situation of all the countries, and many lies and deception that are being brought into light, and how quickly all the nations are looking toward a new world order, makes me feel a bit more urgent that the time of Jesus' 2nd coming is very very soon. Knowing that is sometime very very soon for the destruction of man and the rapture... I've been growing worried for my friends. Also, as a result of the increase of hatred towards Christianity, and growing number of so-called people of faith compromising to meet their own personal needs, more than others, I'm also truthfully growing scared of the persecution that I'll be facing on a day to day basis. This, in fact discouraged me in speaking truth.. but slowly God's been giving me a spiritual violence. If i truly love, i proclaim truth. God asks me, "Do you love them more than yourself, that you'd risk your reputation so that some can live...?" I ask the holy spirit to engulf me and use me as a clean vessel to carry out the word of Repentance and Faith in Christ Jesus. I cannot see people going to hell just cuz i told them it's okay to believe in whatever they want. I just can't. This kind of love overwhelms me... and that is why I vent to God..... I read in my devotional today from Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening, that Janet bought me and it struck me like lightning.

"Zeal is stimulated by the thought of the near future. It looks with tearful eyes down to the flames of hell, and it cannot sleep; it looks up with anxious gaze to the glories of heaven, and it cannot stay still. It feels that time is short compared with the work to be done, and therefore it devotes all that it has to the cause of its Lord. And it is continually strengthened by remembering Christ's example. "

I told the Lord to take me to that very place. I feel the urgency arising everyday and am being drenched in deep anguish for my friends who have not come to know Christ and especially those who are asleep in the church but I want to know more of what's on His heart. To pray for the lost, to pray for each of my friends whom I dearly love, and to know that I cannot waste time doing stupid meaningless stuff. My battle is for the souls of men.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

whirlwind

"Take me to the center of your whirlwind, keep me as the apple of your eye."