Archive for September, 2012

… For God loveth a cheerful giver

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

I am, are you?  Happy Feast of Tabernacles!  September 30th through October 7th.

As HE is, so are we!

Friday, September 28th, 2012

1 John 4:17  Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

“As Jesus is, so am I”.  What a statement to embrace!  The fourth chapter of 1 John focuses on Love: Love for God and one another, knowing God through Love, seeing God through Love, and the consummation of Love.  Hmmm!  It seems to me that Love should be our focus if we are to see the fulfillment of the statement “As Jesus is, so am I”.

The aspiring overcomers have been looking for the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles for some time.  There has been much study focused on time cycles and prophecies, world events, and alignment of the stars and planets.  That great eighth day of the Feast when the glory of THE LORD shows up and we obtain our glorified bodies has been at the center of discussion for many years.  Each fall season we wonder if this is the year?  Maybe we should focus on the here and now.

John makes quite a statement and we must ask dare ask ourselves the question, “What is the current state of Jesus?”  HE is in a glorified body setting at the right hand of Our Heavenly Father.  Can we really expect to be as He his now?  For many that seems to be a pipedream.  How could we dare take such a position?  Is not the Spirit of GOD residing inside of us now?  What is the key to unlocking this glorified state awaiting us?  Are we allowing Love to be perfected in us or are we so enthralled with the things of this world that our attention is constantly misdirected to the subtleties of the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in?

Jesus said, “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.”   There has been a mystery hidden in plain sight for centuries that I believe is now ready to be revealed.  We are to walk as Jesus walked and we are to do greater things:

John 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

John understood the reality of this revelation.  As we press in to the fullness of Love and it attributes we will change.  As we immerse ourselves in the revelation of Love, we will take on the fullness of Jesus Christ’s character.  We must believe and expect Love to be perfected in us for this manifestation to come forth.  We must focus on Love if we are to take on HIS state of perfection.  If we spend all of our time and resources elsewhere can we really expect to achieve that perfection that John spoke of in 1 John 4?  Our attention must remain on the prize in order to fully embrace its manifestation.

Without the perfecting of Love, do you think that you will have all the tools necessary to minister to mankind?  Do you think that you will be used to multiply bread and fishes, heal the sick, and do those greater things without this revelation that John was given by Our Heavenly Father?  The time is now to embrace a mystery that is ready to be revealed!

Cleansing Your Temple

Friday, September 28th, 2012

Matthew 21:12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’

The Holiest place in Israel had become home to greed.  Greed takes on such a subtle form that people found it convenient to have the moneychangers located in the Temple.  The sacredness of the Temple had long since been forgotten.  We often look outward at all the issues today but fail to look in the mirror to see if we are keeping our temple in order.  The Apostle Paul stated:

1 Corinthians 6:19  Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

Are you a House of Prayer or has greed taken residence?  Have you lost your first Love?  Is so, repent.  The time is at hand to prepare ourselves as historical challenges are on the horizon.  We must be ready as a new age approaches, brought on by epic economic challenges.  We must prepare ourselves to be nimble as the changes in the world accelerate.  We will no longer be able to coast along for the ride but will face great challenges ahead.  Our temples must be cleansed of all unrighteousness.  We must embrace our first Love and be one of those who “overcometh”.

A House of prayer is one where you and Our Heavenly Father communicate.  In the past, many people have taken that to mean bringing in a laundry list of needs to Our Heavenly Father for HIM to fulfill.  Instead, we should be asking Our Heavenly Father what we are to focus on today.  Once we do that our list will cease to exist.  HIS priorities become our priorities.  When we are doing HIS business, HE provides us with everything necessary to complete the task at hand.  Life becomes simpler and less complex.  We are able to walk daily in the certainty that we are on the right path.  We no longer get anxious about the future or what the vessels of dishonor are conspiring to do.  In the midst of turmoil we are in peace.  Where does it all start?  With a clean temple!

The Revelation of Love

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012

Over the last forty years I have heard many teachings on the Book of Revelation.  Each teaching was based on a facet of the focus of the minister.  If he or she was focused on global destruction, the teaching would center around those passages that spoke of such destruction.  I am interested in looking at facets that cover the broad spectrum of the intent of the Revelation of Our Lord Jesus Christ which is how this final book begins.

First of all this Revelation was given to John, the beloved disciple.  He wrote through the eyes of Love, thus the name “Beloved”.  He ends his Gospel with the revelation of the 153 fish- the Sons of GOD.  Who better to give this prophecy to but to one who has the revelation of Love.  Who better to entrust such a prophecy to that would span thousands of years but to one who would walk and write of the greatest revelation “For GOD so Loved the world”.

It is not my intent to dissect each symbolic passage and apply it to history or focus on some forthcoming geopolitical event.  I want to look at how it applies to the here and now.  After all that is where we live each day and must direct our efforts to produce fruit for the Kingdom.  We are first instructed:

Rev 1:3  “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

What are we to “keep”?  The understanding that produces some response on our part.  When we hear, we respond.  When we hear not, nothing happens.  Think about it.  Revelation produces a response in us whether it be a specific action, a change in our path, or a new focus.  Something in us changes.

John writes to the seven churches in Asia.  We can look at these churches in various facets of history, in various states of challenges, or at a personal level.  The leader of a country is a reflection of the people.  The state of each church is a reflection of its members.  The very first church John addresses in the Revelation is Ephesus.  When we consider the issues that so easily beset us, we normally deal with the first and foremost issue.  I believe this Revelation did just that:

Rev 2:4   “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

The very first issue with the people is Love!  How many of us were overcome with excitement at the time of our salvation or at the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?  It was like the weights were removed from us and we had this new zeal for The LORD.  Nothing else mattered.  We were like young thoroughbreds who wanted to run even though we knew not where to go.  Have you lost your first Love?  Have you forgotten what your salvation was based on?  Love!

The Book of Revelation is written to "him that overcometh”:

The church of Ephesus:  “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”

The church in Smyrna:  “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”

The church in Pergamos:  “ To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.

The church in Thyatira:  “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations”

The church in Sardis:  “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

The church in Philadelphia:  “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.”

The church of the Laodiceans:  “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Consider the progression of the promises listed above: Life, no second death, manna to eat, power over nations, clothed in white garments, pillar in the temple, sitting with Jesus on HIS throne.  What does it take to overcome?  We must not lose our Love.  Love must be our motivation to overcome or otherwise we will grow weary.  Love will sustain us as we overcome all obstacles.  Our Love empowers us as overcomers and without it, we will fall into the same situations that were mentioned among the churches.  What must we overcome?  All challenges that would prevent us from embracing the Revelation of Love and walking in the same Love that overcometh the world.  Think about it.

How sad!

Monday, September 24th, 2012

U.S. Housing Charts

Saturday, September 22nd, 2012

Housing is not recovering and has another 20% decline in sight.  This is a perfect example of Mainstream Media reporting encouraging news when the facts just don’t support a housing recovery.  These charts tell the story:

That's such a huge number because the number of new housing starts and completions before the collapse was only about 1.5 million per year

 

And there is a clear inverse correlation between the rate of home-ownership and the percentage of 25-34 year olds living in their parents' homes (which is still skyrocketing)

 

...but those numbers don't take into account around 5 million delinquent mortgages and foreclosures that add to supply...

 

...and they also don't include all of the vacant units that aren't currently listed for sale

The Bond of Perfection: Love

Friday, September 21st, 2012

Isn’t perfection the goal of Christians?  Full and complete maturity, fully pleasing Our Heavenly Father?  What is perfection?  Strong’s Concordance defines perfection as:

1) brought to its end, finished

2) wanting nothing necessary to completeness

3) perfect

4) that which is perfect

a) consummate human integrity and virtue

b) of men

1) full grown, adult, of full age, mature

We are told that we cannot attain perfection in the world but I would suggest that we can indeed.  Paul wrote in Colossians Chapter 3:

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

If you want to attain perfection, you must focus on Love for it is the key to attaining perfection.  The old man cannot attain perfection and therefore is instructed that perfection is not achievable.  However, the Sons of GOD can and will be perfected but only by the revelation of walking in Love.  Paul urges us to “put on Love” and if that were not possible, the Most Holy Spirit would not have compelled him to include this truth in this Epistle.  We are to clothe ourselves in Love above all else.  As we do this we can then be in unity with Our Heavenly Father, with Our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Most Holy Spirit, and with our brothers and sisters.

We are told to act.  Putting on Love requires a decision on our part.  Once we decide to act then we must take action.  Paul tells us to put off the old man and his deeds.  Many Christians expect Our Heavenly Father to sprinkle some fairy dust on them at some point and then they will instantly be different.  The Apostle Paul shared specifics about maturing in Christ.  We are responsible for our actions and our fruit.  Are you known by others as a giver or a taker.  Look in the mirror.  Look in the checkbook.  Look at your interaction with others.  Be brutally honest with yourself.  Are you pursuing the Bond of Perfection or are you perpetuating the old man?  Do you long to serve mankind or do you want to be placed on a pedestal?

The rich young ruler asked Jesus “what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”  Jesus responded, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

If Jesus said to act… therefore act!

Is this a Recovery?

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

From John Williams’ Shadowstats.com:

John does not see this as a recovery nor do I.  People are not confident enough to buy a new house these days.  What they are being told is not the same as what they are experiencing.  Builders are risk takers and they will start new houses hoping to see the economy return back to pre-2006 levels.  Mr. Bernanke sees this as well hence QE3, 4, 5, etc.

Love in action

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

You become like the company you keep.

Fellowshipping with gang members will ultimately impact your actions.  We are wired with the need to be accepted by others.  If we fellowship with other people who have Love as their focus, we will take on those attributes as well.  The decision is ours as to which group of people we associate with.  We are given the opportunity to set our own path through life.  Yes, Our Heavenly Father IS sovereign but HE allows us to make day to day decisions which affect our quality of life.  Throughout Scripture we are given options.  Bless others and be blessed, curse others and be cursed.

Isn’t our ultimate goal to be a blessing to others?  But instead, many are a drain on society, especially the people they congregate around.  It seems as though their goal is to suck the life out of those who will give them the opportunity.  That ought not to be so.  There are those who should be producing good fruit by now but have yet to yield any meaningful fruit.  What is the problem?  I believe it is a heart issue.  We all get excited about a promise of abundance found in Scripture.  We often figure that if we quote the Scripture enough, it will somehow manifest in our life.  The church has encouraged this without considering the context in which the promise is made.  We all want overflowing blessings and abundance sufficient to meet our needs.  The following is one of the favorite Scriptures spoken by Jesus Our Beloved Savior for the hope of abundance:

Luke 6:38  ‘Give, and it will be given to you. Fair measure, pressed down, well-shaken, and overflowing, they will put into your bag. For with the same measure with which you measure, it will be measured back to you.”

What a promise!  Now, let’s look at the context leading up to this promise (I added some highlights):

27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.

30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.

31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

People want the blessing before they bless but Our Lord Jesus Christ told us to first be a blessing THEN we will receive our blessing.  People tend to miss the point of being a blessing.  They should want to “get” in order to “give”.  Instead, the “give” in order to “get”.

When you immerse yourself in Love, your attitude changes about giving.  You begin to have compassion on the less fortunate.  Your ego will fight you every step of the way as you pursue the path of Love.  Your ego understands the consequences of losing control as Love takes command.  The trappings of this world become less important.  The big boy toys lose their luster.  Your attempt to impress people with some facade is gone.  You look at innocent children with a new appreciation.  You look at the less fortunate with compassion rather than disgust.  You now find ways to be a blessing rather than to be blessed.  You are finally learning what it means to be a son of the Most High!

The Beginning of The Fall Feast Days

Monday, September 17th, 2012

Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה), (literally "head of the year"), is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe"), celebrated ten days before Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah is observed on the first two days of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. It is described in the Torah as יום תרועה (Yom Teru’ah, a day of sounding [the Shofar]).

This is the countdown to the Feast of Tabernacles.  Rosh Hashanah began at sundown yesterday and leads us up to that great feast that will one day culminate in the manifestation of the glorification of the Sons of GOD.  Will it be this year?  Only Our Heavenly Father knows.  We all long for the day when fullness of time comes.

The Revelation of Love will come forth and as the Sons focus on Love, we will see much greater fruit produced.  How is your fruit production?