The Spirit of this World

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning, how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” ~ Isa 14:12-14

There is quite a contrast to the thoughts of Lucifer, “the spirit of this world” and the “Spirit of God” that dwells in our world. O how precious the Living Word of God is to our soul! John 3:35-36 gives us this powerful information – “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.  He that believeth on the Son hath Everlasting Life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Jn 3:30-31 “He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: He that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven is above all.” I find myself more and more involved in God’s Word as I see the Signs of Time unfolding in this our day. God has revealed our future in His Word and nothing of this world can detour the plan of God. Sometimes His plan is clear, and often we see through a ‘glass darkly’ as the Word mentions, but ultimately we will see Him face to face; I love the Words that follow: “Now abideth Faith, Hope, Charity, and the greatest of these is Charity, Follow after Charity and desire Spiritual Gifts.” [1 Cor 13:12-14:1] Faith. Hope, and Love continue to abide with the Born Again Believer who seeks for God to ‘increase’ in their life!  I hear the Words of the Job the most ancient of Scripture as he declares: “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the Breath of the Almighty hath given me Life.” ~ Job 33:4 The only “I Will” that is worthy in the earth is: “Jesus went a little further, and fell on His face, and Prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Jesus said unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”  Wishing you a joyous Resurrection Sunday, filled with the Spirit of the Living God! Loving you, Pastor

Hold Fast

Jesus promises that He will come quickly to call for His own and He gives us an admonition: “hold fast which thou hast”. He’s not talking about our bank account, our home, or any possession we have here on earth. He’s talking about crowns we will be rewarded in Heaven IF we “Hold fast”.  Webster defines hold as follows: to use strength, seize or retain; to persevere; to hold on to God in the midst of trouble; to keep good our present position, to not fall off or lose ground; to proceed in a course. We reminded of the Apostle Paul when he made the statement: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Phil. 3:14. Paul made a decision; he purposed in his heart that no matter the cost, no matter the trial, he would press on. We, too, must press on if we are to Hold Fast [On] to the Crowns Jesus wants to bestow upon us. These Crowns include: The Crown of Life IF we endure temptation – James 1:12; an Incorruptible Crown IF we are temperate in all things – 1 Cor. 9:24-25; a Crown of Righteousness IF we love His appearing; a Crown of Glory is given to shepherds IF they faithfully tend their flock; the Crown of Rejoicing is often referred to as the soul winner’s crown. This Crown would then be given as we witness/win the lost to Jesus. We must always remember that Jesus will come quickly, in the twinkling of an eye. Are we ready? Have we made Jesus Lord of our life? Are we walking in accordance with the Word of God? Does our life exemplify Christ? Let us be diligent to “Hold fast – that no man can take our crown.” Selah!     Loving you, Pastor

Psalms of Prayer

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  Ps. 139

O how precious the Living Word of God is to our soul! In His Word we find solace, we find encouragement, we find help. It is often said in Christian circles, that the answer to all of life’s problems are found in the Word of God.  The problem is: we must read and meditate upon His Word to locate those answers. Today we explore the Prayers that have been prayed in the Psalms. Most of these Prayers are from the heart of David, a man after God’s own heart the Scripture reveals. There are probably several things that caused David to be a man after God’s own heart, but for sure he was a man of Prayer. An individual who knew the weakness of his flesh and constantly cried out to God to keep him from corruption of the day and the wickedness of humanity. He had his moments of failure but he Prayer was, God to make me. “Make me to understand Thy precepts:” – “Make me to go in the path of Thy Commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto Thy Testimonies, and to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken Thou me in Thy way!” And a most important supplication unto the Lord, “Stablish Thy Word unto Thy servant, who is devoted to Thy fear.”  Perhaps there is a famine of the ‘fear of God’ in our world today. When the Evangelical vote is for an individual who has very little concept of God – we know this by what comes out of their mouth. Where is the ‘fear of God’ in our society today? Consider 2 Sam. 23:3 “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”  There was a righteous fear of God in David that cause him to know when ever he stepped out of line with the God of his Salvation.  Today we have the Holy Ghost that lives within us and if we let Him, He will convict us and keep us in the path that God has prepared for us. Thoughts to meditate upon. Loving you, Pastor