John 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

John 1:23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Satan wages an effective battle against the Church simply by inspiring a sense of insignificance in those who believe the Gospel. We MUST help you discover your value to God. As simply as I can state this, the point must be nailed down:

God most definitely has a profound interest in you knowing how valuable you are to Him.

And the way to capture the revelation of your value is to let God tell you how much he loves YOU. Go directly to Him in a prayer-quest. Ask Him to open your heart and your comprehension. Ask Him to tell you Himself, who you are to Him. Set your heart to seek God. Put yourself on a fast and push everything else to the background. And go forth to cast your life upon His altar. Push past all the voices of life – go out into the wilderness and seek Him as your refuge. He will meet you there.

Psa. 27:7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

Psa. 27:8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

If this sounds simplistic just remember that His voice brought life to all things. When His “still small voice” breaks forth into your conscious mind it blows away the darkness and lies that bind your soul. When he speaks it’s nothing like the words of men. When He speaks to you the benefits of His healing grace are imparted. He instills value in your conscience with His Word. Consider the words of a man who let God love him, and drew his destiny from that love:

Psa. 43:3 O send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Thy holy hill, And to Thy dwelling places.

Psa. 43:4 Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise Thee, O God, my God.

Psa. 43:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him,The help of my countenance, and my God.

David’’s soul was in despair. He couldn’’t catch a break. Despite his best intentions and efforts everything went against him. He felt worthless, rejected and that he had no “Voice” of any significance. But David also knew that his soul was in trouble.  He knew he was depressed with a deflated sense of worth and value.Perhaps you see no value in your life. King David was there, where you now are. And he knew that a fresh perspective, a few days off, or a “rest” weren’t going to heal this brokenness. He knew where he had to go to heal his soul. He knew he needed to recapture his sense of Value and NO ONE BUT GOD could give that to him.

Psa. 43:3 O send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Thy holy hill, And to Thy dwelling places.

That’s where YOU must go: to God’’s “holy hill, and to Thy dwelling places.” Determine to go on a prayer-quest, to bring your malnourished soul to The Healer – the One Who loves you. For He has already sent out His “Light and Truth” to find you and bring you to His holy hill, His dwelling place.

We have made a costly error in measuring our value through life’’s experiences.  Our relationships, families, marriages, skills, successes, failures, popularity, respect of others, are not meant to be places we go to get a sense of value. Our personal value can only come from embracing what our Creator/Redeemer has said personally to us. He alone is “The help of my countenance, and my God”.

Before you can find your “Voice” you must find your Value.

Stay On The Path!

John 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

John 1:23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

There are so many Christians holding onto their faith in Jesus but without any sense of personal value. It’’s so sad – like a marriage without romance. Without a sense of value, every trial seems like a personal rejection. Life’’s thread of disappointments just seems to confirm the feelings of insignificance. Without a revelation of your value, the thought of being or doing anything remotely great or worthwhile seems like an unattainable ideal. Everything seems more important than you. It’’s painful to press ahead everyday when you’’re dragging around the feeling that the world would experience no loss without you. And yet there are many Christians who, despite what they know in their head, feel this way in the secret recesses of their hearts. It’’s more than a crying shame; it’’s a crippling disease of faith. For how can anyone arise with a “Voice” if they have no sense of Value? Their words – regardless of how accurate or truthful – will fall powerless to the ground, because they are spoken from a heart of insignificance. To overthrow the power of the Gospel, Satan doesn’’t have to lure believers into false beliefs; he simply isolates them with thoughts of unimportance.

But a revelation of our personal value is at the foundation of what Jesus gives to us. Upon it He develops our vision and our “voice”. Value is exactly what He seeks to instill within us, with proclamations such as:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

Luke 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

As simply as I can state this, the point must be nailed down:

God most definitely has a profound interest in you knowing how valuable you are to Him.

Tomorrow I will tell you how to capture the revelation of your value.

Stay On The Path!

John 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

John 1:23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

In all the experiences through which people search for meaning; of all the skills we develop to achieve fulfillment; none will free us from inner frustration, until we find our Voice in God. Your Creator has made you as a living message, and your life should say something. In fact your life is saying something right now.But it may not be speaking the powerful message of redemption. Yet that is the very message the Lord entered the world with which to free us. Lives lived in the affect of His redeeming love speak sweetly and powerfully to the world. You’’re to be His oracle, His living epistle.

1 Pet. 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ…

When people have found their voice they have found more than a message, they have found themselves. In order to have your voice you must have a sense of your own value and a view of purpose. Value and Purpose come together in you to create a spiritual epiphany and focus your voice. In the simplest terms, your voice is what your life is saying to the world when everything within you comes together in a common purpose. Most people never consider that their life should even say anything. It’’s nearly impossible to achieve a true state of spiritual wellbeing and contentment by acquiring things, knowledge or experiences.Not until we begin to view the worth of our lives in terms of giving out to the world – finding our voice – can we start to live in a state of godly comfort.  Jesus taught the receiving, gaining, was achieved by giving. In His kingdom the greatest lives are lived by servants. Everything in them points toward a message, and they are ever aware of it. It’s a whole different way of negotiating the terms of their existence.

To find your voice you need 2 things: a Word and Unction. Both of these come from within you but they aren’t created by you. They’’re God inspired and you have to do business with Him to get them.

A Word…

What’’s YOUR word? God is always forming His Word in us. The Holy Spirit is ever at work, making real to us the Words of Life. Our conformity to His word in us produces a living message. That becomes your “say-so” – the authority of “your voice”.  Jesus had this distinction. Paul had it. Every Christian who has ever gone forth in life with a message in their heart from the Lord has had it. It comes from knowing what Jesus has said.…

Heb. 13:5 …for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

Heb. 13:6 so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?”

His “saying” becomes the basis for our confident say-so. What the Holy Spirit speaks to you becomes YOUR word.

Paul used the phrase “my Gospel” in Ro. 2:16 in referring to the Gospel he preached. The fact is that the Holy Spirit had revealed the wondrous insights of the Gospel to Paul so that it became his Word.

An Unction…

You need more than a Word; you need the power of utterance – the anointing to speak it. Some call it passion but it transcends emotion and springs from the indwelling power of God. Unction isn’’t great speaking skills it’s the presence of Heaven in your words. It can’’t be learned; it’’s caught, not taught. Paul, with all his expert oratory ability and training prayed for unction:

Eph. 6:19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

Eph. 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

When Unction has been united with a Word in your life, to produce a message in you, it’’s very hard to do anything else but be “the Voice”.

A young man asked an old preacher how he might know if God really wanted him to preach or not. The old oracle simply answered, “If you can do anything else, then do it.”

Stay On The Path!

John 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

John 1:23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

All the men and women that God used had a “Voice”. Most of them hadn’’t found their voice until God took hold of them. When God found them, some were fearful, like Gideon. Some were insecure, like Moses. Some had been deceived, like Paul.  Some were indifferent and unavailable, like Esther. Yet in the Hands of God, each one found their unique voice, through which they spoke to their world. There is nothing quite like speaking to the world and having the world listen. They certainly will not all agree, but you won’t be ignored. It is no small honor to be the voice of God’’s message. There is quite possibly nothing else in life that can compare.

1 Pet. 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ…

One who is given a voice in the Hands of God doesn’’t just speak to the world from behind pulpits. In fact, most of the men and women who spoke God’’s messages to their generation did so within the flow of life’’s commonly traveled roads. The world isn’’t going to come to church, so God gives people in the church a voice and sends them into their the world.

In all that we seek to receive in church we should seek to obtain a voice.

It’’s good to be a part of church and come for understanding, refreshing, even correction. But in all that we reach for in church, how many of us come seeking to find our “Voice”?

Eph. 6:19 And (pray) for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Eph. 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

When you begin to find your voice your path narrows – options fade – but the road ahead becomes more clear. For you find your voice on the same path that you discover your value and find true purpose.

When the Pharisees asked John the Baptist to give an accounting of himself he quoted Isaiah 40:3 in response:

The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Jesus had refered to John saying:

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist

I’’ve always been deeply impressed that the man Jesus cited as the greatest Prophet of the Old Testament had distilled his identity down to that of “The Voice”. Not The Body, The Brain, The Heart, The Hand, or any other function. But he was elevated to the high status of “greatest among those born” by allowing his life to be guided under the Hand of God to become an oracle.

Finding your voice and becoming an oracle of God is a concept shrouded in misunderstanding and fantasy.You would imagine some mystical process that fashions people into a strange and disconnected pilgrim.What could be more damaging to the Gospel than to associate the business of delivering God’s words with bizarre people. We have also made a terrible mistake leaving the job of speaking to the world for God, in the hands of professional clergy. That leaves the vast majority of Christians simply focusing on “living right” in a lost world. They never consider that there is a voice within them waiting to be awakened by the Hand of God. The most common places of their daily lives are the very paths God desires to enter and meet people.If the world only hears from God by the voice of professional preachers, where then will it learn of His love for them? The world needs for you to find your voice. Tomorrow we’ll begin to look at what goes into finding your voice.

Stay On The Path!

Heb. 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Let’s review from yesterday…

The phrase, bringing many sons unto glory, is one of those great statements of purpose that open a highway to the Throne of God. It cuts through all the lesser explanations for our salvation and presents us with the BIG PICTURE: SONSHIP. It was never God’s intention that we should be born a man and die a grocer.

…All the forces of Hell and all the influences of life, work together to throw a blanket of confusion over our heads. To prevent us from seeing “our glory”. I know. It sounds strange to speak of “our glory”, when we should be praising the glory of God. But what is the glory of God?

…It is the reflection of His greatness, the revelation of His purpose. All creation speaks of His order and greatness, BUT WE reveal His deep personal attributes and purpose, which is LOVE. God made us, risking the rebellion we’d commit and the mess we’d produce, because LOVE can settle for nothing less than our creation.

Now hear this, if nothing else has rung a bell of revelation in you yet: In order to bring us back to glory…back into our environment…back to our function…the Father made us sons of God.

Continuing on…

Sons…Children….Heirs, not drones, sophisticated animals, or creatures for amusement. We are very much like God, apart from our flawed nature and darkened spirits. Divine connectivity was designed into us. Our spirits were a hub for fellowship with God before the Fall.

Gen. 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Adam wasn’t alive until God breathed His breath into him. The word for breath in the Hebrew text is “Spirit”. Adam’s spirit was alive, aware and full of the Love of God.

Prov. 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Man was not only fashioned by God but he derived his being, his life, from the Spirit of God. And despite our fallen nature, we still feel traces of His Presence in our being, calling us to our “glory”. We were fashioned to fellowship and created to commune, with our Heavenly Father. Our calling to “rule and reign” was never intended as an independent ability. We were made to rule WITH God, not apart from Him.

Rom. 5:17 For if by one manís offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Apart from a sonship relationship with our heavenly Father, our attemps to rule in life range from frustrating to disastrous. We don’t do well without God. And that’s why God came to us the way He did, in Jesus Christ. He became a Son to offer Sonship to us, through Himself. He didn’t show up in the sky bellowing frightening orders and convincing us of His deity. Because, though convinced into submission, many of us would not have responded from a willing heart of love. That is definitely not the kind of relationship God wants with us. If that’s what He wanted He could go scare some chipmunks into submission. No, God came as Jesus the Son of God, to offer you Sonship. You are ordained to inherit Jesus’ relationship and position with the Father. Take a deep breath and think about that. Jesus came to die in order to not only pay the claims of sin, BUT TO LEAVE YOU AN INHERITANCE. And what did you get? What did He leave you?

Rev. 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

He left you His relationship with the Father.

John 17:22 And the glory which thou gave Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them, as You have loved Me.

Notice in Jesus’ prayer, just moments before His betrayal, He associates giving us His “glory” with sharing in His Sonship. Remember, the glory of any living thing is it’s intended function - doing what it was designed to do. Jesus refers to His glory - the glory of the Son, and prays to impart it to us by inheritance through His death. HE IS PRAYING HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT! Too few Christians have understood what Jesus came to give them. They have received Him but don’t know what they have in Him. Much less, have we considered the depth of grace and boundaries of this sonship which binds us to the Father. If we KNEW who we were we’d pray differently, act differently, live differently, love differently, believe differently.

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If you knew the Gift of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water.

No there is the million dollar “IF”.  “If you knew the Gift of God.” You say you know Jesus, but do you know The Gift?…the inheritance? What did you get? What do you know? Read the will again. Read your New Testament again. This time overlay it with Hebrews 2:10, and watch the topography of sonship rise from the scriptures. That’s YOU they’re writing about!

Heb. 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Stay On The Path!

Heb. 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God’s purpose in creation can be seen in our transition from knowing God as Creator to meeting Him as Father. The phrase, “bringing many sons unto glory”, is one of those great statements of purpose that open a highway to the Throne of God. It cuts through all the lesser explanations for our salvation and presents us with the BIG PICTURE: SONSHIP. It was never God’s intention that we should be born a man and die a grocer. All the forces of Hell and all the influences of life, work together to throw a blanket of confusion over our heads. To prevent us from seeing “our glory”. I know. It sounds strange to speak of “our glory”, when we should be praising the glory of God. But what is the glory of God?

Eph. 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Eph. 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints (God’s people…

God created glory into everything He made. And the glory of each created thing is it’s function. The glory of the eagle is to fly. The glory of the Salmon is to swim. And the glory of man is to fellowship with God, and partner with Him in ruling over His creation. That is what we were designed to do. Everything about us - our ability to dream, our desire for passion, our drive to excel, our need for intimacy; these are all engineered into us to enable us to walk with God. And these very qualities drive us into futility and the frustration of unfulfillment, when we walk apart from God. The reason for this is simple.

Every glory has it’s environment that God created in which it will function. Take the creature out of his environment and his glory will not function. Eagles cannot swim under water. Their environment is the sky. The Salmon won’t survive in the air, much less swim in the sky. The Salmon looks pathetic and defeated in the air, but put him in the river and watch his glory in action. Likewise man was designed to be gloriously effective in a certain environment. That environment is the Presence of God. The physical location of that environment was originally the “Garden”.

Eze. 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;

And this environment of fellowship between God and His man, was to expand as man exercised His glory.

Gen. 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

But man took himself out of the presence of God. He stepped into a world of blindness and confusion. He became like the fish-out-of-water, gasping and flailing for survival rather than living powerfuly in glory. When we, in the environs of His Presence, walk in our glory, exhibiting our God-given abilities, IT GLORIFIES GOD!! It reflects back on the Creator.

So at this point let’s answer the question we opened up with, “But what is the glory of God?” It is the reflection of His greatness, the revelation of His purpose. All creation speaks of His order and greatness, BUT WE reveal His deep personal attributes and purpose, which is LOVE. God made us, risking the rebellion we’d commit and the mess we’d produce, because LOVE can settle for nothing less than our creation. And LOVE will provide nothing less than our salvation, to redeem our fall. LOVE chased us. LOVE paid the price to purchase us back from the claims of sin.

Now hear this, if nothing else has rung a bell of revelation in you yet: In order to bring us back to glory…back into our environment…back to our function…the Father made us sons of God.

Heb. 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

This elevation to Sonship is the very original purpose of our creation. This is the design of LOVE.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

You will never be more complete in any relationship than you are as a child of your Heavenly Father. You will never coordinate your skills, passions and mental powers more perfectly than when you are walking with your Heavenly Father. Through Paul the Apostle and Mother Theresa and all the thousands of unnamed men and women who have radiated the glories of God, whose sacrificial virtues exalted the Savior, the world has seen the flickering lights of glory from the doorway of Jesus.

Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

More tomorrow…

Stay On The Path!

Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Today the world is under the Age of Grace. Jesus not only shocked the religious leaders of His day by announcing to people that their sins were forgiven, but He also declared that He had not come into the world to judge the world at this time.

John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Jesus made clear that His present mission was to offer salvation to a sin-cursed world. So when He hung up on the cross, with open arms and cried, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do!”, He was issuing the defining sentiment of a whole new dispensation. That was not merely a passionate expression of the moment. It was the covenantal decree for an age! Jesus, with that cry, in that very moment; representing God and representing man, and possessing the perfect right to establish divine policy; spoke forth the anthem of the New Blood Covenant; and established the attitude of God in relation to man. His words form the ground of ministry, upon which God will anoint men, and upon which he will hear their petitions.

2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Jesus had made clear that we were entering the times of refreshing, when God would turn His heart of grace towards sinners, and extend, with great divine patience, His Hand of salvation. Judgements would be withheld, so that the skittish hearts of those dwelling in the dark, might have boldness to come out into the Light. Do not diminish the tremendous ramifications of this statement:

“…not imputing their trespasses unto them…”

It is almost hard to believe what this statement is suggesting. Though God is not now condoning sin, nor is He going to allow it to go unpunished; but, in this statement we have the clear indication that God is withholding judgment of sin until a later time. But even more astounding is the means by which God is extending His grace.

Matt. 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matt. 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Matt. 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

The entire mechanism of this ambassadorial mission of mercy from Heaven to Earth, rests upon the shoulders of the redeemed former slaves of sin. Heaven will now stand on the orders of men acting as its representatives upon the Earth!  We have been given the right and responsibility to extend God’s forgiveness of sins to others. While it’s not my purpose here to go into the conditions or limitations of this authority, the fact that we have this power is indisputable in scripture. We can stand as the Lord’s intercessors, on the behalf of the lost and guilty, and not only plead their pardon, but declare it. It infuriated the Pharisees when they saw Jesus decree the pardon of sins over people who did not appear to have undergone a “proper religious repentance”. And that precise ministry of reconciliation has been given to us.

We have not, however, begun to understand the depth of our calling and the power of our ambassadorship. We can’t exercise an authority that we don’t understand. While bound in oneness to the Father through Christ in a fabulous New Covenant, most Christians live in an Old Covenant mentality of legalism and condemnation. Most Christians still don’t accept their own forgiveness and the access Jesus gives them to God’s Throne, much less, the authority they have to forgive the sins of others.

Take a look at Jesus’ words to the disciples, during an appearance, after His resurrection.

John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; andwhose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, we as recipients of His forgiving grace, are to be the very ones who act as His agents in dispensing it to others.

All of this is why Jesus calls us the “Salt of the Earth”. Christians who are armed with the advanced knowledge of their covenant authority, can assert themselves as agents of the grace of God in the face of a sinning world. And we have a preserving effect upon a culture that would otherwise rot without the influence of “Salt”. When we enter a community as Christ’s Ambassadors, we bring God’s favor to them if they receive us. Then grace begins to work, souls are saved, lives delivered and healed and divine blessing fills every available place where we are welcomed. I wonder if you knew you had that much influence with God? I’m convinced that we have more faith in the power of sin than we do in our own authority to extend forgiveness.

Abraham and Moses did it for the sinners of their day. How much more can we, who are the sanctioned Ambassadors of Christ, in the world today? They did it utilizing nothing more than their own relationship with God. We have the full authority of Sonship. Determined believers who KNOW their position and refuse to be swayed, can bring the visitation of God’s grace upon a dark land, or maintain the patient favor of God in a compromised society. God had agreed with Abraham not to destroy Sodom if only 10 righteous were found in the city. What is amazing is that God was on His way to destroy the city when Abraham turned Him around! Had Abraham taken the position that many believers do today, he probably would have said something like, “I figured they were gonna get judged, the way they were going at it in there. I wonder what took God so long?” And God would have moved right in and judged the city. But Abraham stopped Him. It was the influence of Abraham’s relationship with God, that made the difference.

Sure our society sees it’s share of corruption. How much do you think God sees? Yet He looks more to the blood of His Son, than all the failings of man. We’re ready to walk off and let the fire start reigning from the sky, as though we were the ones being crucified. Yet it was Jesus Who spoke out from the cross, those words which bind the forgiving mercy of God to Earth, wherever enforced by interceding Christians:

“…Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.…”

Stay On The Path!

Mark 7:24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

Mark 7:25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

Mark 7:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

Mark 7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the childrenís bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

Mark 7:28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrenís crumbs.

Mark 7:29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

Mark 7:30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Faith that is unwaveringly fixed upon Jesus Himself can overcome ANY disqualification!

Jesus came for the disqualified. The woman in this story had no basis, under Old Testament Law, to obtain anything from the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. But fortunately for her - and for us - Jesus is Lord, Creator and Redeemer of all the world. A direct appeal to Him, that bypasses all regular religious prescriptions, is possible. But it is only possible in that boundless realm called FAITH. Faith is the material of Heaven’s throne. It’s the by-product of God’s entry into the skeptical world. From the outside, what looks like Faith in Jesus, on the inside, is simply REALITY. It only looks like faith to those who don’t see reality.

Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidenceof things not seen.

Never ever, forget that Jesus is not the conductor of a Bible quiz. He is Savior, Lord and Loving Healer. You may have gotten the buzzer at every attempt to receive from God on the basis of your performance. So you probably have some things to work on. BUT, on the issue of receiving what you need from the Lord, remember, disqualification is not denial. If you are disqualified on all grounds, FAITH in Jesus is the one basis that God will hear. I’m talking about the kind of faith that KNOWS that God is good even if you’re not. This is faith that knows that approaching Jesus on basis of WHO He is instead of who you are, will always get you farther with God.

Mark 7:28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord (I am a dog): yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrenís crumbs.

Rom. 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, Goddid: sending His own Son…

The Faith that’s based in Who Jesus is won’t take “No” for an answer, because it KNOWS that the Lord is essentially good and a Responder to faith, in spite of religious disqualifications. Faith is the persistent, unrelenting acknowledgment of what it knows to be real.

Jesus very often humbles the soul that seeks His Hand.

Mark 7:27 But Jesus said unto her…..it is not meet to take the childrenís bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

But He does this in order to peel away any diluting pride and ego, so that the pure concentration of faith can come forth. In other words, He was helping the woman to bring herself to a point of power in her faith. The kind of power that transcends the prejudices and disqualifications of the world.

So when you really need help from God, but you have used up all your “get out of jail free” cards; and you don’t have any elevation, rights, or position, upon which to launch your claim before God; simply acknowledge your lowly condition and stake your claim in the fertile soil of the merciful promises of Jesus, from which even the disqualified are fed.

Mark 7:29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

Stay On The Path!

Psa. 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Working while you weep???!! This goes against much of the popular trend that allows believers to withdraw from ministry and service if they’re “going through trials”. In our modern Christianity, with its focus on the emotional needs of the believer, the biblical principle of Christian service is suffering serious neglect. In his book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren sites the modern church stating,“Today thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve.” (pg 230, par 4) Considering that we are using the same Bible we always have, we have to answer the question, “Why?” Why are the numbers of laborers who are willing to faithfully carry on, even under personal suffering, dwindling? The answer is that the church has undergone a great shift in its central focus. While we still preach and declare that Jesus is Lord and He comes first, in reality we have been taught by our Me-centered culture that Jesus’ ultimate purpose was to come and bless us. In large part, the churches that still maintain the idea that serving Jesus is the non-compromising commission of the church; they are dwindling. On the other hand, the churches that thrive are largely focusing their ministry on catering to the sensitivities of the people. So they attract a lot of people and the work gets spread among many shifts of people who schedule in their hour-at-the-plough. This way, there’s no “weeping”. What individual wouldn’t be attracted to such an appealing picture as this: a bunch of happy, relaxed worshippers?

But that is not the image of God’s servant in the Bible. From Moses to the end-time martyrs; Jesus is being served by people who are faithfully sowing their seeds at great personal expense. Our Lord Himself had to give His greatest service while undergoing the worst abuse. On the cross Jesus didn’t say, “How can you expect Me to forgive and think of others while I’m in the middle of such a personal crisis?!” But just about any personal crisis is reason enough for modern Christians to turn away from their responsibilities to fellowship and service, in order to focus on their own “weeping”. Jesus came to make us strong by leaning on Him. Not weak by focusing on self’s sufferings. We are kept strong by staying in the yoke of service and learning that He will deliver His “servants”.

The 3 Hebrew young men exiled in Babylon, told the king who had ordered them to worship his idol or else face execution in the furnace:

Dan. 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

Dan. 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Because they weren’t about to take themselves off the clock, as God’s servants, just because of personal crisis, Jesus got right into their situation with them, and delivered them.

All the Apostles and early Christians, as well as many throughout history, have found the secret of taking up the work of the Lord and refusing to let up or step away from it, particularly in times of personal stress and suffering. The “secret place of the Most High” isn’t worshipping in the inner sanctum of withdraw from labor, it’s worshipping through tears in His yoke.

Faithfulness under pressure is only found in the life of the selfless mission-minded. The sinner isn’t impressed with anything less. And why should he be? We’re leading people to the Jesus of Calvary. And a dedication that’s less fades to invisible in this world.

Stay On The Path!

Luke 10:42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

How often have we felt cheated or overlooked when, after doing a good job or “the right thing”, or providing assistance, that we ourselves haven’t been “blessed by God”, for the good work we’ve performed. We’ve put in the extra time, gone the extra mile, stayed late, worked alone, did an extra nice job, invested personal expense, even sacrificed to please God in the effort we made. But when it was over and we needed something for ourselves - a little gratitude, a little help w/ our own burdens, a small favor, some “good fortune” to flow our way - it didn’t come. The good works that we did didn’t produce the blessings for ourselves that we needed. They even went unnoticed, unrewarded. We expected the cycle of sowing and reaping to work automatically and it didn’t. The Orientals referred to it as “Karma”, but it must only work in the Far East. Even the Bible leads us to expect to receive according to our giving.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

But what do you do when it looks like EVEN THE BIBLE DOESN’T WORK? When it looks like our reward has been robbed on it’s way to us! It’s enough to discourage you from unselfish service or good works. It’s enough to make you think you’re cursed or under some kind of sentence of judgment. But before you throw in the towel, consider this:

If receiving divine favor or attention were simply produced by doing “the right thing” or extending yourself sacrificially, then Jesus would never have had to come. You could just have a good life by doing the right things. God’s blessing would simply flow automatically through a system laws. You wouldn’t need to have a relationship with Him that involved prayer, praise and fellowship; no personal seeking. Just do good things and know that God was watching. And when you pushed the right buttons the goodies would flow down the chute to you.

But the reality is that all the blessings, favors and help that we need in life are actually extended to us in the Person of God Himself. And that person is Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

All the attention, reward, appreciation, special favors, help and blessings REALLY ARE AVAILABLE TO US. The Father actually IS EXTENDING them to us. But they are not found in the system of good works. They are offered by Jesus to us. They are sheltered from the potential corrupting influence of the world, with it’s cheating and unfair dealings. And your blessing and favor is offered through the Protecting love of Jesus.

You see, the Father doesn’t want us simply to toil for satisfaction, even if it’s good toil. But He wants our satisfaction to come directly from and through Him.

Jesus told Martha that Mary was receiving the good part that could not “be taken away from her”. The world always has a way of taking away whatever benefit or opportunity life may afford you, regardless of how fairly you may have obtained it. But the encouragment and favor of God is beyond the reach of life’s spoiling hands.

In the world of cruel fates, David found the place of secured blessings:

Psa. 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy;at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

So after you have done well, instead of waiting for recognition, relief or blessing to arrive; go to God, sit at Jesus’ feet, praise and worship the Lord. Your rewards in in His heart and in His Hands to give you. Get your rest from Him.

Stay On The Path!

Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matt. 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

1 Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God opened His mouth to speak and at 186,000 miles a second, the first element of His creation came forth: LIGHT

· The element God uses to reveal things.

· The element by which He describes Himself.

· Light is the element God uses as a metaphor for the Truth.

· Light is the element God uses as a metaphor for the conductor of Life.

The element God uses to reveal things…

Eph. 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: forwhatsoever doth make manifest is light.

Light must begin IN YOU. Before Light can manifest the condition of others around you; before it can reveal for you, the way of success or the pitfalls of failure, it must first cause you to properly discern yourself.People aren’’t defeated by the darkness without, but the darkness within. It’s what you won’’t see about yourself that becomes your worst enemy. The Light of God always reveals YOU first. If you allow yourself to see what is manifest in the penetrating Light of God’s holy love; if you embrace first the mercy of God for yourself, and never stray into the shadows; then what can the Accuser use against you? Once you and God have looked at you in the naked Light, and you are accepted in Christ, what else do you need to hide?

The element by which He describes Himself…

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

LIGHT: the first element of God’s creation, is quite naturally a physical representation of His very nature.Light defeats darkness by its mere presence.Darkness is simply the condition that exists by the absence of Light. To dispel darkness you simply present Light. God doesn’t have to fight against evil. His Presence dispels it. Evil only exists where God isn’’t. The more you introduce the Presence of Christ (through His Word) into the avenues and alleyways of your own mind and heart, the less area evil has to exist. The diseases and bondages of sin and its torments are merely allowances made by a lack of Jesus’ Presence: Light.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].

The Earth turns toward the darkness of outer space every day. It enters the night by turning away from the light of the Sun. The Earth rotates. But it is impossible for God to ever turn towards the dark, because He is The LIGHT. Most of us don’’t really know that about God. But it’s true nonetheless. God NEVER says one thing insincerely. It is impossible for Him to lie. It is impossible for any of the magnificent statements of Jesus to fade into obscurity. Not now, not ever. He is eternally the Healer and the Deliverer. There can NEVER be any “shadow of turning” in Him regarding any of His promises. Men and theologians can twist with the changing social climates and worldly pressures, but God NEVER turns His back on His own Word. Never!

Light is the element God uses as a metaphor for the Truth…

Psa. 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Truth and Light are irrevocably bound. Truth is revealed as a manifestation of Light more than just an impartation of facts. We can learn facts without having any personal attachment to them. But Truth is something that grabs and motivates you. In fact, you can have the facts about a Truth long before the Light goes on and it dawns on you. But once it “dawns” it has become Truth to you, and casts you under its Light.For example, on an academic level you can accept that you’’re a sinner without being convicted by a revelation of your sin. But once the Holy Spirit shows you what is sinful about yourself, you then have Truth that can set you free from sin’s claim and condemnation. In 2 Sam. 12:7-9 David was confronted with the Truth about his sin with Bathsheba, when the Prophet Nathan exposed him. David knew he was wrong long before Nathan rebuked him. But Nathan brought the Light of God’’s Truth about David to bear upon David’’s sin, and David crumbled before God. Out of David’’s crushing purge, under the influence of the Truth that Nathan revealed, David wrote one of his greatest Psalms. Ps. 51 is the most probingly honest and yet wonderfully merciful passages of the Bible. It stands as freedom’s gate before you today.

Light is the element God uses as a metaphor for the conductor of Life…

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

There is NO Life outside of truth; only shadows of death. If you want Life; if you want to live; you must enter the Light of Truth. You must let Jesus’ Gospel be your judge and your salvation. You ARE wrong if His Word says you are wrong! You ARE forgiven if His Word says you are forgiven! And you ARE what His Word says you are! If you cling to excuses you are damned. If you cling to self-condemnation you are damned. If you cling to self-righteousness you are damned. To do any of these to resist the Light, then you must cover yourself with the darkness of lies and delusions. You will be the first person that you have to sell your lies to, as you walk among the living-dead. It’s called self-justification. You will have to delude yourself with emotions and feelings because true Life – only found in the Light of Truth will not be available to you.

This is a very “real” condition, which most people choose to live under. Yet most people settle for this reality rather than surrender to the Truth of Christ. Truth and Reality are not the same thing. Life and death are not the same thing. Death is “real” enough, but the Truth is not in it. That’’s why it exists. It’’s the condition of darkness – the absence of Light. It is the lair of lies and the haunt of liars. People end up there not because they choose death but because they choose lies and reject the Light of Truth.

In the same way you are free to choose Life. Though LIFE is too great for you to produce in your own strength, you can enter it by choosing the Light of Truth. LIFE is a by-product of Light. If you walk in God’’s Truth, refuse the broad-easy way of lies, choose the higher narrow path of Light, then LIFE will be there for you. And it will follow you all the days of your life.

Psa. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Stay On The Path!

Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matt. 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

1 Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

A flashlight becomes a tool in the hand of the one who uses it. But it can be a kind of weapon against the one who is stopped by it. When you’’re frozen in the beam of a powerful flashlight the user can see you but you can’’t see them. Though they have the light, they are safely barricaded by the darkness, behind the light’s beam. And that is the whole problem with trying to use the Gospel of Jesus like a flashlight. The light gets used as a tool and it leaves the user in the dark.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

The Pharisees used God’’s Word like a flashlight. Because they handled it, and because they used it to ferret out sin in the community, they thought they had the Light of Life within them. But they continuously resisted stepping into the Light themselves. They were more interested in controlling the beam than being revealed in it.

The truth is that Jesus, and His Gospel, is the Light of the world; but not like a flashlight. The construction of a flashlight shields one side of the light and narrows it down to a beam, for selective viewing. But God is not a selective beam. He is an all-consuming Fire. In His Light you can’’t expose one selective detail and leave the rest shrouded in anonymity. The reason people fear the Light of God is because you can’’t control it.

Heb. 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Heb. 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

God reveals everything in His vicinity. There is no darkness that can succeed in His Presence. When the Light of Christ’’s salvation comes into a person’’s life it begins its burning search from deep within the heart.Before His Light can be trusted in our hands we will have had its fire reveal our true inner intent.

It was always God’’s plan to show the Light of His love from within the lives of people refined by its purging Truth. God would never have sanctioned the Pharisees. They were spiritual thugs, holding captive an entire society, paralyzed by fear in the light of religious condemnation. In fact, the vicious use of Flashlight Religion is one of the bondages that the true Light of the Gospel sets us free from. But the way it frees us from religion is not by dimming the Light of Truth so our sins don’’t look so obvious. But rather by moving the fiery Light within us so that our own sins are manifest in the illumination of His Love. There in the presence of His holiness, our brokenness can receive forgiveness, so that we no longer have any fear of being exposed. What can a mere flashlight in hands of a blundering amateur do to me once I’’m walking in the fiery truth of His grace?

Never fear to enter the fiery Truth of God. Never resist His penetrating grace. For you who are tempered in His Light, are freed from guilt and have been qualified to shine for His glory.

1 Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

It is the design of God to give Light to the lost through people who are full of Light……

To give Freedom to captives through Freed captives……

To present Truth through people walking in the Truth………

He demonstrates Redemption through Redeemed people………

Change through Changed people…….

We are called to be Lights, not use the Light.

Stay On The Path!

Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matt. 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Do you shine or do you just point to the Light? If people don’t see the Light shining through men then what good is it? God as Light can be a very obscure and abstract concept until He is seen burning in the hearts of people. A man in love with God, possess the Light like a bulb possess electricity. God’’s love for the world is unknown until someone makes it manifest by putting God’’s love on display through their life.

Truly, Jesus Himself is the Light of the world. There is no such thing as a work that we can perform in itself, that will produce a beneficial Light. If there were, the world wouldn’t need Jesus, just more do-gooders. It is specifically the work that is done by someone being motivated by the Holy Spirit of God, which has a Light in it that can benefit men. Jesus Himself made it clear that there was no “work” that qualifies by itself, as a work of God, except one:

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

So let’’s understand that to “let your light shine”, is not to go around doing good works, as though mankind is furthered towards Heaven by doing good. Letting your Light shine is really nothing more complicated than making your relationship with Jesus Christ the most well maintained and prominent feature of your life.

“…(put it) on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

James was right to say:

James 2:18 “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

But works by themselves, regardless of how needed or useful they are, have no eternal divine Light in them.People who hate God can do good works. Jesus said:

Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Ultimately, Hell will receive many people who were helped in this life; and no good works can save them. No work that can be performed has God’s saving Light in it, just because it’s a good work. Good works can reveal the Light of Christ in you, only when they are wrought under the power of His influence. Jesus alone is the Light of the world. And His works were never done because they were “good” to do, or needed doing.They were always done from His simple obedience and love for the Father Who was guiding Him. Jesus wasn’t responding to man’’s need but rather God’’s will.

And we are the lights of the world so far as we let Him shine through our works.  Jesus never said our works would produce Light that would open the eyes of those blinded by sin. That Light is not produced.It’’s not the by-product of a good work. That Light is eternal and can only be received or rejected, conveyed or quenched. So …do you shine when you do good works?

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Stay On The Path!

John 1:16 And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Preface…

This devotional article was written a few years ago during the Bush administration.  Since then “change” has occurred.  Many people seldom lift consciousness above the rim of their own daily routine.  They never see the changes coming that greatly affect their lives.  I’m not certain that’s either a good or a godly thing.  Jesus reproved the Jews of His day for failing to discerning the times of their visitations.  Since the Obama election major changes have begun to unfold in America.  And as promised, America is beginning a huge experimental transition from Bible-rooted principles of freedom to Socialism, Humanism, and Fascism.  The President has already broken many ties with tradition, in his determination to free us from what he sees as an evil past.  He has declared America as a non-Christian nation, and reported that we are a major Islamic population.  Along with the consent of Congress, Obama is leading us into a new business and economic paradigm, largely controlled by the State.  We are being steered deeper into a global society where our American laws and freedoms will be increasingly determined by foreign treaties and multinational agreements.  Obama’s “change” is only producing “hope” for those few who have no affection for America’s traditional values, and have longed to live under the social conditions they’ve heard about in Europe and other nations.  By the time they realize that this “hope” is the precursor to misery, it will be too late to avert the “change”.  That leaves real hope in the hands of praying people.  Jesus said:

Mark 13:33 Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch and pray;

Many Christians are waking from slumber angry and disturbed at the deference to Christ-hating ideologies and religions, being fawn over in America’s new culture.  We need a new vision for prayer and intercession. This “hope ‘n change” strategy is not being swallowed by most Americans.  Yet people don’t know what to do as the Congress and courts seem belligerently non-responsive to our objections.  In this devotional “America: What Could Be”, I put forth a vision of Christians armed with the power of prayer and determination to be a living embassy for the Kingdom of God in America.  Now more than ever, that vision needs an action plan, centered in every Christian home and church across America.

America: What Could Be…

America is unforeseen, through the lens of Bible prophecy. Not like the nations of the Middle East, Europe, Russia, China, etc., who are cast in scripture with fair certainty. There are unwritten pages of history, lying before us. People have stretched a few indirect verses, attempting to make them fit over America. But truth is, there’s no prophetic forecast in scripture, that solidly dictates our outcome. That leaves me room for hope and faith, and encourages me to get busy, and use all the influence I can muster. I would like to see (and I believe it’s within the realm of possibility), America retain enough spiritual “saltiness” and true Christian Light, in order to hold back the threatening tide of humanistic depravity and secular rebellion. This doesn’t mean we won’t have the kind of corrupt moral filth and political lunacy we see challenging our society today. But what it does mean is that the believers can stand in determined, united and vigilant accord; asserting their hold of grace upon this nation. We won’t drive sin from our shores, but like “salt”, we’ll attract the preserving influence of God’s favor, upon the land.

Matt. 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Mark 9:50 … Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

WHY keep God’s grace upon America, you may ask? Well, if you’ve been to remote regions of the world, and seen the fruit of American dollars, sown by Christians, into the Gospel; if you’ve heard the pleas for help and seen the tears of gratitude; if you’ve listened to their prayers, imploring God to bless, help and use America, for the sake of the Gospel; you wouldn’t have to ask that question. For those who think it would be better, or adventurous, or spiritually motivating to have to live as a Christian in a collapsed America, let me assure you, that you’d be weeping and mourning for just one of the former days when grace was upon this land. You may have no idea of what it’s like to live in a nation under the dense dark cloud of spiritual repression, where sinners are so totally possessed by darkness, your words bounce off them like stone. But I assure you, there’s nothing glorious about it. It is true that judgment, loss of freedom, persecution and collapse of liberties, can create an environment where believers repent of their indifference. But every believer who’s ever been there, prays for freedom. I don’t believe we have to lose our freedoms to appreciate them, if we will rise up and challenge our fellow Christians properly, instead of pandering to their consumer-driven appetites, in fear of offending.

2 Tim. 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

2 Tim. 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

2 Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2 Tim. 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

So why preach and warn if it’s a fait ac’compli? The answer is simple: so the warning will be heeded, and disaster averted. I pray and work with all my heart, fighting against the encroaching darkness of secularism, to keep the Light of Christ prominent in America. I do this so that the rich resources of our great land will remain freely disposed to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Lack of appreciation and ingratitude are the greatest threats against the American Church. For those who think they’d welcome a collapse of God’s favor over America, because it would be a good lesson for the church, and wake her up; you don’t know what you’re saying. That’s like saying, “My daughter’s getting rebellious and doesn’t want to go to church. I think a good mugging, beating and raping, would bring her around.” That’s not my prayer! I’ve seen the suffering, and I’ve beheld the destitution of a Christless culture, and the only angle from which it looks appealing, is the skewed bias of the easy chair. There’s nothing glamorous or glorious about a culture steeped in darkness, rebellion, and without the Light of the Gospel. It’s hard, crushing and miserable.

So the next time you’re tempted to cavalierly predict the downfall of America; under the weight of sin; just remember YOU are the light under which the collapse will come. If America falls apart, I guarantee you, that it will not be the will of the sinners but the lack of the will of the Christians, that will be the deciding factor. It’ll come, not because the sinners caused it but because the Church allowed it. WE hold the “keys” that lock and unlock the treasures of Heaven. The Overcomers have the Keys of David (Rev. 3:7-13).  And those are the keys of divine favor, for the overriding grace in the place of darkness. These things I’m saying are the essence of the Gospel and the synthesis of Christianity.

My heart is that the Salt repents and retains its savor rather than standing back in overwhelmed confusion, and waiting for the axe to fall. The wealth of the wicked is suppose to finance the mission of justice. Why in God’s Name, would any Christian want to see the devil walk in after a few years of battle, and just snatch it all up?! We MUST awaken to our birthright of faith, and the call to be the Salt of the world; and stop getting freaked out by the sinners. Our weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of those strongholds.

2 Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

2 Cor. 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

2 Cor. 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Greater is he that is in us than He that is in the world. What we lack is VISION…an awakened, unified vision of purpose.

My vision for America? I believe the reason there is no Bible prophecy that specifically consigns America to spiritual collapse and puts us under the Antichrist, is to keep us from using it to become self-defeated and apathetic. It’s so that we can be a resource of people and materials, that are active and dedicated, feeding the Gospel into all the world, right up to the end. There are no prophetic roadblocks to this vision; only the danger of indifferent Christians.

Jer. 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the oldpaths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

If enough believers get to the crossroads and “ask (in prayer) for the ancient paths, and the good old way (Jer. 6:16)“, there won’t be enough consolidated sin in America to drive out God’s favor. God is more disposed to honor the faith(fullness) of the believer than He is to punish the sin of the evildoers. That’s what being an Ambassador for Christ is all about. “God is in the world through Christ not imputing their sins against them….but bringing them the ministry of reconciliation through us”.

2 Cor. 5:19 ….God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

2 Cor. 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseechyou by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

The Christians walked off and gave France to the fools. They walked off and gave Russia to the Communists. They gave Europe to the secularists. These forces of darkness didn’t just waltz in, slap all the power out of the church, and take over. C’mon, think scripturally. The church GAVE IT AWAY.

Well, I for one don’t believe we must give America to them, also. And I’m joining the other thousands…millions, of believers who are like-minded, working heart-to-heart, to assert the Salt over this land. No, America is not a Christian nation. It doesn’t have to be. It’s a nation spiritually occupied by Christians shining against the backdrop of some very worldly sinners. It’s an amazing portrait of the grace of God. It’s a gigantic portrayal of Jesus defending the woman taken in adultery. That same Jesus desires to stand in me and you, over America. Let’s determine to keep Him here, facing down the accusers and usurpers, and reaching out to the truly lost and open. America needs the presence of dug-in, insistent Christians, who push back when the devil pushes. We need believers who know that their influence with God is far greater than the devil’s ability to aggravate Him with sinners. Those who know their God, are armed with the love and grace He has for the world. They are more desirous to see the salvation of the lost, then they are the punishment of the wicked. Their’s is the true heart of grace that attracts the Light of the Holy Spirit towards a lied-to and lost culture. It is that army of divine Love, that militia of covenant prayer warriors, that will keep the flame of divine favor, burning off the noxious cloud of Antichrist influence that has drifted across the oceans to our land.

You have to have some sort of vision. If you don’t choose one you’ll succumb to one by default. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes and heart to this one.

Stay On The Path!

Num. ch.25:1-18

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The man who received the greatest commendation from God, in the Old Testament, for his zeal, was not Abraham, Moses or David. He was a man who is seldom the subject of sermons, yet he single handedly saved Israel and drew the highest endorsement from God. His name was Phinehas, and this is his story.

From yesterday’s installment……

Punishment & Tears Can’t Break The Curse Of Sin!

By His own admission, God would have allowed Israel to be wiped out, in spite of the weeping, had an ACT of atonement not been offered. Punishment would not stop them. Tears could not save them. It is a frightening reality to consider: punishment does not stop the corrosive work of sin once its acid begins to eat into our lives. And tears from us do not turn God’’s wrath away. Something else is needed. And for the lack of it, many Christians, churches and missions throughout history, have been lost. Once compromise and corruption began its degrading work in God’’s people, the one thing that could stop the destruction and appease the judgment, was never offered. And its one thing that all of us have the power to do. Tomorrow we’ll find out what that one thing was, and what it must be today.

Today’s continuation……

Tears Are Not Enough

Num. 25:6 And behold, one of the Israelites came and brought to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and of all the congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting [over the divine judgment and the punishment].

Moses and all Israel were gathered at the Tabernacle, weeping before God. Some probably wept over their terrible loss. Some probably wept in grief, pleading with God to stop the plague and judgment. Some may have even wept due to conviction. But the plague was not stopping, and apparently, neither was the sinning.The contrast was mind-boggling, to see Zimri and the Midianite temptress sashaying through the church during this outcry. The crush of conviction and the callousness of sin meet together without any clash; no explosive reaction, just tears. And as the very sin that laid waste to the great congregation, strutted into the church, the surviving victims just kept crying. Were was the reaction?! No wonder the plague wasn’t stopping. Why would it? The leaders had all been executed for not lifting a finger to stop the people’’s slide into idolatry, but apparently no one got the point. The remaining people just sat there impotent and unwilling to act.

There is a terrible delusion today among Christians, who believe that as long as God sees the intent of our hearts, that’’s what matters to Him. But when the church spins off into idolatry and immorality, unless someone stands up to stop it, no amount of “heart feeling” is going to keep God’’s favor there.

The Zeal Of God Brings Results

Num. 25:7 And when Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand

Num. 25:8 And went after the man of Israel into the inner room and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her body. Then the [smiting] plague was stayed from the Israelites.

Many people have zeal, but true zeal, – the zeal of God, – is a very rare thing. It’’s far easier to deplore the existence of evils than it is to throw oneself into active contention against them. The true zeal of God derives its fire, not from the interests of men, but from the interests of God. How many zealous Christians, who are ambitious to have the move of God’’s Presence in their midst, truly hate the things that separate them from God? How many believers, zealous to promote their revelations, are equally quick to slay their sins?

Phinehas acted out of pure, unsolicited, godly zeal. His reaction was genuine, for God said that he acted with the Lord’’s jealousy.

Num. 25:11 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites, in that he was jealous with My jealousyamong them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My jealousy.

Wouldn’’t you love to be the one to turn God’’s displeasure away, and restore His favor? Of all the thousands of Christians who intercede for the visitation of the Holy Spirit where are the ones who will act with the zeal of God against the compromises that alienate us from His Presence? We can’’t even get churches and denominations to admit to the spiritual atrocities, defections and fornications that they commit, much less organize a unified front against them. And among the Christians who boldly denounce things like homosexual behavior, out in the world, you’’d be hard-pressed to find more than a handful who will denounce the lust for numbers and the exaltation of self, that goes on right in the church.

True Zeal Not Dependent On Officials

When Moses ordered the execution of the Chiefs for their complicity in the idolatry he was following an order from God. When the judges began to slay the men who committed fornication and idolatry, they were following orders from Moses, who got them from God. They all acted. But none of them acted from pure jealousy for the Lord’’s glory.  But when Phinehas acted, he was not following an order. Nor was he obeying a specific scriptural edict. He was not fulfilling any responsibility that had been laid upon him. Those conditions alone are enough to stop 99.9 % of all people from acting in a moment like this. But in his hour, Phinehas’ heart beat as one with God’’s. How often do people leave the responsibility for zeal in the hands of Pastors or professionals, to seek the glory of God and the triumph of righteousness.

The Highest Commendation Of God

Num. 25:12 Therefore say, Behold, I give to Phinehas the priest My covenant of peace.

Num. 25:13 And he shall have it, and his descendants after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.

There were only a couple of men in the Old Testament, to whom God extended a covenant that succeeded their generation; such as Abraham and David. And with these two, the Spirit led them into specific acts of obedience, to which they complied and entered into the covenant of redemption, fulfilled in Jesus. Yet God comes to His feet at the act of Phinehas, to extend a special covenant to him, and his descendants, to stand as intercessors for the people, before God, throughout their generations. It makes you wonder what God is willing to do for you, should He see that kind of zeal in your life. With our higher moral code, based in the revelation of Christ’’s forgiveness, Phinehas’ act could never be considered as appropriate today. It’’s hard to comprehend how such a violent act could receive such commendation from God.  Only by a look at Phinehas’’ heart, in context with the circumstances, could one understand how he turned away the wrath of God. Phinehas’ act could never be repeated, but his zeal is needed today as we attempt to manage our own lives.

Which brings us now to the whole point of this dramatic message, which is:

YOU, and you alone, have the power to act against the things that curse your own progress with God.

Don’’t weep over your secret sins. Don’’t waste a minute’’s time crying in condemnation’’s paralysis. Slay and dismiss from your life, the thoughts and ideals with which you have permitted yourself to live in compromise or sin. Stop waiting for some Official to corner you with conviction and “make you stop sinning” (because they can’’t). Remove your foot from the tents of the Moabites. And when a false sense of personal exception tempts you to believe you’’re immune to judgment, rip that callous from your heart and slay the compromise that is causing your affliction. God has placed His Spirit of righteousness within you; and with it, the power to act in behalf of your own soul.

Col. 3:5 So kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members [those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is employed in sin]: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God).

Rom. 8:13 For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.

Stay On The Path!

Num. 25:1-18

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The man who received the greatest commendation from God, in the Old Testament, for his zeal, was not Abraham, Moses or David. He was a man who is seldom the subject of sermons, yet he single handedly saved Israel and drew the highest endorsement from God. His name was Phinehas, and this is his story.

From yesterday’s installment……

Utterly amazing is the fact that despite the plague, the execution of the leaders and of the idolaters, the people did not stop receiving the daughters of Moab. However, they did call a big repentance meeting and began to weep and pray before the tabernacle of God. Did their brokenness and tears save them?

Continuing on…

Zimri, the young Israelite is the son of a prominent man and has no doubt enjoyed the privileges of his social status. And though twenty-four thousand of his countrymen have just died as a direct result of their idolatrous and licentious relations with the Moabite women, Zimri is unphased by the rebuke. Even the execution of the leaders hasn’’t convinced him that fraternization with these female lures was dangerous. The real shock is that despite the fact that the judges were hunting down and slaying the men who were doing what Zimri was doing, he somehow felt insulated against all judgment. To say that he saw no wrong in his actions is obvious. But worse, he somehow believed that he had a privilege that exempted him from the judgment that everyone else was falling under. There is no advantage in speculating as to why Zimri thought the way he did, because in the end it really doesn’t matter. The fact is this man had a calloused heart. He parades his Midianite girlfriend right into the middle of the big repentance service where everyone is weeping before the Lord!

Before you shake your head in disbelief, consider that many of us walk right into church where the Holy Spirit is dealing with His people; sit there cold-hearted, refusing to budge, indifferent to conviction, too proud to humble ourselves in front of others, and believing we are the exception. We say we’ll deal with matters privately but we don”’t. We go through our days paralyzed by the same inaction that we lock ourselves into at church. We desecrate the name of Jesus, and pollute His gathering, when we assemble together in His name but refuse to come clean or forsake sin. The celebrations of unrepentant people are a religious farce. But there’s something far worse than that.

Tears Are Not Enough

As bad as it is to have a calloused heart and an elitist attitude, the refusal to act decisively against the sins that threaten our fellowship with God is far worse. Cozbi, the woman that Zimri brought in on his arm, to show off to his brothers, was not a common Moabitess. She was a Midianite woman and the daughter of a King. The Moabite girls were just loose devil worshippers. But this Midianite woman was different. Balaam, the Midianite false prophet, was the architect of the strategy to destroy Israel by leading them into fornication and idolatry with the Moabite women. God later sent Israel to destroy the Midianites because they had hatched this evil peace plan. Cozbi, as a royal, was no doubt, part of the master plan to insure Israel’s total collapse. And here was this young fool bringing her right into the special service where Israel had gathered to cry out to God.

Now let’s consider the elements as this drama comes to a head:

· A plague is continuing to devour the Israelites

· The Chiefs have been executed

· The Judges are in the process of slaying the guilty

· All Israel is gathered, weeping at the doorway of the Tabernacle

· Zimri parades the very sin that is causing judgment, right into the gathering

There is an alarming message arising from all this:

Punishment & Tears Can’’t Break The Curse Of Sin!

By His own admission, God would have allowed Israel to be wiped out, in spite of the weeping, had an ACTof atonement not been offered. Punishment would not stop them. Tears could not save them. It is a frightening reality to consider: punishment does not stop the corrosive work of sin once its acid begins to eat into our lives. And tears from us do not turn away God’’s wrath. Something else is needed. And for the lack of it, many Christians, churches and missions throughout history, have been lost. Once compromise and corruption began its degrading work in God’s people, the one thing that could stop the destruction and appease the judgment, was never offered. And its one thing that all of us have the power to do. Tomorrow we’ll find out what that one thing was, and what it must be today.

Stay On The Path!

Num. 25:1-18

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The man who received the greatest commendation from God, in the Old Testament, for his zeal, was not Abraham, Moses or David. He was a man who is seldom the subject of sermons, yet he single handedly saved Israel and drew the highest endorsement from God. His name was Phinehas, and this is his story.

From yesterday’s installment…

After victoriously fighting countless battles, and right at the point where their greatest moment was to begin, the Israelites totally fall apart. Instead of nasty soldiers with swords coming across their borders from Moab, cute hoochie girls with buckets of chicken and short skirts, poured into the camp of Israel. They were being destroyed, not on the fields of battle, but in the paralyzing arms of peace… the warriors of Yahweh began to follow their new girlfriends into the temples of Baal and came out the enemies of God.

The Reaction

Judgment from God has already begun in the form of a plague that has claimed twenty-four thousand men.The plague demonstrated the serious consequences of breaking covenant with God. It showed that those who take the benefits of His covenant, and represent His name, become His enemies by desecrating His name through their idolatry. But a more serious corruption had occurred in that the leaders of Israel, who were charged with setting and maintaining a godly example, had emboldened the people in their sin, by failing to stand up against it. Whether through passivity towards the sin or personal participation, the leadership was directly responsible for the complete breakdown of social order.

God instructed Moses to do two things:

Kill all the chiefs and hang their bodies up in public for the people to see.  And…

Order the Judges over the tribes to kill every individual person who had committed fornication and idolatry with the Moabites.

Leaders are directly responsible for the sins of those under their charge, which they allow, neglect to reprove or participate in.

Eph. 5:11 Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to] expose and reprove and convict them.

It is the biggest fault of our modern culture (both secular and Christian) that leaders have become dependent upon popularity with people rather than approval from God for their authority. When the population or congregation ceases to walk in covenant with God, they no longer allow their leaders to answer to God. They want them to pass muster with their own fallen agendas. Every church, nation and people group, who live indifferent towards God’’s demands, will insist upon leaders who condone their particular pet sins and corruptions. Only God-fearing people tolerate leaders who answer to God. The rest demand moral puppets. Paul laid out the line of accountability in his instructions to Timothy regarding the responsibility of God’’s leaders:

1 Tim. 4:16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

2 Tim. 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:

2 Tim. 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

2 Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but  wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;

2 Tim. 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

2 Tim. 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

It is clear by Paul’’s admonition that Christian leaders are directly accountable to God to maintain the standards He Himself has set. If you rebel in that commission, forget the reproaches or threats of people and their committees and boards, prepare yourself to meet God’’s judgment.

Several times throughout the scriptures, God told His servants to steel their resolve to resist the backsliding tendencies of the people they ministered to. It is abundantly clear that leaders owe their allegiance to God, no matter who voted them in. King Saul was a typical example of a man who became cursed of God and plagued by devils, because he looked to his popularity with people rather than his responsibility toward God, in fulfilling his duties.

1 Sam. 13:11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash,…

1 Sam. 15:10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

1 Sam. 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands.”…

1 Sam. 15:18 …the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’

1 Sam. 15:19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?”

1 Sam. 15:20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

1 Sam. 15:21 “But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”

1 Sam. 15:22 And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

1 Sam. 15:23 “…Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.”

1 Sam. 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.

1 Sam. 15:25 “Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.”

1 Sam. 15:26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

1 Sam. 15:27 And as Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.

1 Sam. 15:28 So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.

The chiefs of Israel were all executed and hung up before the people, because when the people had looked to them for a reaction, in the day they began to entertain the “hoochie mamas of Moab”, they saw no resistance. So now they would get to see just how much power these leaders had to condone their sins.

When Moses unleashed the Judges to slay everyone who committed fornication and idolatry with Moab, the message became frightfully clear:

You can’’t use the bad example of leaders as an excuse for your own sin.

If your leaders turn coward before God and allow you to rebel, God Himself will judge the treasonous leaders and then you will stand for your own sin. You can never excuse yourself with the failures of your leaders. God sees right through the excuse and will never accept it.

As I wrote in yesterday’’s installment, take this lesson and apply it to your own private life. YOU are Israel and the leaders are the ideals, convictions and principles that you have chosen in your own mind and heart, to guide your life. If they fail to keep you honest before God; if they condone the practices of unfaithfulness to God; then just like the chiefs of Israel, they will not be able to excuse themselves from judgment, nor insulate you from it either. Self-deception is not ignorance, it’’s rebellion. If the ideals and thoughts that lead you are allowing you to rebel against God, and giving you a false sense of security in doing so, you should execute them, and then attack the rebellion in your own life. The only refuge that idolatry; immorality and rebellion have in the life of a Christian is the delusional thinking of permissiveness.

Utterly amazing is the fact that despite the plague, and the execution of the leaders and of the idolaters, the people did not stop receiving the daughters of Moab. However, they did call a big repentance meeting and began to weep and pray before the tabernacle of God. Did their brokenness and tears save them?Tomorrow we’’ll find out.

Stay On The Path!

Num. 25:1-18

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The man who received the greatest commendation from God, in the Old Testament, for his zeal, was not Abraham, Moses or David. He was a man who is seldom the subject of sermons, yet he single handedly saved Israel and drew the highest endorsement from God. His name was Phinehas, and this is his story.

The Setting

Towards the end of Israel’s 40 years of wandering, battling and raising a new generation, are now camped at the edge of Moab, just miles from the Jordan River, and waiting for the last Wilderness battle to begin.Once Moab is out of the way they will proceed to the Jordan and cross over into the Promised Land. They’re close.

In the previous 2 chapters (Numbers 23-24) Balak the King of Moab, afraid of the terrible defeat he will likely suffer at the hands of the invincible Israelites, hires Balaam, the false prophet of Midian to curse Israel, so that the Moabites can defeat them. Four times Balaam tries to cast a binding curse over Israel, but each time God intervenes and informs Balaam that Israel is under His blessing and can neither be cursed or defeated. Balak the Moabite King, is dejected, until Balaam tells him that he has figured out a way to defeat Israel without needing to curse them, or even fight them.

Balaam counsels Balak to act neighborly and extend peace to Israel; to send his young women and temple prostitutes among the Israeli men and let nature take its course. Balaam informs Balak that the God of Israel detests idolatry, and the Israelites can curse themselves before God with their own sin. Once they begin to fraternize with the Moabite women they will begin committing fornication, indulging their flesh and soon drift into the Moabite temples of Baal Peor, where they will commit idolatry and become a curse to God.

Balak took Balaam’s advice, simply stepped aside and allowed “peace” to take its coarse. The seductive foreign policy worked flawlessly and became a famous satanic strategy throughout the Bible. In the NT, Paul referred to it as “the Deception of Balaam” in Jude 1:11. In His rebuke to the Church of Pergamos, God referred to this lethal teaching of passivity towards the world, as the Doctrine of Balaam:

Rev. 2:14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: you have some people there who are clinging to the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trapand a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [to entice them] to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols and to practice lewdness [giving themselves up to sexual vice].

Within a very short span of time, Israel degraded its own position from unconquerable to self-defeated and completely vulnerable. Not only did they drive off the protective Presence of God, through their fornication, but they also brought an insatiable plague upon themselves through their idolatry. Twenty-four thousand men had already died by the plague and there was no sign of it letting up, despite their cries of repentance.Sin had conquered what Satan’s scheming could not.

We have never realized that our own propensities for lust have always been far more effective in destroying us than Satan could ever hope to be.

James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

The Trap Of Peace

How this deplorable slide into decadence happened without being fought by Moses is not known. But for whatever reason, this fresh new generation of Israelites, were about to be annihilated by their own sin, just when they were ready to enter the Promised Land. After victoriously fighting countless battles, and right at the point where their greatest moment was to begin, they totally fall apart. Instead of nasty soldiers with swords coming across their borders from Moab, cute hoochie girls with buckets of chicken and short skirts, poured into the camp of Israel. They were being destroyed, not on the fields of battle, but in the paralyzing arms of peace. This story should send shivers down the spine of every sincere Christian. Yet why this isn’t preached among the most prominent stories of the Old Testament, is itself an indication that Satan is still working feverishly to conceal the doctrine of Balaam!

Amos 6:1 WOE TO those who are at ease in Zion and to those on the mountain of Samaria who are careless and feel secure, the notable men of the chief [because chosen by God] of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!

As the warriors of Israel laid aside their swords and shields, to transition from victory to vacation, an enemy, too close to swing at, would arise from within their own flesh. The “rest” that was to be their reward, laid just days ahead of them, when they made the fatal decision to take their relaxation in the arms of their enemy’s daughters. They took off more than their clothes in order to get comfortable in this new arrangement of peace. They stripped themselves of the very armor of faithfulness to God, and became as vulnerable as chained pets. Gone was the breastplate of righteousness and the shield of faith, which had struck such fear in the hearts of their demon-worshipping enemies. The warriors of Yahweh began to follow their new girlfriends into the temples of Baal and came out the enemies of God.

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

James 4:4 Do you not know that being the world’s friend is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.

Judgment was coming down, and the sword of Israel was about to fall. But this time it would not fall on the Midianites or Moabites, but upon themselves as they sought to slay the enemy within.

Tomorrow, as we proceed to discover what kind of zeal it took to turn God’s wrath away from Israel, and bring a deliverance from their sin, you must take this dramatic scene from history and superimpose it, not over your church or community, but over the invisible territory of your own heart and life. You are Israel, Balaam is Satan and Moab with its illicit desire for peace with you, is the world.

Stay On The Path!

Psa. 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Christians used to call church, The House Of God. Everything was done to make it a place where people sought and expected Him. Jesus said,

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:

By arranging everything so that the Father’s will is followed, then He’ll be Present in it, and draw the people to Jesus. But arranging church to accommodate people’s appetites rather than God’s demands has been gaining popularity. Yet the results have not led to a real fulfillment of our purpose:

1 Pet. 4:11 … so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.

It would be far easier if we would organize our church agenda to please God, and let Him draw the people; rather than build church to please people and hope they can draw God.

I think that years ago there was more of an emphasis on making church a place that appealed to God. Our whole approach to worship and preaching was designed around prayer and preparation to do God’s will; a place to come and meet with God. But today church leaders often consult the latest demographic research, and then design their church experiences to accommodate what they feel people will respond to.

If people’s appetite for preaching isn’t what it use to be, then we’ll curtail it. If they want more contemporary music we’ll get the best. If they don’t like hearing negative messages, well then we’ll save the references to sin for the advanced Bible class on Wednesday nights. If they don’t want to have any burdens laid upon them, we’ll tone down scriptures that express the demands of discipleship.

OK, maybe the church you’re thinking about isn’t quite this appeasing. But is it organized with a mandate to be the House of God? The problem is that many churches have made it their business to run things for God. And they don’t even realize it. They would be cut to the heart if they thought they were hindering the Holy Spirit. But look at what Peter wrote concerning the standard that should determine church policy

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

It’s pretty clear that God wants to be IN THE HOUSE; and not just on the wall. If it’s going to be the House Of God, shouldn’t people know that when they walk in? Shouldn’t God’s will be researched, rather than people’s preferences? The argument might arise: we research people’s preferences so they will:

feel comfortable…

know we care…

want to come back…

know we’re relevant…

But what if God doesn’t want them “comfortable”? What if being comfortable in their present condition is their biggest problem? Maybe if they were allowed to be nervous in the Presence of God, they would seek His comfort. What if knowing God cares is the only thing that will really reach them, regardless of how much we care for them? Shouldn’t they come back because they’ve met Jesus in the House? And how can we make Jesus more “relevant” to sinners, when spiritual blindness is their main problem?

The more we try to build the house FOR God, the more we labor in vain; because we’ll only attract people to ourselves. But if we let the Holy Spirit build the house He’ll attract people to Jesus.

Stay On The Path!

Heb. 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Heb. 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Have you ever noticed those old painting depicting the Day Of Pentecost, and the disciples being filled with the Holy Spirit? They always seem to show the disciples with something resembling a little flame, emanating from an invisible Bic lighter, sitting on top of their heads. A little flame, as if it had just resulted from the striking of a match - a little flame, which will undoubtedly, soon go out. Why a “little” flame? Why is it that every opportunity man gets to depict God, he ends up shrinking Him? It seems the obsession of religion to shrink God. Perhaps downsizing is a result of the subconscious tendency to reduce everything to the status of a tool of humanity – to put a handle on every experience, leaving man large-and-in-charge. That’s OK, God designed us to be large …and in charge; but not larger than Him.

Perhaps the fixation with shrinking is motivated by a pragmatic impulse to quantify everything –- make it researchable, less fearful. Whatever the motive, whether intentioned or automatic, we most definitely like to shrink God. And the little tongues of fire are just the beginning. We also shrunk the “Light” with which we are to illuminate the world!

Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

Once again, check the paintings. We’’ve reduced the light to a little round halo that tops off the pious Christian’s outfit like a fashion accessory. That little light-disk doesn’’t display God. It just makes the wearer look religious

And what about anointing oil? You know, the kind used in the Old Testament to represent the choice and anointing of God, upon a person’’s life.

1 Sam. 16:12 …And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he (David).

1 Sam. 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.

Psa. 133:2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

That practice of anointing use to be big and messy, and represented the complete takeover of one’’s life, by the touch of God. There was no hiding the fact that you’ had just been anointed. But today, we have “the Dab”; easily wiped off and barely visible. I’’m not suggesting we should be emptying a bottle of Wesson over the heads of people, but we ought to challenge our insistence upon shrinking every symbol and sacrament of God.

What about water baptism, used to illustrate the immersion of one’’s life into the Christian commission? It’’s a good thing that water baptism is not required for salvation, because in many churches today they would never tolerate a real immersion. By the time the baptized gets back to his seat, the water has evaporated off his forehead. No wet clothes to have to change, and best of all, the church doesn’’t have to see you with your hair plastered to the sides of your head. Miniaturization of God has certainly helped us maintain our dignity.

And didn’’t Jesus “break bread” and pass the loaf around? What’’s up with kneeling down and sticking your tongue out for a wafer so thin it melts on contact?! Understandably, these are only symbols, but our use of them reveals our insistence upon shrinking God.

All these miniaturizations reduce God to a human experience, instead of us being swept up into a God experience. God reduced Himself once, to become Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And Jesus further humbled Himself to become the sacrificial Lamb for you and I, on Calvary’’s cross. Yet the Bible declares that the world could not contain the books if all His works had been chronicled. Isaiah 9:7 says that, ““Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…”.” In Ezekiel 47 we see the River of God, beginning to trickle from the His throne and expand into a giant flooding river of life, as it proceeds into the world.

In His going forth, God is never reduced, diminished, or thinned out. Unlike every other element in the Universe, slowly spinning down to die, resistance never wears down God. Paul says in Romans 8:2,

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

All creation is subject to the law of sin and death, yet God, through Christ, split the membrane of death, like He owned it. The Universe is stretched between His thumb and pinky. Our symbols relate miniaturized versions of the truths they represent, and shrink our own faith till it’’s not a threat to the status quo. But you can’’t shrink God. Jesus is as small as He gets.

Stay On The Path!

Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Satan had approached Jesus with a simple alluring temptation: ‘Go forth and prove you’re success, I’’ll even help you succeed’. By coaxing Jesus to demonstrate His divine abilities and finally, to take possession of the kingdoms of the world, Satan was very simply tempting Christ to make success His goal: to prove himself.He wasn’’t even tempting Jesus to move outside of His calling. He was simply trying to get Him to become more concerned about proving Who He was and demonstrating His success than serving the Father. In short, Satan was tempting Christ to make “success” His goal.

At first thought, most people would wonder how that could be considered a temptation. What’’s really wrong with making success your goal? But in fact, shrouded as it seemed, in legitimacy, this is the most deadly of all temptations. For the Son of God came not to be a success, but to be a servant. And pursuing success will interfere with being a servant.

John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.”

When our focus is fixed on success it’s easy to forget to be a servant. We forget that the tasks and goals of any eternal value belong to God. And God doesn’’t always reveal every aspect of His purpose to us. Without the “Big Picture” we can succeed at our goals and fail at His purpose. Man’’s ideas about success have usually been in conflict with the Father’’s purposes.

Matt. 17:1 And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves.

Matt. 17:2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

Matt. 17:3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

Matt. 17:4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here;if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Matt. 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

John 16:2 …the time is coming when people who murder you will think that they are serving God.

Everyone has their own ideas about success, but only God the Father can approve your service. Service is not justified or validated by success as we might measure it. Jesus served the Father fully and as such, was a complete success by Heaven’s standards. Yet to this very day, the highest criticism against Him by unbelievers is that He failed and was crucified. The cross is no man’’s idea of success.

Matt. 12:18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Even by the standards of his day, the Apostle Paul’’s ministry declined into an embarrassing failure, while at the same time, other second generation preachers were ascending to prominence. They sought their opportunities to advance their ministries and form associations to further their success. But Paul remained bound to one cause alone: servanthood to Christ. And for that cause, the growing political climate in the churches swept him aside in favor of those who would vie for their attention. Servants always suffer in ambitious circles, where success is the goal.

2 Cor. 10:12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.

But ultimately it won’’t be our successes but our service for which we are rewarded.

Matt. 25:23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

The main difference between success and servanthood as objectives, is that the man pursuing success can only be satisfied and happy when his goals are reached. If He can’’t attain his ideal goals then joy is snatched from him. But the servant rejoices to simply do the will of the Father. John the Baptist, whose life and ministry ended early in imprisonment and beheading, said this about his own sense of fulfillment:

John 3:29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full.

John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.

Very few modern ministers could make that statement with any genuine joy. The terrible truth is that today’’s ministry culture is heavily weighted with the pressure to produce measurable signs of success. And while bearing fruit is important, our ideals of success don’’t take into account any purposes God may have in things not turning out the way we might plan. A church biographer assigned to follow Paul and write ministry reports of his life would have submitted articles that would have been declined by the editorial staff of most Christian periodicals today. He would have been viewed as an overall failure, except for a few high spots in his travels. But from his years of isolation in Arabia, after being rejected by the Church at Jerusalem, to his last years of imprisonment after being rejected again by the believers in Jerusalem, Paul would have been viewed as a fruitless embarrassment. It’’s not until the 20/20 hind’s-sight of history reveals the true worth of Paul’s service, that he becomes an inspiring figure.

It took great determination for Paul to remain a servant instead of jumping on the “success bandwagon”. His greatest efforts were made in avoiding the distracting influences of success-minded fellow ministers, and keeping his focus on being a servant.

Phil. 3:2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision (the success followers - my notes);

Phil. 3:3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

Phil. 3:4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:

Phil. 3:5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;

Phil. 3:6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

Phil. 3:7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Phil. 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,

Phil. 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Phil. 3:10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

Phil. 3:11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Phil. 3:12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Phil. 3:13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

Phil. 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Phil. 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;

Phil. 3:16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

Phil. 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

Phil. 3:18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,

Phil. 3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

Phil. 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

Stay On The Path!

Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the power (hand) of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The hand that receives the blessings of God is in your mouth. God’s Hand is in His mouth. Jesus, who is called “The Word of God”, is God’s Hand of healing, salvation, Help and blessing.

Words, and the mouths that form them, from the hearts that conceive them, hold the greatest powers of the Universe.

In Proverbs 18:21, the translators used the word “power”, from the original ancient Hebrew word for “hand”; when describing the power of the tongue. From the Strong’s Concordance:

3027. yad, yawd; a primitive word; a hand (the open one - indicating power, means, direction, etc.)

A very simple and accurate paraphrase of the verse could read like this:

Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the HAND of the tongue: and those who learn to use it will eat its fruit.

When God built the Universe He used His Hand - …the Hand in His mouth.

Heb. 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

God built with His Hand - …the Hand of His tongue. At 186,000 miles per second, light proceeded from the mouth of God, as He said, “Let there be light!”

So powerfully creative is the Hand of God in His mouth, that you never see in scripture, examples of Him speaking recklessly, or issuing meaningless words that He regrets saying. The reason is simple:

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

God knows that His tongue is a hand. He knows every Word He speaks comes to pass. By the same token, we have been made in His image and likeness. In other words, we should act like Him and reflect His character. We’ve been designed by God to do so. And that’s why He says so much to us in His Word about our tongues. He knows that the hand in our mouth can build or tear down with greater force than the hands our arms support.

The words we speak form a hand that gives and receives. Think about it. Do you really want to give what your words declare? Do you really want to receive what your words state? What do you want to give? You must select words that are able to hand it out.

Prov. 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many…

Words that form a hand are found in the heart. Whether loving, angry, joyous, judgmental, blessing or complaining, these words come from what we believe. When we speak from our beliefs we speak with the force of a hand.

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saithshall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

It is with the hand in our mouth that we walk hand-in-hand with Jesus. Here is an amazing verse that makes this point so powerfully:

Heb. 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

The word, “Profession” is this word in the original Greek text:

3671. homologia, hom-ol-og-ee´-ah; from the same as 3670; acknowledgment:–con- (pro-)fession, professed.

In its simplest form, “profession” means to say the same thing as God. Jesus, as the great Apostle (Sent One) and High Priest of God, is the Hand of God joining with the hand of our mouth, when we say the same thing as God. That concept is powerful; because it transcends the limitations of education and social position, and places the great blessings of God before all men equally. Anybody can now take hold of the endless mercy and powerful graces of the precious Lord Jesus.

Deut. 30:14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Rom. 10:8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your heart”–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching

Stay On The Path!

Acts 7:20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:

Acts 7:21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

Acts 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

Acts 7:23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

Heb. 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Heb. 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Heb. 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

Heb. 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

In the Western world, the Evangelical Church has worked so hard at becoming “relevant” to modern culture that the resulting Christian Culture is a distraction from Christ. In other words, you have to fight through Christian culture to get to Christ. One of the worst paradigm shifts that we have undergone, in the past 25 or so years, has been the transition from serving Christ to fulfilling self, as the goal of faith. Self-sacrifice made in the sincere service of Christ brings freedom. But living for self-fulfillment, in the name of Christ, leads to slavery. Jesus came to free us from the inevitable deadness of a self-seeking life. Consider carefully the trap that Paul warns us to avoid in his first letter to Timothy:

1 Tim. 6:3 If anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness,

1 Tim. 6:5 …who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.

“Gain” here is a reference to financial prosperity. But by extension, there is an underlying assumption here that the goal of the believer is to be better positioned in life, as a result of his connection with God. The truth, according to Jesus’ teaching, is that being put in a position of blessing is indeed something that the Father promises. But it’s to those who seek His Kingdom and not their own fulfillment. Self-fulfillment is not the goal of our faith, but a result of our faith. Exalting Christ is our goal.

Matt. 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Matt. 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Matt. 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Paul continues in his admonition to Timothy, to conclude that the pursuit of gain results in slavery. So we can see that God isn’t condemning prosperity and wellbeing, but rather choosing it as the goal of our faith.

And now, this is where we have come in our discussion of Spiritual Revolution. In the 1970s and early 80’s, the Evangelical Church was a movement, a hunger-driven spiritual juggernaut that swept the social and political society of America (and beyond). In those days believers were driven by a great hunger to see Jesus exalted in the world. And they were willing to lay aside the pursuit of their own interests to see the Kingdom of God arise in their generation. And indeed, the Kingdom did arise. Churches flourished with unstoppable growth and the influence of the Evangelical and Charismatic churches seemed limitless, as even the political world lay defenseless before the advancing Church.

But something happened in the process of “possessing the land”. Something terrible. Instead of a glorious awakening that would bring blessing to the whole world, as the Gospel was unselfishly offered with great irrefutable testimony, the Church blew the dividend it had paid such a price to gain. The opportunity to really be an example of Jesus and bless the world, just seemed to fizzle to nothing and vanish, as one ministry after another was found operating for the glory of its own success. It was like the great “happening” that never happened. It wasn’t the sacrifices of the 70’s and early 80’s, but the successes of subsequent years, that sterilized us.

Right at the point where a great thrust could have occurred, a switch was thrown in the tracks and the juggernaut drove off into spiritual obscurity. We missed the mark. We shifted our aim and fell short.Somehow the Church began to lose sight of its true wealth, which rested in the ability of its members, to lay self aside in order to exalt Christ. Living by faith, and obeying the Holy Spirit’s leading had been the true joy of the average Christian. The Spirit had been moving, and the world was noticing.

But now, 25 years later, the movement has long since been ground into church-ianity and the disease of serving man has metastasized through the Body of Christ, bringing the Church under slavery to the goals of modern culture.  We’ve gone from a spiritual house to a social center of human resource.  The modern world views Christians like the Egyptian aristocracy viewed the Hebrews: “You exist to support us, so keep those bricks coming.”

Back when we were a movement, faith was our daily fuel. We prayed and sought and believed God for everything. It didn’t matter that we could do things under our own power, we were serving the Lord and so faith was needed to believe God for His provision, so that He was glorified. But once self-fulfillment became our objective – once pastors began assuming that every opportunity was theirs to seize, for the advancement of their ministry, faith became of little value. The Church has been making bricks to win the approval of modern culture, rather than being living stones for the glory of Jesus Christ.

And now, the church has set itself up for a great falling away from the faith. Whole denominations are splitting, and churches are fracturing, as the worldliness to which they have pandered now demands their service. One of the greatest prophetic warnings, poetically portraying the price that’s paid for accepting self-centered leadership, is found in Judges 9:8-15.

Judg. 9:8 One time the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us.

Judg. 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, by which God and man are honored, and go to wave over the trees?

Judg. 9:10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, You come and reign over us.

Judg. 9:11 But the fig tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go to wave over the trees?

Judg. 9:12 Then the trees said to the vine (grapevine), You come and reign over us.

Judg. 9:13 And the vine (grapevine) replied, Should I leave my new wine, which rejoices God and man, and go to wave over the trees?

Judg. 9:14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, You come and reign over us.

Judg. 9:15 And the bramble said to the trees, If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

The message is clear, and history has born it out: when God’s people allow themselves to be led by self-serving leaders, or guided by self-centered purposes, the result is servitude to a purpose for which they were never intended. Faith is the heritage of free people, who serve God. But those who fall under the spell of church-ianity have little need of faith to make bricks. The world will tell you how it wants its bricks made, and once you’re committed to making them you’ll have to revolt to stop.

In Moses’ day, God’s people did not serve the purpose for which they were intended. They had become the slaves of Egyptian culture, and until God freed them they existed to bless and support the Egyptian lifestyle.

Today many churches have similarly become the servant of modern culture, and bogged down with serving the lifestyle of blessing and wellbeing, rather than living for the exaltation of Jesus Christ. As the Church increasingly employs its energies toward the prosperity of the world, faith is becoming unnecessary and an oddity, rather than our daily lifeline. Christians are turning more and more to human reason and strategic thinking, for decisions that should involve faith in God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Paul warned of a day of deception coming upon the world, a time when the moral and intellectual climate of the world will be so unstable that it will be nearly impossible to grasp and hold onto the Truth. In this upside down world, where good will become bad and bad will become good, such a persistent state of spiritual vertigo will exist in the church that a great falling away from the faith will occur without even being detected by all but those who actually walk in the Light. As the rest of the Church and the world spin off together into delusion, you who are truly thirsty for God will spawn a spiritual revolution as you contend for the faith.

Revolutions happen when people with a non-negotiable ideal find the present state of things intolerable.Christians who fight the fight of faith will not settle for religious imprisonment. Spiritual revolution is not simply a rebellion against religion, but a quest for spiritual reality. It’s fighting through Christian culture in order to lay hold of Christ.

We are entering that day when Christians who live by faith will have to fight through the accepted goals of self-fulfillment, in order to obey God, and take their place in His Kingdom – and in history. Faith will demand that the accepted path of Christian Culture be rejected in order to choose the path of life.

Look at our text concerning Moses. He had to revolt against his Egyptian heritage in order to follow God’s leading in his heart. The first step of faith he took led him into a spiritual revolution that others would follow. God had created Abraham’s people for a purpose and serving Egypt wasn’t it! There was NO WAY that they could continue to serve the purposes of Egypt and be the People Of God. God called them to walk away and serve Him, but Egypt wasn’t about to let them go without a fight. The Children of Israel never struck in rebellion against Egypt. The revolution had nothing to do with seizing Egypt, but rather leavingEgypt. And likewise today, look for a spiritual revolution. It’s coming.  Millions of hungry Christians are going to get up and walk towards the sound of His Voice. They won’t fight against the institution. They’ll simply leave off making dead bricks for man’s glory, to be the living stones of Jesus’ Temple. It’s unavoidable. As large segments of the Christian Church surrender to modern culture true believers will be forced to God. Join the revolution!

Stay On The Path!

Dan. 11:32 And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

…but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God]. - Amp. Bible

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

We are living in the day of Sampson-like leaders, who are gifted with natural abilities but possess weak souls. And they appeal to a Barabbas Generation - people who gravitate towards sinners and shun the righteous. Look at the preferences and allegiance of a Barabas generation…

Mark 15:6 Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.
Mark 15:7 And the man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection.
Mark 15:8 And the multitude went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.
Mark 15:9 And Pilate answered them, saying, Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?
Mark 15:10 For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered Him up because of envy.
Mark 15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the multitude to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.
Mark 15:12 And answering again, Pilate was saying to them, Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?
Mark 15:13 And they shouted back, Crucify Him!
Mark 15:14 But Pilate was saying to them, Why, what evil has He done? But they shouted all the more, Crucify Him!
Mark 15:15 And wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified.

The Barabas generation is easily manipulated by a political clergy and strangely attracted to rebels. The righteous are not secure at all in the hands of the Barabas generation. Jesus wasn’t. Even though they had welcomed and hailed Him, they quickly threw Him over for a popular anti-establishment radical.

2 Th. 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 Th. 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away (departure from the faith) first,

In studying the social chemistry of the Great Falling Away, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, the Barabas Generation meets the Sampson Leaders. Today’s modern Christian Culture provides a breeding ground for adulterous Pastors. Like Sampson, they have no resistance to the practice of adultery. “Gifted” church leaders who commit adultery, and remain in power, inspire immorality. It will become impossible to prevent the Great Falling Away when the stewards of the Covenant and its people have lost their sacred reverence.

Dan. 11:32 “And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant.

The pastor of a very large independent evangelical church in city recently left his wife & family, ran off with a woman in church and simply never came back. To the shock of his congregation and family, he was just “gone” one Sunday morning.

Another pastor of an old large Evangelical church within miles of the other, also ran off with a woman in the ministry there, and started another successful church a few miles up the road.

Our metro area also has one of America’s large, fast-growing churches, with a Pastor who left his first wife, while pastoring, years ago, to run off with the woman who is his current wife. Now their ministry is flourishing and his current wife is a leading women’s international conference speaker.

These guys ditch their wives WHILE IN THE MINISTRY, to run off with other women, and it only seems to boost their ministry. And all you seem to hear whenever an objection is raised against this behavior is, “You can’t judge! or, “He’s only human.”

Adultery among pastors is barely a bump in the road to success anymore. People seem absolutely willing to overlook on-the-job-adultery, as a disqualifier for ministry. Many people today gravitate towards pastors who are adulterers and seem to better relate to them.

The fiery faithless preacher is an encouragement for compromised Christians who are fed up with confrontation and instead, only want to be supported.  From among these ranks will the Great Falling Away take place.   this very hour, true Christians are being convicted, and the people who know their God will display strength and take action. A spiritual revolution is brewing…

More tomorrow…until then…

Stay On The Path!

Dan. 11:32 “And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant,but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

…but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].  – Amp. Bible

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The Bible talks of a day of deception – a time when the moral and intellectual climate of the world will be so unstable that it will be nearly impossible to grasp and hold onto the Truth. In fact, such a persistent state of spiritual vertigo will exist in the church that a great falling away from the faith will occur without even being detected by all but those who actually walk in the Light. It will seem as though those who really know their God have become the defectors, as the rest of the Church and the world spin off together into delusion. Clear-thinkers and Truth-tellers will appear to be outcasts in a world where all authorities will become polluted with lies and no one will even seem to notice.

Only those who know their God will have the ability to take action in the day of deception.

In such a time as this true Christians will be forced from the beds of compromise in a revolt of sincerity.Their hearts will not be able to find comfort in modern Christian culture, and it will become intolerable to them.

Christians will find prayer, Truth and the Presence of the Lord, as their only reliable access to reality, and will emerge from the sleepy social norm in pursuit of it.

We are headed into a great apostasy, which will provoke a revolution…a spiritual revolution.

Revolutions happen when people with a non-negotiable ideal find the present state of things intolerable. It was the stalemate between Saul and Goliath that brought David to prominence. And the stalemate between the modern church and the World will force the manifestation of those who know their God.

Christians who know their God will not settle for religious imprisonment. Spiritual revolution is not simply a rebellion against religion, but a quest for spiritual reality. It’s fighting through Christian culture in order to lay hold of Christ.

As institutions and churches fall into the fog of relativism, the individual Christian himself will have to take action on behalf of his own needs. Each true believer will have to challenge everything and no longer drink from the unfiltered streams. Christians who know their God will become the portable church in the day of institutional delusion.

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend (fight) for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow we will continue on the road to spiritual revolution. Until then…

Stay On The Path!

Heb. 10:35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us:

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Confidence is one of the greatest gifts in life. The ability to speak and move forward with certainty is the indicator of a healthy soul. True peace and happiness is reflected by confidence. Confidence is the heart-condition of one who knows he’s loved.

The opposite is true also, that uncertainty and indecision are like a virus to the soul and leave everything weak and sickly. If confidence is the fruit of being loved then torment is the byproduct of fear and uncertainty.

Everything you do requires confidence. Confidence is the voice of faith. The position of your confidence indicates the state of your heart.

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).

1 John 3:19-20 By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate, and pacify) our hearts in His presence, whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For we are in God’s hands.] For He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts), and He knows (perceives and understands)everything [nothing is hidden from Him].

1 John 3:21-22 And, beloved, if our consciences (our hearts) do not accuse us [if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us], we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God, and we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him.

1 John 3:23 And this is His order (His command, His injunction): that we should believe in (put our faith and trust in and adhere to and rely on) the name of His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and that we should love one another, just as He has commanded us (the simple focus of faith and love; and not the heavy burden of serving regulations).

Notice the ability of your heart to be self-condemning in spite of your practices or God’s assurance.

The Condemning Heart…

Your own heart can be out of phase with God’s thoughts towards you. Your own heart can be scarred by a thing called “sin-consciousness”, and be in need of healing.

Heb. 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

Heb. 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

The consciousness of sin can linger long after you’ve been forgiven. The human heart has a natural tendency to recoil in fear of the imperfections it feels when it comes into the presence of God. Those fears can be legitimate or just the result of flawed imperfection encountering perfect holiness. Sometimes our heart simply hangs on to the sense of guilt after forgiveness has already been obtained. From our text we can see that it’s possible to have a heart that sinks in self-guilt even though God, who “Knows all things”, has not condemn you. This is a condemning heart that needs to be rehabilitated to think according to God’s mercy. You cannot simply allow your heart or emotions to drive you with sin consciousness when God wants to lead you with mercy.

Your own heart’s attitude about yourself (before God) has the greatest impact on your confidence.

Though your heart will tell you something is wrong, its ability to discern the problem, if there is any, must come from God.

1 John 3:19-20 By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate, and pacify) our hearts in His presence, whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For we are in God’s hands.]

What to do if you suffer from weak confidence:

1. Know who God is, really – understand His ways – rightly divide the Word. Don’t just allow yourself to have a lop-sided view of God. Because your understanding of God will dictate how much you are able to receive from Him and how much of a block you will make for yourself. For example, most people view God as having an equal balance of judgment and mercy. But if that were the case we’d have a 50/50 chance of catching God in the right mood. But in fact, God’s mercy is above His judgment, and His inclination to offer forgiveness and grace surpasses His need to execute justice upon the guilty. Knowing this paves the way for confidence.

2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Psa. 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Psa. 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever.

Psa. 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Psa. 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Psa. 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Psa. 103:13 Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them that fear him.

Psa. 103:14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

2. Be a doer of the Royal Law: Love God and your neighbor.

3. Do not over complicate your faith. Stay focused on the basics – avoid the trap of legalism.

4. Pray effectively. If sin has damaged your confidence rehabilitate it through repentance in prayer. Don’t drag a self-destructive heart around with you. God’ wants to purge your sin-consciousness.

1 John 3:19-20 …whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty andcondemn us. [For we are in God’s hands.] For He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts), and He knows (perceives and understands) everything [nothing is hidden from Him].

Stay On The Path!

Phil. 3:12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Passion is a great thing. It seems that so much that is done, is accomplished through passion. People with passion have always egged me on. I get fired up around them. When I meet someone like that I just want to take them home, and keep them around me all the time. Sometimes we call it, “being on fire”; and tend to see it as simply being consumed with God. When I meet people who are in that state, it draws me into that place of abandon with God. I’m definitely not one of those people who get jealous, threatened or condemned by the presence of someone who’s burning in their zeal for God. Just the opposite; I become highly motivated by them. I guess I’m pretty “easy”.

However, there is an interesting side to passion that usually doesn’t show up in public. And that is emptiness. It’s as strange a condition as passion itself. And it seems to also occur in the lives of everyone who is possessed by passion. From Abraham to David; from John the Baptist to Paul; every passionate follower of God experiences emptiness. Passion is a renewable commodity, but it’s not perpetual. No one gets “set on fire” and then just goes-for-God the rest of their life. Paul describes a more realistic view of the pattern in our text:

“Not that I have already obtained it…but I press on in order that I may lay hold…”

The man motivated by passion has to exert effort to turn from his goal. He has to make an effort to fail. But apparently he also has to climb those mountains before he can just jet down the other side. In short, there are plenty of times when he has to make an effort to succeed; times when he must “press on”.

So where does the motivation to press on come from? David, Elijah, John the Baptist and Paul, all experienced times when they just seemed adrift, disillusioned and anything but passionate. Where do you go when passion’s fire isn’t burning?

The secret rests in one word Paul used in his text:

“…but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that …”

“That” is a reference to the calling of God upon your life. All true servants of God understand “that”. It is the thing that keeps them moving forward when the passion isn’t burning. It is the invisible fuel of faith, the inexplicable power of obedience, propelling you forward, not allowing you to quit, and pursuing the passion when the fire isn’t burning.

The ugly secret that every high-octane evangelist hides, isn’t concealed immorality, but emptiness; and how they deal with it. It is the true secret to passion. For passion is the result of pursuit.

“That (call)” has already taken hold of you. Paul basically said that he pursued that call with which Christ had taken hold of him. The call was not just on him, it was in him. It possessed him, and it possess YOU!

You can press against a lack of passion through the power of your calling.

Don’t base your ministry, your pursuit of Christ or your response to His commission, on passion; because passion comes and goes. Don’t make your walk with God dependent upon a “burden”, because what will you do when you don’t feel this burden? Base your obedience upon the call. It is the call with which Christ laid hold of you. And the call will keep you going, when all your personal reasons to follow Him have run out. No greater praise can you render than to love Him through your service, when you are stretched beyond your passion.

Stay On The Path!

John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The Christian straddles 2 different realities, in 2 different worlds: The reality of circumstances in the physical world, and the reality of God’’s Truth in the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven. For most people, circumstances seem more real and authoritative than the statements of God’’s Word, because they force themselves upon us. Life happens without having to go looking for it. But the promises and blessings of God’’s Word seem distant and unreal, because they must be sought and chosen; and they don’’t automatically fulfill themselves in our lives, just because they are God’’s will.

The same is often true of some of the natural advantages in this life. They are available, without discrimination, to whoever may pursue them. But most people never receive them simply because they either don’’t believe they can, or they’re more interested in other things. So it is, that just as many advantages in the world seem obscure and unreal to most people, so also does the reality of God’’s promises. Whether it’s the natural opportunities of life, or the wonderful blessings of God, the good things of life seem far less real to most people than life’’s unhappy circumstances.

1 John 4:4 Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.

The realities of God supercede the conditions of His created world. Yet it is not just God Who wills, but believers who insist upon the supremacy of His will, who determine that God’’s reality overrides the seeming tyranny of circumstances. To live under the benefits of God’’s reality depends upon you applying this simple progressive statement of truth:

1. Spiritual life is controlled by Faith…

2. Faith is shaped and controlled by Concept…

3. And no Concept is more critical to Faith than that of your Oneness with Jesus.

Eph. 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…

Grasping the concept of HOW Jesus Christ lives in you, is the absolute most important understanding you will ever have in life. Everything of any eternal consequence will depend upon your grasp on that truth. If you properly understand the concept of HOW Jesus is in you, and you in Him, then your faith will truly bridge the gap between Earth’’s circumstances and Heaven’s promises. It could be said this way:

You will have to stand on the revelation of Christ in YOU, if you ever hope to reach, see and experience the glory of God, that is yours.

Col. 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Here is a simple, visual demonstration you can perform, to illustrate for yourself the proper understanding of our oneness in Christ.

The Egg vs The Kool-Aide

Jesus as an Egg……

You are a pitcher of water. Drop the egg into the pitcher. Jesus is now IN you but the natures (elements) don’t mix. Egg remains egg, and water remains as unaffected water. No matter how much you stir it there is no oneness. His purity remains intact, and so does your sin-conscious identity. In this model you are nothing more than a religious container. There is no oneness between you and God. You might as well be sack.

Jesus as Kool-Aide……

Pour the Kool-Aide powder into the water. The Kool-Aide and water are instantly blended, changing the water to “Kool-Aide”. If you drink from the pitcher with the egg, the water is the same. It tastes and looks the same. But if you pour a glass of the Kool-Aide you don’t get water. You get something new.

2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh andnew has come!

Tomorrow we’ll look at some of that newness, so until then……

Stay On The Path!

1 Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

1 Pet. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

1 Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

If there was one truth that Peter carried away from his personal experiences with Jesus, it was that you can never glorify God in your own strength or power of reason.

Matt. 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

Matt. 16:22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

Matt. 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

Peter’s good intentions were not enough to make his offering of help acceptable. Sometimes it’s a hard lesson to learn, but glorifying God isn’t an outcome-based exercise, designed for immature children in order to affirm their insecurities. It’s serious business. What glorifies God is never a matter of sincere intentions. But it’s always a matter of yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Peter knew better than and man, that there was a world of difference between honoring God with our sincere praise and good works, and glorifying Him by yielding to the demonstration of the Holy Spirit.Professing his undying allegiance to Jesus was commendable, and demonstrated the affect Jesus had on men like Peter. But lifting the lame man at the Gate Beautiful so that he was healed in Jesus’ Name, thatglorified God. Peter knew, when he wrote 1 Peter 4:17, that only the work of the Spirit can glorify God. Man can honor God, pay tribute, give praise, acknowledge and credit God; but the Holy Spirit, with His divine influence, actually MANIFESTS God. And that is the difference.

It’s just like the difference between the beautiful statue that memorializes a great man and the presence of that man himself. Many churches pay sincere tribute to Jesus Christ, honor Him with their worship and activities, but don’t necessarily manifest Him. Honor, godly character and good deeds are a credit to God, but Glory manifests God. There is the glory of man, and then there is the glory of God. Jesus prayed that the Father would glorify Him with the glory He had from the beginning. This was a glory man could not give Him. This Glory is God Himself, and only the Holy Spirit can give it.

John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

The glory of any being emanates from the “self” of that being, and is the function of the intention of its Creator. Man is in his glory when he functions in those things that God designed him to do. When he leads, increases and manages the world. God is in His glory when He does those things that are uniquely His function: creating, showing love and mercy, healing, delivering, judging.

Consequently, Peter tells us that the unique high purpose to which we were redeemed, is the giving of glory to God, through Jesus Christ. And he specifically points out that this is more than simply allowing the glory of our own virtues to shine to Jesus credit; but rather to allow the Holy Spirit to work directly through us, that work which we can not perform without Him.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,

Stay On The Path!

1 Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

1 Pet. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

1 Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God receives the glory that “belongs” to Him, ONLY when we allow His Spirit to work through us. When we speak as the oracles of God; when we operate in the supernatural gifts that the Holy Spirit works through us; these are the avenues by which God glorifies Himself. This is very different from us utilizing our intellect and creative talents to honor God. For when we honor God by means of our abilities, God is indirectly glorified as the source of those abilities. In short, honoring God with the demonstration of our abilities, talents and intelligence, glorifies us as His creations. Giving Him credit as our Creator reflects our glory on Him. But when we yield to the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, or speak as the oracles of God, we are functioning as vessels, and God is literally glorified through us as we yield to Him. God is the only One who can actually glorify Himself. And He does this by demonstrating His nature through us.

Perhaps we need to understand glory. Glory is what happens when anything/anybody functions in its purpose. The Eagle glories when it soars. The Salmon glories when it climbs the watery mountain ladders.Man glories when he rules and manages creation. The glory of the Sun is it’s shining, the stars, their twinkling. God glories when He exerts His nature in His purposes. Therefore when we allow the Holy Spirit to put His words and power in our mouth and hands, God is functioning through us, and glorifying Himself in us. Speaking as the oracle of God, and delivering an impressive speech about God, are not the same thing. One glorifies man as he credits God. The other glorifies God and credits God. Allowing the Holy Spirit to demonstrate His Presence by the operation of His gift in you glorifies God. Why is this different than beautifully singing a song of praise or skillfully delivering a teaching? Because in the former case God is doing the work, but in the latter case, you are doing it. As a minor example:

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

They began to speak but the Spirit gave the utterance (ability to speak). God is directly glorifying Himself when we allow Him to do things through us that are supernatural and beyond the scope of our natural abilities. The difference between this and speaking by our own intelligence is immeasurable. It doesn’t matter that under our own intellect and abilities we sincerely honor God. That is both good and commendable. But Peter clearly points to a higher expression of praise than simply honoring God. He speaks of glorifying Him. Many Christians and churches have lost sight of the difference. Some have never known the difference. And Peter was not the only one who understood this distinction:

1 Cor. 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

1 Cor. 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1 Cor. 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

1 Cor. 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1 Cor. 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

If ever there were a man of brilliant ability, it was the man who spoke those words: the Apostle Paul. Yet he clearly saw that whatever he might gain for God, by applying his skills and native talents to the call, it could never begin to compare to the impact God Himself could make through Him. Let there be no misunderstanding; one must clearly choose to allow the Spirit to operate through him in utterance and demonstration. It will never be forced, but only sought and chosen.

1 Cor. 12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts:

1 Cor. 14:1 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

Consider plainly the principle of these verses. That the believer must yearn for a greater way to honor God than merely the reflected glory of his own expressions. For faith to rest in the power of God rather than the wisdom of men, a Christian must present the demonstration of the Spirit.

Today the growing dependence upon technology, drama, production, polish and performance, in the presentation of the Gospel, continues to lure the Church farther from dependence upon the demonstration of the Holy Spirit. The less Christians pray and seek the genuine manifestation of the Spirit (1 Co 12:7), the more we are left with only the bizarre, errant and flaky elements, giving a bad testimony to the power of God. The Prophet Jeremiah was surrounded by carnal false prophets and wanted to quit prophesying for fear of being identified with the flakes. But God still needed to be glorified, and that took precedent:

Jer. 20:9 If I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I can’t contain.

I would to God that His fire would burn in our bones so that we become jealous for His glory, and like Paul, seek to be demonstrators of the Holy Spirit: glorifiers of God.

Stay On The Path!

1 Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

1 Pet. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

1 Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Of all the elements that Peter lays out for a victorious Christian and a successful church:

Prayer

Fervent Love

Hospitality

Spiritual Gifts

Divine Utterance

There is none more neglected than the direct influence of the Holy Spirit upon the life of the church. We do lots for God but relatively little through God. If we were honest, we would have to admit that the Holy Spirit is more of a spectator than a leader in today’s Christian Church. Prayer, Love and Hospitality are usually the subjects of a fair amount of organizational attention and programming. But the church is largely designed to roll right along without the execution of spiritual gifts. And we are so mesmerized by academic prowess and clever oratory, that divine utterance is either immaterial or assumed. What percentage of our speaking and public address would be eliminated if we were suddenly forced to conform to Peter’s rule: If you’re going to speak, be certain that God is speaking through you? To many Christians it must seem down right unreasonable to have to have divine utterance in order to address the Church. However, consider God’s perspective (for a change). Peter says that the only way to truly insure that God is being glorified is for He Himself to be influencing the speaker and empowering the doer. Whatever is done for God’s benefit, but without His direct influence, is sure to fall short of glorifying Him. Jesus set up His Church so that we would come under the operational control of the Holy Spirit. All preaching, counseling, healing and helping was to be done through people being moved under the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

1 Cor. 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1 Cor. 2:5