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AWAKE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS, BOOK ONE
A six month devotional taken from the daily essays of Robert B. Thompson sent by E-mail.
Compiled and Edited by
Edward J. Reiter
Copyright © 2006 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved
KEEPING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:20)
Perhaps the greatest need of the hour is for us Christians to keep God’s commandments, to joyously walk in righteousness.
There are numerous commandments listed in the New Testament, beginning with the Gospel of Matthew and going through to the Book of Revelation. God expects us to keep His commandments, to think righteously, to speak righteously, and to act righteously. The commandments given in the New Testament range all the way from not stealing, keeping pure sexually, not coveting, forgiving our enemies, taking up our cross and following the Lord Jesus, to presenting our body to God as a living sacrifice.
God has shown us what is good. He desires that we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
Once while traveling by airplane I was working on my notebook computer.
The stewardess looked over my shoulder and said, "What are you writing about?"
I answered, "I am a Christian and I am writing about the need for us to behave righteously."
She exclaimed, "I am a Christian but I hate the word righteousness!"
Why would a believer hate the word righteousness? This is strange because righteous behavior is one of the main topics of the Bible. The righteous Lord loves upright, honest, truthful, faithful behavior. Isn’t that true? The very scepter of the Lord Jesus is a scepter of righteousness.
It is difficult for non-Christians to behave righteously although many do. But we Christians have access to the very Throne of Grace to obtain wisdom and strength so we can keep God’s commandments. We have the body and blood of Christ. We have the Holy Spirit. We have the New Testament writings. We have the elders and the assembling of saints to guide and strengthen us.
With the help of Jesus through His Holy Spirit we can keep God’s commandments. We can overcome the evil in the world.
As we keep God’s commandments we grow in eternal life. We gain love, joy, and peace of mind. Other people see our good works and glorify God. The light of our life influences all of those who are around us and they become curious about the hope we have.
But when we do not keep God’s commandments the opposite is true. We do not grow in Christ, in eternal life. We gain bitterness, misery, and turmoil. Other people are not led to the Lord. They do not ask us about our great hope.
Some of the countries that have been thoroughly evangelized are engaging in civil war; others are crumbling in moral decay, sexual perversion, violence, and drugs. Why is this? Perhaps we have not made disciples of the new believers or taught them to keep the holy commandments written to us by the Apostles of the Lamb. Perhaps we are emphasizing the grace of forgiveness and mercy in a time when the grace of spiritual growth needs to be stressed.
Let us all keep God’s commandments, practice righteousness, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Then we are building our house on the rock. Others will come to Jesus and, in addition, God will heal our land.
We show Christ our love for Him by keeping His commandments.
January 2nd
FAITH AND WORKS
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (Philippians 3:8)
In order to win Christ we must keep faith and works in balance.
The Apostle Paul tells us we are saved by grace through faith. He also wrote toward the end of his life that he had suffered the loss of all things in order to win Christ. He was reaching toward the mark of perfection—the resurrection from among the dead. He exhorted us to be of the same mind.
Obviously there is more to salvation than confessing with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, unless we are referring to making this confession and belief the center of all we think, say, and do during each day.
Paul says we are justified (righteous in God’s sight) by faith. James, writing by the same Holy Spirit, says we are justified by works. Does the Bible contradict itself? Did Jesus do it all or is there a required response on our part? Is there really an abstract faith that has a life of its own or is it true that faith lives only in works of righteousness? How do you feel about this?
Paul pointed out that Divine grace is an alternative to the Law of Moses. Paul also indicated that the grace of God received correctly brings forth a new righteous creation. If the Apostle Paul had presented Divine grace as an alternative to righteous behavior his writings would be inconsistent.
James says, "I will show you my faith by my works." Does faith bring us to the land of promise while we sit in Egypt, or do we have to go through the wilderness of temptations and then follow the Lord in battle into our land of promise?
Can you imagine the Israelite sitting in Egypt, eating from the pot of fish and vegetables, and exclaiming that God was bringing him into the land of milk and honey?
The most marvelous goal has been set before us—that of being changed into the moral image (and finally bodily image) of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God would have us set this goal before us as a mark, as a treasure that is the objective of our quest. There are many adversaries as the experienced Christian understands very well. Yet if we press forward with joyful confidence in the Lord we can and we shall reach the finish line.
You may have been a Christian for many years and are tired and discouraged. It is time now to get up and fight the good fight of faith. The water of the Spirit is beginning to trickle out from under the threshold of the temple of God. On the horizon there is a cloud the size of a man’s hand.
Fasten the robe of salvation about you and begin to run for a deluge is upon us.
The Kingdom of God, the doing of God’s will in the earth, is at hand!
Paul says we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul also told Timothy that he would save himself and his hearers by being diligent in the things of Christ. If one statement is of God, then so is the other.
January 3rd
THE LORD JESUS SAVES US FROM OUR SINS
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
The Lord Jesus forgives our sins and then saves us from our sins.
There is a time when the grace of God needs to be emphasized. The discouraged, frightened sinner needs to know he doesn’t have to release himself from his own chains and earn the approval of God. Divine grace stands ready to forgive, to cleanse, to heal, to completely restore.
Then there is a time when growth in Christ needs to be emphasized. We think we are living in such an hour. We are of little use for God’s kingdom purposes until we begin to grow spiritually.
To grow spiritually is to be able to recognize the difference between good and evil and to have the desire and strength to choose the good and refuse the evil.
This is what salvation is—deliverance from the person and works of Satan.
There is a clear, decisive beginning of salvation when we recognize our need of the Savior and come to Him for forgiveness of sin.
There is a clear, Divinely guided working out of our salvation. The working out of our salvation includes deliverance from worldliness, the lusts of our flesh, and the bondage of self-will and self-seeking. It is an unwrapping of the graveclothes from Lazarus.
There is a salvation to come in the last days. The future salvation will include the clothing of our personality with a new body, a robe of righteousness being formed in Heaven as we patiently keep our present garment of flesh clean by confessing of our sins and turning away from them.
As we are being saved from sin we can live joyously in God’s Presence and participate in the roles and tasks of the Kingdom of God.
It has been said that the purpose of the commandments given in the Bible is to bring us to Christ. The idea is that when we see how far we are from God’s laws we will recognize we have to be saved by the merits of Christ. This is true if interpreted correctly.
There is more to the Divine plan, however. After we are forgiven through the blood of the righteous Jesus there is a life to be lived. In order to live that life as God would have us live it we must abide in Christ. We must continually look to Him so His Presence and virtue are overshadowing all we are and do.
When we abide in Christ the fruit of righteousness comes forth in our personality. We do not have to strain to bear fruit any more than a tree has to strain to bear apples. But we do have to abide in Christ. The fruit of righteousness is not the fruit of the Christian but the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of godliness comes forth naturally when we are abiding in Christ.
We are to do more than call Jesus "Lord." We are to keep His commandments. We can do this joyously and completely because the Divine Fullness is in Him and He is in us.
The Christian salvation includes forgiveness and deliverance from sin. When deliverance does not follow forgiveness, the purpose of forgiveness is aborted.
January 4th
THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (I Thessalonians 4:16)
The Lord Jesus will return to earth (in the near future we hope!) and bring justice and peace to this sin-sick world. The pains of the groaning creation are the pains of birth. The Kingdom of God is soon to be born.
When the Lord returns, the dead in Christ will rise. Then we who are living at that time will be changed into immortality and caught up in the clouds along with the saints whom the Lord will bring with Him.
Let us think for a moment about two facts. The first fact is that it is the dead "in Christ" who will rise at His appearing. The second is that they will "rise."
What does it mean to be "in Christ"? It means we are living in Him, thinking in Him, speaking in Him. He is dwelling in us and we in Him.
If any person is in Christ he or she is a new person.
To abide in Christ is to meet Him the first thing every morning, greeting Him as Lord of our Life. Then, after having sought His will for the day, we are to order our steps in a manner pleasing to God, including setting aside time for prayer and seeking the Lord and also for meditating in the Bible.
It is one matter to make an initial profession of Christ. It is another matter to work out our own salvation with meekness and fear. There is an initial salvation. There is a continuing salvation. Then there is a salvation that will come to us with the appearing of the Lord Jesus. None of these is to be emphasized at the expense of the others if we would remain "in Christ."
What does it mean to "rise"? It means to be resurrected. The resurrection of the physical body, its change into immortality, is referred to as the redemption of the body. It is the overcoming of the "last enemy." Since mortality is the last enemy to be overcome, all other enemies must first be conquered.
As we press along in our daily walk with the Lord we are fighting against the forces of sin and death. The only way we can overcome the evil that comes against us is to abide in Christ. The evil in the world is becoming worse each day. When we keep living in Jesus we gain the wisdom and strength to live victoriously. Only the Divine virtue found in the body and blood of the Lord contains enough good to enable us to overcome the perversity of the ever increasing malice and wickedness.
Let us be counted among the wise virgins who will be ready to go to the wedding when the Lord comes. Where the carcass of the slain Lamb is, there will those be gathered who live by eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
The Christian salvation does not always change where we are but of necessity always changes what we are.
January 5th
WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:11,12)
Just what is Divine grace, the grace that comes to us through Christ?
We are saved by grace rather than by observing the Law of Moses. We know that when we come to Jesus we are forgiven because of the blood atonement made by Him on the cross of Calvary.
It has been said that grace is unmerited favor. This is true. In fact, all that God has done for man since the creation is unmerited favor, and so God’s grace has always filled the earth and His glory can be seen everywhere we look.
Great grace is upon us when we abide in the Lord Jesus. Divine grace includes strength, wisdom, joy, peace, love—in fact, all that is desirable in life. There is a grace for living and then a grace for dying. There is a grace by which we give of our material possessions. Grace is given to us so we may be able to serve the Lord and to bear witness of His atoning death and triumphant resurrection.
The grace of God brings salvation. Divine grace teaches and enables us to live soberly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present world.
Can you think of one sentence that sums up the meaning of Divine grace? What do you think of the following? Grace is the Presence of God in Christ Jesus through which we by faith are able to reach the mark God has set before us, and to do so joyously.
It appears our understanding of Divine grace is confused—probably because we are Gentiles. Whenever the Apostle Paul stressed grace as opposed to works, as he did in the books of Romans and Galatians, for example, Paul was reacting to the Law of Moses.
The first Christian church comprised five thousand Law-keeping Jews who understood little or nothing of the grace of God. Paul, himself a Jew, was entrusted by the Lord Jesus with the responsibility of explaining the relationship of the Law of Moses to the grace of God in Messiah Jesus—a theological controversy existing to the present hour.
There is simplicity in Christ but doctrine can be complex!
To us Gentiles, not coming from the background of a Law-keeping Jew seeking righteousness, as was true of the Apostle Paul, it appears that Paul is saying Divine grace is an alternative to righteous behavior (instead of an alternative to the Law of Moses). We think now that grace has appeared there is no need to attempt to live righteously.
If there exists a greater error in theology or philosophy we do not know of it. The misunderstanding of the purpose of Divine grace has wrecked the intention of God under the new covenant!
Divine grace is not a substitute for righteous conduct. Rather, Divine grace is God in Christ enabling us to become a new righteous creation.
Are we correct in this? What do you think?
Grace is an alternative to the Law of Moses, not to righteous behavior.
January 6th
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Jeremiah 23:6)
It is commonly believed among Christians that the Lord Jesus is our righteousness. By this we mean we have no righteousness of our own and so God has assigned to us the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness of the One who kept the Law of Moses perfectly.
Let us look more deeply into the expression "The Lord Our Righteousness." Our minds go back to an expression found in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Isaiah, the passage that was chanted during the celebration of the Jewish feast of Tabernacles: "Behold God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation."
As we press forward past the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Passover and begin to enter the feast of Tabernacles we discover we have been playing volleyball with God. "You do this and I will do that. You do that and I will do this."
Now we are going over to the same side of the net.
God no longer is saving us, He Himself has become our salvation.
We no longer are attempting to get God to do something, we are trusting Him and no longer are afraid.
The Lord Himself has become our strength. The Lord Himself has become our song. The Lord Himself has become our salvation.
THE LORD HIMSELF HAS BECOME OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
This does not mean we no longer pray or seek the Lord or cease asking for our desires. We have not arrived as yet in the perfect rest of God where His will and our will have become one. And we never will arrive there unless we keep on praying, seeking, asking, and, with the Lord’s help, striving to keep all of His commandments.
We are pressing toward the mark. Our desire is that Christ Himself live in us, for this is the fulfillment of the new covenant and the rest of God.
Many of us have been as far as the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish feast of Passover. This is to say, we have received the blood atonement and have been born again of the Spirit of God.
Others of us have come to the feast of Pentecost. We are entering life lived in the Spirit of God. It is God’s will for all people that they live in the Spirit of God.
Now we are being called to the third feast, the feast of Tabernacles. As we keep God’s commandments the Father and the Son come to us and make Their abode with us. Do you feel that calling today? It is the third great work of grace. Ask Jesus into your heart in a greater way than you have known.
When the Lord Himself becomes our righteousness then the light of the moral Nature of Jesus will be revealed in us. People will see our good works and glorify God.
Then it will be true that we ourselves will be termed "The Lord our righteousness."
In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. (Jeremiah 33:16)
Can you think of anything more wonderful than that?
To be fully redeemed is to be brought out from the presence and all the works of Satan into total conformity to the image of Christ and untroubled rest in the Father through Christ.
January 7th
FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)
We Christians have Christ in our heart. But there is much, much more for us. Because we are entering a morally dark period of history, God has prepared for us a fullness of Divine life that will make us more than conquerors through Christ.
The saints at Ephesus had been saved and filled with God’s Spirit, as we understand from the context of the epistle. And yet the Apostle Paul prayed for them. If we were to pray for someone who already had been saved and filled with God’s Spirit, would we pray for him or her as Paul prayed:
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That he be strengthened with might by God’s Spirit in the inner man?
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That Christ may dwell in his heart by faith?
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That he increase in the understanding of Christ’s love and God’s salvation?
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That he or she be filled with all the fullness of God?
Have you ever prayed for a believer in this way?
The days in which we are living are increasingly filled with malice and every form of perversity and wickedness. Perhaps you have already encountered such evil and are becoming bitter and angry because of the injustice of it all.
God has something better for you than anger and bitterness. God has promised in His Word that if we will keep the commandments of Christ, God will love us and will come in His Fullness and dwell with us.
Then when Satan and his helpers come knocking on our door we have Someone who will answer for us—Someone who has all power in Heaven and on the earth.
We do not need to become angry. God will respond to the enemy.
All things work together for good for those who love God. The spiritual darkness that is increasing will serve only to make the light of Christ, who is the glorious image of God, shine ever brighter.
Don’t focus on what the Devil is doing. Focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. He sits as King of the flood of your life. You will yet sing and dance in the heights of Zion when the lawlessness surrounding you is creating desolation.
Aren’t we supposed to be concerned about the world? Yes, we are. God is! But fretting about evil will lead us only into sin.
All God requires of any of us is to perform with all diligence that which God has given him or her to do, in the meantime seeking the Presence and will of the Lord each day. If we will do this we can rest in God, knowing we have done what we could to aid our generation.
Be encouraged in the Lord! Think only about what is pure, peaceable, and lovely. Refuse to pay attention to Satan as he bangs on his pots and pans seeking your attention. Ignore the evil unless the Lord directs you to do something about it.
We are not to fret ourselves concerning the evil. To do so only destroys our confidence and trust in Christ.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Be filled with all the fullness of God!
Look at Jesus and walk on the water. Look at the waves and sink.
January 8th
TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (Revelation 21:7)
The promises we normally think of as being for Christians are addressed to "him who overcomes."
What does it mean "to overcome"? What is it we are to overcome? How do we overcome?
To overcome means to conquer an adversary, to conquer someone or something that is seeking to prevent the Christian from attaining his or her objective. The objective of the believer in Christ is to be in the moral image of Christ and to be resting in untroubled union with Christ in God.
It is God’s will that everyone whom He has called to Himself be in the image of His Son and be at rest in His Person and will.
The believer in the Lord Jesus has three adversaries, three forces that strive constantly to prevent him from being in the moral image of Christ and from resting in God’s will for his life.
The first enemy is the spirit of this present world. The values of the world often are in direct opposition to God’s values. Whoever is drinking of the waters of the world will find himself having a difficult time walking in the steps of Jesus and resting in God’s will. Let us come out of the world and spend time with God.
The first temptation of man has to do with finding survival and security in the world rather than in the Lord.
The second enemy is the sin that dwells in our flesh. Satan uses these weaknesses in us as entrances. When we are burning with lust or violence or covetousness we do not behave as Jesus behaves. We refuse the gently flowing waters of Shiloah. There are no green pastures in which to lie down, only the passions of the flesh that give no rest.
The second temptation of man has to do with finding joy and worship in Satan and our flesh rather than in the Lord. Adam and Eve had a problem with this one.
The third adversary is our self-will. The only legitimate will in the universe is God’s will, His Kingdom. We do not have to create our own heaven and earth. Our task is to find the plan of God for our life.
The third temptation has to do with jumping off the gable of the Temple. Are we to wait on God for success and achievement or are we to use the Scriptures to "step out in faith"?
How do we conquer the world, our flesh, and our self-will? By seeking God continually. By praying and obeying. By meditating each day in the Scriptures. By entering the Holy of Holies and receiving grace so we may be able to resist Satan and have fellowship with God.
God could have made things so we had nothing to overcome. But God is preparing rulers who will prevent future rebellions against His will. By the process of overcoming we develop character—the kind of character that will be necessary if we are to be royal priests during the ages to come.
You cannot overcome the three enemies of man by your own strength and wisdom. But you can overcome them through Christ Jesus. Remember that. You can through Christ be more than a conqueror no matter in what condition you find yourself.
Through His riches in glory you can overcome!
The Lake of Fire has authority over specific behaviors. Until through Christ we overcome those behaviors the Lake of Fire has authority over that part of our personality. He who overcomes shall not be harmed by the second death.
January 9th
CHRISTIANS ARE DISCIPLES
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. (Acts 11:26)
A Christian by definition is a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth. Are you a disciple of the Lord Jesus? Am I?
What is a disciple? A disciple is someone who views another person as his or her master. The master speaks and the disciple listens and learns.
Where the master goes, the disciple follows.
The Lord Jesus told us that in order to be His disciple we would have to lay down our life in the present world, take up our cross, and follow Him.
What does it mean to lay down our life in the present world? It means to count we have died to all we hold dear and to embark on a quest for another security, another joy, another fulfillment. This is why it is difficult for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God. They find security, joy, and fulfillment by using their money. They have tasted the "old wine" and they do not desire the new.
To die to all we hold dear does not mean we neglect our family, our job, or any other responsibility. No true Christian neglects his or her responsibilities. But we must put all on the altar so there are no idols in our life. Only then can we have peace. God gives and God takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
The reason believers have difficulty serving the Lord is they do not have the sentence of death in themselves that they should not trust in themselves but in God who raises the dead.
What does it mean to take up our cross? Every would-be disciple is issued some factor in his life that acts as a prison. Usually it is something he wants very badly but in order to get it he has to break God’s laws. He thirsts! Sometimes he must continue in a detestable situation he cannot change without breaking out of the Divine incarceration. He is shut up and cannot come forth.
He remains off balance all his life because of his cross, the thorn that pierces his flesh. No person can be a disciple of Jesus if he refuses to carry his cross. The individual who makes the best of it, concentrating on the joy that is ahead instead of his pain, will find in the end his self-will has been destroyed and he is at rest in the Father through Christ.
What does it mean to follow Jesus? It means to look each moment of every day to the living Lord Jesus, listening for His voice, watching for His Presence. When we do not trust in our own understanding but acknowledge the Lord in all our ways He directs our path. We do not always hear His voice (sometimes we do!) but He directs our path in any case.
Are you a disciple? Am I?
Are you a Christian? Am I?
The true Christian, the disciple of the Lord Jesus, does not neglect his salvation. He always is busy serving the Lord with a pure heart.
January 10th
WORKING ON A BUILDING
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (II Corinthians 4:17)
We need to think more about the day of resurrection. What kind of body will we receive? Will our conduct today have any effect on the body we will receive?
We know the body we have now will be raised from the dead when the Lord returns. But what about our house that is being prepared in Heaven, the robe we will be given in that day that will clothe our resurrected body?
The third chapter of Revelation speaks of our being clothed with a white robe. The same chapter also implies that if we have soiled our clothing we may not be given a white robe when the Lord appears.
The seventh chapter of Revelation tells of those who have come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The nineteenth chapter of Revelation reveals that the Bride of the Lamb will be clothed with the white robe of her righteous deeds.
Paul reminds us in Galatians that we shall reap what we are sowing.
In Second Corinthians, Chapter Four Paul describes the renewal of his inner man as his outer man is brought down to death. Then he mentions that his afflictions are producing an eternal weight of glory that far exceeds his comprehension. In the next chapter Paul speaks of his house from Heaven. Since there were no chapter divisions when the New Testament was written we think that by an eternal weight of glory Paul was speaking of his house from Heaven.
Paul was saying the afflictions that came on him were resulting in a resurrected inner man and also a strengthened house from Heaven, a better resurrection.
In the same chapter (Five, of Second Corinthians) Paul reminds us that at the Judgment Seat of Christ we shall receive what we have done in our body, whether good or bad.
Putting all these ideas together we conclude that what we are doing today will directly affect the kind of resurrection we shall have, that is, the kind of house that will clothe our resurrected mortal body.
If we have neglected our salvation, have lived according to the appetites of our body, have not sought out and obeyed the Lord’s will, we will be clothed with a body that is neglectful of God’s salvation, is filled with the death that always results from living in the appetites of the flesh, and neither seeks nor obeys the Lord’s will.
If we have worked out our salvation with fear and trembling, being careful to seek the Lord and obey Him, have prayed, meditated in the Word of God, and have kept the appetites of our body under submission to the Spirit of God, then we will be clothed with a body that fears God and keeps His commandments, that seeks the Lord and sternly obeys His will, that loves to pray and meditate in God’s Word, and that is able to judge and govern the works of God’s hands by the power of incorruptible, resurrection life.
All this is to say if we bury our talent we will end up in the outer darkness. If we diligently apply our talent, we will be placed in a position of rulership, receiving the approval of the Lord.
Have we cut a straight course in the Word of truth? How do you feel about this?
Dying will not change what you are in personality. The coming of the Lord will not change what you are in personality. Only Jesus Christ can change what you are in personality and He is ready to change you right now. Tomorrow may be too late if you are not faithful today.
January 11th
YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
What does it mean to be "born again"? This phrase has become common in America and probably in many other countries. People speak of being a "born again Christian."
Jesus said we must be born again if we are to see or enter the Kingdom of God. Why is it necessary to be born again?
Being born again is necessary because of the nature of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God does not consist of flesh and blood people but of a new kind of humanity—a humanity that has been born of God. People are born from other people. The members of the Kingdom of God have been born from other people but also from God. They have been born a second time. This is not a figure of speech. When we come to Christ we actually receive the very Life of God into our personality.
Let us say God commanded a monkey to play the piano. Perhaps after consuming a thousand bananas the monkey learned to find middle C and to push down the keys of the C major scale. This would be a remarkable achievement and worthy of a job in the circus. But how many bananas would be required if the monkey is to learn a Beethoven sonata?
So it is with us. We have been commanded to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. This indeed would be a remarkable achievement but there are not enough "bananas" in the world to do the job.
Now let us imagine Beethoven is born in the monkey and each day the monkey nature is being subdued and the abilities of Beethoven are becoming ever more prominent. It will not be long before we are hearing more than the C major scale. All the monkey will need then is a body like that of Beethoven.
Does something similar take place when Christ is born in the believer? Each day the Adamic nature is being subdued and the Character of Christ is becoming ever more prominent. What occurs? You guessed it. We begin to see evidences of the Divine Nature here and there. All we shall need then is a body like that of Christ.
The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Adamic man has as much chance of gaining righteousness, peace, and joy as a monkey does playing Chopin’s Preludes.
No amount of religious "bananas" will accomplish our goal. If we are to please God we must be born again of Christ Jesus.
Perhaps you are a Christian but have become discouraged along the way. Why not count that your old nature died on the cross with Christ and cultivate your new born-again nature by praying, meditating in the Scriptures, and obeying the Lord diligently in all He commands?
You and those around you will be amazed when they see a new personality coming forth.
The holy city, the new Jerusalem, is not holy because God sees the inhabitants through Christ but because Christ has made them actually holy.
January 12th
THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:39)
We saints need to get a firmer grasp on the calling of God. The royal priesthood is not a group of people who randomly chose themselves. The members were called of God when the world was created. Each one is a "saint," that is, someone who has been called by the Lord to be set apart for His special purposes.
The term church literally means "called out from."
We hear people say "I was called to be a mechanic; I was called to be a salesman; I was called to be a housewife."
No you weren’t. You may have abilities in some areas. God might lead you to be a mechanic or salesman or housewife. But your calling is to be a member of the royal priesthood.
There are a variety of gifts and ministries mentioned in the New Testament but none of them has to with being a mechanic, a salesman, or a housewife. Rather they are Divinely endowed abilities with which we are to build up the Body of Christ so that each member may be perfect as measured by the full stature of Christ.
God has tremendous needs. He is calling out of the world a royal priesthood. He needs a wife for the Lamb. He needs living stones for His temple. He needs brothers for His Son. He needs rulers and judges to govern His creation. He needs people who will be expressions of His Person, His will, His way, and His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus.
It is only as we begin to grow to maturity in Christ that we can serve satisfactorily as a royal priest, a member of the Wife of the Lamb, a living stone in God’s eternal temple, a brother of God’s Son, an expression of God’s Person, will, way, and eternal purpose.
If you are a Christian, you have but one calling. Your calling is to be a saint, a holy one, a king, a priest of God. Take your calling seriously. Come out of the spirit of the age, its lusts, its malice, its violence, its covetousness. Ask God to help you purify yourself. You will be a better mechanic, salesman, or housewife if you do.
You are God’s eternal servant, His witness to His creation. You are being formed now. Although God has a purpose for you in the present world, your fullest witness and service will be given throughout the endless ages to come. This is why it is more critical that you live and minister in integrity now, playing by the rules of the game, than it is that you accomplish some great thing in the church world. How terrible to have a worldwide ministry now and then after you die have the Lord say, "I never knew you"!
God has called you to be a royal priest. It is His will that you not disqualify yourself but reach the mark set before you. This you can and shall do because Christ will help you at every point along the way.
Go for it!
If you go through life and miss the plan of Christ for you, you have missed everything of lasting value.
January 13th
CHRIST SITS AS KING OF THE FLOOD
The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. (Psalms 29:10)
The floods are coming upon the world, upon the churches, upon families, upon individuals. The waves and the seas are roaring, so to speak. Everything is being shaken.
The values and expectations to which we once were accustomed are shifting and changing. Surely the Lord has founded the world and its inhabitants on the seas and the waters, on that which is unstable.
Abraham looked for a city that has foundations. How did he know about the new Jerusalem?
Thoughtful people, people of integrity, are not pleased with a world that is constantly shifting and changing. They like to have their life, their home, their family, their moral values, solid and unchanging. These are the builders who create and hold the world together so it is not given over to bread and circus, as in ancient Rome.
But where can they find a foundation to build on? Utopian dreamers throughout the centuries—philosophers, teachers, statesmen—have advanced plans to bring mankind to security and peace. The Lord Jesus told us we would have wars and other problems. Who has proven correct?
Democracy is supposed to be the answer to social oppression. Democracy is producing social anarchy as self-seeking people fill the power vacuum.
Today there are politicians, teachers, psychologists who are promising a bright new world. People never seem to learn! Their well-intentioned schemes will lead only to more anarchy, more poverty, more distress and anguish as is true today in so much of the world.
Indeed a bright new world is coming but only through Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God is at hand.
How about you? Has the shaking caught up to you? Are you wondering why your tidy home—perhaps a Christian home—has suddenly been torn asunder? You have been a church attender and have tried to interest your children in the things of God. Now your husband is ready to run off with another believer. One son is living with an older woman. Another son is going to court because of involvement in a gang shooting. Your daughter is on drugs.
Your world has come to an end, or so it seems.
Listen carefully! The Lord Jesus sits as King of the flood. His power and love have no end. Bring your problems before Him. You do not need to know any religious formulas. Cry out, "Help, Lord!" He—the living God—will bow the heavens and come down. The foundations of the earth will be revealed. The valleys of the sea will be uncovered. The clouds will be the dust of His feet.
He will give you peace in the midst of your monumental problems. As you follow Him, He will bring light out of darkness, order from chaos. That which seemed to have no solution will suddenly resolve. Little by little you and your loved ones will be placed on an unshakable foundation. Best of all you will come to know the Lord. And this is the greatest gift of all for you will take that knowledge past the grave into the new world of righteousness.
You thought He had forgotten you. But all this has happened that you might pass from the ranks of those who have heard about God to those who know the Lord.
God gives us things to overcome in order to form our character.
January 14th
THE SECOND GOAT
But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. (Leviticus 16:10)
Two goats were used during the annual Day of Atonement. The first goat was slain and its blood sprinkled upon and before the Mercy Seat to make an atonement for the tribes of Israel.
The second goat was "presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him." Notice carefully that the blood of the second goat was not offered. The goat remained alive and yet it was part of the atonement.
What is this telling us?
The Lord Jesus is the spiritual fulfillment of both goats. The Lord Jesus was slain to make an atonement by the sprinkling of His blood. The Lord Jesus also remains alive and His Life is an important part of the atonement.
The first part of the atonement, that of appeasing God’s justice by means of the shedding of the innocent blood, has been preached faithfully and clearly throughout the centuries of the Christian Era.
The second part of the atonement, the removal of sin from the camp, may not have been as clearly understood. Perhaps now is the time when the second part of the atonement will be preached and experienced.
The Lord Jesus has saved us in our sins. Now He is ready to save us from our sins.
The Lamb of God has made an atonement for the sins of the world. Now He is ready to take away the sins of the world.
Several passages of the New Testament reveal that the program of our salvation is past, present, and future. The Bible speaks of a future hope, a future salvation to come in the last days. We are saved by hope, the hope that our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Christ was offered to bear the sins of many. It is written that He shall come the second time without sin unto salvation.
Malachi predicts the coming of One who will purify the sons of Levi, the royal priesthood.
It is clear from Scripture that when the Church is presented to the Lamb it will be without spot or wrinkle. We have faith that a glorious Day of Redemption is soon to appear in which we who have patiently followed the Lord will be like Him.
We think the coming Day of the Lord is casting its shadow beforehand, that the Lord is ready to help us cast off the graveclothes of sin and self-will so we will be ready to appear with Him in glory. Lazarus has been summoned from the dead still bound.
We are not to fret ourselves when we see the maturing of the tares in the world. God will give us more grace and glory, and the tribulations and persecutions produced by the maturing of wickedness will serve to press the believers into the Person and image of the Lord Jesus. Where sin abounds, grace will much more abound. All things are still working together for good!
A salvation that forgives the guilt of our sin is marvelous beyond words. A salvation that not only forgives our sins but actually removes them is even more marvelous and beyond all we could hope or think.
Be encouraged in the Lord. Forget the things that are past. Confess your sins to the Lord and see for yourself if the strength is there to enable you to turn away from them.
You yet will be free from your graveclothes and will dance on the mountains of spices with the Lord!
Salvation includes forgiveness and deliverance. Forgiveness comes instantly as we call on the name of the Lord Jesus. Deliverance is accomplished over a period of time as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
January 15th
MOVING PAST PENTECOST
Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: (Deuteronomy 16:16)
All families of the great Christian body are familiar with the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish "feast of unleavened bread," that is, with repentance, water baptism, and being born again. This is the basic message of the Gospel. Many soldiers of the cross have given their lives that whoever will do so might believe, be baptized, and thus be saved.
Around the turn of the century the "feast of weeks" (Pentecost) was added. Those who have embraced the phenomena of the Spirit have learned that it is only by the Spirit we can truly minister and only by the Spirit we can keep from obeying the lusts of our flesh.
But the act of salvation includes three great platforms, not just two. The types of the Bible reveal three installations of the grace of God, three interventions of God in man’s transformation, such as the three convocations of Israel or the three areas of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. It is on the third day that there is a wedding in Cana of Galilee.
Are you ready to move past Pentecost in your experience with God?
The "feast of Tabernacles," the convocation after Pentecost, portrays God’s great plan, which is to dwell in His people.
Unlike the other creatures of God (as far as we know), human beings were made in half. We are either male or female. Why were we made this way? Why were we made so vulnerable in the realm of relationships?
The answer is, man was made to be the dwelling place of God and also to be the gate through which others can find rest in God. The person who is alone, without God or other people, needs to be ministered to. It is not good that man be alone.
In basic salvation we receive the blood of God’s Lamb so we might have the authority to enter the Kingdom. In Pentecost we receive the wisdom and power by which we enter the Kingdom. Neither of these is the Kingdom. They are the authority and ability to enter the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is God in Christ in the saints loving, governing, and blessing the creatures of God.
Passing from "Pentecost" to "Tabernacles" requires a fierce warfare as all that is not of God’s Kingdom is driven from our personality. But there comes a day when we have received double for our sins, when our warfare has been accomplished, when our iniquity has been pardoned.
God tears before He binds up. He is angry and we are rebuked and chastised before His glorious Presence finds untroubled rest in us.
Does this speak to your heart? Are you a seasoned Christian who suddenly is being faced with the unfathomable deceit of your own inner nature?
Rejoice! You are moving from Pentecost to Tabernacles. When you come forth from the fire only your bondages will have been burned away. The Son of God has been with you in the fire.
We have compassed the mountain of Pentecost long enough. Let’s move on toward the land of promise.
The goal of salvation is to be changed into the image of Christ and brought into untroubled rest in Christ in the Father.
January 16th
THE WHEAT AND THE TARES
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matthew 13:30)
The tares are those who act wickedly and the wheat are those who act righteously. After all has been said and done, after all the scaffolding of religion has been removed, this is what it boils down to: the tares are those who act wickedly and the wheat are those who act righteously.
The primary goal of every righteous person, whether he knows it or not, is to have fellowship with God. God has given the Lord Jesus to us so we can have our sins forgiven and learn to act righteously. The wicked can never have fellowship with God for our God is a God of righteousness.
In the last days (which are now!) God will remove the tares from His Kingdom. First, God will remove the roots of wickedness from His people. After this program has been completed God will remove the people themselves if they have not been willing to allow God to remove the evil from them.
This is what is taking place today. The Lord Jesus is moving among His people. He is knocking at the door. Can you hear Him knocking at your heart? If you will open the door He will come in and dine with you on His body and blood.
He wants to remove every tare from your personality—all worldliness, all the unlawful passions and appetites of your flesh, all the self-will and striving of personal ambition found in you.
Let these go as He calls for them. They will only keep you in misery—now and possibly throughout eternity. I am not certain how unjudged sin will impact on us in the future, especially if we have had the chance to confess and turn away from it. God does have a way of giving us what we insist on!
What a joy it is to have God change us like this! We are becoming new creations of righteousness in the Potter’s hands. We are being made heirs of the new world of righteousness that is on the horizon.
Let us not look back but come out of the world. Let us, through God’s Spirit, cleanse ourselves from all moral filthiness. Let us walk hand in hand with our Father as it was in the beginning.
It’s not too late for you or me to come to Calvary. Cry, "Dear Father." Tell God you love Him. He desires fellowship with you. He will forgive you through the blood of the cross and make Himself real to you.
We never can be satisfied or fulfilled as a person until we are walking with God.
As we look about us in the world, we observe the tares of wickedness coming to maturity. Let us not forget that both the tares and the wheat come to maturity at the same time, according to the Lord’s Word.
Christians can see clearly that Satan is rising up in the peoples of the world. But if we will listen to the Spirit of God we will discover that God is inviting us to partake of more of Christ. There is a greater portion of Christ for every believer who will look up to God and receive.
What is the answer to the moral darkness? It is a greater forming of Christ in us and a greater portion of the Holy Spirit.
God is waiting for you to ask Him for more of His Spirit to enable you to stand no matter what darkness confronts you. Ask Him now. He will not disappoint you.
You will be more than a conqueror through Christ who strengthens you no matter how dark your environment becomes, no matter how the tares abound. Taste and see that the Lord is good!
The righteous belong in Heaven with God and the wicked belong in the fire with Satan. If you want to escape Hell, ask Christ to help you live righteously.
January 17th
TALENTS ARE TO BE USED
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (Matthew 25:21)
Every Christian has a talent. The Holy Spirit divides to every believer a portion of the wisdom and power of the ascended Christ.
Perhaps our talent is expressed in a tremendous, recognized gift to the Body such as the apostle or the prophet. Or it may be true that we are the custodian of the church building.
The apostle and the custodian may vary widely in importance in the sight of people. But they do not vary widely in importance in the sight of God. A custodian who does a job in utter faithfulness before the Lord is highly esteemed in the Kingdom of God. He will be issued greater responsibility.
The apostle may be revealing the Scriptures with great power. The prophet may be lifting the saints into the glory of the Kingdom Age. But if the toilet begins to leak and floods the restroom the worshipers are quickly brought back down to the present world.
It is not unusual for the highly gifted individual, the one with ten talents, to go about his or her ministry conscientiously. The believer with the one talent, thinking he is of little importance in the kingdom, may become occupied with his job or family and pay little attention to his one task.
Such difference in diligence can be seen in the churches. The Pastor becomes the "chief cook and bottle washer" until he is "burned out." The members of the assembling who should be performing many of the chores that are killing the Pastor are busy with their home, their vacation schedule and their retirement program.
The one-talented individual who buried his talent suffered in four major ways. First, he was removed from fellowship with his angry Lord. Second, his talent was given to a more industrious person. Third, he lost his crown of rulership. Fourth, he was cast into the outer darkness.
We humans would reserve such harsh punishment for the murderer, the rapist, the thief. We do not view the timid, negligent believer as a candidate for total loss of inheritance.
The Kingdom of God is at hand and will be given to those who esteem it highly enough to turn away from the world and seek it with a whole heart. The fearful, the cowardly, the negligent, the spiritually lazy, may be acceptable to us; but to God who is busily bringing forth a new world of righteousness they are a complete frustration. They are neither hot nor cold.
Let us be up and about our Father’s business. We must be faithful with our few things if we are to be the rulers over many. There are great rewards for serving the Lord!
What do we do about this? We attend diligently to the task set before us. Meanwhile, we ask the Lord for an increased area of service. Ask your Pastor and elders where they think you fit in the work of the ministry.
Covet earnestly the best gifts!
Are you going to return to the Lord a thousand percent on His investment in you?
January 18th
THE REST OF GOD
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. (Hebrews 4:1)
What is the rest of God?
The Christian Jews to whom the author of Hebrews was writing had been saved, had been filled with the Spirit, had seen the miracles of the Apostles, and had been persecuted to the point of having their possessions confiscated.
Most of us haven’t come even this far.
Was the writer congratulating them on their stature in Christ and encouraging them with the soon coming of the Lord to take them to Heaven?
No such thing! The way the author spoke you would think he was addressing unsaved people who were rejecting the Gospel. But the internal evidence is that he was addressing "holy brethren."
They knew about repentance from dead works, faith toward God, water baptism, the baptism with the Spirit of God, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. They had experienced the heavenly gift of eternal life, had been partakers of the Holy Spirit, had tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come.
Now they were being warned about neglecting their salvation, about not holding their confidence resolutely to the end, bearing thorns and thistles instead of the fruit of righteousness, not assembling together, drawing back from the program of salvation—about failing to enter the rest of God.
It reminds us of the Apostle Paul who toward the end of his life was seeking to win Christ and urged us to do the same.
Our salvation is past, present, and future. When we neglect one of these aspects at the expense of the others we are risking the fullness of our inheritance as man and as a son of God.
What is the rest of God? The rest of God is based on the fact that God finished all things on the seventh day of creation and we are not required to create our own heaven and earth. God is resting and we are to enter His rest.
It is the land of promise, the resurrection ground where we are eternally alive in the Spirit of God.
It is the eternal Sabbath where we cease from speaking our own words and acting according to our own pleasure, choosing instead to abide in Christ to the point we are crucified and Christ is living His Life in us.
What is the rest of God? It is that condition in which God’s will and our will have become synonymous. The place where our greatest joy is to do the will of the Father.
No human being ever will find perfect peace, perfect joy, perfect love, perfect fulfillment, until he or she is abiding in untroubled rest in the bosom of the Father through Christ Jesus.
Let us through Christ conquer every enemy until God can find rest in us and we can find rest in God.
Christ can do nothing of Himself apart from the Father. We can do nothing of ourselves apart from Christ.
January 19th
THE LAND OF PROMISE
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)
The land of promise offered to the tribes of Israel was set forth clearly in several passages of the Old Testament. Canaan, the land of milk and honey, was the goal.
How wonderful it is to embark on a quest, to be pursuing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. A vision, a hope keeps us pressing forward in anticipation. We can carry our cross when there is joy set before us.
In the Christian tradition eternal residence in the garden of God is our hope, our promised land. But as the time for the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth draws near we need to look again to the Scriptures to see if we can discover what God has said concerning the land of promise of the believer in Christ.
Actually there is little said in the New Testament concerning what happens to us from the time we die until the day of resurrection. We have preached and sung about our mansion in the sky. There is nothing at all wrong with looking forward to Paradise no matter where it is located. We have been commanded to set our affection on things above.
Because Paradise was at one time on the earth, the memory of Eden can be found hidden in the subconscious of all the children of Adam. To think and dream about Paradise releases us from the drudgery of life on the earth.
When we turn to the New Testament, we find our hope is to be directed toward the Day of the Lord, the return of Christ. In that Day of all days we shall be raised from the dead and then clothed with immortality. We shall appear with Christ and restore Paradise to the earth. The meek will inherit the earth in that hour!
But Adam and Eve (they are living somewhere in the spirit realm) cannot be brought back into Paradise with their descendants until first they all are changed—not just forgiven but changed!
And why not? You guessed it. Because an unchanged Adam and Eve with their unchanged descendants would fall again and we would have another six-thousand-year lesson to see if we can finally learn to keep God’s commandments.
I am not particularly anxious for that to happen. Are you?
The Kingdom of God is coming to the earth. The best aspects of Heaven, the Presence of God in Christ, the Holy Spirit as a great River of Life, are to fill the earth in the days to come. The saints will return with the Lord Jesus and bring salvation and healing to mankind. This is why we are enduring rigorous training in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to the Father.
The earth and its peoples are the inheritance of Christ and His coheirs. Even today the Lord may be pleased to give us some people to love and guide—and more so as the Day approaches.
He has kept the good wine until now. Look about you and see the hundreds of millions who are waiting for the royal priesthood to minister to them. Ask the Lord and He will give you the nations for your inheritance. They are your land of promise.
Let your eyes see the land that is very far off. Behold the King in His beauty.
January 20th
BEHOLD THE LAMB
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)
The slain lamb, the figure of Christ, always is the emphasis of Passover.
In human thinking, the important aspect of Passover was the release of the Hebrew tribes from Egyptian slavery and their start toward the land of their inheritance. In God's thinking it is not the release from Egypt but the lamb that is of primary significance; for the lamb speaks of Christ who is to come. Only Christ can bring true, eternal release to human beings.
In the exodus from Egypt, Israel left one kind of bondage only to enter another. After the Jews settled in Canaan, they embraced demons. They gave themselves to serve the lusts of their bodies (a vicious kind of slavery) and offered their children as burnt offerings to the god Moloch.
Israel turned against the Lord. The members of the royal priesthood accepted the chains of demonic bondage. As a result the Lord gave them into the hands of their enemies.
We understand, therefore, that the central issue of Passover is not the physical release from Egyptian slavery but the eternal release of spirit, soul, and body that can come only at the hands of Christ.
The true Passover Lamb is Christ. Christ is the Hope of Israel, the Light of Israel, the Bridegroom of Israel.
In the Passover, God is telling us that release from slavery to the wickedness of the world can come only through the atonement made by the blood of Christ and through eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ. To be free from the sin of the world we must eat Christ—eat of Him in whom God dwells, whom God has chosen.
When we eat Christ we come into union with Him. We marry the Bridegroom. The Lord has come to Israel and to us Gentiles as well in the Person of Christ Jesus. The Lord, the Bridegroom, has come for His Bride. Israel is the Bride of the Lamb. We Gentiles become part of Israel by eating the Lamb.
John the Baptist pointed to Jesus of Nazareth as God's Passover Lamb.
Indeed, the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. He is our Passover. By the protection of His blood we are saved when the judgment of God strikes the gods of this world.
Even though we are shielded from the death angel by the blood of Christ, we remain chained in bondage to the wicked world spirits, to the lust of our flesh, and to our stubborn self-will.
How can we escape the chains of spiritual slavery? By eating the flesh of God's Lamb and drinking His blood. Only by eating of the Lamb of God and drinking His blood can we escape spiritual slavery and begin the sometimes joyous, sometimes painful journey toward the land of inheritance, the land of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Christ Jesus stands before the door of the heart of each of His elect, Jewish and Gentile. He patiently knocks. If the individual opens the door and receives Him, Christ enters and dines with him or her. He gives him to eat of His body and to drink of His blood. This is the new covenant.
Let us always and forever live by eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His precious blood. The Spirit and the Bride say come. Let whoever will, come and eat and drink freely of eternal Life.
The Bride is not referred to as the Bride of Christ but the Bride of the Lamb. This is because she is married to the Lamb by eating God’s Passover Lamb.
January 21st
DON’T LET ANYONE TAKE YOUR CROWN!
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:11)
It is important to note, in the verse above, that the believers already have a crown. You could not take a crown from someone who has no crown.
When we are born again of Jesus Christ, we assign our old adamic nature to the cross with Christ. We then view our new born-again nature as having risen in Christ to the right hand of the Father, there to await the day of resurrection. As soon as Christ is born in us, He is raised to the highest of all thrones.
We can never go any higher. Our fight is not upward but downward as we seek to bring the Life of the Throne of God into our life here on the earth. We are striving by means of the Spirit of God to do God’s will in the earth as it is performed in Heaven.
Because we are dwelling with Christ in God’s Throne, we have a crown. The crown is the inheritance of man, that is, rulership over the works of God’s hands. It is a crown of righteousness, of life.
It is true we have been imprisoned in a lowly body, a body that keeps us humble and dependent on the Lord for all things. Nevertheless the role of man is to govern the creation.
Because of jealousy and envy the fallen lords of the heavens, often working through people, attempt in every manner possible to pull us down from our lofty position. They bang on their pots and pans. "Look here! Look there! See what we’re doing in the earth. Isn’t it awful?"
Or, "See what we are accomplishing. You aren’t getting anywhere just waiting on the Lord. Why don’t you follow us?"
Or, "Look at how desirable this is! Why don’t you reach out your hand and take a taste? There are deep pleasures here you could be enjoying and no one will ever know" (only the entire universe!).
Or, "God doesn’t want you to be denied any good thing. It is true that if you walk out of your present situation you might be going against what the Bible says. But it can’t be God’s will that you not have what you want so badly. It must be that an exception is being made for you because you are special."
Or, "Let us eat, drink, and be happy for tomorrow we die."
The saint knows better than to look down or disobey the Scriptures. His eyes are glued on Christ, on the reward that has been set before him.
How many stars of God have fallen because they were pulled down by fear, by doubt, by dread, by lust, by personal ambition, by impatience, by attempting to please people, by carelessness, by trying to make a paradise of the present sin-cursed world?
God started you off at the highest level. He forgave your sins and handed you the crown promised to man from the beginning.
There are many angels and people who would like to get some of your talents. Don’t let anyone take that crown from you!
To relate to any person, thing, or circumstance other than through Jesus Christ is to invite idolatry.
January 22nd
YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE!
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:6)
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21)
I have just finished reading a current book exhorting Christian people to shake themselves and begin serving God. The emphasis is on turning away from our carnal pursuits and making Jesus the Lord of our life, particularly in the area of going forth to reach the unsaved (but when are the Christians going to get saved?).
Toward the beginning of the book the author, a godly man and excellent writer, stipulated that his words must be interpreted as exhortations to Christians, not as condemnation, for we stand in the grace of God. The idea seems to be that we ought to get busy and serve God but underneath is the safety net. If we do not heed the call to action there may be regrettable consequences, but in the final hour we will be ushered into Paradise by grace.
As I prepared a while back to go on the Internet I told several people that I was going to present only the fruit of the last several decades of thought, preaching, and writing—material that believers of every persuasion can accept and profit from. I will show how wonderful it is to be a Christian and offer nuggets of truth that inspire and edify. Isn’t that nice?
But as I read the author’s disclaimer concerning standing in grace, the fire burned inside me. How can I be "nice" when the Church is in danger and God’s will in Christ is being frustrated!
I have nothing but good to say about the author and his book. He has done us all a service by pointing out the backslidden condition of numerous Christian believers.
I would like to point out that if we urge people to repent, and then state that if we do not repent we cannot be condemned because we are saved by grace, it is something like telling a cardiac patient he ought to exercise and change his diet, but if he doesn’t there will be no further angina pains in any case.
Wouldn’t this be wonderful if it were true? I could go back to my regular breakfast of coffee, fried eggs, and sausage. Instead I am eating oatmeal, bran muffins, and an aspirin. Why? Because grace doesn’t cover the grease.
What runner can drive himself to the last searing thrust if he knows he already has won the race? What soldier will expose himself in a dangerous charge against the enemy if he has been told the war already is won as far as he is concerned? Maybe a few dedicated men would. But what if the war has not been won as far as he is concerned but he has been deceived by the enemy who wants him to stop fighting?
What American Christian will turn away from the lethargy decried by the book in question (and by much current preaching for that matter, for which we thank God) if he understands that even if he does not begin to serve God fervently he still will go to a mansion in Paradise when he dies?
Every aspect of our salvation from beginning to end is an opportunity. At no point is the Christian salvation an unconditional amnesty operating independently of our responses.
January 23rd
YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE! continued
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13)
We were saying in the previous article that many American Christians will not turn away from the current lethargy until they become persuaded that their actions will significantly affect their destiny in the Kingdom of God.
When the call for repentance goes forth, a few conscientious believers will respond. If these few people will pray, God in His goodness will visit us with a massive move of the Spirit of God resulting in more repentance and worldwide evangelism. But then, when the Spirit of God is lifted, there will be a return to the lethargy. The present doctrine of the churches is not calculated to maintain white-hot consecration.
There was tremendous repentance during the revivals of Aimee Semple McPherson but now lethargy has returned. When the power of the Holy Spirit was present with Sister McPherson, sinners came to the Lord; the lukewarm became hot; the sick were healed. That was only a few years ago.
Why the rapid backsliding? It is because we are teaching that Divine grace is an unconditional amnesty that holds steady whether or not we serve the Lord.
Until the Christian churches come to understand that Divine grace is not an unconditional amnesty the cycle of repentance, revival, and lethargy will continue.
There are numerous verses in the New Testament portraying Divine grace as virtue, power, and wisdom that enable the diligent to serve God and be conformed to the image of Christ. When we are not diligent, we suffer significant loss.
Several reasons are advanced by contemporary Christian teachers to prove that the unfruitful will not actually be removed from the Vine; that the sinning Christian will not actually be barred from entering the Kingdom of God.
All such reasons sound a lot like that which was spoken to Eve in the garden of Eden, "You shall not surely die!"
As long as Christian believers are taught there is a safety net under them that will keep them from serious harm in case they sin and rebel against God, numerous believers will not get serious with the Lord.
Divorce is a major problem of our day. In our following comments we are not addressing those who were divorced before they became a Christian. To such we say, the blood of Christ has washed you clean. Go on from here and sin no more. You may suffer consequences but the Lord has forgiven you.
Having made this part clear, let us proceed.
The only aspect of salvation that is imputed (ascribed) to us is the righteousness of Christ, and that only as we are following Christ in stern discipleship. Every other element of redemption is wrought out in Christ.
January 24th
YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE! continued
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; (Hebrews 3:14)
Let us say there is a Christian family, a father, mother, and two boys. The couple have been married ten years.
The father is not particularly interested in church or "spiritual" matters. He attends on Sunday morning and really loves the Lord. The rest of the time he wants to sit at home and read the paper or go fishing with his boys.
The wife is the demonstrative type. In her enthusiasm she goes from this Bible study to that with her Christian friends. When she is in church, she enthusiastically enters in to whatever the church culture regards as "spiritual." She is a happy, outgoing person, confident she is quite spiritual.
You see, she feels her husband is not as "spiritual."
She meets a young man who also is "spiritual." He sings beautifully. He is very active in the same religious culture.
Her husband obviously (from her point of view) is not a good match for her. He is not spiritual. She is spiritual.
Now her understanding of grace comes into focus along with her personal integrity and faithfulness.
She may think, "If I leave my husband and boys and run off with this future preacher I do not know whether the Lord will be pleased or not." (This is the current understanding of the Consuming Fire of Israel.)
"I know the Lord is a loving God and wants me to be happy. I know I am saved by grace, so even if I displease the Lord I (and maybe my young man) will go to Heaven to live in a mansion. I will say there are irreconcilable differences (meaning I am not happy) and the judge will understand. Maybe I will get custody of my (not our) boys. I know my boyfriend will love them. He is so understanding."
Isn’t God wonderful? Such love! Such mercy!
Of course, the husband and two boys may not see it quite that way when Mother becomes a femme fatale and leaves home.
But if she understood the true grace of God she would think another way: "I want to run off with this spiritual, handsome young man so badly I can hardly stand it. And I just know he loves me!
"I gave my word at the altar of God. What if Jesus were standing before me? What would He say?
"I just can’t leave my family even though I don’t ‘love’ my husband anymore. I will pray. I will go to the Throne of God in prayer and ask for grace to help me remain faithful to my husband and children."
What do you think about these two different understandings of the purpose of grace? The one presents grace as a fire escape. The other presents grace as the Divine strength and virtue from Christ to enable us to do what is righteous.
Which is it? What do you say?
In case you are wavering, let us hasten to say that if the woman leaves her family and marries the young seducer she very well may alter her eternal destiny. After her new marriage turns to ashes and the young man begins to play the field again she may decide to return to the Lord. Let me tell you it will be several years before she begins to find God at all—if she ever does!
This is the result of the preaching of grace as an eternal amnesty. Don’t tell me it does not work out this way. You’re too late. I already have witnessed it.
It is only those who are abiding in Christ each day who are free from condemnation. Those who are living according to their fleshly nature, even though they profess belief in Christ, are under Divine judgment and shall be punished severely.
January 25th
YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE! continued
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:8,9)
A recent critic of one of my books suggested I am teaching reincarnation because of my comments that our behavior now will have a direct effect on our resurrection when the Lord comes. Can you believe it? And I paid a publisher more than a hundred dollars for this evaluation! I am teaching reincarnation because of my belief we will be rewarded according to our works when the Lord returns? What has happened to Christian theology?
While I am warmed up to the subject, I would like to speak to the people thirty years of age and younger—down to the age of three. We start the disciples early in our church.
My generation is largely lost to the purpose of God. The chief concern of the older people is their retirement, their stocks and bonds, their house and yard, their Social Security. They come to church and talk religious talk but they are so involved in the world they cannot hear the Spirit of God.
They think that after they are "raptured" God is going to raise Moses and Elijah (or is it Enoch and Elijah) from the dead to preach the Law and the Prophets, not realizing the two witnesses of Revelation symbolize the power of the latter rain that is to be poured on the generation that is intensely serving God and obeying His commandments.
Enoch and Elijah are going to descend from Heaven in a chariot, receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon them, and bear witness of Christ (or something!) in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Old Brother Harris used to say, "Dear Lord, give us one grain of common sense on our brain pan."
If you, young people, do not pick up the baton but get lost in the current church culture with its lawless-grace error, its mythology about mansions in Heaven, then God will wait for your children and grandchildren.
There shall be a generation that will cross the Jordan and enter the land of promise.
Listen to the elders and obey them. Then pray until you strike fire with God. He will show you what to do. You will save yourself and those who hear you.
To the elders I say, who also am an elder, bring the kids back to the God of Israel. Begin with the toddlers. Teach them to wave banners in praise to the Lord. Lift up the standard of holy, righteous behavior. Press the youth toward prayer rather than ice cream socials. Make demands on them. The best among them will respond and God will meet them. Better five young people on fire for God than five thousand attracted by adolescent urges.
A lady wrote me recently that in her church the young mothers had to abandon their Bible study because the Pastor would not make provision for baby sitting. If this is a true account, the Pastor is overlooking a golden opportunity to work not only with the young mothers but also with their children. He is ignoring an important part—perhaps the important part—of his church.
Today the anointing of the Spirit is on the young and many of them are spiritually precocious. Have you noticed that?
Divine grace is not an alternative to righteous behavior, it is the means of producing righteous behavior. What tremendous misunderstanding and moral confusion exist in the Christian churches!
January 26th
YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE! continued
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:11,12)
The teaching of grace has in some instances left the believers with the impression there are not ultimately joyous rewards for following the Lord and not ultimately serious punishments for not following the Lord. Being "saved by fire" is presented as receiving a two-story in place of a three-story mansion, instead of being the terrifying stripping and loss in the Kingdom it will prove to be.
We say Christians should do this and should do that. "Should" walks in big boots. But it is fear and joy that move most people, the prospect of pain and the prospect of pleasure. The Bible presents both in no uncertain terms.
"But we are not to fear God because God is love." The people who talk most about love and mercy are often those who want to make room for their sin, as we have noticed. Satan spoke through Peter in loving terms to the Lord. Satan would have prevented the atonement on the basis of love. Jesus spotted him instantly.
So it is that Satan will speak lovingly to you that you must not suffer. Satan understands that God’s saving power will issue through you only to the extent you are willing to stay on the cross with Jesus. Satan has no reason to fear you until you are ready to lay down your life, take up your cross, and follow the Master.
Satan is not afraid of you or me or our church programs. Satan fears only the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. As long as Satan can "lovingly" keep church people alive in the flesh, he and his kingdom are safe.
The current teaching of grace has in many instances removed the fear of being cut off from Christ. Being cut off from Christ is the warning of the Gospels as well as the Epistles to Christians who do not bear the fruit God is looking for.
We simply do not understand what grace is! Neither do we understand what salvation is!
Salvation is our change from the image of Satan to the image of God. Salvation has nothing to do with eternal residence in Heaven but to eternal life in Christ, as a hasty review of the Scriptures will reveal.
Grace is not an alternative to our change from the image of Satan to the image of God. Grace is the Divine means in Jesus Christ to forgive us and then enable us to change from the image of Satan to the image of God.
I do not think any sincere Christian would dispute the fact that the purpose of salvation is to bring forth a new righteous creation in us. Even the unsaved know (or used to know) that the Bible is the "good book," meaning it tells us how to live in a way that pleases God.
If we are correct in maintaining that salvation is our change from the image of Satan to the image of God, and if we are accurate in stating that Divine grace is the Divine means in Jesus Christ to forgive us and enable us to change from the image of Satan to the image of God, then to state we stand in grace apart from our change into a new, righteous creation is not a defensible position.
If salvation is our change into godly behavior, then to say we are saved by grace even through we are not serving the Lord is to claim we are saved even though we are not being saved.
The wages of righteous behavior is eternal life. The wages of sinful behavior is death. Christ did not come to change the Father's laws but to enable us to behave righteously.
January 27th
YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE! continued
And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. (Revelation 2:23)
Salvation is past, present, and future. There is a decisive moment in time when we look to God for salvation through Jesus Christ. Then throughout our lifetime we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Also we are kept by the power of God unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. We are saved by hope—hope that when the Lord comes we will be completely free from sin and joyously alive in His Presence.
To overemphasize one of these three aspects at the expense of the others is to bring confusion into our thinking.
No, grace is not an unconditional amnesty. No, grace is not a safety net that protects us whether or not we serve God faithfully. Numerous New Testament passages expose the lie within this concept.
Many believers of our day are expecting to hear the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Yet they have been neither good nor faithful. Why this illogical belief? Because they have been taught that Divine grace is an alternative to a new, righteous creation.
The churches are in danger! Judgment is hovering over the Western nations. The Gentile holocaust is at hand. Why? Because we are not teaching the Bible but our traditions concerning unconditional grace.
The fire is burning. How many are willing to turn again to the New Testament and count the verses that warn us we are going to receive the good and the bad we have practiced in our body?
How many are willing to believe Christ when He says "I will
give to every one of you according to your works"?
The modern response is, "This does not apply to me because I
am saved by grace."
How many are willing to believe if the believer does not do
what the Lord commanded he is building his house on the sand?
The modern response is, "This does not apply to me because I
am saved by grace."
How many are willing to believe we show our love to Christ by
keeping His commandments?
The modern response is, "This does not apply to me because I
am saved by grace."
How many believe if we know the way of righteousness—the way
of righteousness! —and then turn from it we are as a dog returning to his
vomit?
The modern response is, "Even though the Scripture portrays
this individual as having known the way of righteousness he must never have
been saved in the first place because we are saved by grace."
How many understand if we do not bear the fruit of
righteousness we will be cut out of the Vine, out of Christ?
The modern response is, "The individual never was in the Vine
in the first place because we never could be cut out of Christ. We are saved
by grace."
How many understand that the Christian who continues in the
deeds of the flesh will die? —he or she cannot enter the Kingdom of God?
"Paul could not have been speaking to the Christians of
Galatia. They were saved by grace."
There is no such thing as a state of grace that is not revealed in a transformed personality. This is a historical error that always destroys the testimony of the Christian churches.
January 28th
YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE! continued
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. (Matthew 10:22)
God said, "He who endures to the end shall be saved." The modern response is, "God must have been speaking to the Jews because we are saved by grace."
Maybe God never heard of the grace we preach and so He was confused at this point, thinking we have to endure to the end to be saved. In fact, if it is he who endures to the end who shall be saved, our modern teaching is in need of modification. We always point back to some time in the past when we were "saved." Something to think about!
Revelation tells us no sinful person will enter through the gates into the new Jerusalem. Again, the modern response is, "But this does not apply to us because we are saved by grace."
Why don’t we just throw out the Bible and be done with it? By our traditions we have made numerous passages irrelevant. We have constructed a promise-box theology. We keep our "precious promises," ignore the context, and forget about the rest of the Bible.
When there is a seeming contradiction (and there are many seeming contradictions in the New Testament writings) we saw off the leg that doesn’t fit our concept of grace and stump about on the other leg.
To the young people again: we have little hope that our words and reasoning will interest most Christians the age of the writer except they may want to argue about who the two witnesses are.
Who the two witnesses are will be revealed in its time. Whether we are caught up before or after the great tribulation will be revealed in its time. (Best to be prepared—right?)
Many are cold but few are frozen. If you are not among the frozen few, ask God about it. See what He has for you. If you are under thirty, or especially under fifteen, you will find there is a special anointing for you. God wants you to live and minister in the power of the Holy Spirit. The older Christians, even though they themselves are still in a psychologic morass, will cheer you on. A cry of praise will go up from the vacation trailers as they remember the old sound, the joyful sound.
Well I got this part off my chest. What about it? Will you help pray that God will remove this monumental error from Christian thinking?
The call for repentance is in the land. How much more of an impact will this call have when we realize that Divine grace is God in Jesus Christ changing people so they can have eternal fellowship with God?—strengthening those who are tempted to sin so they can overcome?—enabling those who have been severely wounded to forgive those who hurt them?
Divine grace is not a ticket to Paradise that unchanged people can present at the gates of the new Jerusalem.
The lazy servant will face an angry Christ and then outer darkness whether or not he or she claims to be saved by grace.
The foolish "virgin" will scream in agony outside the closed door whether or not he or she claims to be saved by grace.
We are blowing the trumpet in Zion, among the Lord’s people. The way of the Lord must be made straight. It is time for a reformation of Christian thinking.
Receiving Christ is the God-given means of producing godly behavior in human beings, not a substitute for godly behavior. Why, then, are we preaching grace as an alternative to godly living?
January 29th
TO HEAL OR TO RECONCILE?
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. (II Corinthians 5:20)
God loves people! He assuredly takes no pleasure in the wars, plagues, and natural catastrophes that cause such agony.
If God has the power to prevent wars and sickness, why does He permit little children to die of leukemia?
Sometimes people will not receive Christ because they "cannot believe in a God who would let children suffer." Their attitude is understandable but they are not in possession of the facts.
God created man in paradise on the earth. But man chose to disobey God. God’s Nature being what it is, even a single infraction of His will must be dealt with in totality. The original sin has been dealt with in totality—six thousand years of the insane howling of the dust of the ground.
We are not to blame God for being perfectly righteous. The unchanging moral perfection of God is our only hope of an ultimately peaceful, joyous society.
The worst result of the sin of Adam and Eve was the loss of fellowship with God. It is this that God wishes to restore. It is to this end that He gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Mankind needs to be reconciled to God!
We must remain careful that the goal of reconciliation is kept in mind. Perhaps because of the influence of humanism (man-centeredness) it has become popular to speak of the need for Christians to go and relieve the sufferings of the world.
It is part of the package that Christians do what they can to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. A glance at history will disclose Christians at the source of many if not most of the great humanitarian efforts, from the care of lepers to the abolition of slavery.
Antichrist himself will encourage Christians to go forth and relieve the suffering of the world (not that he will care a fig about human suffering but in order to exalt himself.).
If we would avoid missing the mark we must hold constantly before us that the goal is to reconcile people to God. Our job is not primarily to remove the pains and problems from mankind. There assuredly is a time and place for this. Rather, our task is to work with God so that people will be turned from Satan to God; from sin to righteousness.
Sometimes people are better off spiritually if they are not delivered immediately. If we relieve the pain of people, we have done a limited, temporary good. If we turn people to God, encouraging them to keep His commandments, we have done a massive, eternal good.
People come to pastors wanting to be extricated from their problems. Often (not always) their problems are the direct result of not obeying the Lord faithfully. In this case the best we can do is get them back on track with God.
We have been charged to go into all the world and lift up Jesus Christ! We are to make men and women, boys and girls, His disciples—not just believers, but disciples! We are to charge them to keep the commandments issued by the Lord and His Apostles. In the process we are to cast out devils, heal the sick, and raise the dead. But these are not humanitarian efforts as such, they are signs pointing toward the highway of holiness.
As we work with the Lord, let us make sure we do not take the side of mankind against God. This is easy to do when we see human misery. Look past the skeleton child, the anguished mother, to the cross of Calvary. Present God’s amazing love. Reconcile the mother and child to God if you can.
The child will go to the garden of God. The mother will see her child again in the Day of the Lord.
People desire to escape Hell and go to Paradise. God desires that people escape sin and behave in a righteous, holy manner.
January 30th
THE CHARIOT OF GOD
But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Hebrews 2:6)
It is necessary, if we are to attain the mark God has set before us, that we assign our adamic nature to the cross of Calvary, take up our personal cross, and follow the Lord Jesus into newness of life.
We know of Paul’s testimony that he has been crucified with Christ and now Christ lives in him. We understand this principle and we accept it. We have come to realize that the most troublesome creature in the universe is a believer who will not surrender his self-will, his or her first personality, to the cross.
Hideous occurrences proceed from the self-willed religious person. Think of Korah! Absalom! the chief priests and elders who crucified their own Messiah!
As we pondered the emphasis of God on our giving over to death our first personality we began to wonder why God did not make us the way He wanted us to be in the first place. Why this interim step in the creation of man in God’s image? These musings brought us to the very significant question, "What is man?"
To the doctor man is a patient. To the composer man is a listener. To the politician man is a voter. To the businessman man is a consumer. To the evangelist man is a lost person who must "make a decision for Christ."
We know from the Scriptures that man is destined to govern all the works of God’s hands and judge all God’s creatures. But this is what man does, not what man is.
We know there are a firstfruits of mankind who will serve as members of the Body of Christ, as part of the Wife of the Lamb, as the sons of God, as the brothers of Christ. All of these roles and responsibilities are of awesome importance.
But there is something beyond all of this, a common denominator concerning what man is. Because of man’s supreme role, as well as his other responsibilities and relationships, God is making man in two stages: first, as an adamic creature—an intelligent animal; second, as a life-giving spirit. The life-giving spirit must be abiding in untroubled rest in the Father through Christ and also in the moral image of Christ.
Man is the chariot of God. The supreme role of man is to be the eternal dwelling place of God, the chariot of God. To be the chariot of God, man must be in the image of Christ, having the face of a man, of an ox, of a lion, and of an eagle.
The face of a man is the ability to make moral judgments, to walk in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God, and especially to be in union with God.
The face of an ox is the capacity and willingness of man to bear burdens in a sacrificial manner just as man’s heavenly Father does.
The face of a lion is the majesty and fierceness that each son of God must have if he is to conquer the forces that would resist God’s will.
The face of an eagle is that which soars with God in the heavenlies, living in prayer, always remaining above the striving of God’s creatures.
God is all these things and so His chariot must have the same characteristics. In order to build the character God desires in His chariots we had to start out imprisoned in a sinful, animal nature. It is as we overcome our handicaps through Christ that a proven new humanity is formed, a life-giving spirit in the moral image of Christ and totally obedient to the Father.
Have patience with God. He is making you in His image so you may be His chariot. Your few tribulations are not to be compared with such incomprehensible glory!
God is moving His throne from the heavens and installing it in the hearts of His obedient saints. This is God's way of showing disdain for the lords of the heavens who rebelled against Him.
January 31st
WORTHY TO WALK WITH CHRIST
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. (Revelation 3:4)
The Christian church in Sardis had a name that i