Tent of testimony....

Tent of testimony…

That is what we should be as we live in our earthly tents...a tent filled with the testimony of the One who saved us…lights shining in the darkness…filled with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit…with the appearance of the all consuming fire of the Holy One….a tabernacle of testimony unto the Lord…

Numbers 9:15-16 Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle, until morning. So it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.

The mind, heart and soul...

The mind, heart and soul of our young people is the battle ground of the enemy. 

The enemy has used his many schemes of pride and selfishness and the pressing urges for worldly desires to destroy the minds, hearts and souls of too many of our young people. The world constantly calls them to ignore, even rebuke the love God has for them, to believe there is no God, to believe only in what they can see, hold, touch and own - a world of instant gratification where today is the future. The enemy tells them that relationships are just vehicles to be used to gain more because self is always most important - because they are entitled. A world where true knowledge and wisdom have little value in daily affairs for the light of truth is shunned, replaced by the foibles of man's foolish and death-filled wisdom. And the enemy laughs as his slaves of the darkness increase… 

Church arise…for we must fight this battle! We must call out the enemy and shine the Light of Truth on his antics in this age. The casualties have been many but the Lord reigns and He has called us to engage…to actively and aggressively shine His Light of Grace and Truth. Let us resolve to boldly approach the Throne of Grace and seek His face as we intercede for those who are lost in the darkness of this battle. 

Col 1:13-14 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

What we all long for -

Faith in something bigger than ourselves

Hope for the future - today, tomorrow and for eternity

Love - unconditionally for someone and by someone

And we can find all three in our relationship with our Creator…the One who made us in His image…the One who loves us with an everlasting love…the One who has given us a hope and a future…the One who is the Author of our faith…the One who loved us first!

1 Corinthians 13:13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

1 John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

The Dilemma

The desire for power and control is so strong in the heart of man and history shows how that desire combined with the wickedness of man's heart has wrought much evil and continues to do so even today. Understanding that just as Lucifer sought to usurp the power of God, so too man dwells in and lives with that deep seated desire in his heart and the end result is separation from the Creator and destructive results for mankind. Man's desire to have his own throne and rule his surroundings has not changed with the 'evolution' of the human mind. Sin nature and a wicked heart are the only sure things in this life no matter what the changing environment of man might be. In our pride we believe we are in an era of new enlightenment  where man has the ability to overcome his human weakness by his knowledge and advancement. Technology may have advanced, science may have advanced but man's heart has not changed.

So, how is this dilemma solved? How is man able to overcome his challenge, his desire to usurp? The only answer is a changed heart. And a changed heart can only happen when we, by faith, believe in the Heart Changer - Jesus Christ. Does this make this flesh perfect? No, but it sets us on the course of sanctification where as we grow closer to our Creator (instead of further apart) we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, put the desires of that evil heart to death and live a new life in Christ led by the Spirit.

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?