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? 

A new root sprouting?

Looking back over the history of the man's 'established' church we find a repeating cycle of man subverting the true life of the church and attempting to make it a vehicle of power and control. Man attempting to infuse his own wisdom and control into the works of God believing in his own mind that the truth of God is not enough - that he has some special revelation.

And then at a certain point a new root sprouts forth seeking to bring the true life back to the body of Christ - discerning bond servants who have been overwhelmed by the Spirit of Truth and seek to restore the once delivered truth that is pure and undefiled. And this new root always feels persecution from the establishment church's leaders - for they so fear the loss of power and control. Yet this new root perseveres as the Lord has anointed and empowered them.

Has the Lord God Almighty started a new root in our country? Throughout the world? A new root that honors Him above all…a new root powerfully moved by the Holy Spirit in the heart and souls and minds of a people called out by Him…a new root filled with the Spirit of Grace and Truth that burns with a passion to see the Lord glorified above all things…a new root over flowing with Holy Spirit led zeal to uplift the body of Christ and witness unto the Lord Jesus…a new root that loves the sheep of His pasture and longs to find those that are lost…a new root that starts as a spark but grows into a blazing flame - the True Light that cannot be extinguished.

Lord Jesus, may it be so…

Where is America today

Are we a city set on a hill or have we become a stubborn and rebellious people who have spoken against God. Is America worthy to be blessed by God? Do we deserve His grace and mercy upon our land? Or are we a people who, after all of His mighty blessing on this country, have turned our back on Him and no longer believe in His wonderful works? Are our days to be brought to an end in futility?

Can we again be a people who seek after God's heart and desire to serve Him and glorify Him in our daily lives? A people who believe in and stand firm in His truth, that are faithful to His call and live out His grace in and through our lives by the power of His Holy Spirit. A people who understand the times and are ready and prepared to battle in the spiritual realm while bringing the light of truth to the darkness of this world even in the midst of persecution.

Ps 78:4 We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

Ps 78:6-8, 10,11 That the generation to come might know, even  the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, 7 That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, 8 And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart And whose spirit was not faithful to God. 10 They did not keep the covenant of God And refused to walk in His law; 11 They forgot His deeds And His miracles that He had shown them.

Ps 78:17-19 Yet they still continued to sin against Him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert. 18 And in their heart they put God to the test By asking food according to their desire. 19 Then they spoke against God; They said, " Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

Ps 78:21-22 Therefore the LORD heard and was full of wrath; And a fire was kindled against Jacob And anger also mounted against Israel, 22 Because they did not believe in God And did not trust in His salvation.

Ps 78:32-33 In spite of all this they still sinned And did not believe in His wonderful works. 33 So He brought their days to an end in futility And their years in sudden terror. 

Despised and Forsaken of Men

Is He again today???

Is He despised and forsaken by men? 

Do we esteem Him not in our world today? 

Have we shunned the Living God who gave His life that we might be saved? 

Are we rejecting the One True Light that overcomes the darkness? 

Do we ignore and even ridicule the amazing grace of God?

He was despised and forsaken of men 

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised,

and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:3 

not filled with it....

Christians should live in the world, but not be filled with it. 
A ship lives in the water; but if the water gets into the ship, she goes to the bottom. 
So Christians may live in the world; but if the world gets into them, they sink. 
 
-- Dwight L. Moody 
(February 5, 1837 - December 22, 1899, American Evangelist, publisher who 
founded Moody Church, Northfield School, Mount Hermon School, and the Moody 
Bible Institute)