KEEP YOURSELF IN THE LOVE OF GOD

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Keep yourselves in the love of God, 

looking for the mercy of our Lord 

Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

And of some have compassion, 

making a difference:  And others 

save with fear, pulling them out 

of the fire; hating even the garment 

spotted by the flesh.  Now unto him 

that is able to keep you from falling, 

and to present you faultless before the 

presence of his glory with exceeding 

joy,  To the only wise God our Saviour, 

be glory and majesty, dominion and 

power, both now and ever. Amen.

Jude 1:21 - 25

NO CONDEMNATION

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There is therefore now 

no condemnation to 

them which are in 

Christ Jesus, who 

walk not after the 

flesh, but after 

the Spirit.

Romans 8:1 

GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND

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For if by one man’s offence death reigned 

by one; much more they which receive 

abundance of grace and of the gift of 

righteousness shall reign in life by one, 

Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the 

offence of one judgment came upon 

all men to condemnation; even so by 

the righteousness of one the free gift 

came upon all men unto justification of 

life.  For as by one man’s disobedience 

many were made sinners, so by the 

obedience of one shall many be made 

righteous.  Moreover the law entered, 

that the offence might abound. But 

where sin abounded, grace did much 

more abound:  That as sin hath reigned 

unto death, even so might grace reign 

through righteousness unto eternal life 

by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5: 17-21

BLESSED

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Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, 

and when they shall separate you from 

their company, and shall reproach you, 

and cast out your name as evil, for the 

Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that 

day, and leap for joy: for, behold, 

your reward is great in heaven: for 

in the like manner did their fathers 

unto the prophets.

LUKE 6:22-23 

WAIT ON THE LORD

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The Lord has a way of bringing down the haughty and arrogant and those that run with them and showing the wounded his mighty power and protection even when the world does not see it.

God will bring justice in His time if we but wait patiently. Don't cast your pearls before the swine because then you come out looking like a fool even when you feel you spoke justly. The Lord has a way of showing them. It's up to them to listen.

Wait patiently for the Lord to reveal the real truth and in God's time you will find great strength and contentment through the power of waiting.

God has a plan and in His time the people who have kept you from telling your story will agree it needs to be told so others can be set free and it will be told with the mighty power of the Living God by your side paving the way and making the walls fall down right before your very eyes.

Nothing wrong with true repentance and people falling on their knees before the Mighty God and making sure their life, their family and their church or organization is pure before the Holy Lord.

The theme of my life for many years is "Wait, Wait, Wait on the Lord as he is working out his plan.

Today I remind myself to WAIT as the Lord works out the fine details.

Wait Patiently, Yes Wait, as he has not forsaken and abandoned us.

THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL

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That which was from the beginning, which 

we have heard, which we have seen with 

our eyes, which we have looked upon, 

and our hands have handled, of the 

Word of life;  (For the life was manifested, 

and we have seen it, and bear witness, 

and shew unto you that eternal life, 

which was with the Father, and was 

manifested unto us;)  That which we have 

seen and heard declare we unto you, 

that ye also may have fellowship with us: 

and truly our fellowship is with the 

Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

And these things write we unto you, 

that your joy may be full.  This then is the 

message which we have heard of him, 

and declare unto you, that God is light, 

and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with 

him, and walk in darkness, we lie, 

and do not the truth:  But if we walk in the 

light, as he is in the light, we have 

fellowship one with another, and the blood 

of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from 

all sin.

I John 1: 1-7

THOU HAST MADE THE DARKNESS

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He appointed the moon for seasons: 

the sun knoweth his going down.

Thou makest darkness, and it is 

night: wherein all the beasts of the 

forest do creep forth. The young 

lions roar after their prey, and seek 

their meat from God. The sun ariseth, 

they gather themselves together, and 

lay them down in their dens. Man 

goeth forth unto his work and to his 

labour until the evening. O LORD, 

how manifold are thy works! in 

wisdom hast thou made them all: 

the earth is full of thy riches.

Psalms 104:9-24

TO GIVE LIGHT

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Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he 

hath visited and redeemed his people,

 And hath raised up an horn of salvation 

for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, 

which have been since the world began:

 That we should be saved from our enemies,

 and from the hand of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our

fathers, and to remember his holy covenant.

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

 That he would grant unto us, that we 

being delivered out of the hand of 

our enemies might serve him without fear,

 In holiness and righteousness before

 him, all the days of our life.  And

 thou, child, shalt be called the prophet 

of the Highest: for thou shalt go 

before the face of the Lord to prepare

 his ways; To give knowledge of 

salvation unto his people by the 

remission of their sins, Through the 

tender mercy of our God; whereby the 

dayspring from on high hath visited us,

To give light to them that sit in darkness 

and in the shadow of death, to guide our 

feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:68-79

THE LORD PONDERETH THE HEART

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Every way of a man is right in his 

own eyes: but the LORD pondereth 

the hearts. To do justice and judgment 

is more acceptable to the LORD 

than sacrifice. An high look, and 

a proud heart, and the plowing of 

the wicked, is sin.  The thoughts of the 

diligent tend only to plenteousness; 

but of every one that is hasty only to 

want.  The getting of treasures by a 

lying tongue is a vanity tossed to 

and fro of them that seek death.

The robbery of the wicked shall 

destroy them; because they refuse 

to do judgment.  The way of man is 

froward and strange: but as for the pure, 

his work is right.

Proverbs 21: 2-8

HE HAS OVERCOME

These things I have spoken unto you, 

that in me ye might have peace. In 

the world ye shall have tribulation: 

but be of good cheer; I have 

overcome the world.

John 16:33

ARE WE TEACHING THEOLOGY OR ME-OLOGY?

When we come in faith to Christ, it is a personal decision – something God did in us to which we respond as individuals to him. I cannot trust in Jesus for you and you cannot trust in Jesus for me. The only Vicar we have is Jesus Christ who died vicariously for our atonement.

Our fellowship and walk with him is personal also, not something your husband, wife, mom, dad or uncle can do for you. Jesus told the church of Laodicea, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Emphasis mine).

So, there is a place for applying the scripture personally to ourselves, but my concern is this: We live in a time where everything seems to be about “me.” Our Theology has been turned in to Me-ology.

THE FUTILITY OF ME-OLOGY

American Christianity knows little about persecution but many Christians in other places do. In North Korea for example:
Christians are seen as hostile elements in society which have to be eradicated. Due to the constant indoctrination permeating the whole country, neighbors and even family members are highly watchful and report anything suspicious to the authorities. Children are especially vulnerable to the heavy indoctrination. Reports show that some children report their own parents for religious activity. Therefore, many parents prefer not to tell their children anything about their Christian faith until they’re older.[i]
Christians there are often deported to labor camps or even killed on the spot. The three men who were recently released to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were devout Christians who suffered under the Kim regime.

So when we produce books like how you can live Your Best Life Now this must ring pretty hollow with Christians elsewhere in the world. Jesus didn’t promise us our best life now, but in heaven. [ii] We wrongly equate prosperity with being blessed of God. While earthly wealth is granted to us by God, many are far worse off because of it, not necessarily better.[iii]

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6.19-20)

Jesus tells us in the same place not to seek for what we will eat, drink or wear, but to “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

THE SUPPRESSION OF ME-OLOGY

Often in our bible studies, we ask one another, “What does this mean to you?” while we should be asking, “What does God mean by what he says here?” There’s a huge difference: Not that any of us has all the answers to the proper interpretation of all scripture, but that it is our goal to be Christocentric, that is, Christ centered, in our pursuit of truth. Who is God and who is Jesus Christ? What are his attributes? Then, we may be free to ask, “How can I know him?”

ME-OLOGY DISTORTS

Another thing we need to avoid is the exaltation of the human to the degradation of the image of God. We live in a society of humanism – the idea that man can do anything and the idea that if people think something is good it must be good because the human is the standard of right and wrong. This has spilled over into the church as well. Things that used to be considered sin are sin no longer because the society has deemed it so. Things that used to be considered holy are holy no longer because we have laid aside our bibles to be replaced by "science" and "education". When this comes into the church it brings confusion at best and neopaganism at worst.

LETTING GO OF OURSELVES AND EMBRACING CHRIST

Jesus said, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10.39).

John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3.30).”

The Apostle Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me… (Galatians 2.20).”

I know it sounds trite but it’s also true: “It’s not about me.” And – sorry – it’s not about you. It’s about Jesus, our God and Savior. Only if our focus is on him, will our perspective about ourselves become clear. We can only understand ourselves in the periphery of his glory.


[i] https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/north-korea/
[ii] Matthew 6.19-20
[iii] See Matthew 19.24; 1 Timothy 6.9; Proverbs 15.27

HEAVENLY CONVERSATION

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are 

true, whatsoever things are honest, 

whatsoever things are just, 

whatsoever things are pure, 

whatsoever things are lovely, 

whatsoever things are of good 

report; if there be any virtue, and 

if there be any praise, think on 

these things.

Philippians 3:20 

I WAITED FOR THE LORD

Photographer Ramona Adams 

I waited patiently for the LORD; 

and he inclined unto me, and heard 

my cry.  He brought me up also

 out of an horrible pit, out of the

 miry clay, and set my feet upon 

a rock, and established my goings. 

And he hath put a new song in my 

mouth, even praise unto our God:

 many shall see it, and fear, and 

shall trust in the LORD.

Psalm 40: 1+4

THE POTTER'S HOUSE

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Arise and go down!  Those are not the words we 

normally want to hear.  We like the mountains, 

we like to focus on the angelic beings, 

we like to meditate in heavenly places. 

Yet these may be the words of the 

Lord for you today.  

The Potters house is a place of 

work, it's a place where we find 

broken vessels, it's a place where we

must stop and examine the vessel to 

see what is wrong with it.  Sometimes

we don't want to admit there is 

anything wrong with the vessel, our 

lives, but the truth is we are only 

human and these vessels are marred.  

Because we live in marred vessels, 

we make bad choices, we say things

at times that we shouldn't, we walk out 

of God's will instead of into his will.  

Many times we feel we are walking 

uprightly and doing what we should 

do and suddenly we find out that we 

are so very wrong and must learn to 

set our focus differently.  

In the hand of the potter, the clay

is powerless yet when the potter has 

completed his work and the display 

is shown it is something of great

beauty.  

Have you ever walked into a pottery 

store and see the vast display being sold. 

Each piece uniquely designed and serving 

a different purpose.  

Are you willing to go down to the Potter's 

house?  A place we must be willing to 

humble ourselves and see the flaws in 

our lives and ask the master designer 

to help reshape our lives so he can 

use us for his divine purpose. 

Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, 

and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

Then I went down to the potter’s house, 

and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

And the vessel that he made of clay was 

marred in the hand of the potter: so he 

made it again another vessel, as 

seemed good to the potter to make it.

Then the word of the LORD came 

to me, saying,  O house of Israel, cannot 

I do with you as this potter? saith the 

LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s 

hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

At what instant I shall speak concerning 

a nation, and concerning a kingdom, 

to pluck up, and to pull down, and to 

destroy it;  If that nation, against whom I 

have pronounced, turn from their evil, I 

will repent of the evil that I thought to 

do unto them.

Jeremiah 18:2-8

THE LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN

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 In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God, and 

the Word was God. The same was in the 

beginning with God. All things were 

made by him; and without him was 

not any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the 

light of men. And the light shineth 

in darkness; and the darkness 

comprehended it not.

John 1: 1-6

A TREE PLANTED BY THE WATERS

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Blessed is the man that trusteth 

in the LORD, and whose hope the 

LORD is.  For he shall be as a tree 

planted by the waters, and that 

spreadeth out her roots by the river, 

and shall not see when heat cometh, 

but her leaf shall be green; and 

shall not be careful in the year 

of drought, neither shall cease from 

yielding fruit.  The heart is 

deceitful above all things, 

and desperately wicked: who can 

know it?  I the LORD search 

the heart, I try the reins, even to 

give every man according to his 

ways, and according to the fruit 

of his doings.

Jeremiah 17:7-10

MY VOICE IN THE MORNING

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning,

O LORD; in the morning will I direct

my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
For thou art not a God that hath

pleasure in wickedness: neither shall

evil dwell with thee.

PSALM 5:3-4

STOP AND CONSIDER GOD'S WONDERS

Hearken unto this, O Job: stand

still, and consider the wondrous

works of God.  Dost thou know

when God disposed them, and

caused the light of his cloud

to shine  Dost thou know the

balancings of the clouds, the

wondrous works of him which is

perfect in knowledge?  How thy

garments are warm, when he

quieteth the earth by the south

wind?  Hast thou with him

spread out the sky, which 

is strong, and as a molten 

looking glass?  Teach us what we

shall say unto him; for we cannot

order our speech by reason of

darkness.

Job 37:14:18

GOD IS LOVE

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And we have known and believed the love 

that God hath to us. God is love; and he 

that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, 

and God in him.

I John 4:16

GOD'S PROMISE

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I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be 

for a token of a covenant between 

me and the earth. And it shall come to 

pass, when I bring a cloud over the 

earth, that the bow shall be seen in the 

cloud: And I will remember my covenant, 

which is between me and you and every 

living creature of all flesh; and the waters 

shall no more become a flood to destroy 

all flesh.

Genesis 9:13-15 

BESIDE ME THERE IS NO SAVIOUR

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 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me 

there is no saviour.   I have declared, 

and have saved, and I have shewed, 

when there was no strange god among 

you: therefore ye are my witnesses, 

saith the LORD, that I am God.

Isaiah 43:11

WHERE IS YOUR CITIZENSHIP?

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For our citizenship is in heaven, from which 

we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord 

Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly 

body that it may be conformed to His 

glorious body, according to the working

by which He is able even to subdue all 

things to Himself. 

(Philippians 3.20-21)