Escape

 

Jonah was asked to do something by God. He chose to run away instead because the task was distasteful to him,

Sometimes/often I do the same and check out when the mission seems impossible to me I like to check out. Just loving my wife and children seems hard to me when it seems all to hard I like to 'go somewhere else'. Is it any surprise that I so times find myself on the belly of a whale!

Fear the LORD because he expects a return on His investment.

There is no place for complacency amongst believers. Ok I grant that the LORD is abundant in mercy and to those young in the faith he is patient and merciful even to late comers.

But to such as me I'm just saying, and especially if you are a male, and grown up in the faith, done your apprenticeship as it were.

HE EXPECTS SOME HEAVY LIFTING.

Look around where ever The Lord has placed you. Are there any front rowers left? (I'm from Australia/NZ we play Rugby, front rowers are the big men, the 'battering rams') 

There comes a time in every mans life when he realises, usually with others that..

' our fathers have passed on and it is up to us now to carry on the fight' 

There are many scriptures mainly the parables to back this up. It's nothing new. I'm just passing a ball will anyone take it forward?

It might not really fit the picture of tough men on a sports field but the wise virgins can teach men a lot.

Matthew 25

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.2 Now five of them were wise, and fivewere foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard:‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming;[a] go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour[b] in which the Son of Man is coming.

Only the quick can save the dead.

So if we are made alive men, let us not live as dead men lusting after dead things. 

Let us seek and save the lost and regain lost territory. Love is our banner and joy will be our flag, this is the kingdom of our Lord it's just a matter of taking it, in His name.

Justice and Mercy

Justice demands compliance without compromise. 

Justice can only act where there is a law. A written statute, a known code of conduct. And mercy requires justice to exist before it makes sense. Justice cannot just be forgotten, it demands satisfaction! 

All followers of Christ who repent of sin and trust his name to save them, run to the mercy of a God. All who love him love His mercy.

But who will still run to his justice? A thing by which we are all condemned.

The means by which Christ was rejected by his father and was made sin for us. 

 "It pleased the LORD to bruise Him, and make His soul an offering.."Is:53

I still want justice. I don't want to take Christ's place when he died for me indeed I can't save even myself this way. So it pleases me that because if His great Mercy, it pleased The Lord to bruise him in my place.

Yet I am glad that God is Just and that my sin had to be attoned for, and I love my redeemer very much. I now present myself to his judgment. I want to be inspected, corrected, reproved and improved.

This is Jesus desire for us all.

That he present us faultless before the presence of His Glory, with Exceeding Joy.

The way of an Eagle in the air

Is saw two of these yesterday at might be breeding time.

Photos care of Wikipedia.

Do you ever wonder why Eagles are so reveared and vultures so despised?

You are what you eat they reckon.

Eagles prefer fresh meat they have killed themselves (but they aren't above scavenging either) vultures lacking the dexterity for hunting are forced to lurk always and steal what they can of the kills of others, or be first on the scene of a natural death. Both are unclean to eat since both eat carrion.

But if you say your thanks and your really hungry go for it.

Also unloved by Jews are crustetions and other 'bottom feeders' why because they feed of the waste product ( they can be rich in heavy metals which are toxic to human consumption) of others is my guess? Who knows but this is generally true the better the quality of the food the animal eats the more tasty they are to eat themselves. The Old Testament food laws make sense. Pigs eat carrion and are cannabilistic and so on. 

Laws are created for the good of mankind to be his servant. But as with all other good things man ends up falling foul of law and becoming a slave to it.

Eagles have long been a symbol of justice and good.

One day we shall rise up on wings of eagles and defy gravity because our eternal bodies shall have no mass. They will be able to travel into heavenly realms, and pass though locked doors. In those days we shall be rulers over things on earth we will be agents of the justice of the Most High! His glory will go before us, and His righteousness shall be our rearguard! 

Will we ever cease from praising The Lord of hosts that makes all these things possible!

Holy Fire

How hot shall we make the fire?

Seven times hotter said Nebecenzza when his will (the will of the emperor god) was defied by three Jewish exiles (slaves). 

I guess He was a little bit ticked off!

Keep thinking about the contrast in status between an emperor and a slave.

Is not our God Truly the only Emperor worthy of worship? The name emperor does't amply discribe Him because an Empire is just a portion of the earth or just earth (antichrist will rule all the earth). God rules all the Heavens and the Earth. No king has ever come close to his supreme majesty, nor will any in the future. He is God alone and there is no other. So high is He that he is almost unknownable. And he was largely unknown in the Old Testament except by the prophets, to be Truly known God had to come down and live amongst us, He did this in His Son.

Then The Lord also disappeared again (after redeeming the world) up to the highest heavenly realm. But He said that we are now better off since he returned to the Father, because now is the Age of the Holy Spirit being poured out on all flesh!

Young men see visions and old men dream dreams!

His spirit is no longer given to just a few Jewish witnesses Adam, Noah, Abraham....Moses.....Samuel.....David.....Christ. Abraham is the father of many now because his faith has been given to Gentiles by the Holy Spirit. The increase in the Kingdom of God since pentacost has been expodential! And still is despite the apostasy of the west, it is the time of the east to shine now, many wonders are occurring there and this is now the forefront of the battle. The devil is largely reclaiming the west but the Glory of God  still lives in a sprinkling of light, little pockets of Holy fire. 

But how hot shall we make the fire!! Shall we call down fire??? How can we cause this fire to sweep across our nations again?

Our father in heaven is still very hard for our minds to comprehend. What exactly is He???? A spirit.Yeah but what is that? How much do we really understand about who or what or where or how He is????

Almost nothing except what has been written.

He is a unquenchable fire! He is not just a camp fire, No no no, there is nothing hotter than the flame of God, He is a 'refiners fire'. There is nothing in this phyiscal universe that can even exist in His presence because of the heat!!!

The father had to separate himself from His creation to remain. His fire is hotter than Nebecanezza's oven. Seventy seven times hotter! This is the fire that we must call down, can any sin remain in us when this fire lives in our hearts? 

A 'fullers' soap not bathroom beauty bar. God tells us something In these descriptions, a fuller Cleans all impurity's and oils from sheep fleaces. 

Can any stain remain when we a scrubbed with such a vigorous cleansing agent?

All our works will be tested by this fire. Will they be Gold or Silver (metal not destroyed by heat just refined and reshaped.)

Or wood, hay, and stubble ( regularly destroyed utterly by ordinary fires).

The tounges of fire at pentacost where a sign that the men present had instantly been tested by this fire and remained, thus they were made of heavy metal, rare earth, whatever you like to call it they are the good stuff. They where also radically transformed by this process into men of power and faith, where as before they had run before the enemy and denied The Lord. When the holy fire fell at pentacost it swept the world.it came roaring through Jeursalem, Damascus, Ephesus, Antioch ......America, Australia.

There are many bush fires at the moment and most want them to be put out. I want all 'flesh' life to be consumed out if this nation, out of my own wicked heart! 

I want Holy fire to burn in me uncontrolled by my flesh, In fact I don't want my 'flesh' to remain at all it can go with all the other wood, hay and stubble. Turn up the tempreture Lord, may your spirit burn so hot in me the atoms explode!

This is the fire we call down.

This is the spirit we host in our 'temples'.

Come Lord Jesus come!

Who will join me in calling down this fire?

Others see numbers, we see blessings.

The prophets of anti-population have done their work well. 

Our family size has launched out into the great unknown now. We left the ground when we went past three, four was out of the atmosphere, at five we crossed over the lunar zone and at six we left the solar system. Now with number seven bearing down the birth canal we are about to go intergalactic!!!!

When we move about the community in our family group or part thereof we attract attention almost immediately,

 even when wifey has a rare shopping trip alone, people always ask if she is enjoying some 'time to herself' noticing the absence of children almost as much as the presence. But when they look, most onlookers don't see people, they don't see an healthy functioning unit of interconnected relationships. They see a crowd.

They fear us as a 'planet destroying juggernaut' that is consuming air, water and food like a swarm of Loucusts! Not to mention government benefits!

The green eyed monster has gotten a hold of the majority of the population to the point where they are jealous of our carbon footprint!

It's like the earth is a pie, it gets placed on the table and divided up into portions, usually there will be some left over after every body has had a piece. There are some who will be satisfied with their portion. Others will want more still and they will keep a watch on the distribution of the remaining pie. If they feel any injustice has taken place there will be an outcry, and they may want it to appear as if they have no personal interest in what happens to the pie, they are just 'champions for justice' but this thin disguise is easily seen through! 

We meet many 'champions of Justice'.

They hold the high moral ground because the are the majority and in democratic countries the will of the majority is law! Unless you happen to belong to the homosexual minority or the Eco worshiping faux Buddhist minority! Then the will of the minority is law!

But back to the numbers. Are numbers important. We are good for the mathematical skills of the community because as soon as we appear wheels start turning in observers minds and the counters start whirling!

I also speak of number six or seven child, firstborn or middle child.

All these numbering are of great significance to earthly life but are they important to God? Does he inwardly groan at the appearance of yet another swollen belly or howling infant? Does God wish we would just get a TV or 'the snip' like normal people!

If we go back to the pie analogy we who keep a watch on the pie are so concerned only because we know that there will be no more pies a-comin.

Where as this doesn't trouble God I the slightest because if he needs another pie there are plenty more where he got the first one from....

'For He spoke and it came to pass, He opened His mouth and it stood firm!'

God is not limited to a single pie, He has 'pies for Africa' on tap. The only reason we seem to have only this one pie to diviee up is so God can see how well we share and consider our neighbour. In the one pie God has provided enough sustenance for all the creatures that He has willed into existence, yes that's right I just said our children exist according to the will of God, that is if he did not will it they would not exist!

If there is an abundant quantity of pie why do some die of hunger and some grow fat?

Greed and selfishness.

Says the man who just spent enough on a luxury coffee maker today to feed an Indian orphan for four months! (Just so you know I'm not looking down on anyone.)

I pray that someone might gain a new insight into life on this planet as a result of reading this, please Lord make it so, Amen.

Wounded Heart

Today I felt loneliness.

Do you ever wonder what us wrong with yourself? Why do people not notice or seek you out? Why does God just let me be a nobody that it seems people have very little consideration about. A Nothing, I feel like I could disappear tomorrow and hardly be missed????!

I seek the attention and Glory of man that is why.

And God wants my undivided attention that is why.

I have to learn to be content to be a nothing. So that God himself will come to me and He only shall be the One who seeks me out. For thou oh Lord art a sheild for me, My glory and the lifter of my head.  :)

Born Free

As free as the wind blows!

I am a lover of freedom. But I am now a tame tiger, not a wild cat!

Because freedom is always limited. Even the Almighty has limited Himself!!!!!Selah.

We are made in the image of God. Free and powerful. Each one of us has the power of life or death over others at some point in our lives. This is an amazing power and much abused of course. 

If we as free beings contemplating the universe can not reach this conclusion We are fools: "it is God who has made us and not we ourselves!"

All fools are destined to perish.

The universe testifies so loudly that there must be a God that the only way to not hear is to stop listening, stop looking, smelling, touching, tasting, and ultimately thinking!

I pledge my freedom to Father God because he is greater than I. He gave me my life and daily sustains it. He loves my life! He loves me ! I need His love and I can literally can not live without it so I seek it day and night. 

In my freedom I subject myself to the good master. To Persue freedom outside of God is death. Which isn't very free now is it?

Walla walla bing bang

Did you ever stare a an empty page wondering what to write about? I have read about writers block where people who have had terrific output suddenly find their 'inspiration' has gone dry. Has this happened to me? Maybe but I hope only temperarally. 

Like this once abundant land I live in, becoming more waterless as the days go on. Not much to cheer or lift heads here at the moment. A decent shower would do some good but I feel about as keen for that to happen as I was for the All Blacks to win the rugby world cup. I hoped they would be beaten.

Why do I want the drought to continue? Because people need to know where rain comes from!!!

When time stands still

Time. Our ultimate master. We only get the number of ticks on the clock that have been allotted to us.

 Like other things it never seems to come in the right amounts. Either not enough when times are good, or to much when we are suffering or have nothing good to fill our lives. 

Time never seems to be our servant. Same as money, rain, human love and so on.

Time is a cruel master though.

When our time is up there is no recourse but to accept its power over us.

Or is there?

There is a servant that always serves us. Always in the right way, in the right amounts, He is the perfect servant. 

It is His joy to serve us. He asks no wages for His work only our love.

This same servant conquered time for ever in a single moment. An earth shattering, sky darkening, veil tearing, blood dripping moment.

When he became the lamb of God.

All the courses of history past and future came crashing to a Hault. When he became sin for us and took our punishment. 

In doing this The Lord of eternity, opened a door for all men into everlasting joy!!!!

He made an end of sorrow, he destroyed death, he took captivity captive. 

Jesus triumphed over time.

 Time is no longer the master. When we choose to follow Jesus we follow one Greater than time. 

I am so glad about this I will never cease praising Him for it. I will sing His praises for ever and ever and ever, Hallelujah Hallelujah!

positive and negative

It might not rain here all the month of January, so we are informed by the weatherman.
Is this a positive or a negative.

I expressed the fact that we have no guarantee of rain all year when someone asked how I would celebrate News Years Eve. If it doesn't rain all month that is negative but if it didn't rain all year......

And yet I am right we have no guarantee of rain. We presume it will rain because it has in the past. We presume positivity from the elements. We presume rain and we presume fire will not come near our homes, we presume we will survive floods and high winds.

When I made the expression above about to possibility that it might not rain all year and therefore we might have nothing to celebrate (very Eore I know, "its earthquake weather") I was urged to remain positive because the consequences of a negative outlook actually coming to pass are unthinkable.... No body wants to consider the possible ramifications of a rain-less year.

It would mean devastation for us. We would lose our jobs and property. Maybe if we lived in another country our lives.................

I subscribe to a school of thought that has an Absolute authority as its foundation. I believe God is All Powerful and Sovereign over All things including rain wind and fire.

God is merciful so he does send rain or he has in the past. The right amount of rain at the right time  is a blessing from heaven and we presume our blessing will continue.  But if we consider that we have been blessed in the past not because we deserved it but because of the abundance of Gods love and mercy to all men, then we will realize that because of His love and mercy he cannot keep pouring out blessing on undeserving men. He cannot REWARD THE WICKED forever.

there comes a time where God says they are not responding to my blessing so I will have to try cursing. God really has the same adgenda with blessing and cursing. To get all eyes on Him. He desires to be the centre of our lives and if we do not respond to His kindness and be thankful to Him for all the positive things we have received then we will have to experience life on His bad side.....

we fall into shadow, separated from the light of day we enter into the curse of night.....

The right response for Christians living in a community where this is taking place is.............. sorrow and weeping, tearing of clothes and repentance. We need to begin grieving our lost blessing. Just being positive will not change anything, we have nothing to be positive about. It is our own failure to preach and live Christ in our community that has brought this curse to bear. Many people have turned away from God in our town. Who should we blame for this.... Ourselves.

Jesus gave us the job of making disciples of all men, we have failed to do this and now we must bear the consequences.

God will respond to our prayers if we come to him with broken and contrite hearts, he desires to break our pride. so let us be broken friends.............