The Lamb or the Donkey

The lamb or the donkey...

“Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.” 

Exodus 34:20 Every firstborn creature was to be the Lord’s, but since the donkey was unclean, it could not be presented in sacrifice. What then? Should it be allowed to go free from the universal law? Certainly not. God allows no exceptions. The donkey is due to God, but He will not accept it—He will not nullify the claim, but He cannot be satisfied with the sacrifice. No way of escape remained but redemption: the donkey would have to be saved by the substitution of a lamb in its place. If it was not redeemed, it had to die. My soul, there is a lesson here for you. You are that unclean animal; you are deservedly the property of the Lord, who made you and keeps you, but you are so sinful that God will not, and cannot, accept you. So it comes down to this: the Lamb of God must stand in your place, or you must die forever. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

The wages of sin is death.  We are all born in sin.

When millions vanish...and they WILL

When millions disappear...and it WILL happen.

Nothing about the first coming of Christ was ever stopped or changed.  Nothing about Noah and building the Ark for over a hundred years ever changed. Nothing going on in this world today will change the Word of God.  It's not climate change, it's not geopolitical change, it's not politics. It's not global warming. Jesus SAID to look for all THOSE things as signs to know WHEN the time would be ripe for His return.  He said that no man knows the day nor the hour, but the Father, however He DID say that you will see what will be going on when He does return. There will be no warning.  No "I have returned!".  Millions of people will vanish in the blink of an eye.  If you do not have Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will be left behind. You indeed will see the judgments of God unleashed upon the people of this world. That's the rest of the truth of Scripture.  

Nothing Satan could do could stop anything concerning the first time Jesus came. 

Nothing Satan can do will stop the next time Jesus comes.  Will you be ready?  

If indeed Birthday wishes would in fact come true, mine would be that all whom reads this would indeed be saved, would indeed be found in the book of Life. 

Jesus didn't just come to live, die and rise from the dead just for people like me, He did it for you too.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive [n]and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

At the Coming day of the Lord

But who can endure the day of his coming? Malachi 3:2 ESV 

Jesus’s first coming was without a visible splendor or show of power, but in reality there were few who could handle its testing might. Herod and all Jerusalem with him were stirred at the news of the extraordinary birth. Those who considered themselves to be waiting for the Messiah showed the falsehood of their profession by rejecting Jesus when He came. His life on earth was a winnowing fork, which tested the wheat and chaff of religious profession—and only a few could withstand the process. But what will His second advent be? What sinner can seriously consider it? “He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4 NKJV). In the humiliation of His arrest, Jesus simply said to the soldiers, “I am He,” and they fell backward (John 18:6)—what will the terror of His enemies be when He more fully reveals himself as the “I Am”? Jesus’s death shook the earth and darkened heaven—just try to imagine the dreadful splendor of that day in which, as the living Savior, He summons all people, alive and dead, before Him? Oh, that the terrors of the Lord would persuade people to leave their sins, to “kiss the Son, lest he be angry” (Psalm 2:12 ESV)! Though He is a lamb, He is also the lion of the tribe of Judah, tearing the prey in pieces; though He will not break a bruised reed, He will break His enemies with a rod of iron, dashing them in pieces like pottery. None of His enemies can stand before the tempest of His wrath, or hide themselves from the sweeping hail of His indignation; but His beloved, blood-washed people look for His appearing with joy, and without fear. To them, Jesus sits as a refiner even now, and when He has tested them, they will come forth as gold (Job 23:10). This morning, let us search ourselves and make our calling and election sure so that the coming of the Lord may cause no fearful feelings in our mind. Oh, for the grace to put aside all hypocrisy, to be found sincere and without rebuke on the day of His appearing. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

My dear reader, this second posting today is for you who have not yet seen the light of truth. 

You who have been struggling to make it on your own.  You who have indeed been through much in this life.  You don't have to go it alone.  Your pride says that you don't need anyone's help.  Yet the truth is without Christ as your Savior, without His help, you cannot save yourself.  

You must at least see the way the wind is blowing. 

You can see the truth that in regards to world events things are increasingly proceeding from bad to worse. 

You can see that for yourself. 

Life doesn't have to be as hard as it is for you.  I lived a great many years trying to do things in my own strength, even as a believer in Jesus Christ.  I was very stubborn in that regard.  As one person once put it, Doctors make the worst patients.  We who think we got it figured out, we who insist that we don't need help, are indeed the ones who need the most help. 

Jesus indeed is real. No others before or after Him being on this planet compare.  All others who were worshipped reside in Hell, all crying out to God for relief.  

You, my friend,  have the opportunity to be saved.  While there is yet the breath of life in you, please don't waste the unmerited favor that God is giving you to be saved.  

Let today be the turning point in your life.  Let today be the day your name is written down in the book of Life.  Let today be the day that you find that which you have unknowingly been seeking all your life. 

There will be no Jury in Heaven.  Jesus will state the guilt or innocence of people.  He will and there will be no arguments.  No defense.  There will be nothing that can be said or done when Judgment has come. 

The book of Life has the list of people who came to Christ.  Will you be found in it?

What are you in this world?

Do not conform to the pattern of this world. Romans 12:2

 If a Christian can possibly be saved while conforming to this world, it must only be as if through the fire. Such a limited salvation should be dreaded more than desired. Reader, would you want to leave this world in the darkness of a depressing deathbed and enter heaven like a shipwrecked mariner climbing the rocks of his native country? If so, then be worldly. Run with the greedy, and refuse to go outside the camp bearing the disgrace Christ carried (Hebrews 13:13). But would you like to have a heaven below as well as above? Would you like to “have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:18–19)? Do you want to enter into the abundant joy of your Lord? Then “come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things” (2 Corinthians 6:17 NLT). Would you like a full assurance of faith? You cannot get that while you commune with sinners. Do you want to burn with an impassioned love? Your love will be dampened by the downpour of godless society. You cannot become a great Christian—you may be an infant in grace, but you never can become a perfect adult in Christ Jesus—while you yield yourself to the principles and modes of business of the people of the world. It is a bad thing for an heir of heaven to be close friends with the heirs of hell. It has a bad look when a member of the court is too intimate with his king’s enemies. Even small inconsistencies are dangerous: little thorns make great sores, little moths destroy fine clothing, and little frivolities and mischiefs will rob religion of a thousand joys. Professing Christian, when you have too little separation from sinners, you don’t even know what you lose by your conformity to the world. It cuts the tendons of your strength and makes you creep when you ought to run. For your own comfort’s sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you are a Christian, be a Christian—and be a marked and distinct one. -C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

What do you look like to the world?  In its basest sense you are either a believer in Jesus, following in what the Bible teaches, or you are an unbeliever who lives their own way.  The first, regardless of how lived, will find themselves in Heaven. The second, regardless of how they lived, will find themselves in Hell. 

If a believer is indeed different from the inside out, shouldn't there be a life that reflects that? 

In the great revivals of the past, people by the thousands, gave up things in their lives to live for Jesus the way they should have been doing or as new people in Christ.  They gave up their vices. In the most clear way to put it they were giving up their attachments to this world.  Breaking free from their conformity to it.

A revival can happen at any time.  But the one who triggers it isn't any one person or people who announce one.  Revival is a result of the work of the Spirit of God, not the will of mankind.  

If your life were put on trial and your deeds and thoughts weighed, would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian? Or would a jury have to deliberate for a long time because the evidence wasn't clear?

You, my friend, my dear reader, whether or not you are not Christian, will indeed give an account of your life, and very soon.  Without Christ as your Savior, your verdict is already written: Guilty.  With Christ yours is written as well: Not Guilty.  For the believer, your works, thoughts and actions for the Kingdom and not for it will be weighed.  

How will you fare in that day?  How will it be for you?  This world is turning against Christianity in a greater scale than in centuries past.  Perhaps indeed it is getting to be like the old Roman Empire.  That isn't a reason to not live for Jesus the way the Bible says.  It isn't a reason to compromise.  Our lives are in Christ.  If it means we leave this world, then our work is done.  This world is perishing.  I believe that in a very short while, the Rapture of the Church will occur.  7 years of Judgements will happen.  Then the 1,000 year reign of Christ.  After that all this we see now and know now will be gone.   It is written, it is happening it will be happening. 

Make sure that you are right before God today.  If you are a Christian, seek a revival in your life with Christ.  Start separating yourself from what you have allowed yourself to be entangled with in your life from the world.  If you are not a believer, my friend,  time is running out.  There is still time to change that verdict against you.  There's still time to call upon Jesus and be saved. 

How much do you know of Jesus, personally know?

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8 NLT 

Spiritual knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge. I cannot know Jesus through another person’s acquaintance with Him. No, I must know Him myself, on my own account. It will be an intelligent knowledge. I must know Him, not as some kind of dream but as the Word reveals Him. I must know His two natures, both divine and human. I must know His duties, His attributes, His works, His shame, His glory. I must meditate on Him until I “comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” (Ephesians 3:18–19 NKJV). It will be an affectionate knowledge of Jesus. Indeed, if I know Him at all, I must love Him. An ounce of heart knowledge is worth a ton of head learning. Our knowledge of Him will be a satisfying knowledge. When I know my Savior, my mind will be full to the brim—I will feel that I possess what my spirit longed for. This is the bread takes away a person’s hunger forever. And it will be an exciting knowledge—the more I know of my Beloved, the more I will want to know. The higher I climb, the loftier will be the summit that invites my eager footsteps. I will want more as I get more; like a miser’s treasure, my gold will make me greedy for even more. To conclude, this knowledge of Christ Jesus will be a most happy one. It will be so elevating, in fact, that sometimes it will completely lift me above all trials and doubts and sorrows. While I enjoy it, it will make me more than just a “man who is born of a woman . . . few of days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1 ESV). It will cover me with the immortality of the ever-living Savior, and surround me with the golden sash of His eternal joy. Come, my soul—sit at Jesus’s feet and learn of Him all day. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

If indeed He is your Savior, how much time have you taken to get to know Jesus?

That is the question of the day.  Romans 12:2 was the www.biblegateway.com verse of the day.  "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

To renew is to repeatedly go back over, intentionally, with purpose.  This world is going to shout a great many things while you, as Christians, are on this race you are in.  As a song says that one of my favorite singers, Charlie Pride, sang "...this highway leads to glory, but it's no easy ride.  You'll find all kinds of exits, to throw you off your stride...some will lead to fortune others lead to fame. Some will lead you so far off, you won't return again..."

To sit, listen and learn from the Spirit is to shut out the world.  Is it no wonder, classrooms are supposed to be quiet, except for the teacher, and whomever is chosen to respond by that teacher?

We have seen marathons, have seen foot races, people on the sidelines shouting either encouragement or discouragement. 

Our world isn't a Godly place.  It's a sin cursed world.  Those in Christ ought to seek the things of God that are not found in this world.  It's found in prayer and in the Bible.  That's our classroom. 

The world has taught us all from the moment we were able to comprehend it, to look to it for relaxation.  Look to it for peace.  Both of which, as the Bible says it, are only found in Christ. 

So, should you, my believing friend, be looking to the world for peace and safety? Should you be looking to the world for understanding about your life in Christ?

Should you be looking at a watered down Gospel that, had YOU looked, you would have found that it had been compromised?

Paul outright said that if anyone taught a Gospel different than what he and the other Apostles had presented, to let them be accursed. That he wished they would even mutilate themselves.  

If you don't know what is in your Bible, if your relationship with Jesus is sketchy at best, how would you know what the Bible says on subjects such as homosexuality and the Church? How would you know what God says on the subject if you never asked Him? How would you know?

If you don't have a relationship with Jesus, how would you know about what the Bible says about Him if you aren't reading it?

How would you know what Jesus said on any subject if you weren't using the tools at your disposal to look it up?

Take a look at just how far the world has influenced you.  Do you wear the symbols of idolatry from this world? Do you spend hours, if not days, with things outside of work and family, but won't spend time with Jesus?  Will you willingly get fired up over politics, but have no zeal for the things of God?  Are you willing to watch a movie marathon but won't spend even 15 minutes in your Bible?  Are you believing things that aren't true, from a Biblical perspective?  When the Bible tells you something plainly of who will not inherit the kingdom of God, does it bother you at all that deep down you don't believe it? Many don't!  Look at liberal Churches that teach things contrary to what the Bible says on things such as homosexuality. Not that that is the only one, it's the most visible.  Women Pastors is another.  

Spending your own time with Jesus and in your Bible you would know that God says that homosexuals are among those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God. They will not see Heaven.  Spending your own time with Jesus and your Bible you would see what was taught concerning women Pastors.  That in the original language, that it is impossible to have women Pastors.  They are not to be in authority over men in the Church. 

There are others, but, my friend, they aren't meant to be burdensome. Nothing about a right relationship with Jesus is meant to be burdensome.  It's a life with Him. Not just a lifestyle.  The world teaches the concept of lifestyle. Jesus teaches of our need for a relationship with Him. 

How much of your life is spent with you and Jesus? 

No more secrets

“For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything 

hidden that will not be known and come to light.”

Luke 8:17

One of Satan's subtle deceptions is that you can do things in secret that will never be revealed. This is simply not so. The Bible stresses that everything done in darkness will one day be brought to light. So before you commit yourself to do anything questionable, seriously ask yourself, “Am I willing for those around me to know what I am about to do? Am I willing for God to watch me participate in this activity?”

The knowledge that God sees what we do, the certainty that we are accountable for every word and action, ought to dissuade us from sin (2 Cor. 5:10). But we can become so alienated from God that even this knowledge does not deter us. God promises that He will publicly expose our sin so that we must give an account to others for our actions. Ultimately, everything we do will be exposed on judgment day.

Still, some people believe they can sin against God, their families, their employers, or their friends and never be discovered. God has provided a safeguard against sin: the certainty of disclosure. Scripture commands us to expose the deeds of darkness as we become aware of them (Eph. 5:11). As Christians we are to be the light that dispels darkness in our world. Sin cannot continue in the Christian's experience, for light cannot dwell with darkness. The only insurance against having your sins exposed is living a blameless life. - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day 

Secrets.  Oh how we live in a world full of secrets. From others, sometimes laughingly from ourselves.  We also live in a world of the illusion of secrecy.  Believing what we have been doing nobody else knows about. 

Technology wise, hate to break it to you, there are no secrets within audio recording range of a device that connects to the internet.  If you even think your phone, tablet or laptop use, let alone your smart TV is safe, forget it.  In exchange for your convenience you gave up privacy. All the tech giants have supercomputers to digest your daily digital life along with the other millions of people.  Try having a conversation about some idea or product and wait a short while to then see it as a suggested item to buy.  Been there done that in many experiments.  This isn't probably going to scare you. Because most have been desensitized to the reality of it. 

What does this have to do with God?

My friend, way more than you know.   You see, God knows everything about you.  Every thought and intention. Every time you switched directions in a train of thought He knew before you did. Scripture says it is He who searches the hearts of man.  

What you might not grasp the whole of is that in spite of all the things you have said, thought or done, Jesus still died for you. Where any single iota of sin in you, confessed or not, simply what you are born with being enough, was enough to nail YOU to a cross, He took your place.

You might have convinced yourself of nobody else knows when it comes to sin. What does it matter, it's not hurting anybody.   Weelllll, there is where you are wrong.   It hurts your relationship with Jesus.  Sin is sin.  Yes, for those in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation, it also isn't a ticket to continue living in it.  In Romans Paul talks of practicing sin, intentional sin. Sin that people do on purpose knowing full well that the Word of God said otherwise.  The Pharisees and Sadducees were religious leaders of the day and were exceedingly proud of their outward behavior. Yet were always called out on what they thought they were hiding from God. Today, in our world, we still have those kinds of people.  People claiming to be Christian yet intentionally living in sin. 

Remember, my dear reader, if you disagree with what I type, your disagreement is not with me, it's with the Word of God. 

God will not allow rebellion of any kind into Heaven.  

Which means anyone, believers or nonbelievers who practice homosexuality, who are women claiming to be preachers. People who justify stealing regardless of the reasons. People who justify themselves in light of their sin.  People have since Cain, tried to convince a Holy God what should be acceptable to Him.  

God isn't just a God of love. God is a righteous God. He is a God of judgment. He has been charged with bringing all things into subjection to the glory of God.

Which means sin in all its forms will be dealt with.  For unbelievers it means eternity in Hell. For believers it means a life of having it expunged until they die, then in that moment sin is fully removed from them.  

There are no secrets to an all knowing God.

There's no doing things in secret that He will not know about.  And please, don't try suggesting that since He did nothing to you that it must be ok by Him.  If you are still breathing He is giving you the chance to get it right by Him. 

Why are bad people getting away with so much?  In due time they won't be.  Everyone will face Jesus.  Everyone who does wrong to those who are His, will face the justice of Jesus.  It all has been seen by Him before the parts we are aware of. 

Too many Churches today have allowed so much of the world in that they have watered down the consequences of sin. 

They have honestly preached the message of Satan, not of God, that their sins aren't that bad. That it will be ok. 

In your life you need to make sure you are right before God.  Nobody will be standing there with you on judgment day.  It will be you and your thoughts, intentions and actions being looked at from your lifetime.  Not what was seen only but everything.  For me, personally, this is my deepest sadness concerning myself. I know that in Christ I am forgiven, that He has cast my sins as far as the east is from the west, but until I am with Him, I am still aware of them. 

Today, if you are finding yourself compromising, if you are finding that you are indeed living a lie, today make it right before God.  If you are indeed intentionally living in sin. Stop. Confess it. Ask God to show you how to overcome it. Your views of what is right and wrong mean nothing in light of what the Bible says...should those views be different. 

Today is the day to get right before God. 

I have been fascinated by the huge volume of caught on video dashcam videos.  Of the probably millions of people who were shocked to find their lives changed in a split second.  

Christ will return in a split second.  Will you be ready?

Introducing the Holy Spirit

The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost . . . John 14:26 KJV 

This age is especially the time of the Holy Spirit, in which Jesus cheers us not by His personal presence, as He will do before long, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Spirit, who is always and forever the Comforter of the church. It is His duty to console the hearts of God’s people. He convinces of sin, He illuminates and instructs—but the main part of His work still lies in gladdening the hearts of the saved, in confirming the weak, in lifting up all those who are bowed down. He does this by revealing Jesus to them. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. We may say that the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Jesus is the medicine. The Spirit heals our wounds, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ’s name and grace. The Spirit does not draw from His own things, but from the things of Christ. So if we give the Holy Spirit the Greek name of Paraclete, as we sometimes do, then our heart confers on our blessed Lord Jesus the title of Paraclesis. If one is the Comforter, the other is the Comfort. Now, with such a rich provision for our needs, why would Christians be sad and discouraged? The Holy Spirit has graciously offered to be your Comforter—do you imagine, you weak and trembling believer, that He will be negligent in this sacred trust? Can you suppose that He has undertaken something He cannot or will not perform? If it is His special work to strengthen and comfort you, do you suppose He has forgotten His business, or that He will fail in His loving duties toward you? No, don’t think so poorly of the tender and blessed Spirit whose name is the Comforter. He delights to give the oil of joy for your mourning, and the garment of praise for your spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). Trust Him, and He will certainly comfort you until the house of mourning is closed forever—and the marriage feast has begun. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

Really read what Spurgeon had to say.  Most King James translations call Him the Holy Ghost, which isn't accurate.  By no stretch of the imagination is He a ghost, not that there are such things as ghosts. 

He is third person in the Triune God. He is as Spurgeon mentioned as the Paraclete, meaning 'another of the same kind' as the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is as alive and as important as the other parts of the Trinity. 

He indwelled Jesus in His Earthly ministry for the Scripture says that when Jesus came up out of the water the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. 

He is also referred to as the Helper.  He is referred to by Jesus as the Teacher to come after Him.

Scripture says that those who have come to Christ for Salvation are sealed by the Spirit.  A distinguishing mark that no earthly or otherworldly being can do anything about.  Sealed by the Spirit is permanent in every aspect of existence in the eyes of God the Father. 

I honestly look at my life in awe of what the Spirit has done and is doing.  20 plus years ago I should have died.  At that dark moment in my life I was contemplating suicide.  God changed all that. He intervened.  Changing both the direction of my life and the purpose of it.  The Spirit is very much alive and His fingerprints are on me.  In the areas of my life that I have given up, I have found that I don't miss. I am in awe of this blog. What it has done, where it has gone.  That aspect has nothing to do with me.  That's the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Same with my Facebook group.  Only God grows spiritual things. Only God makes something out of nothing.  Only God can take a wretch like me and make something useful out of it.

But that's you, I hear you say, that's not what's going on in my life. My friend, in order for a child to be given something better, that child must be convinced to let go of what is the most important thing to them.  To trust.  Jesus stands before you, as He does to all who claim to call on His name.  He has something for you, but YOU need to give up your hold on what is most important to you.  You.  In all actuality you indeed may not be asked to give up on it, but to simply trust God with it.  Then to see where God takes you and it.

Our lives, in Christ, are not our own. Yet so many are taught that after coming to Christ they can live as they want and see fit to live. 

Look around you.  This world is not going through climate change.  It's not global warming.  It's preparing for thr return of Christ.  The Earth is the Lord's and all it contains. That's in the Old Testament.  The Earth knows its Creator. It groans and anguishs, waiting for the moment when He returns as He promised He would.  Scripture is being fulfilled, evil men and impostors are on the rise.  Just as the Scripture says.  Jesus said that He wondered if He would find the faith when He returns.  In many places the professing Church is dwindling.  There are innumerable 'Churches' claiming a great many things, but they are not of the true Church of God. Compromises are rampant in them. Lies spoken from the pulpit by unqualified people. Scripture twisted to say things that God never intended.  Those places and people do not have the Holy Spirit of God. They have demons.

Your life before God is proven by the activity of the Spirit in your life.  

In regards to the former accusations of evil men and impostors? Try any man claiming that God has no problem with homosexuality or any other sexual sins.  Try any woman claiming that they are a Pastor.  Try any who claim that there is more than one way to get to Heaven. Try any who do not confess that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, that no man comes to the Father but through Him. 

Jesus said you will know people by their fruits.  You will be able to see good Spiritual fruits in those who are truly in Christ. 

My friend, look at your life and who you are living for.  If it isn't Christ, and you claim to be a Christian, you have a serious problem.  You have become one of those who have compromised. You have to get your life right with God. 

If you haven't received Christ as your personal Savior, do not be discouraged. He's been waiting at the door of your heart your entire life.  Fear not, He knows all about you and still loves you enough to want to save you.  If only you would let Him. The Holy Spirit will come into your life with Christ and you will be among the family of God. Life might not get better, but you will NOT be going through it alone.