Obedience is possible, but unlikely. The “fellowship of the Spirit” (Philippians 2:1 KJV) produces more than compliance, but communion. True religion is not simply a list of commands demanding unequivocal obedience. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). Make no mistake, obedience is necessary, but intimate knowledge of Yahweh is the objective. His indwelling Spirit becomes the magnum opus for His creation and redemption of humanity that we may abide with Him forever. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). The primary attribute of the fullness of His Spirit is loving obedience. “And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him” (Acts 5:32). Obedience is both a manifestation of and requirement for the Spirit’s presence. Thus, a disciple must seek the influence of the Holy Spirit to ensure a godly walk, as well as, produce the greatest demonstration of the character of God — on earth, as it is in Heaven. LORD, make it so. Return quickly, in Jesus’ powerful name, we pray. Amen.
Author: Ken
Center of the Earth
Is Jerusalem the center of the earth? We know Creation took place in the Middle East at the confluence of four named rivers, one of which was the Euphrates (Genesis 2:14) in a region once called the Cradle of Civilization and still identified as the Fertile Crescent. Biblical history establishes Jerusalem as the “city of David” (2Samuel 5:7), the capital of Israel and where Solomon built the Jewish Temple. For Jews, Jerusalem is the center of their earth. And, for Christians, the Gospel would spread starting from Jerusalem “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8 KJV). Jesus ascended back to heaven from the Mount of Olives east and just outside of Jerusalem (1:12) and will descend to the same spot at His Second Coming (Zechariah 14:4). Rome destroyed the Jerusalem Temple (70 AD). The Crusades took and lost Jerusalem. Islam built the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Three of the main religions of the world are monotheistic and Jerusalem centric. Modern Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital, and the United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem in the 21st century. Any wonder David the Psalmist enjoined, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6)?
Where Freedom Ends
My right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins. God created all humans “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27 KJV) with the potential of free moral choice. Without the liberty or freedom of choice, humanity is less than human — reduced to slavery, serfdom, or a clone imitation of a real human. But, the very freedom to choose must also contain the seeds of rejection of that liberty, unless the subsequent generations choose to continue in that liberty. If left solely in the hands of humankind, then we are in great peril of being the last generation who understands the Truth. But, glory be to God, He has given us His Eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:24), through the new birth (John 7:39) and baptism (Acts 2:38) to ensure the success of Truth to the end! “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come” (John 16:13).
How to Protect the Minority
“Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21 KJV). Foreigners in Ancient Israel were given the liberty and safety to reside among the Israelites, for the Israelites were once foreigners in Egypt. Though not a totally clear picture of the status of possible immigrants in Israel, it is telling that Jehovah gave them special protection. Where the LORD gave “liberty throughout all the land” (Leviticus 25:10), it extended to its immigrants. Liberty or freedom of choice is a trademark of a nation who knows the LORD. “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2Corinthians 3:17). Israel could not continue as a nation singularly for Jehovah, if the culture and religion of the immigrants overpowers the worship of the True God rather than becoming assimilated to Yahweh. If we promote True Christian Liberty, the minorities will be protected; or, we will succumb to foreign gods, if the Spirit of God is not given free reign to effectively propagate the Truth.
Center of the Will of God
Standing in the center of the will of God is not an illusion. Epaphras prayed for the Colossians, “That ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12 KJV). “Perfect and complete in all the will of God” (4:12) is not man’s standards, for humanity will always be “accusing or else excusing one another” (Romans 2:15). God alone can declare us “perfect and complete” (Colossians 4:12) in the center of the will of God. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Only the Spirit of the Living God can cause us to be in the center of the will of God. “And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). Obedience is not simply deciding to do right, and doing it. Obedience is understanding and purposing to do right, then seeking and trusting the Spirit of God in making us do right, as we actually obey. Meditate on it. LORD, we can of our own self do nothing; and, through Your Spirit, we can do all things. Make us to know and trust You for everything. May You be magnified in all things. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
Opinion: UFOs Are Not Extraterrestrial
If UFOs are demonic lying wonders, then SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is misdirected. “Even him [Antichrist], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2Thessalonians 2:9 KJV). What is commonly labeled as ET (extraterrestrial) has been addressed throughout the ages as “lying wonders” or demonic. Demons are disembodied spirits resulting from the Nephilim killed in the Flood, where the Nephilim are the product of Fallen Angels, who cohabitated with human females (Genesis 6:2,4). Science fiction movie script? No, Hollywood is only repeating the discussion that has been around for millennia. This perspective may actually be the key to explaining the conundrum of how a charismatic world leader [Antichrist] can usher in a period of World Peace, especially for Israel, which has defied Arab, Christian, and Jew. “And he [Antichrist] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27). Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.
Word of God: Living and Active
Abundant, free energy. Who wouldn’t be interested in acquiring? Not fission, fusion, hydrogen, or renewable. The Word of God is alive and powerful. “For the word of God is quick [alive, active], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder [i.e., fission] of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart [i.e., nano, small]” (Hebrews 4:12 KJV). Even in the native tongue of its present readers and hearers, power courses through the Word of God, as we dwell upon God’s thoughts. We must be far along into the redemptive history of humanity for the Word of God to be so available, yet actively maligned, ignored, undervalued, and misunderstood. The Word of God is the most powerful expression of the deepest truths of our existence. LORD, make us to value Your words as the richest treasure, the pearl of great price, that we would seek it more than the necessary food for our physical bodies. Amen and amen.
Working Out Better Than It Should’ve
Complain? Absolutely not! “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20 KJV). How many times have things worked out better than you could have expected? Human accidentalists may not give you an even chance of things working out; and then, they may write off your success as a statistical error or an anomaly, kinda like the probability of there being a God, or that miracles really occur. Not to worry! When our humanist friends are backed against the wall of their statistical probability without hope for the future, then God finally can address their need for Him. He plans to mercifully be there to prove He is the God who is, and He will abundantly pardon. LORD, humble us, and humble our humanist friends, that we all can truly appreciate our necessity of You, for You always intended to be our All in All, satisfying every legitimate need, “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (3:20). Thank you! In Jesus’ name, we can now finally pray. Amen.
We Practice What We Believe
In other words, we all demonstrate what we actually believe by the way we act. “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew [shō] me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew [shō] thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18 KJV). There is no mystery about our beliefs, just look at how we act. If you wonder why you don’t have certain results from your beliefs, then you are confused about how you believe. Faith is not simply willing yourself to trust God, but “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Faith is not ‘pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’; but, faith is the “gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). And, no, God does not do our believing for us, but He makes our believing “effectual [Greek, energeia, Thayer, in the NT used only of superhuman power, whether of God or the devil]” (3:7), that is, He makes our faith valuable by empowering it. And, you can tell when He is cooperatively empowering us, when the results align with what He reveals in His Word. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). LORD, empower our believing. Make our simple act of intellectual faith powerful and spiritual. Cause us to evaluate our faith by what You represent in Your Word. Cause us to actively hunger for our faith to look like what we read in Your Word. Make it so that what we believe causes us to act like what we know from Your Word. Grant to us the essential working of Your Spirit that You may conform us to Your Word — not just in letter — but in Spirit and in power. Do all of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen and amen.
How to Get the World’s Attention
“Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek Thy name, O LORD” (Psalm 83:16 KJV). How does God accomplish His will in the world? What does filling their “faces with shame” (83:16) mean? In context, the Psalmist referred to “Thine enemies” (83:2), the ones, who said about Israel, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (83:4). For us, shame means a loss of control in protecting our dignity, which is a loss of whatever we confide in to support us, e.g., our world view. This may represent a rearrangement of our circumstances (religious, cultural, political, economic). “Seek Thy name” (83:16) refers to “seek, and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7). For whom we pray, all may not be subsequently converted; but unquestionably, this must be how some will be converted. The question is not whether Almighty God is capable of answering such a prayer, but whether we have the confidence to pray it. LORD, You deserve the world to seek Your name. We know that there is salvation in no other name than Jesus. Cause Your net to draw in a great harvest for Your kingdom, especially of those, whose purpose is that “Israel may be no more” (Psalm 83:4). Return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 
You must be logged in to post a comment.