Faith, Hope, Love..

Greetings..I wanted to write an update today regarding what the Lord has been doing in my life.

What I am going through these days is kind of a reinvention of sorts. I am groing and groing sometimes comes with pain. In my case all this pain is internal as I strive to be a better man today than I was yesterday and the day before etc. In the midst of this pain, as I struggle to grow internally, the Lord has reminded me of some important facts. Namely, he reminded me that in the midst of this growing, or anything else that our lives might be consumed with today, the way to get through it, and thrive through it is.........faith, hope, love.

The keys to success in this life are not being the most organized, being the best planner, the hardest worker, or having the most insight or wisdom or anything like that. The Lord recently impressed upon me to REST in him. He impressed upon me that although my past is flawed due to all my own screwups, I have gone from one success and triumph in life to another. He asked me, "how did this happen? Was it because of all your wisdom and superior strength and foresight and planning etc?" To that question I had to laugh, and cry and answer no.

The reason for everything good in my life has been faith in him, hope in his lovingkindness, and love for him. Through all my internal ups and downs, the Lord's faithfulness has come through for me again and again and again. What's so great about the Lord's love and faithfulness is that I didn't have to know the future, or be perfect, or be the best, smartest, strongest person in this race called "life." Because I did not have to "be" all those things, and yet I still prospered, I can REST in him. FEW things are required to succeed in this life. What things are required? Faith, hope, love.

I want to add a note on what "love" is here as God defines it...John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Love means obedience. My past is checkered with failures however the Lord's grace, his mercy and his strength has enabled me to pick up the broken pieces of my screwups day after day after day and re-engage life again and again...following these things, faith, hope and love.

I have been very encouraged today that the Lord has reminded me of these things. Its not all on my shoulders to figure everything out. I don't have to "be perfect." I have to have faith, keep up my hope, and above all...LOVE, my God, my family, and all of mankind to the best of my ability.

As I rest in the Lord in faith, hope and love, he is encouraging me to push forward to be a better man. He is sustaining me in this pain that is growth. He does expect us to put forth, to bear fruit, but he is a gentle taskmaster to those who remain broken before him.

Because I ramble, I want to wind up with this as a message to you. What is happening between me and the Lord today, may have some application to you today. We do not live on islands apart from each other, although to the eye it appears we do. We are all one "in Christ" so I want to encourage you to REST today. When you are resting, remember that the battles are not yours even though you seem to be the "star" of the movie called "your life" you have a great helper who loves you. Keep the faith, rest, hope, love, believe. Know that you know that you KNOW the Lord is going to help you again because you love him, and he loves you. STRIVE, put forth effort, GROW where you have been planted today knowing that whatever you are today is temporary, whether where you are is good or bad..

Okay, one more rambling comment on the power of words. The Lord recently gave me this mental picture of each of us waking up to each new day like an artist stepping up to a fresh, clean canvass to paint. What goes on that canvass is up to us. The words we use inside our hearts and minds are the paint on that canvass and WE CHOOSE THEM. Realize the power of the words you use. We were created to be like our God, and he tells us...John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The "word" was God, was with God and WAS GOD. The word of God is Jesus himself, and because we are like him, he has given our words power just as his words have power. We must be very careful then, to watch our words..both those we speak and those we think. Remember that as a man thinks, so is he. As we believe, so things are done unto us.

Let's be careful then to watch ourselves. Let us paint beautiful pictures within ourselves on the fresh canvass we are given that is called a "new day." Let us be encouraged to REST in our God. Let us strive to become more as a people because we love our God and our fellowman, but as we do this let us recognize that the battle and the outcome are the Lord's. That is not an excuse for us to lay back and say "well then, let him do everything!" because he expects us to engage in each day alongside of him.

Be encouraged today, continue to pray. Do not give up your faith or your hope or your love. Believe the Lord for BIG things in accordance with the growth of your soul and your walk with him. Our God is very VERY good, and his eye is on us today. Do not be fooled by his apparent silence because he speaks in many different ways at different times. Renew your strength today in the Lord and be patient for the answer to your prayers. Look for your answers tomorrow as you pray with great hope and expectation today.

One day, our hearts will swell with joy and we will be glad that we adopted the attitude of a soldier to fight on for one more day...for our God, for our families, for our brothers and for ourselves.

May the Lord bless you and keep you today, may his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace..BLESSED BE HIS NAME...grace and peace

brother d

Faith, Hope, Love-Work Out Your Salvation

1 Corinthians 13:13 Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Philippians 2:12 My dear friends, you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I'm absent. In the same way continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

We are told to "work out" our salvation with fear and trembling. I know that these words directly from the bible are absolute heresy for most "churches" today because 1. they refuse any notion of "working out" your salvation. 2. The bible says we do it with "fear and trembling" but the babylonian church has'nt been given a "spirit of fear" so they refuse to obey this piece of scripture all together. For those of us whose heart is to absolutely obey the Word of God down to the letter, how do we "work out" our salvation? We are saved by grace THROUGH FAITH.....and FAITH is our "work" it takes FAITH to do the "work of God" which is to believe.

Back to faith, hope, love:

1 Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

Does it surprise you that the "work" our Lord expects from us is "working" our faith and laboring love, being patient in hope? How can your faith be "working" if you never use it? (parable of the talents Matt 25) Love isn't a feeling, its a decision. Jesus first loved us so much that he died for us when we were sinners. Love came with some tremendous pain for our Lord.

The kingdom of our God is advancing itself all around the world today through the few who are truly "in Christ." Each person is in a different position with different gifts and able to apply "faith, hope, love" in different ways. You don't have to look overseas to find the opportunities to do this "work" of God. How many opportunities for "faith, hope, love" do you have within your own household? How about when you step out your front door and people are so torqued up on stress and fear that your natural reaction would be to club them but instead you do the "work" and apply "faith, hope, love."

Our Lord left the possibilities wide open for us. We are looking for the Lord's return each and every day, but is that all we're doing? Just looking at the sky and saying "hurry up Lord?" I believe that the Lord expects us to be "putting out" as the Navy SEALS call it while we are here on earth. That means DOING in accordance with how our Lord would have us do things. Men tell you to "go to church" as your duty to God. Jesus tells you to BE the church by WORKING OUT your salvation in fear and trembling by applying faith hope, love while we are here.

Our Lord specifically pointed out this word FAITH in conjunction with him coming back for us. Luke 18:8
... But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" One of the areas we apply/work our faith out on a daily basis is for the escape from all that is coming sometime in the future. The Lord impressed me yesterday with the idea that those who take his word for what it is at FACE VALUE will be the happiest in the long run.

If our God said it, and you take it in the most plain literal way, you will be the closest to hitting the target. The bible was NOT written for "christian" scholars. It was written for children. Children naturally apply GREAT FAITH because they haven't had time to be brainwashed yet by the world and its babylonian forms of religion.

Matthew 18:3
... and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children,you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Holy Spirit doesn't have to argue with a child for 10 years to get them to believe what he said is fact/truth when he tells them clearly what he plans to do. There is an escape from ALL coming and that's a fact. That's what was written clearly in Luke 21:36 for us to accept as children.

The escape from all will arrive at its appointed time. While we wait for it I believe the Lord has been speaking to me for weeks on this subject of faith. I think he's trying to get a point across to somebody and I know I'm one of them. Without faith its impossible to please God. When he comes back, if you are sitting around watching the sky but your faith hope and love are lacking, I don't know, that won't be good..I know our master is looking for people today who will exercise GREAT FAITH like the centurion and the woman whose child was sick:

Matt 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Matt 15: 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

The Lord is going to vomit lukewarm "christianity" out of his mouth at some point in the future (rev 3:16). While the lukewarm church is being tossed, should'nt we be striving to make the Lord marvel at our faith? Should'nt that be the goal? Or is it enough to be serviced once or twice a week by your hired hand spiritual employees and hope to skid into heaven by the seat of your pants? I can tell you this, if the Holy Spirit is not there, you have no business there either. When you go into these babylonian temples and the only life there is the "interpretive dance" and the "christian theatre acting troup" you need to keep looking.

How people can drag themselves around to these places days on days, weeks on weeks, years on years, seeing no power, no mountains moved, no FIRE is beyond me. I guess if being part of the walking dead is good enough then far be it from me to criticize. Once this fire burns inside you it becomes IMPOSSIBLE to tolerate the lie presenting itself to the world as christianity. Something inside you wants to leap out and grab people and shake them.

The truth can be found in your bibles, and on your knees before the Lord seeking his face for yourself without any interloper in between. Most husbands and wives don't invite a hired hand helper to sit between them on dates or lie between them in bed at night so WHY would they pay someone to stand between them in their relationship to the Almighty to find out what the Lord is saying to them today? GET THE MIDDLE MAN OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Faith...hope...love and the greatest of these is love, first love for Jesus then for your fellow man. Who knows how much time is left? Lets be found doing what we know pleases our Lord when he comes back. Let us be walking in GREAT faith, hope and love when he arrives. What does a person have to fear if they are doing these things? John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

grace and peace

There doth remain faith, hope, love

1 Corinthians 13 -YLT The love doth never fail; and whether there be prophecies, they shall become useless; whether tongues, they shall cease; whether knowledge, it shall become useless; 9 for in part we know, and in part we prophecy; 10 and when that which is perfect may come, then that which is in part shall become useless. 11 When I was a babe, as a babe I was speaking, as a babe I was thinking, as a babe I was reasoning, and when I have become a man, I have made useless the things of the babe; 12 for we see now through a mirror obscurely, and then face to face; now I know in part, and then I shall fully know, as also I was known; 13 and now there doth remain faith, hope, love -- these three; and the greatest of these is love.

We know that we are supposed to be watching and ready for the Lord's return each and every day. That's the only 100% sure way to be watching and ready on the day he returns. For every speculation out there for when our Lord's returns, there's someone else who does'nt believe it. This attitude we have taken of readiness always is THE way the bible tells us to be ready for his return. With that said, what if the Lord does'nt show up until Dec 21,2012? The date that you pick in the future does'nt matter, what I'm getting at is the patience necessary to wait for years for the Lord's return if necessary.

The people in this world have a terrible time sticking with ANYTHING these days that's longer than the nightly showing of "dancing with the stars" or whatever other garbage is on TV these days. The divorce rate is very insightful because our relationship with the Lord is a parallel to earthly marriage. How many stick with it till death do they part? This isnt a bash on divorced people but making a point about people's lack of ability to stick with anything. What if the Lord delays? Then what? He could show up any day, today or 2 years from today, meantime what are we doing with what we have been given (parable of the talents Matt 25). What are some of the talents from Matt 25 you ask? I'm sure there are many opinions but here's mine: Go back to the initial scripture posted at the top:

12 for we see now through a mirror obscurely, and then face to face; now I know in part, and then I shall fully know, as also I was known; 13 and now there doth remain faith, hope, love -- these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Todays babylonian preachers like to twist the parable of the talents into another tool to fleece your pocketbook but do you really think our Lord needs your money? What is our God looking for out of you? FAITH, HOPE, LOVE. It is through faith that I give my money directly to the poor and needy with no hired hand middlemen to fleece it along the way. Every penny goes into the mouth of the hungry. I do this out of love for the poor. I do this in faith that our Lord's heart is with the hurting and needy in this world. This isn't about me though, its about using what we've been given, faith, hope, love. The various ways these "talents" can be expressed is limitless.

Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Luke 12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

How exactly do we "watch?" Stare at the sky all day? No, we watch through faith. Faith apprehends things that are not seen. Faith expects things that other men scoff at to appear. Faith activates the power of the word of God. Faith gets someone like Noah to build the ark when the entire world was ridiculing, laughing, mocking etc. Hope tells us theres a point to what we are believing for. Love solidifies both faith and hope in the knowledge that the word we trust in, which is Jesus himself (the word) will deliver on every promise made, every time.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 In the presence of our God and Father, we constantly remember how your faith is active, your love is hard at work, and your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah is enduring.

When the Lord shows up whether that be today or Dec 2012 or anytime before or after, he expects to find REAL faith, hope, and love. The sinfulness and wickedness of this world hardens people's hearts. People can believe today then fall away tomorrow. Once saved always saved is a satanic lie from the pit of hell, your faith must ABIDE the test of TIME, through the waiting, through the economic crisis, through the pig flu, through it ALL. The Lord gave me this perfect illustration to destroy the lie that making a "decision" one day does NOT mean you are "saved forever."

Here it is: What does it really mean to "make a decision." Do you know what the latin root in that word "de-cision" means? It means to CUT OFF permanently from any other option or opportunity. How do we KNOW that someone has made a real decision for Jesus? The test of time. We are all familiar with the new years syndrome where people all over the world "make a decision" that this year they will lose weight, go to the gym etc etc. How exactly do we KNOW if their "decision" was real or not? At the end of the year they are LIVING, acting out the "decision" made and weight is lost. How do we know that a decision was'nt really made? They weight 10 pounds more this year. It's no different in any other area where people make decisions. So called christianity would have you believe that today you can "make a decision" for Jesus then fall away later, and still be saved. That's like saying I made a decision today to lose weight, then tomorrow and every day after the doughnuts and cheescake look better than my decision, I don't work out and I still expect to lose weight. Does that wash AT ALL? That's utterly retarded, its ridiculous, its illogical and its a LIE. People know it does'nt work with diets, workouts, learning a new language or anything else worthwhile in this world but somehow magically when it comes to the Lord and the kingdom of heaven we have this magical ability to "make a decision" one day thats not really a de-cision/cutting off of every other possibility and still expect to get into heaven.

A REAL de-cision means a true cutting off, NO GOING BACK, bridge burned behind us, the rest of our life lived for Jesus PERIOD. Anything else was not a decision. Do we fall on our face as we go forward? Sure. Make lots of mistakes? Yep. Are we perfect? No. But we are expected to get up after every fall, to learn from every mistake and to become PERFECT as he is perfect.

Matthew 5:48
... So be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Our Lord expects RESULTS. Go read the parable of the talents again if you don't believe me. He wants to see SOME PROGRESS with what you have been given. The one who buried his "talent" in the ground was called wicked and lazy then thrown outside with the hypocrites. Where can you use your faith, hope and love "talents?" Question is.....where can you not? Engage....go all in, use what you have been given as a conscious act of your will exercise those gifts. It's what our master expects. We must have something, ANYTHING to show for progress. Do not bury your talents. We are dearly loved children. grace and peace