Raised By Christ to Higher Heights

“And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

–Ephesians 2:6

There is a distinction between being quickened together with Christ and being raised up together with him. Is not this true in the experience of God’s people? To be quickened into divine life, to be convinced of sin, to have the fear of God planted deeply in the soul, is the commencement of a work of grace. But this is not a deliverance, not a being raised up out of darkness, bondage, doubt, guilt, and fear. This is not a knowledge of Christ, and the power of his resurrection; this is not a full coming out of the dark and silent tomb into the glorious light and warmth of day.

But here is the great blessedness of a mystical union with the Lord Jesus Christ that, as by virtue of interest in him there is a partaking of the benefit and power of his having been quickened, so there is a partaking in the benefit and power of his having been raised up. God does not quicken a soul into divine life to let it remain in the dark tomb of doubt, fear, guilt, and bondage. In raising up Christ there was not only a pledge of the spiritual, but a virtual resurrection of the members of his body. Liberty, then, the liberty of the gospel, deliverance from all doubt and fear, the manifestation of pardon and peace, the shedding abroad of the love of God in the heart, are blessings as much assured to the members of Christ’s mystical body as their first quickening into spiritual life, and both are equally assured them in Christ their covenant Head.

JC Philpot

Are You Chosen? Are You Sure?

I’ll Be Honest

John MacArthur on Hell

I’ll Be Honest

One Master…Period

I’ll Be Honest

Valley of Vision

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage… As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. –Psalm 84:5-6     In the days of the conquest of Canaan, the Valley of Baca was known as a dry, waterless place where only balsam trees could grow. Some have called it “a place of weeping.” However, when we trust God during dry, parched times, we can turn our valley of weeping into a refreshing “place of springs.”   My favorite Puritan prayer about valleys has seen me through many a dry place in my spiritual journey: “Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision… Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine; Let me find thy light in my darkness, thy life in my death, thy joy in my sorrow, thy grace in my sin, thy riches in my poverty, thy glory in my valley.”[1]   Psalm 23:4 says, “… though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” We fear no harm in the valley because death can only cast its shadow on us. Evil has no grip on us. Truly, we find God’s brightest glory in our darkest valleys.   Lord, you are the Great Shepherd who leads me through every dark valley. I trust you to turn my valley of weeping into a place of refreshment and encouragement. [1] Arthur Bennett, The Valley of Vision… A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, The Banner of Truth Trust, Pennsylvania, PA, 1997, Preface.

Blessings,   Joni and Friends

Hard, Difficult…Untried

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.

~G. K. Chesterton

HT: Berean Wife

The Christian’s Permission

“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6) The High Priest of Israel wore the inscription “holiness to the Lord” to illustrate to all who obeyed God that they were “accepted before the LORD” (Exodus 28:36-38). Joshua, as a type of all believers, was granted “places to walk” in the courts of God (Zechariah 3:7). Christ’s disciples were commanded to “ask” the Father for “whatsoever,” since they were chosen and ordained to “bring forth fruit” (John 15:16). We have permission to “ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). But there is more! Not only are we accepted, we are “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13), an “earnest |down payment, deposit| of our inheritance” (v. 14). We are “stablishe|d| . . . anointed . . . sealed” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). We are “confirmed” in everything (1 Corinthians 1:4-8), consecrated and sanctified to serve (Exodus 28:41; 1 John 2:27), and given the “earnest of the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 5:5) to empower our ministry. The Holy Spirit does His work through a threefold ministry in our lives. He will work on Christ’s behalf, through our witness, to bring conviction to those not yet in Christ (John 16:7-11). He will also minister to us as the teacher of our spirits to guide us into all truth (John 16:13; 14:17, 26; 15:26). Furthermore, the wisdom, prudence, and knowledge of God are revealed to us through His work in us (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). All that is necessary for our “effectual working” (Ephesians 3:7) is “graced” to us so that we can “work out |our| salvation” (Philippians 2:12). We are “complete in him” (Colossians 2:10). HMM III

Print this article | More Days of Praise articles

Institute for Creation Research | 1806 Royal Lane | Dallas | TX | 75229

Urgent Prayer Request from a Friend

Went to see the specialist and I have a cancerous growth in my neck.  He said probably as a result of a HPV virus infection….Human Papilloma virus.  Women get a pap smear to detect for cervical cancer.  Over 200 strains of HPV and at any one time half of Americans have it, but usually goes away after a  few years, and usually goes undetected.

Many strains are transmitted sexually and if goes to cancer result in genital lesions, or even kissing. I  told him I have not  kissed anyone or had sex since end of 2008.  Dr. Anderson was very good, straight forward, said you can get HPV from kissing, or germs from public places…you pick your tooth and transfer the virus.   A few dozen strains of HPV in men result in oropharyngeal cancer…..Also HPV can be contracted and sit dormant for up to 10 years before it causes an infection…I could have received from ex.

The types of HPV that can cause genital warts are not the same as the types that can cause cancers. There is no way to know which people who get HPV will go on to develop cancer or other health problems.

Dr. Anderson did 2 biopsies…one with a stainless plier from the inside that snips a piece off, and then from the outside with a needle and withdraws the fluid.  Tests will come back in 2 weeks, they have a closing for a week for something so I am back to see him 3 weeks today.   So not a cancer that results from lifestyle..such as smoking, drugs, bad diet etc.  I asked anything I should do, or not do?  He said nope.  I asked how to cure, he says we zap it with radiation and it melts…odd time need some chemo.

So that what it appears to be, should know for certain in 3 weeks, I assume radiation to start shortly thereafter.  So God’s will be done, nothing has changed, at this time I believe this will be okay, might take months and alternative Red Rebel treatment, but that’s how I feel.  Then move onto prostrate issue and see what that brings. Get your prostrate exam each year during checkup and use disinfectants…google HPV and read up, quite scary and I know nothing about it.

Who Are We Again?

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4) The search for identity and meaning can drive one to great successes or tragic failures. For the Christian, however, the question is answered throughout Ephesians. We are chosen! We are selected as a favorite out of “many |who| are called” (Matthew 22:14) “out of the world” (John 15:19). What a privilege! We are God’s choice to bear His name, represent His cause, and share His glory throughout eternity. In fact, we are “predestinated |previous boundaries set| . . . unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself” (Ephesians 1:5). And “if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). Furthermore, we have been “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). That word, “accepted,” is a specialized form of the word most often translated “grace.” We have been “graced” by almighty God, who has set absolute boundaries around our lives and made us His children. We were purchased “through his blood” (v. 7) “that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar |that is, ‘precious’| people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). Moreover, we are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)! Our sins are “covered” (Psalm 32:1); “cast” behind God’s back (Isaiah 38:17); removed “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12); “remember|ed| . . . no more” (Jeremiah 31:34); and cleansed “from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Hallelujah! Since we are God’s children, we should have no identity crisis. We are a chosen, predestined, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, and holy people. Finally, we are predestined “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). HMM III

Print this article | More Days of Praise articles

Institute for Creation Research | 1806 Royal Lane | Dallas | TX | 75229

To Sing as Jesus Sung

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. –Matthew 26:30     Whether I’m wheeling through the office, driving down the freeway, or puttering in the backyard, I love to sing. My heart wants to sing whenever I’m enjoying the routines of life. But have you ever wondered if Jesus sang? It’s easy to picture him humming a melody as he walked up the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. We know they sang in the synagogues. During the holy feast days, Jesus’ family probably sang. There must have been many times that Jesus’ heart filled with joy and he let loose with a song. So… where in the Bible does it say that he sang?   The only place it records such a time is in Matthew 26:30.The scene for the song is not on a sunny hillside… it’s not as he sailed with his disciples in the boat… and it’s not as he walked along the beach with his friends. It was in the Upper Room the night that Jesus was betrayed. After he broke the bread and offered wine, they sang a hymn and then went out to the Mount of Olives. Of all the times and places, the Lord Jesus chose to have us remember him singing as he was led off to his death.   This speaks to me in my wheelchair. It shows me how to follow the Lord in song when my heart is heavy, when I’m facing disappointment, or when my back aches. As we follow his steps up to the Mount of Olives, into the Garden of Gethsemane, and down the road to Calvary, we take up our cross and sing.   Our natural inclination is not to sing when we are sad or hurting. Yet think of the apostle Paul who sang, despite his chains in jail (Acts 16:25). No matter if your emotions are up or down, follow the Lord’s lead today and ask God to put a song in your heart   In my heart there rings a melody of love, dear Jesus. You are my song today and every day. Please keep tuning my heart to sing your praises.

Blessings,   Joni and Friends

JESUS, REMEMBER ME

Reblogged from God's Promises Are Real:

• 
• 

“Then he said, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  (Luke 23:42) We read in Scripture that Jesus was crucified along with two robbers on either side of him.  The gospels of Mark and John say little about these men. While Matthew tells us that both robbers insulted Jesus, Luke’s gospel tells us that one of the thieves asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom.  Despite the fact that he was dying, the condemned man finally understood that the one who could save him for …

Government plans for three-parent babies

Babies with three genetic parents could be born within a few years, as the Government this week announced plans for a consultation on changing embryology rules.The Government says the controversial technique may help avoid certain genetic diseases being passed on from mother to child. But critics say there are serious ethical considerations and the experiments may have harmful unintended consequences.

 

CLICK HERE to Read Entire Article www.christian.org.uk

A Picture of a Prophet (Leonard Ravenhill)

  The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men.

Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, “No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected.” The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his “brand name.”

The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him “Man of the year” when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!

The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, “has almost always been that of recovery.”

The prophet is God’s detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.
He has no price tags.
He is totally “otherworldly.”
He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
He marches to another drummer!
He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.
He is a “seer” who comes to lead the blind.
He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a “thus saith
the Lord.”
He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of
impending judgment.
He lives in “splendid isolation.”
He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
His message is “repent, be reconciled to God or else…!”
His prophecies are parried.
His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead!
He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with
epitaphs when dead.
He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few “make the grade” in his class.
He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint
by posterity.
He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of
Life to those who listen.
He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
He announces, pronounces, and denounces!
He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
He talks to men about God.
He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.
He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.
He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in
the marketplace.
He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
He is ordained of God but disdained by men.

Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!

I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life: bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the “seven years of plenty” are over for us. The “seven years of famine” are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).

Millions have been spent on evangelism in the last twenty-five years. Hundreds of gospel messages streak through the air over the nation every day. Crusades have been held; healing meetings have made a vital contribution. “Come-outers” have “come out” and settled, too, without a nation-shaking revival. Organizers we have. Skilled preachers abound. Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?

GOD’S MEN ARE IN HIDING UNTIL THE DAY OF THEIR SHOWING FORTH. They will come. The prophet is violated during his ministry, but he is vindicated by history.

There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.

Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.
Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and
stagnant “churchianity.”
Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.
Let him, too, say and live, “This ONE thing I do.”
Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.
Let him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting, nonself- righteous,
nonself-glorying, nonself-promoting.
Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move
men to God.
Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has
received the order of the day.
Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the
clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.
Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision
no man in this century has seen. God send us this Moses to lead us from the
wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where
enlightened men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.

 

God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!

Leonard Ravenhill

The Reality of the Christian…Forget Your Feelings!

I’ll Be Honest

Let Me Be a Woman

“Friend, lover, husband. In your life together he will be many things to you. Confidant, companion, provider, strength, playmate, listener, teacher, pupil, leader, comforter, and, as Sarah saw Abraham, “lord.” Each role has its glories and its limitations, each requires a different kind of response from you and this takes resilience, adaptability, maturity. Life is made exciting and interest is sustained by these dynamics so long as all are undergirded by love.

Your provider may someday lose his job. Your strength may show unexpected weakness. Your knight in armor may experience a public defeat. Your teacher may make a serious mistake that you tried to warn him about. Your lover may become a helpless patient, sick, sore, and sad, needing your presence and care every minute of the day and night. “This isn’t the man I married,” you will say, and it will be true. But you married him for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, and those tremendous promises took into account the possibility of radical change. That was why promises were necessary.

There are things in life which can make what seems to be a mockery out of the solemn promises. “To love, honor, and obey” your husband can seem the last ironies in the face of the unspeakable humiliations and indignities of illness. Love, honor and obey this beaten, anguished, angry man who will not take his pill? The vows are serious. Staggeringly serious. But you did not take them trusting in your own strength to perform. The grace that enabled you to take those vows will be there to draw on when the performance of them seems impossible.”

~ Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be A Woman

Thanks to Melissa Bailey for this great piece of encouragement.

Oh…And Tell Peter

Mark 16~

2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for itwas very great.

5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

I can only imagine what Peter felt like in those days leading up to Christ’s resurrection. This robust man, strong, in your face, SURE that even after all the other disciples ran away and left the Master alone, HE would remain faithful. Not me, Lord! Them, well yes, but not ME! Well, Peter, yes, even you left Jesus alone. Jesus remembered this. He remembered that Peter denied Him not once but three times in the short course of that evening. Let me ask you dear reader, how many times have you denied your relationship and subservience to Him? I can be sure, just like me, it’s more often than we dare think about.

Peter, heart-broken, crushed in spirit, remorseful and cried out, hears the news his burning ears couldn’t possibly believe…”He is risen…the one who was crucified…He is risen.”

Could he allow himself to believe? Then I could imagine this would have raced through his mind and gripped his stomach, “Oh no, now I have to face Him.”

“…tell His disciples AND PETER…” Don’t forget Peter. Make sure you tell him most of all. Jesus seemed to want Peter to know most of all that He was alive and coming for him.

Oh the pains Peter must have felt. He most likely lost ten pounds just waiting for Jesus to show up. What would He say? Would He be angry? Would He destroy me?

Christ, in His love, forgave Peter. As He has forgiven us for our innumerable sins and denials, He forgave Peter. As He forgave Peter, embraced him and chased away his remorse, fear and anguish, Christ Jesus washed us clean from our sins. He forgave us, cleansed us and made us brand new. Just like Peter, I can only say thank You Jesus!

The Thought Police

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart… –Matthew 13:19     The devil can invade our mental privacy?! The very thought sends shivers. And it should. Satan tries to tap into our brains all the time. He’s a regular soul-hacker – like the techno-geeks on their computers at home, breaking security codes and logging onto sensitive government systems. Scripture calls him “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient,” and today’s verse describes his access to the human soul.   People joke about this and say, “The devil made me do it.” They laugh because they don’t think he exists. And if there is a devil, he’s their ex-spouse. Meanwhile their minds are as soaked with his suggestions as a pickle in vinegar. They don’t see him – he’s a spirit. They don’t hear him – he has tiptoed in sock-footed. If they do catch some small noise at their mind’s door, they assume it’s just opportunity knocking.   But Christians know better; they understand the power of their invisible tempter. We are aware, as well as wary. The wonderful thing for the Christian is, 1 John 4:4-5 says, “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” His Spirit helps you stand guard over your mind with the power of God’s Word.   Put a barbed wire fence around your thinking. Make your will “stand guard” over your mind with the ammunition of God’s Word. Learn to recognize the devil’s tactics so that you can shoot down every suggestion – every temptation – of the enemy today. And take courage knowing that if Satan can be stealthful for evil’s sake, God is much more at work for goodness’ sake.   Spirit of Christ, please help me stand guard over my thoughts today. Help me to resist any suggestion from the devil that I offend you, hurt my brother, or tarnish my own testimony through sin or selfishness.

Blessings,   Joni and Friends

Repay With Good, Not Evil

I’ll Be Honest

Ugandan Girl Tortured for Christ Regaining Use of Legs

Please lift this dear girl up in prayer. She has brought God so much glory already through her suffering, please pray that she will recover and be an example to those treating her and to her father, if possible.   A 15-year-old Christian girl in western Uganda who lost the use of her legs after her father locked her in a room for six months for leaving Islam has begun to take tentative steps. Susan Ithungu of Isango village, Kasese district, had been hospitalized since September 2010 after neighbors along with police rescued her from her father, Beya Baluku, who had given her hardly any food or water. He was arrested shortly afterward but quickly released. She and her younger brother, Mbusa Baluku, lived alone with their father, who was divorced from their mother. In March 2010, Susan had trusted Christ for her salvation – prompting her father to threaten to slaughter her publicly with a knife. Pastor Joseph Baluku of Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese said neighbors who discovered that the girl was locked in a room with almost no food or water notified authorities.…

 

CLICK HERE to Read Entire Article www.compassdirect.org

How to Spot an Abuser Who Claims to be the Victim – by Jeff Crippen (via At The End of Myself…)

I am sure that you have watched police SWAT teams in action at a hostage situation.  As the hostages emerge, a strange thing happens.  The police treat them as if they were the bad guys.  They have them kneel down, hands in the air, frisk them and handcuff them.  Why?  Because if the police have never actually seen the suspects, they want to be sure that the bad guys aren’t trying to escape in the disguise of one of the hostages.  And that is how we need to handle abuse situations, because it is very, very common for the abuser to claim to be the victim – and his disguise can be pretty ingenious.  Many hostages are thrown in “jail” while the bad guys go free when it comes to how our churches are dealing with abuse in their midst.

It really is not that difficult to recognize an abuser.  Their mentality of power, control, entitlement and justification always betrays itself in their speech and you can hear it if you know what to listen for.  To show you what I mean, let me use an example for a not-so-well-disguised abuser who wrote to me recently.  He claims to be the victim of his wife’s abuse.   I will just paraphrase him so as not to publicly identify him.  I suppose on a  blog like this I have to protect the guilty.  Oh well.  Here’s his opening line:

To read more, click HERE