Joy

“…except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

The Eternal City just celebrated the moving of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel.  Already the applause is monumental but death is a reality as we have already heard about the deaths of thirty-seven.  There are many who hate Israel around the world, and there are now many who fear for the United States since this declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

What do we take with us from this move?  You and I have the opportunity to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  There will be no peace till we see the Prince of Peace coming to take over.  The Slanderer, the Devil is mad.  And in this move the world is setting itself up for the Antichrist to come and lead a federation of nations, though you and I understand the prophecy of the Bible, they do not.

We must pray and understand that what we are watching is the volatile situation that is escalating to war.  Even though we are very glad for the move of the United States, we are also cognizant of the only Protector we have and His name is Jesus.  Unbelief is prominent today in the hearts of many Americans and Israelis, but we thank God that in His sovereign hand we are watching the soon coming of our Lord.

We thank God for the bold move, for whoever blesses Israel God will bless.  But we must be very concerned and must pray for the work and will of God.  Don’t allow this season to pass you by.  Take notice and take up your mantle for the glory of God.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Many of us maybe have come out of the wreckage of damaged lives. But because of God’s offer of forgiveness and His ability of rebuilding broken lives we can be lifted and secured in faith. Praise the One, the Only One, who can! We can be used again for His glory and majesty to bring honor, glory, unto the Almighty.

The Bible is filled with stories of saints who have served God in the most of trying circumstances. Noah was a shipbuilder and he preached and worked for one hundred and twenty years to get others to go with him. Joseph was a slave who later became prime minister of Egypt. Moses and Joshua fought through much pain and sorrow as military generals and leaders of God’s people.

God takes those who are willing and calls us away from the rubble of exiled living to the rejoicing of having rebuilt lives and homes. Many do not escape the damage done to their lives or even the damage they have caused themselves. But there are some who excelled in Christ. They go through life with faith in God, facing the trials, opposition, and setbacks of life with the strong, secure defense that God provides.

If you are sitting in the midst of broken down walls, damaged relationships, or feeling isolated, turn the page with me–and let the rebuilding begin. God is good. He made the stone which makes the wall. He will take us and rebuild us into the people He has predestined us to be.

“And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons who were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave” (Numbers 19:19).

You and I live around death, decay, and indifference. As long as we are living for ourselves and the cross of Christ remains a distant thought from an even more distant past, you and I will not fully maximize the life we were to live.

We are dead in Christ. We are not to bring our self-centered thinking, fears, actions, anxieties, and desires into the new relationship. They have been crucified, the old self-life. We are all one in Christ. He is perfect, sinless Deity. A separation happens when we try to live apart from Him. We transfer our allegiance and identity to Christ.

As long as we live by rules and intellectualism and not by an ongoing participation in the death of Christ we will not see victory. It happens only through love that both honors and trusts in Jesus’ belief in Himself and what He has done for us on the cross.

Why is it that so few seem to have intimacy and fellowship with God? Many know about God but few really know God. We know His acts but very few of us know His ways. He’s in the vicinity, somewhere over there, but not intimately working here.

God is not free to flow His power through you and me unless we are identified with the death we experienced in Christ when we were born again. Until we realize and make the decision that we will die to ourself daily, and live to Him, we will continue to simply exist rather than maximize God’s good plan for us. We can not bring our old life into union with His life whereas we were made one.

God has given us the power of His resurrection through a brand-new reference point. How we view our self, others, our circumstances, and life must be all in Him. His life in me–my thinking, my acting, and believing must be His or there will be conflict and severance from His life. To be crucified with Jesus Christ establishes a brand-new reference for life–His life! This is the power of the third day, His resurrection life living in us and through us.

“So built we the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half of it in height; for the people had a mind to work.”  (Nehemiah 4:6)

The people in Nehemiah’s day worked hard at that wall — almost as if they were going to finish it in one day.  It took them fifty-two days, which was quick work at that, but they labored at it so desperately that it looked as if they were trying to do it in a day.  It was that spirit that was with them which roused the attack of the enemy.

Satan never bothers half-hearted Christian people, but once you are desperate for God and become burdened for the salvation of men, then all hell will oppose you.  Sanballat and Tobias were both the agents of Satan.  Their scorn was a cloak for something else, they were angry that the work was progressing.  If the people jeer at our Christian testimony today, it is because they have no argument against the gospel.  The world will always be angry at any message which exposes sin.

Watch what happens when you get up with others and try to rebuild the walls that have fallen down.  See if all hell will not come against you when you rise up to build.  The enemy of God will try to ridicule and loathe the work you are trying to complete.  But if we stay away from the rubbish of the wall that has fallen, and refuse the activity of action, then you will find your own life surrounded by passivity and selfishness.  Satan has no reason to disturb you for he has you in his catch and he knows the work will not be approached.

If we are not building then we are tearing down.  If we are not with Christ then we are against Him.  Either we will love Him or hate Him, there is no middle ground.  Thank God for Nehemiah and the people who had a mind to work, a heart to pray, and an eye to watch.  The apostle Paul said, “…I labored more abundantly then they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (I Corinthians 15:10).