Cozy with Crooks and Riffraff?

“But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” (Matthew 9:11 NLT)

God desires compassion, mercy, and not mere religion. Who needs a doctor but those who are sick? God is after compassion, kindness, and not mere outward religious activity from His people. God is dwelling in us to invite outsiders to Himself, not to coddle the insiders of the church.

What is pure religion?

Pray for someone who you know is in need, whether it is physical or spiritual, but start your prayer by asking what you can do to help meet that need. Don’t just ask God for the solution–ask Him how you can become part of the solution.

 

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    “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy
    servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name;
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    sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer” (Nehemiah 1:11).

    The basis of courage is individual initiative. If we cannot act alone, we
    cannot act together.

    God has given us the power to lead. Our knowledge and skill developed by God
    in us has given his people the ability to lead.

    But it is only under the most difficult of circumstances that character and
    courage earns us the right to lead.

    Nehemiah led, even under great adverse situations to rebuild the walls of
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  • Abiding in Our Death in Him

    God’s people have never in any age come to the mountain-peak of spiritual joy, peace, and communion which is the glory of unbroken communion with the Most High God, without having the “self-life,” brought again and again to the grave of death and dust.

     

    Revival is realizing that anything from our old life needs to be reckoned dead. As we recognize our death in Christ, confess our self life sinfulness, and turn from our wicked ways to Him, then God will kiss us with the kisses of His mouth.

     

    Pray that God’s people will come to realize that the termination of the old self was realized and materialized at Calvary’s mountain. Live so that the sails of your life may be set high, and the wind of God’s breath will blow once more in His church.

     

     

  • Revival

    God’s Word says, “Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouths and lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant” (Psalm 78:36, 37). Do we desire God’s presence in our bodies, homes, churches, nation, and the world?

    Many claim to want revival. Why do we plead for revival? Is it to save our face, when the first thing we need to do is to lose our face. The fallow ground must be broken up. There is the cost of humiliation and even embarrassment when it comes to revival. God cannot rain showers of blessings on fallow ground. That would just mean more spreading of briars and weeds.

    If we are to prepare for rain we must prepare the soil of our hearts. We must be disturbed and broken up for what we see and what we are. But, like so many of us, we do not like to be stirred and agitated in our churches. We like our smooth exteriors while keeping our roots of bitterness and sins hidden.

    Revival will come when we really desire it and meet the conditions. But God has not changed the price of revival. He has not placed any of His blessings on the bargain counter at reduced rates. Stubborn wills, hardness of hearts, and pretension in repentance will never meet the criteria for revival.

  • Do You Know What Winning Looks Like?

    “And he said unto them, Why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts?”  (Luke 24:38)

    Hudson Taylor wrote to his staff of the China Inland Mission to prod them on: “If our mission is to be fruitful, and continue amid the perils that must be faced, it can only be as each of us contributes his daily quota of faith in the living God.”

       What is this daily quota of faith? It is that God is alive and we are His servants. Our greatest step will be whatever the next one is. Look up! Your God is alive. Look down! The Bible is your answer.
    God wants to reroute our lives. But too many have lost sight of God. But there is nothing too bad, or anything too rough, that God cannot reroute. If you are in a tight place or a tight spot, remember that God is working on your behalf for His glory.

  • He’s Speaking To Us In This Covid-19 Virus Pandemic

    God is talking, are we listening? In these last days He is speaking to us through His Son, the Lord Jesus. Times are fleeing and lives are valued by what we do with Jesus. But are we listening? How far have we drifted from God and His voice? Have we become more dull of hearing and distracted by the things of the day? Satan is our invisible enemy.

    I am praying that my world will hear what God is saying, and to the church may we hear her Shepherd and draw nigh to His side. The world needs to realize that repentance is a necessity and only the Holy Spirit can reveal Christ to the lost and of its unbelief in His Son. They are dead in trespasses and sins and only He can give life. He is the Creator and Redeemer! All things began by Him and they will end in Him. And all will stand before Him! And one day all will kneel before Him!

    The people of God should examine themselves and to repent of her selfishness and fleshly ways. We should know better but we have a drift as well from God’s ways. Our ways are not His ways and therefore we must know Him, hear Him, so as to follow Him. As the church goes so goes the family, the city, the country, and the world. Without the church who is to become a part of the conscience which awakens the sinner all will continue in its apostasy. So will the church listen to what God is saying to her? Will we love, pray, witness, give, confess our need to Him, or will we continue to try to deafen what He is saying? He is slow to judgment and yet He is great in mercy!

    May we draw nigh and He has promised to draw nigh to us. Listen to Him!

    Pastor Don