Watchman

Watchman
Sentinel

Friday, May 29, 2009

"Tradition" Such As This Is Not A Bad Word

"Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I life up my soul to You." (Psalm 143:8)

The 29th of the month-- the reading in Psalms.  I simply could not pray it better myself.  Here are some other prayers in Psalm 143--
     "
Hear my prayer
     Do not enter into judgment with Your servant
     Answer me speedily
     Do not hid Your face from me
     Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness
     Cause me to know the way in which I should walk
     Deliver me...from my enemies
     Teach me to do Your will
     Lead me in...uprightness
     Revive me, for Your name's sake
     Cut off my enemies
     Destroy all those who afflict my soul
."    
I cannot encourage you too strongly to pray the "
God-Breathed" Word.
When we pray His Words, we are participating in, yea, breathing in and breathing out the very Breath of God.  I know that in reality this sounds strange to the formal religionists, but this theology has been around since "the beginning."  Throughout the centuries of the Covenant People, this, what the world calls "mysticism" or "pietism" has driven the Church and reached a dying world with the Good News, Jesus Christ.  It is no different from, "
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being"----- and by the same Breath of the Blessed Trinity, you and I continue to live. 

I think some times that my "'
God-Breathed' Word" theology is a little "strange" to some.  But this morning I came across an article online about the German Pietists.  It was written by one of my theology professors I had back in the late 1960s, James Nelson.  Quite a surprise.  After being in his class for a while, he told me that I was in the tradition of the German Pietists.  As a young man, I didn't know if he were swearing at me or what.  In time, however, I came to realize that it was a compliment, and that Dr. Nelson and I were in a great tradition.  As time and study went on, I became exposed to such seventeenth and eighteenth century "pietists" as August Hermann Francke, Jacob Spener, and, as was my Dad, Nikolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf.  Would to God we would have such men again!  Franke's theme for his service in the Body of Christ was:
               A Life Changed
               A Church Revived
               A Nation Reformed
               A World Evangelized              
This is not irrelevant mysticism or pietism.  This is life in Jesus Christ, a changed heart which leads to reviving a church, reforming a nation, and evangelizing the world.  And make no mistake.  Such a life begins, continues, and is sustained by the "
God-Breathed" Word manifested in  Jesus Christ.  

Father, in Jesus' Name, as Job, "
As long as my breath is in me, and the breath of God in my nostrils...." I worship You.  Amen.  
**********************
To Be Accurately Informed, Go To: www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com

  



"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2



**************
Discover the variety of Bisquick® mix. Get Recipes & Savings Now. (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222831871x1201491818/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B215225813%3B37274670%3Be%3Fhttp:%2F%2Frecipes.bisquick.bettycrocker.com%3FESRC%3D971)

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Take Jesus Out of Anything And You Have Nothing

"For by Him all things were created, in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (KJV- "in Him all things  consist")  (Colossians 1:16, 17-- NASB)
 
A teacher in a Christian school once asked a class of second-graders, "What is gray, fury, and lives in trees?"  One little boy answered, "Well, I know the answer must be, 'Jesus Christ,' but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me."  Okay, cute and funny, but the disobedient have used this story to show just how ridiculous and unscientific is evangelical Christianity.  Our text indicates, however, that the theology of, "Jesus Christ in Everything," is not only good Biblical Theology, it is also good science.  Scientists define "cohesion" as "the intermolecular attraction by which the elements of a body are held together."  You see; even science confirms the "God-Breathed" Word. 
 
The reality is that no axiom which is deemed "true," mathematically, scientifically, politically, socially, or ethically can eliminate the centrality of Jesus Christ and our "God-Breathed" Word.  The moment it does, it becomes "false teaching," inaccurate even in the temple of science.  It is akin to the Darwinian lie concerning "the origin of the species," the secularists' lie that Jesus Christ is just a historical figure, one among the many founders of irrelevant religion, and the lie of Islam that the Followers of Jesus are polytheists.  The Bible affirms that there is no truth apart from Truth Himself, Jesus Christ.  Take Jesus Christ out of your anything, and you have nothing
 
You and I have a daily choice as to whom we will believe?  Believe the Words of God, or believe, as Paul called it, the "vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called?"  May that little second-grader never forget that he lives today because Jesus Christ literally holds him together-------even that squirrel.  
 
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that You literally keep together my body, soul, and spirit.  Amen.
**********************************
See an Obama Administration Illustration of Arrogance at:
 
 
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Seems "Good,..Pleasant,..And...Desirable?-- Maybe Not

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took...."  (Genesis 3:6)
 
Our text yesterday referred to "the pretty garden path to destruction." How "pretty" sin appears.  If it did not, who would ever be so tempted to give into it?  "The woman" liked what she saw------ so did the man.  They took the deception "pretty" and lost the reality "Pretty."  How deceiving can be "pleasant to the eyes" and "desirable" things.  Notice in our text that the goodness of "the tree" was not in the tasting.  It was just in the seeing. 
 
I would suggest today that you beware of "the pretty garden," the "pretty" anything and anyone.  You will remember the saying, "All that glitters is not gold."  This does not mean we should be suspicious, but it does mean that we should not be naive.  There is a modern chorus which says, "You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me."  Jesus is indeed.  And since He is, and if we walk in the reality, we will never succumb to "the pretty garden," the one which is the "path to destruction."  Jesus Himself, the "God-Breathed" Word, is "The Tree of Life," the one from which the man and the woman should have fed, and the One from Whom you and I may continually feed. 
 
You and I have the same continual choice today as did Adam and Eve.  From what and whom shall we eat?--- political promises, Hollywood beauty, smooth talking, facade wisdom pundits, or, "I am the living bread which came down from Heaven?"  To the religious mind, the choice sounds simple enough---------- at least in church services and the reading of a daily devotional.  Just be careful, though.  Out "there" the choice is not always that obvious.
 
Father, in Jesus' Name, keep me from assuming too much from my "spirituality."  Amen.
**************************************
Must-Reads @:    www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com   
 
 
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I May Get In Trouble

"Children oppress my people, and women rule over them.  O my people, can't you see what fools your rulers are?  They are leading you down a pretty garden path to destruction. (Isaiah 3:12--NLT)
 
To most, it's "cute" to have a black president and a minority woman on the Supreme Court.  In the hearts and minds of most Americans, Biblical principles don't rule.  Cuteness rules.
 
Obama just made a completely political decision regarding a Supreme Court appointee.  It was not based on legal expertise.  It was base on cuteness, political correctness, loyalties to another cause.  This is just another chapter in the ongoing saga of changing the America this generation was handed into the America of further rebellion towards Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, an America not based on the tradition of Magna Charter, the American Constitution, and the Scriptures, but an America which just keeps caving in to antichrist forces.  The political science and life style of the present American Administration is a living example of our text. 
"They are leading you down a pretty garden path to destruction."
 
I cannot help that I am a white, European male.  And while my white maleness does not make me any better or worse than the rest of humanity, it must never, never intimidate me in speaking truth, governing my beliefs, proclamation, or life style.  Truth is truth.  The Word of God is the Word of God.  Race, gender, ethnicity, and human emotion must never govern the Believer in Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ and the Breath of His Word governs.  Your life and the life of your family, the life of your nation depend on people who will live by this principle.  Alert!  The choices which America and most nations of the world are now making are taking them further down the final "pretty garden path to destruction."  
 
The Bible is not ethnic, gender-based, or prejudiced.  How could it be?  It is the Very Breath of God.  Whoever goes the way of political correctness, racial, and gender loyalty will never find the reward which Jesus said awaits the Obedient Ones to Him.  Go "the way" of Jesus Christ and His Words and you go "the way" of the "Truth and the Life"--------- the "way, the truth and the life" which takes you and me "to...Father."
 
Father, in Jesus' Name, please help me, grant me Your strength and integrity to live in obedience to You and no one or nothing else, and may Your Church arise in these perilous times to stand as Your "Representative" on earth.  Amen.
**************************************
News, Commentary:    www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com 
 
 
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Blog Archive