"Free and Undeserved"

"Then Jesus put out his hand and touched him.  'I am willing; be cleansed!'  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed." (Matthew 8:3)

This was Jesus' response to a leper who had just said to Him, "Lord if You are willing, You can make me clean."  The great faith battle probably begins here-- "If You are willing."  I wonder how much our Lord Jesus Christ is "willing" to do for us, but the big, "if," rules.  Some times I have prayed, then thought, I really don't deserve this.  Once, it was as though I could hear our Lord say, "Since when did I ever do anything for you which you deserve?" 

Many times we don't believe God is willing to do something for us because we believe that what has happened is nothing but what we deserve.  My dear Fellow Disciple of Jesus, the Gospel, which is
Jesus Christ, His Person and His Work, was His idea not ours.  In all practicality, we so readily forget this.  "The Christ Event," the shedding of Jesus' Blood, his suffering and death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead was all in His Heart "from" eternity.  "I am crucified with Christ," was not by my initiation.  It is by Jesus' invitation, an invitation to partake in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, to become a child of God, "fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God!"  

I pray that you and I never, no never forget Paul's admonition to the Roman Church, "And since it is through God's kindness, then it is not by their good works.  For in that case, God's grace would not be what it really is ----------------------------- free and undeserved."!!

Father, in Jesus' Name, "free and undeserved," Oh, "how sweet the sound."  Amen.
****************************  
Must See Prophetic Film at: www.antipasprayerforce2.blogspot.com
Prophetic News:                         www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com


Eighteen year old Norwegian, Peter Torjesen, "when he heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"You Will Know Whose Word Will Stand- Mine or Theirs" (God)

(Must See At:     www.antipasprayerforce2.blogspot.com)
**************************************************
"The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes.  But the Lord's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken." (Psalm 33:10, 11)

You and I start making plans from the moment we are aware of our environment.  You can see those thoughts, schemes, hopes, even plans in that little two year old.  Now expand this to men and nations. 

Any amateur student of history can affirm our text.  The German decided to annihilate world Jewry.  Out of that attempt, however, arose the most powerful nation today in the Middle East.  "'However, the days are coming,' declares the LORD,'when men will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' but they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.'  For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.'"   

Now note the contrast in our text between the "the plans of the nations" and those of the Living Triune God.  He "frustrates, " (literally, "crushes") "the plans of the nations," while His "plans stand firm forever."  He "thwarts the schemes" of man, while "His intentions can never be shaken," or thwarted, or stopped, or anything.

The only sure way to know "the Lord's plans," to understand my life, my community, my nation and world events is when my first, primary, and guarded-jealously priority is His Word.  His Word is His plan.  Go to meetings, listen to the preachers and teachers, the testimonies, the prophecies, read the books.  But the worth of all the above is found only when their word is His Word, when their word bears witness to His Word, Jesus Christ.  If you want something around which you can plan 2010, here it is from Ephesians 1.  "And he made know to us the mystery of his will (plan)--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ."   !!!

Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to keep my commitment to Your Plans "by the Holy Spirit Who dwells us."   Amen.
*********************************
*     Preaching this weekend in the CCE Meetings
*     Preaching January 17 in the Good Shepherd Church Meetings
*     Prophetic News:          www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com


Eighteen year old Norwegian, Peter Torjesen, "when he heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Collapse Or Stand, You Choose

Must See For 2010 at:    www.antipasprayerforce2.blogspot.com

**************************************************************

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God....Do not put the Lord your God to the test....Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." (From the Temptation of Jesus)

 

Here is my summation of the three temptations of Jesus---- Man cannot live without the "God-Breathed" Word.  Do not "test" God by showing off how spiritually powerful you are.  Service must follow worship, otherwise, it is not worship.

 

Jesus faced Satan at every level which you and I face him, and defeated him.  And, contrary to popular thought, so can we.  Jesus defeated the Devil through obedience, not pop Christian Television, or cultural self help gospels.  Every response of Jesus to the Enemy was, "It is written."  The person who lives so, "Is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.  When a flood came (Satan, life itself), the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." 

 

I simply could not have faced the ordeal of forty years ago as I was.  On this date in 1970, our little boy, Stephen, was in Children's Hospital and given a short time to live.  Five months later he was gone.  Up to that time, I had used the Bible as a sort of "addition" to my life.  Had Jesus not taken me to the same source He offers all humanity, "It is written," my epitaph undoubtedly would have been,  "that house... collapsed," and, "its destruction was complete."

 

This is already January 6.  You should be well on your way to reading every Word of God in the Bible for the coming year.  Don't do this, and you are the Devil's play thing.  Do this, and he is yours.

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, may my life reflect, "It is written."  Amen.

******************************************

Preaching in the Covenant Church East Meetings, January 9, 10

Preaching in the Good Shepherd Church Meeting, January 17

 

 

When 18 year old Peter Torjesen "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"Where the Throne of the Adversary [Is]"

"I know where you live-- where Satan has his throne (Young's Literal Translation says, 'where the throne of the Adversary [is].')  Yet you remain true to my name.  You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city-- where Satan lives."  (Revelation 2:13)

"Where Satan sits enthroned" (Amplified Bible).  This is the verse on our Blog Site.  It was inspired during my first visit to The Pergamon Museum in East Berlin, DDR (Deutschland Democratic Republic), AKA, East Germany.  It was in another era, but humanity would be making a grave mistake if they think the end of that era meant an end to the powers of darkness which introduced it.  Satan's Throne is still there.  "Heritage Key" says of the Museum, "The collection houses a great number of highlights, but the main attraction of the Pergamon cache is undoubtedly the Pergamon Altar,.. with a frieze displaying a battle between the Gods and the Giants."  And the "battle" continues.

The close of the Age is at hand.  We go to Berlin primarily to pray, mostly prayer "in the spirit."  After Jerusalem, there is just no more prophetically important city on the planet.  The destiny of the human race lies here.  Kaiser Wilhelm brought the Alar of Satan from Pergamon to Berlin near the turn of the 20th century, and Hitler, so inspired by it, designed the Nazi rally site in Nuremberg after it. I have opened a separate Blog Site so that you may go there to view the film, "The Rape of Europe," the most concise prophetic revelation of the present age and reason for our commitment to Berlin.  When it is finalized, I will put the Blog address at the bottom of our daily devotional with a capability to e-mail the site to others.

Our King Jesus, commanded for our own good to, "Watch."  That is what a watchman does.  Keep doing all you are doing as a witness to Jesus Christ and His Law-Word.  But in all your "doing" and living, "Watch!"

Father, in Jesus Name, if I ever tend to "sleep," awaken me.  Amen.
************************
www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com


Eighteen year old Norwegian, Peter Torjesen, "when he heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

A New Take On, "I Need Your Support"

"He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me....But the Lord was my support."  (Psalm 18:17, 18)

 

Our text cannot be uttered by the proud.  They think they are "too strong" for their enemies.  Beware the minister or any other people in your life who give you the sense of invincibility.

 

The humble are the only ones who realize that 2010 will be "too strong for me."  They are the only ones who realize that Jesus Christ is "my support." It is not just "faith" missionaries who need to remember this.  It is  applicable to all, especially those who have a regular pay check coming in.  All are in constant need of this reminder.  David was a mighty warrior.  But he never forgot that his support was not his youth or his strength, his bow or his sling, but a Person, the Lord, "my shepherd," the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Remember this?-- "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock....It did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock."  This is another way of saying, "The Lord was my support."

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I start 2010 by affirming that You are, "my Support."  Amen.

***********************************

Prophetic News:                www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com

Devotional Archive:           www.apfdevotionals.blogspot.com  

 

When 18 year old Peter Torjesen "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2