"Blessed are the Pure in Heart-Create in Me a Clean Heart, Oh God"

"Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.'  And the LORD said to him, 'How?'  And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.'"

(1 Kings 22:21, 22--NASB)

 

"Deceiving spirit," is also translated by some as, "lying spirit."  Deception, however, is much more dangerous than a lie.  The word deceive has its root in the word "ensnare."  It means, "to take in, as if in a snare."  Its purpose is to trap and take into captivity.  An out right lie is obvious to most.  It is that ensnaring deception which is to be feared.  If you read all of 1 Kings 22, it becomes apparent that Jehoshaphat recognized false prophecy.  But do not be fooled; so did Ahab.  The difference is that Jehoshapat was among those whom Jesus described as, "the pure in heart."  He embraced truth, hungered for truth, open only to truth.  Ahab, on the other hand, was his own man, had his own agenda in life, self-serving.  It is the classic formula for embracing the lie.  Keil says that the "evil spirit" who received the assignment to deceive Ahab was, "the evil spirit in the service of falsehood."  It is everywhere.  This evil spirit duped the majority of the American electorate in 1992, 1996, and 2008, just to name a few corporate examples.  And the Church?---- history is full of chilling examples. 

 

A person who succumbs to a "deceiving spirit" is not innocent.  There was a book which came out after the Jonestown incident which described the dead as, "our brothers and sisters."  They were not mine.  They chose self-serving lies over, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."  Peter describes such people as, "For this they are willingly ignorant of."  The word for, "ignorant," means, "to choose, inclined to, prefer, they are so disposed."  There is always a self-serving "spirit" in a person who believes a lie.  They embrace the lie because, as Eve, they desire to be, "as God."

 

Jehoshaphat and Ahab are "types" and examples of the human race; some have pure hearts, some have impure hearts.  Do not be as those who love to say, "Oh, well, I don't worry about such things.  God knows my heart."  The assumption is always that we know our hearts, and are assured that our heats are pure.  I never make that assumption.  The reality that Jesus knows my heart puts the fear of God in me.  I can tell you one thing for sure.  I pray this Word of God for all of us, "I will give them hearts to know Me."  Personally, I pray Psalm 51 quite often. 

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me."  Amen.

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Updated "Jerusalem Watch" @:    www.apfjerusalemwatch.blogspot.com

News, Commentary @:                    www.apf327.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

"Oh, Jerusalem"

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!...You shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" (Matthew 23:37 & 39)

 

During these first two weeks of March, the anti-Christ, anti-Semites of the world are participating in what they call, "Israeli Apartheid Week."  Anti-Semites, such as Jimmy Carter and others around the world, give inspiration and approval to such, as do the administrators of participating college campuses.  I intend to continue to do all I can do to expose the lie. 

 

"O Jerusalem"-- this longing utterance from the Mouth of Our Lord Jesus Christ should be an indication to anyone who has ears to hear that Jerusalem is not finished in the Economy of God, and above everything else, "It is the City of The Great King," Jesus, not Muhammad, or any other people group.  Regardless of what religious pundits want to declare about the New Jerusalem, and who in his right mind does not long for Her, Jerusalem, the undivided Capitol of Israel and the Jews, is the City to watch.  Isaiah 2:2 declares, "In the last days, the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem will become the most important place on earth.  People from all over the world will go there to worship"------- not the USA, nor Germany, nor China, nor Venezuela.  In the days ahead, you and I will have continual, I repeat, continual opportunity to either "stand alone on the Word of God," or stand with MSNBC and "Al Jazeera."   

 

I have sent an article and a video clip of campus anti-Semitism to: www.apf327.blogspot.com     and, I have started another Blog site entitled, "Jerusalem Watch," @ www.apfjerusalemwatch.blogspot.com      It will help you keep an eye on prophetic events in, "the most important place on earth."  I close with this today:  Regardless of what US presidents, members of Congress, religious institutions, college campuses, and lying press organizations say and do, "The LORD says, 'Shout and rejoice, O Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you.  Many nations will join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they, too, will be my people....And He will once again choose Jerusalem to be his own city." 

Doesn't it just feel great to be on the winning side?

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray what I prayed in my grammar schools every school day when I was a young boy, "Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven."  Amen.

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News, Commentary:                www.apf327.blogspot.com

Devotional Archive:                 www.apfdevotionals.blogspot.com

End time Prophetic Video:       www.antipasprayerforce2.blogspot.com

Jerusalem Watch:                   www.apfjerusalemwatch.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

"No Church Shared With Me...But You Only"

"Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only."  (Philippians 4:15)

Our text reveals the nature of supporting ministers from the early days of the Church.  From the very beginning our Lord Jesus set a principle, "the laborer is worthy of his wages."  Later, Paul would write, "that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel."  Yet there are many, many churchgoers who not only don't tithe (By the way, remember, the tithe was not God's idea; it was man's-- Genesis 14:20b; 28:22), they only give what is left over.

Reasons for such a life style could be many, but I had a university professor who once said in a class-- and this was not deriding ministers; he was stating a fact of our culture-- "Most people could more easily do without their minister than their garbage collector or TV repair man."  While some may initially object, "Oh, that is not so!" I would challenge its denial.  I have lost friends for saying this, but our pocketbooks, what we invest in, reveal our true values and priorities. 

Paul reveals in our text that at a certain period in his life only one Church continued faithful in his support.  Here is the context--- "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content....I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress."  This is, as Paul said in the first chapter, true "fellowship in advancing the Gospel...."

There is a "bottom line" in life which we must accept as a stark reality today, not just for Followers of Jesus Christ, but all humanity---------We invest in what we value most.  It's just that simple.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I give You ten per cent because I love you.  You gave and give me 100 per cent because You love me.  I am embarrassed.  My desire is to be as Peter Torjesen, "and my life."  Amen.
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There are great prophetic articles @: www.apf327.blogspot.com

When Peter Torjesen, "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

Only One Cure For National and Personal Woes: "Kiss The Son"

"Why do the nations rage,...plot.., [and] set themselves...against the LORD and against His Anointed...[Jesus]?"  (From Psalm 2)

Mao Tse-tung once said something to the affect, "We will bend heaven's will and make it our own."  He's dead---------- so is communism.  Nations have been raging and people have been plotting since the Garden.  Kings, "set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together," but where has it gotten them?  Rome, often referred to as the world's greatest empire, lasted only a thousand years.  Hitler tried to duplicate it, but, alas, only made it 12 years. 

But man won't stop empire building, whether it is nations, businesses, or churches.  Take stock: America is one of the shortest lived "empires" in world history; last year revealed global business as, "like the chaff which the wind drives away;" and as for church empires? ---just look around.

Psalm 2 reveals how amusing, though heartbreaking I'm sure, is man's grand schemes and plotting to the Blessed Trinity.  "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision."  The word for, "derision," implies that Father, God will keep them in a state of stammering confusion, wandering about, helpless and hopeless.  He simply will not allow mankind to prosper without Him.  Indeed, mankind cannot.  Remember yesterday's text---- It is only the one, "who walks-- stands-- sits," and, "meditates day and night," in the Words of God, "whose leaf...shall not wither"---------------- "God is not mocked."

Today is another opportunity to choose what and whom will dominate our walking, standing, and sitting meditation.  If it is anyone or anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ, Word of God, and His Words, there is no future but, "the ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away."  Please make no mistake about it--- this is true of both men and nations!  But, if a person or nation digs deep and lays a foundation in Jesus Christ and His Words------------- their, "leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."  If men and nations will, "Be instructed,.. serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling," if they will but, "Kiss the Son, [Jesus]," they will in no way, "perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.  They will be indeed, "blessed...(individuals and nations) who put their trust in Him."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I want to be, "a green olive tree in [Your] house; I trust in [Your] mercy...forever and ever."  Amen.
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Prophetic News, Commentary:     www.apf327.blogspot.com


When Peter Torjesen, "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

"The Word of Our God Stands Forever"

"Blessed is the man [whose] delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1)

A little paraphrase of this Psalm-- Blessed is the man who remembers that though the way of the ungodly shall perish, "the LORD knows the way of the righteous," and, "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,..whose leaf also shall not wither...."

There is an old song which was written in 1942, "I'll Remember April." Later recording artists turned it into a jazz piece, which is the only way I had ever heard it.  So today I thought I would look up the words, which I discovered to be really quite melancholy. 
          "This lovely day will lengthen into evening,
          We'll sigh good-bye to all we ever had.
          Alone where we have walked together,
          I'll remember April and be glad.
    
          "....The fire will dwindle into glowing ashes,
          For flames live such a little while."
         
The first of the month again---- Psalm 1---- again.  It never grows old, because the Word of God is Eternal, "Who for us men and our salvation came down," says the Creed.  People, events, material things just keep coming and going in our lives.  The older we get, the more things "dwindle into glowing ashes."  I am so thankful that I, "dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock," Our Rock, Christ Jesus, and His Words.  My remembering is not of the past, but of Him.

For the last 50 years in my life, "A voice says, 'Cry out.'  And I said, 'What shall I cry?'  All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." 

"Remember [Him] and be glad."
 
Father, in Jesus' Name, in this fading world, I thank You that "the Word of our God stands forever."  Amen.
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News, Commentary:  www.apf327.blogspot.com

When Peter Torjesen, "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