A Theology of Accountability

"And not a creature exists that is concealed from his sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do ('give an account')."  (Hebrews 4:13)

Otto Adolf Eichmann, SS number, 45326, was captured in Argentina by the Israeli Mossad in 1960.  One year later he was put on trial in Israel, then in 1962 executed for "Crimes Against Humanity."  His primary defense was that of most of the Germans in the Nuremberg Trials following the Second War--- "It wasn't me.  I was just following the orders and policies of those above me."  Yet today, this is the philosophy of the humanists. People are not really responsible for their actions.  They are the product of their culture, of the society around them, an abusive parent, etc.  They were born into unfortunate circumstances; therefore, they cannot be held accountable for their life.  This defense did not work for the propagators of the Holocaust; it won't work for you or me. 

The following you will not hear from the vast majority of ministries today.  "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.  And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.  Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.  And there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.  Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.  And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books."  Yet, this reveals, "the whole counsel of God."
 
I do not "pick and choose" texts for devotionals.  I "pick" from my daily readings.  I try to include things from the whole of Scripture; hence, today's text and references.  They tell me that no one but me will be held responsible for my life lived here on earth, not my parents, my ethnic group, my society, my circumstances, no one, nothing.  There I will stand, first before the, "great white throne," then, before, "The Judgment Seat of Christ."  I was born into the Family of God and entered the Kingdom of God through repentance, receiving Jesus Christ into my very being, and going through the waters of baptism.  Most of today's evangelical "theology," however, does not include repentance or water baptism, even though they have no Bible for this.  Most "seekers" today are not told about the judgment before the Living Triune God, the truth that the New Birth is the beginning of life in Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, and at the end of that life there will be an accounting for, yes, that life, "I now live in the flesh," yes, that very life, "which I now live by the faith of the Son of God Who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

I submit that such truth from the "God-Breathed" Word should not "ruin your day."  Rather than condemnation, His Word is what His Word Himself declares, "life to those who find it and medicine to all their flesh."  If you are one in whom Jesus Christ lives, covered by and cleanse in the Blood of Jesus Christ, living, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you," you will go through the "great white throne," judgment and the, "Judgment Seat of Christ," in your Heavenly Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous.  He will say, "I know this person; he is Mine."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I am sobered anew today by Your Words. 
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "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

"I Create New Heavens and a New Earth" (The Living Triune God)

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind....Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed.  And there was no more sea" (Is. 65:17; Rev. 21:1).

There is a powerful indication here of what Jesus Christ has, "planned for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages" (Eph. 1:10).  Few in Christendom speak of such things today.  Yet I submit to you, right there in the midst of a busy schedule, that a person who is aware and even, dare I say it, motivated by the fact that all of this is headed somewhere, headed to the return of Jesus Christ, the consummation of the age, the dawn of the new age of the Kingdom of Heaven, "wherein dwelleth righteousness," King Jesus reigning from, "the throne of His father David," in, "the City of the Great King," Jerusalem, is a person who will overcome.  Such a person will, "press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  He knows there is victory at the end of the pressing on. 

Today, my Fellow Believer, there is Light at the end of this seemingly unending tunnel of life, the same, "I am the light of the world," Jesus Christ, Who has been dwelling in you on the journey.  And though I make no claim to know much detail about the coming, "new heaven and...new earth,"  I do know they are a place, "wherein dwells righteousness," and that righteousness is not some moral achievement of mankind, but Jesus Christ Himself, "who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 

He awaits you, my dear weary traveler.  All those seemingly unanswered prayers, frustrated dreams, yes, even the ones you have felt were based on Biblical truth, but nevertheless those which you have never seen fulfilled --- some day, my friend, some day, all that our King, Savior, Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ has planned will be fulfilled in their entirety.  "For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 

Father, in Jesus' Name, deliver me from the evil of "everything must be now."  Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "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

I Can Only "Strengthen" Others Because Jesus Is Praying For Me

"But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail.  So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:32, NLT)

You can only, "strengthen your brothers," because Jesus Christ is pleading, "in prayer for you."  If we walk in this Kingdom Order, allowing the continual intercession of our King Jesus to strength us, then we will be in a position to pass on what Jesus Christ prays into us.
If anything is affirmed in our text, it is the primacy of prayer in the Church, "I have pleaded in prayer for you."

While praying this morning, I was reminded that there is just too much going on in the world to do something about all of it; but there is not too much going on in the world to pray about all of it.  This is possible by praying, "with my spirit," in the Holy Spirit.  Praying thus, I can literally, "go into all the world."  I also pray the Catholic liturgical prayer, "For the sake of Your Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."  It is not too grandiose in the economy of the Blessed Trinity to pray such a prayer.  "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in the earth as in Heaven." 

I receive daily news from all over, "the earth," and not just CNN World or BBC World News.  Open Doors (Brother Andrew) is a great source of praying for the global suffering Church.  The requests which come in are heartbreaking.  Every time I read one there is something in me which says, "What can I do?"  I admit, I think of going to all those places; I really do.  But in the reality of Biblical prayer theology, I can.  Then there are the daily requests which come from our local congregation, also much heartbreaking, "impossible" stuff.  Yet I can go to them in the Holy Spirit, just as I can go to my family, my neighbors, the various branches of National, State, and local governments, the economy, my local church------ "into all the world."

If you are a contributor to Frontier Harvest Ministries of Pittsburgh, AKA, Antipas Ministries, you are investing in prayer for you and yours, Jerusalem, Berlin, Washington, and "the whole world."  Some may call this egotism, but it is not.  It is a pattern given us in Jesus Christ, "But I have pleaded in prayer for you," and, "Thy will be done in the earth...."

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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "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

"O Righteous God, Who Searches Minds and Hearts...."

"O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure." (Psalm 7:9, NIV)

"The wicked in pride and arrogance hotly pursue and persecute the poor; let them be taken in the schemes which they have devised."  (Psalm 10:2, Amplified Bible)

 

These were the two passages which we focused on this morning in the conference call prayer time.  The Bible is such a powerful "Sword."  It is, "the word of God,"  it is, "living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword."  The Bible is all of this and more because the Bible is the written expression of Him Who is, "The Word of God," Jesus.  During the prayer time, it was as though our Lord was sitting right there beside me, directing, encouraging the praying.  Of course He is The Ever Present One, the ever Abiding-in-me One.  But I think some times Our Living Triune God gives us a sort of anthropomorphic "picture" of our relationship, just to, "sympathize with our weaknesses," of our present time-space existence.

 

I will be praying our texts the rest of the day.  I would implore those of you in the other nations who receive this to pray this with us also.  Something is "in the air."  Last night in the conference call prayer time, we prayed from Psalm 85.  I also commend it to you.  The restoration spoken of in verse 4 could refer to the blessings stated in vv. 1-3.  

 

There is absolutely no doubt in me that if you and I pray the, "sharper than any two edged sword," we will never be at a loss as to what we should pray.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is ahead of us all the time, He Who not only knows, "the end from the beginning," but is the, "Beginning and the End."  I can think of no greater blessing for you and me today than to know we are on the Victor's side, praying His will as we pray His Word.

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You so much for the renewed encouragement today, the encouragement that I am aligned with You and Your purposes----as long as I am aligned with You and Your Word.  Amen.

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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "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

"What Do You Want?"

"So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, 'What do you want Me to do for you?'" (Matthew 20:32)

So many things which Jesus desires to do for us, yet we do not ask.  So many just leave their life to the, "Well, God has everything under control" god, then blame the Only True and Living God because they did not take control of what He gave them.  "What do you want...?" 

I want a righteous America.  I want at the very least a clear five to four majority of pro Kingdom of Heaven men on the Supreme Court of the United States of America.  I want a clear majority of such people in the US Congress and in the White House, in governorships, state legislatures, county, township, and local governments.  But it all awaits, "What do you want...?"  Never forget, the Early Church took over the Roman Empire.

But there is something more than, "What do you want"?  There is also the question the Great, "I Am," the, "Word of God," asked Moses, "What's that in your hand?"  Americans have, "in your hand," something which even most evangelical Christians do not use.  We can vote.  We can choose the kind of government which reflects Jesus Christ, His Kingdom, His Righteousness------ or not.  Tomorrow, how will you respond to, "What do you want?" and, "What's that in your hand?" 

Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to use everything You have given to me to do everything you have commanded me.  Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "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