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Day 143, Rejoice in The One Who Makes you Glad

July 28, 2022 by insolomonsporch


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“These people draw near Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far away from Me.”  Mt 15:8 AMP

“Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety.”  Ps 16:9 AMP

“The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall trust and take refuge in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory and offer praise.”  Ps 64:10 AMP

“A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.”  Prov 15:13 AMP

“…But this is the man to whom I will look and have regard: he who is humble and of a broken or wounded spirit, and who trembles at My word and reveres My commands.” IS 66:2 AMP

“Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart [the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection].”  Ps 97:11 AMP

“But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them (of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them) because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated…

…But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].”  1Cor 2:14-15 AMP

“And I, if and when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw and attract all men [Gentiles as well as Jews] to Myself.”  Jn 12:32


What Kind of Witness Am I

Often we take the prophetic ability to be a witness for God (Acts 1:8), and we focus on ourselves rather than the God we are witnessing of…

For example, we sometimes believe that if I arrange an ethereal, far off, even joyful look on my face that I will witness well. That in that effort I will be somehow effective in displaying a trust in Him.

But I would tell you that the expression on my face is not what will draw people as a witness, but rather the confidence in Him that shines from my heart.  The heart is my truest witness, my face… not so much.

You see all the superficial construction on my face will not speak to the world of Christ, but the breaking of my heart over its condition and lostness will. As that breaking causes me to lift up the world, or people, or situations to Jesus Christ, I am acting as a compass pointing to true North.  I am showing the way.  The way to Him.

What the Lord is asking for is for a witness that is more than skin deep… and actually has some “skin in the game” so to speak.

You see if I have done my homework, spent time in the word, and been available to learn of Jesus… then He has altered me greatly. Especially in terms of confidence.  The more time I spend with Jesus, the less confidence I have  in myself for anything: even my facial expression.

Interestingly enough, the word shows me that as nonspiritual men (the lost who don’t know the Lord), the world cannot welcome into its heart the things of God, because they are spiritually discerned.  Without the Lord’s help in awakening their spirit-man, these things can’t be understood, or grasped, or interpreted. How much more then the countenance of man…

Now see this…it is by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken…It is the sorrow of a broken spirit that causes us to catch God’s look and to be regarded by Him…it is here in this place where we have been broken that we have the greatest potential to be changed, and to thus be HIs witness.

It is here in our brokenness that He makes His dwelling.

It is in the brokenness of facing my own sin nature, and my aptitude for missing the mark, that I gain wonder and profound awe in a God Who has reached out to know me in my worst condition.  It is here, in this place of humility and unworthiness that His love wins my heart. Knowing there is nothing good in me besides Him helps me to cast off every hint of deception that would seek to craft some personal worthiness as a façade for winning others to Christ. 

In being my best witness for Christ I actually learn to forget myself, and remember only Him.  He is the only source of all my springs. He is the only One Who creates in me love for others… Only when I remember Him fully, and forget myself do I have the capacity to operate in His love and gifts…

Only when I make Him high and lifted up in the situation at hand do I have any chance of making a difference!  This is the witness of the Kingdom and the eternal. It is the direct piping in of heavenly things and the rarified air of the Kingdom which brings change…when I have let go and entirely forgotten myself and all desire to put on a good show in the flesh (Col 2:23).

At any given moment in my life, I can easily slide over the margin into selfishness, self-consciousness, self-care and protection. Especially if I have just been trounced or berated or treated badly.

In the time it takes for me to shake off and put off my old nature’s emotions and the wounding and return to a balanced mind in the New Man of Christ, you may have seen that glimpse of the “Old” as he was being put off! But realize the power of that testimony!  It wasn’t that I had a pensive or decimated look on my face.  It was that the transcendent God of the Universe has again been victorious. He has again risen in me to a broad place where there is no perplexity, or privation, and that all that is on my table in Him is full of fatness.





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Day 142, Don’t Contest Covenant Truth

May 26, 2022 by insolomonsporch

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“God said, Do not come near; put your shoes off your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.”  Exodus 3:5

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry…”  Mt 3:11

“Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel.”  Ruth 4:7

“And Moses lifted up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock twice. And water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.  And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”  Nu 20:11-12

“Let us rejoice and shout for joy! Let us celebrate and ascribe to Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” Rev 19:7

Not understanding covenant, we fail to process types and shadows

It can be dangerous to stand in the way of what God is seeking to convey, and the way He is making…

Looking at the Scriptures above, we must understand what they have in common.  They are presenting types and shadows of covenant understanding.

Moses had to put off his sandals…

John the Baptist wasn’t worthy to unloose the sandal strap of the Lord, our Kinsman Redeemer…

Moses was disqualified to lead the people into the Promised Land because he had misrepresented the Lord at a critical time, thus compromising their understanding of the Lord and His nature…Moses then was not aligned with the “type and shadow” of the Deliverer so could not conclude their deliverance…

Now, all this has bearing on a point I want to make: an insight that was only recently opened to me…

Which is: “Why, when we get to heaven, will we no longer be married (may seem inconsequential to some but becomes important in what underlies the truth).”

First, you understand there is the issue that we have died before entering heaven, thus we have died to the law of being linked in marriage. 

But more important than that, to arrive in heaven with marriage ties in tact would fly in the very face of, and contest the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Covenant reality of the marriage of the Lamb would be blocked.

Let us revisit some of the above quotes so this can be seen more clearly.

Specifically, John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11.  He describes himself as unworthy to loose the covenant sandal. Meaning, if he should try to remove the sandal that only Jesus Christ could obtain as our Kinsman Redeemer, He would break the type and its significance.  Only Jesus stands worthy to Redeem the Bride.

In the Book of Ruth, this is further clarified as Boaz (as the stand in for Christ the Redeemer) redeems Ruth. However, the closer relative had to first refuse to redeem Ruth and then put off his sandal and extend it to Boaz as a sign that he relinquished all claim to Ruth and Naomi’s estate lands. Only the True Redeemer can take the sandal and fill it or occupy it/possess it. 

This is the real reason Moses had to put off his sandals – to not do so would contest the right of the One holding the property – in this case the burning bush. It wasn’t that Moses’ shoes were dirty.  He would have broken the covenant type so that understanding would have been broken.

Another example is in Revelation 5, where the angel cries Who is worthy to open the scroll?  Only Christ is worthy to do this and so He does.

In the same way, He is the only One worthy to occupy the Burning Bush. Only He is worthy to occupy the Covenant Sandal of Redemption. And Only He is worthy to have the Bride in Heaven Whom He has redeemed…

So as we ponder and set our hearts and minds on heavenly things… and even when we ponder our heavenly mansion perhaps conflicted that we will not share it with our spouse…

Be comforted!  Your will share with the Bride in Christ a reality of full redemption! And we (corporately as the Bride- who hopefully your current spouse is a part of) will be united in Christ and in the Father in a way beyond our imagination!

The types and shadows of covenant that Scripture shares are so rich and vital in the form they share. Let the Lord breath them into substance in your understanding from your heart of faith and belief.  You will have no room for hesitance or reluctance to walk into the future with the Bridegroom of our heart.

The reality will be you will know as you are known!

Now think back to that passage in Mark where the Sadducees ask Jesus about the wife of seven brothers and whose wife she will be in heaven (Mk 12:19-27).

Now it will make more sense…

Now in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For the seven were married to her.  Jesus said to them, Is not this where you wander out of the way and go wrong, because you know nether the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they arise from among the dead, [men] do not marry nor are [women] given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead being raised – have you not read in the book of Moses, [in the passage] about the [burning] bush, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?  He is not the God of [the] dead, but of [the] living!  You are very wrong.”  Mk 12:23-27

May this post awaken you to the stirring of heaven and residence in the very Presence of the One Who is worthy and altogether lovely. The One Who has redeemed us as His own!

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Day 141, “How to Deal With the Red Portal?”

May 9, 2022 by insolomonsporch

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“Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven.  Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven.”  Mt 18:18-19AMP

“And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He Who has the key of David, Who shuts and no one shall open:…” Rev 3:7 AMP

“[Strive to] save others, snatching [them] out of [the] fire; on others take pity [but] with fear, ;loathing even the garment spotted by the flesh and polluted by their sensuality.” Jude 1:23 AMP

“…The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].” 1Jn 3:8 AMP

The Red Portal Over the White House

So, I just had to blog about this… portal. For a number of reasons.

I watched the above video (which by the way is only a screenshot cause I couldn’t figure out how to insert the actual video here).

You can find it on rumble, under Elijah Streams, a special broadcast with Roger Stone and Robin Bullock.

I warn you. There is much poo poo-ing and ridicule of this whole topic, (scorning Elijah Streams and their legitimacy, calling into question the reality of this portal)…surprisingly even on Telegram, where I first learned of it.

Meanwhile, the salient points can be summed up as:  there is a bizarre portal hovering over the White House, and Roger Stone has been led to call out an alert over it and to call believers to prayer.

Now, I can neither confirm nor deny (my old intelligence training surfacing) that there is indeed a portal of the enemy’s making over the White House. But I must tell you I am not surprised, and I can easily believe it. Why?

Because the very substance and nature of the activities of our government (represented symbolically and geographically by the White House as its legitimate seat), are so aligned with absolute evil and darkness that it is no surprise that such a portal or access point has become manifest.

That brings me to why I wanted to blog about this….

Again, I don’t doubt the validity of this claim. Go check out the video on Rumble and Roger Stone will show his pictures of it looming over the White House.

So, I believe him. And I agree with his urgent cry that believers need to be praying.  But here is where I divert from his leading.  Roger Stone says that believers can pray and close this portal. But I don’t believe we are called to simply close this portal… WHY?

Because of legal occupancy.  If what I believe is correct… this portal has manifested because of the “heart condition/spiritual corruption” of our government/national seat… then to pray outright for its closure would be ineffective. It exists because of legal authority. As long as that is the climate of our national leadership, it can remain.

I believe instead, that the Lord would first have us cry out to Him for change in the heart of our Nation, and that would be backed up by every action that we can legally take. At the voting booth, as a vocal party spreading truth, and in our courage to stand against the forces of evil wherever we find them. We are called to bring the light, to be the light!

You see this portal didn’t just come because of a few wayward political practitioners. It came because of actual evil, in thought, belief, and even Satanic practices of our representatives and officials in Washington.

While you and I have been sleeping, content that the auto-pilot control of our nation was set to honorable/integrity/good works, darkness has been insinuating itself in ways that would shake you to your core.

So, I do not believe that the Lord would have us just unseat these parties, legally. But He would have us cry out for their redemption at all costs, and then that not being possible (as indeed in some cases it will not), to cry out for deliverance from their despotic tentacles that really threaten the very existence of all…our nation included.

You see where evil is legally given the helm, either by our abdication, or their trickery, deceit, outright fraud, or any other method …  evil still is in possession – and must be thrown out and evicted legally.

In the case of someone illegally holding an office – disclosing the truth of how they illegally obtained the office is all that is needed. And then enforcing the consequential eviction of course…

But you see the Lord doesn’t just want the vacating of an office of an interloper, He wants our intercession for the vacating of darkness within that person. It is for their deliverance and our working out in Christlikeness that we pray. That is what is required of believers.

Whether or not a person will be delivered is another matter. And that is really the Sovereign purview of the Lord.

So, as there is (I believe) a portal, prayer is required – and as Scripture says, if we make a symphony about the destruction of an evil portal and all the access that the hordes of hell are threatening – we can be effective to close it, because we can be confident that the Lord will not allow the gated of hell to prevail against us.

However, if the darkness of hearts and their Satanic bent is manifesting this portal, then to attempt to simply destroy the portal without crying out for the repentance and redemption of the hearts which are fostering this very darkness in this realm—would really miss the point. It destroys the gate of evil, but not the engine that generated it.

We are called to pray for certain. Urgently, passionately, with all diligence. And just like Jesus, the Son of God, was made manifest to destroy the works of the devil…He is manifested every time we commit to intercede in His name, according to His heart and plan, and power…

In the end it is only He Who can keep us from stumbling in our fear, or falling into the snares of the enemy. He can present us blameless and faultless before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation…

Let us follow Him into all works…especially combat …completely

 

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Day 140, “The Question You Can’t Answer”

July 3, 2021 by insolomonsporch

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“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do the things which I say?”  Lk 6:46

Why have I not forgiven as instructed?

Why have I not obeyed the things I am told to do from the Word?

Why has my intention and desire to obey the Lord fallen short?

Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say?

The plague of self…

If I realize that the love language of the Lord is obedience (Jn 14:21), then I will also realize that the true answer to the Lord’s question in Lk 6:46 is that I still love myself more than I love the Lord. In fact, I am still enslaved to myself because of that love, and because of that enslavement (Rom 6:16) I am reaping a future of death.

The Lord, if He is My Lord, has already freed me from sin and eternal separation, but if I begin to live a life surrendered to my soul (will, intellect, and emotions) and in deception believe I am living in obedience to Him when I am really serving myself  – I am simply deceived… and reaping destruction.

This suits the enemies plan perfectly. I think I am walking in righteousness when all along I am walking in selfishness. The wages I then earn are death. Booyah, enemy wins!

You see, this is the dilemma we face as believers.  This is the litmus test that we must honestly face, and monitor, and be on guard against about ourselves everyday of our lives…

Who actually sits on the throne of my heart???

If it is the Lord, truly, I will be convicted by the Holy Spirit for my failure to obey in the areas instructed.  That conviction will inspire repentance on my part and a desire to turn more fully into obedience in the areas where I have failed.

And thus my Christian walk is none other than a path of tweaking by the Holy Spirit where my obedience becomes more pure, more consecrated, more whole. Like gold refined by fire I am constantly being changed, from glory to glory.

However, if I am deceived, and I am the one who truly occupies the thrown of my heart… then the error of declination will become more and more apparent the further I walk through life. As I submit to enslavement to my “self”, I will serve my own will, emotions, and intellect … and all the while believe I am serving the One true God.

What is the greatest indicator that I am dangerously deceived??? My life will lack the victory of the Lord, His Presence, His Word, His influence…

I will continue to struggle in areas of failure, failing again and again and it will appear hopeless. Marriage, relationships, ministry, finances, career, it doesn’t matter. My life will display a lack of victory…in Christ.

How can I prevent or detect this fatal error?

I must notice, am I becoming more in love and submitted to the Lord without reservation? Or am I becoming more submitted to self?

Which way am I focused? To the Lord? Or to myself?

Which is the one I am more in tune with? The Lord or myself?

James instructs us to be a doer of the word, not a hearer only… and it is for this very reason.  If I am only committed to hear the word, but not do it, it is only a matter of time before I become deceived (by reasoning contrary to the Truth) Jam 1:22.

Eventually, you become like the one who looks at his natural face in the mirror and moves away, and forgets what he looks like.

You forget what you look like because that would bring conviction. The enemy doesn’t want that.  He wants you to focus on yourself, but then forget that you are focusing on yourself.

What is the remedy for this predicament??? Return to John 12:24-25.  Let your own life fall to the ground. Let it die (yield it wholly to the Lord – faculties and members both, Rom 6:13) Lose sight of yourselves, forget about yourselves!!! And never let yourself be the center of your concern, focus, service, ever again.  Maintain a course of actively serving God as Lord and Savior, first and foremost!!! 

Yield yourself and keep on yielding to Him!!!

It is the only way. 

SO,,, why can’t you answer the Lord’s question from Lk 6:46?

Because if He is your Lord in truth, He won’t need to ask the question…thus, you won’t be able to answer a question that is not asked…

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Day 139, “Fully Walking Out Your Purpose… to the Glory of God”

March 3, 2021 by insolomonsporch

Westminster Short Catechism: “A man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

“…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” Eph 4:1

“…walk in wisdom, redeeming the time, not being unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is…” Eph 5:15-17

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You Have a Call

Every believer has a call, and the biggest questions are do you know what it is and do you know how to achieve it?

While there are many ways that the call of our life in God is manifested according to our giftings (e.g. preaching, teaching, etc.), I believe there is a call which we all have which is overarching every other call and is central to our life in Jesus Christ! This call and its fulfillment is what I want to explore here.

I believe the Westminster Short Catechism above is probably one of the most succinct yet undervalued insights to that most central of calls!

Your chief end in this life is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever!

You can find that purpose stated in various ways in 1Cor 10:31, Rom 11:36, and Ps 73:25-28.

Now ask yourself, does the world situation, its challenges and difficulties and conditions, or that of your personal life change that call in any appreciable way?  I would say no.  God’s call on your life is steady state regardless of things temporal and external.

But there is a key here that we often overlook to entering into a deeper understanding of that call…

Let us look at that:

To Glorify God

I found the most profound understanding of what it means to glorify God through Kay Arthur’s book, Lord I want to Know You, A Devotional Study of the Names of God.

In it she clarifies that to glorify God means to give an accurate estimate of Who God is and how He is.  In a sense we are, ourselves, mirrors which are reflecting the truth of God to the world.  The more we are moved to a greater understanding of Him by the word, the bigger and more clear is the image we carry and share of Him.

But really interesting is the fact that you and I can lean heavily on the Holy Spirit here, because it is the Holy Spirit Who lives to glorify Jesus.

You see, according to Scripture, we are all being transformed into the same image (of Christlikeness) from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord. (2Cor 3:18)

And through the agency of the Holy Spirit, He takes what is Jesus’ and He declares and reveals and transmits it to us!!! (Jn 16:14-15AMP) It is the Holy Spirit’s primary function to glorify Jesus, and we can be His living chalkboards to carry that message to the world!!!

Now think about this further!

When I set my heart to know Jesus in truth and in Spirit, when I worship Him and wait on Him and have encounters with Jesus my Lord through the Holy Spirit, when I have been Baptized in power in the Holy Spirit and have the gifts of the Holy Spirit animated in me and the character of Christ being built within me continuously by my most holy faith…

Then I begin to fulfill the call on my life to glorify God and enjoy Him forever…

I submit to you, that without the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in power, I cannot really begin to glorify God in truth, nor can I enjoy Him…

And so that is what I share with you today…

Have you hit a wall, or impase, or dead end in your Christian walk???

Then you need to things to both glorify Him and enjoy Him. You need His Holy Spirit to fill you and increase you in Him so that the image on your life mirror is expanded and clear, and you need the enduement of the power that comes with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, so that you can overcome your self-interest and self-focus, and be moved by love in ministry to others…

This is the Way!

“For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face!  Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have fully and clearly known and understood [by God].”  1Cor 13:12

Let all the perfection of Jesus Christ that can be revealed and transmitted to us by the Holy Spirit be ours even today, that we will fully glorify God in this moment and will enjoy Him forever, without delay!!!

and we will share this with the world…

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Day 138, “Summer Soldiers and Sunshine Patriots”

December 14, 2020 by insolomonsporch

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“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”  Gal 5:1

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.”  Eph 5:9-10

“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.”  Prov 16:3

Back in the day, General George Washington described “summer soldiers and sunshine patriots” who lose heart in times of crisis…

It would appear that the Body of Christ is in such a time of crisis, for it “does not know what spirit it is of,” (Lk 9:55)  or Whose Spirit it is following…

Jesus’ rebuke from Luke 9:55 above to His disciples occurred because James and John were ready to call down fire from heaven to destroy people who did not receive Him.

Jesus rebuked them because they had a wrong heart, a wrong attitude, and a wrong solution…

Apparently we are not much different today.  Jesus told them He came not to destroy men’s lives but to save them. 

The problem today is, while the times are calling for the peacemakers of God to arise with light and strength and commitment to the cause and ways of Christ, many interpret the need to be peace at any price.

I’m hearing overtones of: “okay the election is over, all avenues of legitimate pursuit legally are closed to us, time to stand down and roll over, because a good Christian doesn’t cause dangerous stirrings, he doesn’t make trouble, nor does he rebel against the status quo (in this particular case the Democratic Party and all their deceitful ways.)

But I ask you, where are the peacemakers… where are the ones so seeking the will and the way of God to come forth in themselves that they are willing to stand for light, to be light in this day???

To be a peacemaker doesn’t mean I roll over if darkness is more imposing. It doesn’t mean I accommodate evil.  I am in fact called to be a party with light…to be light, how then can I align with evil???

To choose a course of evil, to acquiesce in this case with the Biden ascent to the Presidency having stolen the election and perpetrated fraud, is to become one with evil and all the practices of it.  It means I am willing to choose bondage to darkness, which I have already been freed from! Not only that, but because I act as a summer soldier and cave at difficulty I cause others to cave in the same manner rather than standing as Jesus calls us to stand.

If I do less than that, I am forfeiting all that our Forefathers paid for our freedom with their lives as they were led by Christ to stand against the wickedness of being a supply stock for English usury.

We have been freed in Christ, no longer to be subject to a yoke of slavery!!! Not to anyone!  We are His!!! The yoke we now wear is His!  We are His Yokefellows!

If you find that implausible, think of what befell Esau as he gave up his birthright as the firstborn son!!! It could not be restored to him regardless of his regret or tears!

If we throw off the “freedom of Christ” as our yoke, we will surely be yoked by darkness unimaginable at a national scale…

So when people refer to “Christian Nationalism” or “Trumpism”, there is a need to examine really where your allegiance lies.

You must make sure, your trust is in God alone – and Him only!

Does it mean our methods in this time should employ calling down fire from heaven?  No, because that too is of a wrong spirit – not that of Christ!

But before us now lies the path of “peacemaker.’’  Which mean I am willing to stand for light, stand for righteousness, stand for what brings life!!! I do not violate the Word of God, nor His character!  I work in His ways,with His weapons but they are powerful for the pulling down of strongholds!

Ephesians 5:11 says to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.  Only when you bring evil into the light does it lose its power!!!

And we as the Body of Christ need to now stand, and expose the deeds of darkness. Ephesians goes on to say, “for it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Eph 5:12-14)

Finally, we are called to understand what the will of the Lord is…(Eph 5:17) Recently believers have even been discounting the importance of dreams and visions, or other ways the Lord is communicating…

Ultimately, I am not answerable to what a prophet says that I cannot understand or receive, but I am always answerable to the Lord Himself for seeking an understanding and confirmation of His will…

If you are in some form of Leadership in the Body of Christ, the best thing you can do is pray for the rest of the Body to hear Him, to know Him, to be delivered from all darkness and to be strengthened in their inner man…to roll, commit, and trust every work wholly upon the Lord, that He will cause every thought to come into agreement to His will, thus it will be established, thus it will succeed. (Prov 16:3 AMP)

If you are someone who is discouraging believers from activities you consider dangerous, but prefer instead to follow the march of the darkness parade…. you need to quit! You are misleading the flock of the Lord! You risk making the Body captive to darkness!

Carry no illusion here! Being a peacemaker is dangerous work, whether it is in the home, or at work, or the church, or in government!!!  You are confronting and exposing darkness.  You are walking as children of light for peace, and the enemy will get very angry.

Will you be required to fight?  Certainly in prayer. Possibly in other ways as the Lord leads.  After all, you don’t stand against darkness just for awhile, for a show of strength only to then cave in anyway…

This is a fight to the finish. To the victory of Christ as the overcoming One!  But He is the only One with the Playbook.  Which means He alone can call the plays!!! And that requires us to listen! To hear with a clean heart and obey!

This is a time when the Lord is weeding out summer soldiers…He wants foremost to make sure you are HIs, and that you know Him. But as His sheep it is important that you know His voice, and the voice of a stranger you will not obey!!!

Start today!!!

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Day 137, Breaking Your Loaves and Fishes

November 25, 2020 by insolomonsporch

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“ There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Jn 6:9 NKJV

The power of so many…

It wasn’t the power of the fishes and loaves, it was the power of God and the expectancy and hope He inspired!

Back in the day, Jesus fed five thousand – but He is still feeding us today by the word and the Holy Spirit!

He fed the crowds back then to demonstrate His power and stir up belief and faith. Even among so many, He was more than enough!

Even among such looming election odds today that President Trump can remain President – the Lord is more than enough! It’s not about the fishes and loaves, it’s not about what we see… it is about His will, His truth, and that He is faithful!

So today, I am breaking my portion of fishes and loaves of faith and sending them out to the Body of Christ!!! In faith I am sending them out to feed your faith that He is still able, and He is not done! Darkness cannot overcome Him! He overcomes darkness!!!

In fact, the darkness is dispelled by Him!!!!

So rise up in your most holy faith Saints of God, and begin to praise and give thanks for He is good!

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  Ps 84:11

The task for us is to ensure we continue in an upright manner: in faith, in a right spirit, in a submissive heart, always abounding in hope!!!

We have before us a corridor to walk, a walk that demonstrates the treasure that is hidden in our earthen vessels of flesh … that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us….

Yes, we are hard-pressed on every side, but make sure you are not in despair!

Yes, we are persecuted, but we are NOT forsaken!

We are struck down, but we are not destroyed!!!

We are, however, actively carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh!!! (2Cor 4:8-15)

Just as we form the Body of Christ, we can manifest His plan and HIs purposes — even as did the loaves and fishes!!!

It is time to get on with that!!! Even if you only carry the whiff of loaves and fishes… increase!!!

In faith, connect with His will for this time. Submit to Him and His plans.  Believe He has plans for good and not evil, and be one with Him!!!

Believe Saints!!! And release prayers and exaltations in faith!!! It is not what we see that should move us, but rather Him, the Eternal God, He should move us!

Be blessed Saints. Be strong. For the battle is the Lord’s! Do your part!!!

 

 

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Day 136, “The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for All”

July 30, 2020 by insolomonsporch

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“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”  2Pet 3:9 NKJV

“For the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”  Acts 2:39 NKJV

“For there is no partiality with God.”  Rom 2:11 NKJV

Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for all, even me?  I believe it is for all.  That is the case I make today.

Now there is a difference between it being established for all, and your not having received it yet… so we must clarify.

Jesus made an atoning sacrifice on the Cross for all mankind, but will all receive it?  His desire is that none should perish, but all come to repentance. And there is the rub.  While I may desire to know Christ as Savior, until I am willing to come to Him in repentance… I can’t fully receive His salvation.

Likewise, healing, which is by His stripes which He took for our chastisement and our peace, is available to all who come to Him, but will all receive? Unfortunately no…

The Lord’s provision and promise and word are perfect.  But we also have a lot to do with whether we receive or not.  Often because we become our own worst enemies…

It is for you, He is for you

In the Scriptures above we can see some very important truths about God:

-  He desires that none go without (salvation, healing, blessing, baptism) but to receive you must be willing to relinquish, to trust, and to change your mind (repent).

-  His promise is for all that He will call

-  He regards no one as above or better than another – His promises are equally available to all, yet all must be willing to submit to His terms… meet His conditions so to speak.

Where problems occur

Your Expectation:

Remember the story in 2 Kings where Naaman a military commander had leprosy and through a Syrian housemaid was commanded by Elisha to dip seven times in the river Jordan and he would be healed.  Naaman became angry because Elisha didn’t come and deliver this word to him directly. He was offended that he had to dip in the dirty Jordan.  Nothing was the way he wanted. But wise council was given to him that finally appealed to his reason. He did it and was healed.

In the same way, our expectation of where, and when, and how, and all the “non-essential details’ of how I might receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit can impact my ability to receive.  My wondering about my gifts, how the Holy Spirit might use me, my intransigence about certain things (can’t do this in public, not gonna speak in that tongues nonsense, not gonna be embarrassed, can only have hands laid on by this one person)…. on and on and on… 

These kind of restrictions are problematic not so much because the Lord is not big enough to accommodate them all, but rather it is because my whole focus is wrong from the get-go.  My focus is on me, what I want, what I am willing to release to the Lord.  If I have trouble not trying to control the external aspects of the situation, it is very likely I am equally controlling and locked up about the big things in actually receiving the baptism, and that fundamentally my focus is wrong. My reasons for wanting this must be correct, my spirit must be submitted and trusting and in faith, and my eyes on Him.

Your Purity

Think of this, it was after Haaman dipped seven times in the Jordan river that healing manifested. He was being cleansed by his obedience to Elisha’s instruction. Our obedience to what the Lord says is the way we demonstrate our love and devotion to Him.  It is His way, not my way that is important.

We don’t all come to desiring the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the same level of devotion, proper motivation, or cleanliness.  Watchman Nee talks about the delay in receiving the Baptism as a result of needing a greater work of the Holy Spirit in applying the Atonement of the Cross to our hearts and thinking.  Like the sorcerer, Simon, in Acts 8, what he wanted was to gain the power for his own success and reputation.  He was soundly rebuked for this.

When our hearts and minds are not in sync with the Lord’s, it means the Holy Spirit will need to bring us to a place where there is agreement, and that may take time.

Erroneous Doctrine:

Some of us come to the Lord in a denomination that has particular biases about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that can block our ability to receive until truth of the word has changed our thinking.  This was me.

I grew up in a denomination that believed the gifts and the work of the Holy Spirit ceased with the Acts church.  It took me a year of discipleship and study to undo bad doctrine, and to bring my heart into proper hunger.  During this study time, my desire changed from focusing on the Baptism and what it would bring, to instead wanting all of the Lord and closeness to Him that I could receive.

And truly, it took a year of study to no longer hear the theme song from “Twilight Zone,” any time I thought about receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I am pretty certain that for a long time I was the Poster Child Face for difficult candidates pursuing the Baptism.  I was one stamped, “Extra Grace Required (EGR).” Smile

FEAR

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the performance fear that rises up when we consider needing to speak in tongues.  That focus on ourselves generated much fear and pressure of needing to “perform, pass the test,” whatever, that truly can stop everything in its tracks. During this time you can “try your best”, grit your teeth, try to push out fruit the best you can, all to no avail.  I have seen people get frustrated and rather than ever try again, the choose to believe this was never for them from the beginning. This is the saddest thing of all. And not what the Lord would have happen.

The remedy again is to lose sight of yourself, and be consumed in Him. Knowing Him, worshipping Him, focused on Him, desiring to please Him. Leave it all in His hands. See only Him! Believe that it has your name on it (which it does) and is a gift waiting on you to open. Forget fear, forget performance, let praise arise in your heart for all that He is and all that He has done! Be free!

Then see yourself putting your mouth and your speech into His hands. Your expression, your very jaw, released into His service. Give it and all of yourself to Him! It will come.  Like an old water pump that must be primed over and over before the water pours forth, give praise and keep on praising in faith. Do not look at yourself, or listen to yourself! it is the surest way to shut it all down. Keep on!  It’s there!

The Bottom Line: Why the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is for All

So we’ve looked at a few obstacles to people receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but probably what is most important in receiving is your perspective on the truth.

There are a couple really important issues about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that should be paramount, but often get relegated to a side issue.

– The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary for you to be able to become the witness in your life and walk that the Lord desires.  Without it, you lack power to have a significant impact as a witness of Jesus.

– The Baptism is required to receive your own prayer language in the Holy Spirit by which you pray and build yourself up in your most holy faith.  Without this prayer language to build you up you will not be strengthened or have the opening into the gifts of the Holy Spirit by which you strengthen others in the faith.

-  The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a prerequisite to doing greater works that Jesus would have us do because He goes to the Father… thus our walk is small, and lacking in fruit and power for the kingdom of God. Wonder working miracles, miraculous faith, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, works of healings, …. these all require me first to be built up in my most holy faith that I can then operate with the character of Christ in the operation of these gifts of the Holy Spirit.

So, does Jesus only want certain people strengthened? Does He only want certain people gifted to be His witness or to operate in the Spirit? The word is clear He is no respecter of persons.  So He doesn’t want one to be edified (Jude 20) and not another.

We have made the Baptism of the Holy Spirit such a hotbed of contention, that all focuses on ourselves, our gifts, our ministry, that we have nearly made it devoid of the selfless life of Christ that beats at the heart of it all!

We have allowed the enemy to bring a focus on the tongue and its language, and bring a climate of performance fear around the whole thing.  Thus, people get frustrated that they haven’t received, but when the focus is in fear, and not faith, when it is on me, and not Him… we are sure to fail.

It is time for the church to arise and remember the words of the Lord in John 12:24-26

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life, will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, Him My Father will honor.”

We must die to our selves and our agendas and preferences.

We must lose our lives even the focus and captivation to it (even “selfies” that stir it up!)

Only then can we live for Christ.

Only then can we reproduce like grain that falls to the ground, be a witness, and yield a great crop of strong believers for His glory!

There is a need to return to the truth of the word concerning all things but especially this topic, that we will become the church, the Bride, that Christ is calling to come alongside His work, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Maranatha

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Day 135, A Second Experience in the Holy Spirit

July 27, 2020 by insolomonsporch

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“For He had not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 8:16 AMP

For most of the Body of Christ who have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, this has been experienced as a second event with the Holy Spirit. One that is subsequent to salvation.  While there are always exceptions, some people have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit while being baptized in water…, mostly, the Lord has an order about how salvation and then the Baptism in the Holy Spirit proceed.

Having said that, I also recognize, the Lord is Sovereign, and He can do what He desires.  The story of Cornelius in Acts 10 is one of those exceptions. God moved upon Cornelius with a vision about men from Joppa coming to him so he and his family would be blessed.

Meanwhile, the Apostle Peter also received a vision from the Lord, about going to Cornelius. The Lord had to work on both parties, Peter and Cornelius, to pave the way for them to receive without doubt, or discrimination, or hesitation what the Lord wanted them to do.

Thus, before Cornelius and his family were technically saved (by correct procedure), the Holy Spirit falls upon all those listening to Peter’s message. They then heard them speaking in unknown tongues, because the Holy Spirit had been bestowed and poured out even on Gentiles.

This break with accepted protocol was apparently needed because there was deep bias within the Apostolic Leadership about the Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit like this. So the Lord had to work to manage the situation, and He did!

The result was this consensus:

“Can anyone forbid or refuse water for baptizing these people, seeing that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Acts 10:47 AMP

Here is an interesting point: it was “seen” that these people had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit – just as the disciples had.  Meaning, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there was the evidence of speaking in tongues, just as initially occurred in Acts 2:4, with the disciples in the Upper Room.

So, in baptism, there is an immersion.  In water baptism, we testify of the work of salvation that has occurred on the inside by being immersed in water (Col 2:11-13). We are making a declaration that we believe we are saved by the work of Jesus on the Cross.

Likewise, in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is also an immersion, but this time it is with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16 AMP):

“John answered them all by saying, I baptize you with water; but He Who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of Whose sandals I am not fit to unfasten. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

So John’s baptism is unto repentance but Jesus’ baptism is unto power.  John’s immersed in water, Jesus’ immersed with the Holy Spirit.

Once Jesus had ascended to Heaven to the right hand of the Father, the way was opened for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit after the first believers had obeyed and tarried in Jerusalem to await the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4-8).

Believers today no longer have to wait in that same sense, for the Promise is already released. It is available to anyone today who meets the requirements to receive it. That, however, can bring problems that confuse the believer, and possibly delay their receiving…

Let’s look at this for a moment…

Acts 2:38-39:

“And Peter answered them (the convicted crowd of Jews had asked what they should do after Peter recounts a brief history of Who Jesus is….)

Repent, (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself.”

So we can see that a willingness to change your view and accept the will of God in your heart is a requirement to receive this Baptism. Thus, if you have not already received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, this is unavailable to you. With salvation, comes the new heart that is needed, and the willingness to trust the Lord and be aligned with His will. 

Also, being first baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins is the normal order, but not unable to be superseded by the Lord as He sees fit (as was demonstrated by Cornelius).

Now, I am really writing this to address the fact that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second work of the Holy Spirit, generally, although we see in the word exceptions. Sometimes.

Why do I say that this is a second work?  Because the disciples had already been saved before they came to the upper room. Salvation was already in place for them…John 20:21-22:

“Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you.  And having said this, He breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit!”

So the upper room was a second work of the Holy Spirit, not for their salvation, but so they would have power to be witnesses to the Lord and would begin living and working according to the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-8; Gal 5:13-26)

This is a point of confusion for many. Some people merge these two baptisms into one. But simply stated, there are two different medium for the baptisms here: one being water and one being the Holy Spirit. Only the Lord can bring these together in one event as He dictates.  It, however, is not the norm.

Having said that, I must say this.  There is no reason to believe that you must be saved many years before you somehow are “qualified” for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In truth it is always a gift of grace that we never earn.  Meeting the requirements that our heart is in the proper place is different than being qualified!

There are many factors that delay our pursuit and receipt of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I must say from the Lord’s standpoint all things are ready and in place for anyone to receive this very day…

The notion that you loiter in a salvation mode awaiting processing for greater gifting is false.  The enemy would prefer you to delay this process as long as possible, even indefinately so as to keep you from a walk and living in the Spirit and in power.

To that end he tries to convince people that it is not for everyone. And so, there have been sown into belief structures and doctrines that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not for everyone, and in fact, the word has even been misinterpreted to support that very notion.

Next time I will pick up more on this topic and specifically why the Baptism is for everyone who is a believer.

Shalom…

 

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Day 134, “One God”

July 18, 2020 by insolomonsporch

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“Then  one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’”

“Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.” Mark 12:28-30 NKJV

FIRST. Webster’s dictionary defines this word, “first,” as meaning “preceding all others in time, order, or importance, such as earliest, … having the highest or most prominent part among a group of similar voices or instruments.”

Jesus answers the scribe’s question of what is the first commandment by quoting in Mark a passage from the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

So Jesus is establishing in the hearts and minds and hearing of the Jews that in order of all importance and precedence, that this command comes first. It is first because it sets in this realm an explanation of the first order of Who God is and how He is. It also sets in this context, how we are to relate to and give prominence and place to Him, the One True God.

In both the Shema (Deut 6:4-5) and where Jesus is quoting in Mark 12:28-30, the injunction is to “Hear!” Meaning that a command is given to everyone who has ears to have the capacity to hear this truth and receive it.  It is not just a command, it is an empowerment.

Because this is the first commandment, it sets in order our whole relationship to God and reveals Who He is. If there ever was a strategy for the enemy to attack and bring confusion concerning the identity of God in His plurality it would begin here….That is because this commandment sets in motion all of our relationship with God.

Now here is the fascinating thing about the notion of “One God” expressed in these passages.  It is plural.

The word used for God is used three times in the Shema, and in each instance it is a plural form. Also, there are two words for “one” in the Hebrew language: echad and yachid.

The word, “echad’’” is is a compound unity (one made up of parts) meaning several, or many in one. Echad means to unify as “to collect one’s thoughts,” and means properly, “united.”

In contrast, “yachid”, the other word for one, means absolutely and indivisibly one. Yachid is always used to mean absolute one in the Bible, but it is never used to denote the Unity of God (as in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).

So here are some examples of compound unity as meant by the word echad: one cluster of grapes; the congregation assembled as one man; one day being night and day; man and wife as one flesh; the shell, white, and yolk being one egg; the making of man as a trinity… spirit, soul, and body …made in the image of God.

So what the Shema is telling us is that God is a plurality, one comprised of a unity between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God, but three co-eternal and co-equal Persons who are the same in substance, but distinct in subsistence.

This plurality is reflected in these three names for God: Elohim; Adonai; and El SHaddai.  These names are each plural.  Elohim is used 2,500 times. Adonai is used 90 times. El Shaddai is used 48 times.

From this understanding we can begin to see how God as Three Persons functions throughout Scripture.

I encourage you to investigate this topic like a Berean, making sure what you believe and understand.

One great source I found is the Rock of Israel Ministries and their reference book “Jewish Faith and the New Covenant.” It is what I used for this blog post. But there are many such sources.

Above all, realize that as the Father sent the Son to manifest Him to the world, so you and I have been also sent by the Son to continue His work.  But our Companion, and Helper in this work is now the Holy Spirit, Who dwells and abides in us. Jesus and the Father are in heaven.  It is the Holy Spirit of God who remains with us now, until Jesus returns for His Bride, the Church.

Begin to see and understand the dynamics of these Three… today!

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