This is from the blog 43: 19:

[20 June 2015]

Major shifts come in life.  Moving from one place to another can often seem like a whole re-engagement with the world, and ultimately messes with all our self-certainty.  Such shifts are a welcome release for our spirits which are most of the time too clogged down by the power of habit.  Our habits actually need to be crushed once in a while to prove to ourselves that our minds are incapable of coping with the challenges of life.

I’m going home and a homecoming is always a celebration.  The prodigal runs into the Father’s arms and a radical shift takes place in his identity.  Radical because he is ‘re-rooted’.  Without homecomings, we lose track of where we are and are eventually without purpose and without roots.  Just going along the way we’ve started because we’ve started and so we have to finish.  Sometimes you don’t have to finish.  Sometimes you just have to drop it.

As I’m waiting for confirmation of some things before I begin to move forward in the next steps of my career, I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways in which my heart is invested in circumstances.  Too often our identity is affirmed by what we do and our routines.  A crisis is triggered when the routine is interrupted.  The severity of the crisis will be determined by the measure of this investment.  Stability is not routine.  Routine leaves a person gutless, with no power of decision.  I pray that I would be continually saved from routine by a living present.

Serenity is the possession of the spirit that is not invested in or identified by circumstance.

King David and his son, Solomon, had an understanding that man’s purpose and identity are not defined by any circumstance of life, but are much more profound.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted ETERNITY in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy]…  (Ecclesiastes 3:11 AMP, emphasis added)

Whether he knows it or not, every man is caught in the tension between the eternity of his creation and the immediacy of his daily life.  A sense of limbo in times of waiting or uncertainty can actually be healthy when it reminds us that we have a home and a stability outside of present circumstances, whenever we choose to embrace it.

David described it this way,

For we are ALIENS and PILGRIMS before You,
As were all our fathers;
Our days on earth are as a shadow,
And without hope.  (1 Chronicles 29:15 NKJV, emphasis added)

The sense of loss and instability in a time of waiting, or what many Christians would refer to as a ‘wilderness period’, is actually man stepping into his true identity which is far more enduring than a circumstance of life.  Man should feel like a stranger in the earth; his home is not on earth but in the heart of God where he was formed.  A soul estranged from the heart of God is inevitably in a perpetual identity crisis until it returns.  The despised times of waiting, or better continuing, are the real substance of life where character is formed.

The Westminster Catechism states that,

Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

When we find our identity in God, we suffer tension, but find the glory of our creation.  A spirit that has this root is stable and has no hope in the circumstance of life, but in a living hope which far exceeds and extends beyond the earth.  According to the book of Hebrews, Abraham found this hope along with Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and many of the other figures of Jewish history.  They didn’t see their hope on earth, but were unshaken, because their identity was in God and their perspective was eternal.

 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were STRANGERS and PILGRIMS on the earth.  For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a HOMELAND.  And truly if they had called to mind that country FROM WHICH THEY HAD COME OUT, they would have had opportunity to RETURN.  But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.  (Hebrews 11:13-16 NKJV, emphasis added)

Jesus has prepared a place for you.  Live in God.  Practice His presence.  Be identified by heaven.  Be always at home.

This blog entry is dedicated to Tim Shey, the High Plains Drifter whose pilgrimage on the roads of America reminded me that I am a stranger on the earth.

I am a Stranger in the Earth
We Are Sojourners and Pilgrims on Earth
The Spirit Driveth Him into the Wilderness

What God is trying to tell us

“If ye were not strangers here, the dogs of the world would not bark at you”

–Samuel Rutherford

Oswald Chambers, 1874-1917

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“Be reckless immediately, fling it all out on Him. You do not know when His voice will come, but whenever the realization of God comes in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon. It is only by abandon that you recognize Him. You will only realize His voice more clearly by recklessness.”

–Oswald Chambers

“I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.”

–Abraham Lincoln

“I shall not live ’till I see God; and when I have seen him, I shall never die.”

–John Donne

“The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to God.”

–Daniel Webster

“The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish a man’s business but build his character. The blow at the outward man may be the greatest blessing to the inner man. If God, then, puts or permits anything hard in our lives, be sure that the real peril, the real trouble, is what we shall lose if we flinch or rebel.”

–Maltbie D. Babcock

“To the quiet mind all things are possible. What is a quiet mind? A quiet mind is one which nothing weighs on, nothing worries, which, free from ties and from all self-seeking, is wholly merged into the will of God and dead as to its own. Such an one can do no deed however small but it is clothed with something of God’s power and authority.”

–Meister Eckhart

“Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.”

–Charles H. Spurgeon

“The wisdom of this world is precious in the eye of the world; and the wisdom of God in His poor, weak, despised earthen vessels is still foolishness with them; but the Lord so orders it, that He still justifies his despised wisdom in his despised vessels, and makes the wisdom of the world appear foolish to all the single and uprighthearted, who thirst after and wait for the revelation of His truth.”

–Isaac Penington

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”

–William Shedd

“Men return again and again to the few who have mastered the spiritual secret, whose life has been hid with Christ in God. These are of the old time religion, hung to the nails of the Cross.”

–Robert Murray McCheyne

“Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obedience, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scriptures is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience.”

–A.W. Tozer

“All God’s revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking. Immediately you obey, a flash of light comes. Let God’s truth work in you by soaking in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can get to know is to stop trying to find out and being born again. Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. One reads tomes on the Holy Spirit, when one five minutes of drastic obedience would make things as clear as a sunbeam. ‘I suppose I shall understand these things some day!’ You can understand them now. It is not study that does it, but obedience. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know already. Beware of becoming ‘wise and prudent.'”

–Oswald Chambers

“Christianity is not a theory or speculation, but a life; not a philosophy of life, but a living presence.”

–Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“Though swordless, these soldiers of Christ fought the might of imperial Rome and won…
Unlettered they unblushingly declared the whole counsel of God and eventually staggered the intellectual Greeks.”

–Leonard Ravenhill

Some Great Quotes on Prayer
The World Is In The Church
Quote of the Day

George Fox, 1624-1691

This is from The Missing Cross to Purity:

(Letter #2)

Friends,

The children of the devil,
how expert are they in evil, in all deceit in his kingdom;
and yet they may speak of the things of God;
but no vulturous eye or venomous beast ever trod in the steps of the just,
though they may talk of the way.
For those who have their conversation in this world,
and only mind the things of this world,
profess godliness in vain.

But the children of God,
who are conceived and begotten of him, are not of this world,
neither do they mind only the things of this world,
but the things which are eternal.

But the children of this world do mostly mind the external things,
and their love is in them,
and the others live by faith;
the one is sanctified by the word, the other painted with the words.

The children of God are pure in heart, not looking only at the outside.
The favor of the world and friendship with it is enmity to God.
Man may soon be stained with it.
Oh! Love the stranger, and be as strangers in the world, and to the world!
For those who followed Christ in his cross,
they were strangers in the world,
and wonders to the world,
and condemned by the world;
and the world did not know him,
neither does it know those who follow him now.
So, marvel not if the world hates you;
for the world lies in hatred and wickedness.
Whoever loves this world, are enemies to Christ;
and whoever loves the Lord Jesus Christ,
and have him for their Lord over them,
they are redeemed out of the world.
The world would have a Christ, but not to rule over them;
the nature of the world chains down Christ in man,
until Christ has subdued that nature in man.
While the nature of the world rules in man,
oh, the deaf ears and blind eyes, and the understandings,
that are all shut up among them, with which they judge!
But those who love the Lord Jesus Christ,
do not mind the world’s judgment, nor are troubled at it;
but consider all our brethren, who have gone before us.

When you think you are past all crosses,
when the trial does come,
you will find a cross to that will
which meddles with the things of God presumptuously;
that man may live in joy, but the spirit is in bondage.
Do not rejoice in the flesh, but rather in the spirit,
which crucifies all fleshly boastings.
If the fleshly will be fed, then carelessness comes up,
and they fall into flatness, (from the spirit),
and are mindless of the Lord God;
such are soon up and down.
The serpent tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit,
and she took and gave to her husband,
and so they fell under the serpent’s power, and the creatures,
out of the power of God, which would have kept them in dominion.
And so, Adam and Eve, and the serpent, all went out of truth.
And Eve eating of the tree of knowledge,
she had knowledge and wisdom after the fall,
but not in the dominion, in the power of God.
But the seed Christ, who was in the beginning,
bruises the serpent’s head, and he is the wisdom of God.

–George Fox

Can demons infiltrate Christians? The late Derek Prince suggested that they can, and in the book, Rules of Engagement: Preparing for Your Role in the Spiritual Battle, he explains how:

In James 3:15 the apostle speaks about a form of wisdom which does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual [soulish], demonic. James depicts a downward slide in three successive stages: from the earthly to the soulish to the demonic.

When Christians become earthly they lose the vision of eternity. They cannot see beyond the things of this life: success, pleasure, wealth, physical health. They are only interested in what their faith will do for them in this life! Concerning such people Paul says: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable (1 Corinthians 15:19). Christians like that often consider themselves prosperous and successful. God considers them pitiable.

After the earthly, the next stage is soulish. To be soulish is to be egocentric, self-centered. For such people, the Christian faith is a way to get what they want out of life. They suppose that godliness is a means of gain (1 Timothy 6:5).

The soulish opens the way for the demonic. This is one main way in which demons infiltrate the church. The question is often asked: Do Christians ever need deliverance from demons? The words of James provide a clear answer. This downward slide from the earthly to the soulish to the demonic exposes both individual believers and whole congregations to the activities of demons.

What are Demons?
A Deeper Deliverance

Genesis:  Garments from the Garden of God – Trey Smith

THE SOLDIER

It’s the soldier not the reporter
who gives you the freedom of the press.

It’s the soldier not the poet
who gives you the freedom of speech.

It’s the soldier not the campus organizer
who allows you to demonstrate.

It’s the soldier who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag
that allows the protester to burn the flag!!!

“Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.”

_____

The Soldier
By Gerard Manley Hopkins

YES. Why do we áll, seeing of a soldier, bless him? bless
Our redcoats, our tars? Both these being, the greater part,
But frail clay, nay but foul clay. Here it is: the heart,
Since, proud, it calls the calling manly, gives a guess
That, hopes that, makesbelieve, the men must be no less;
It fancies, feigns, deems, dears the artist after his art;
And fain will find as sterling all as all is smart,
And scarlet wear the spirit of wár thére express.

Mark Christ our King. He knows war, served this soldiering through;
He of all can handle a rope best. There he bides in bliss
Now, and séeing somewhére some mán do all that man can do,
For love he leans forth, needs his neck must fall on, kiss,
And cry ‘O Christ-done deed! So God-made-flesh does too:
Were I come o’er again’ cries Christ ‘it should be this’.

_____

Hand on the Helm
By Katherine Pollard Carter
Copyright 1977. Chapter 5.

“Ninety-First Psalm Became Their Impenetrable Shield”

“For four long years, in the front line warfare of World War I, the British regiment commanded by Colonel Whittlesey had not one single battle casualty. They did not lose a single man! They could only give one explanation for this incredible record.

“During those interminable years of danger and valor, every officer and every enlisted man in the regiment daily affirmed his faith in God’s protection by repeating the Ninety-First Psalm.”

“Each officer and soldier in the regiment carried a complete copy of the psalm and either read it or recited it from memory daily.”

_____

With the Old Breed
By E.B. Sledge

Page 91: “The conversation with Hillbilly reassured me. When the sergeant came over and joined in after getting coffee, I felt almost lighthearted. As conversation trailed off, we sipped our joe in silence.

“Suddenly, I heard a loud voice say clearly and distinctly, ‘You will survive the war!’

“I looked at Hillbilly and then at the sergeant. Each returned my glance with a quizzical expression on his face in the gathering darkness. Obviously they hadn’t said anything.

“‘Did y’all hear that?’ I asked.

“‘Hear what?’ they both inquired.

“‘Someone said something,’ I said.

“‘I didn’t hear anything. How about you?’ said Hillbilly, turning to the sergeant.

“‘No, just that machine gun off to the left.’

“Shortly, the word was passed to get settled for the night. Hillbilly and the sergeant crawled back to their hole as Snafu returned to the gun pit. Like most persons, I had always been skeptical about people seeing visions and hearing voices. So I believed God spoke to me that night on the Peleliu battlefield, and I resolved to make my life amount to something after the war.”

_____

Freedom to Bear Arms

Alvin C. York
Never the Same–Michelle Krubeck

BELIEVERS OR DISBELIEVERS
The Bullet Proof President

This is from the Singapore Christian blog:

Here’s a great story shared by the late Derek Prince. It can be found in the book Rules of Engagement: Preparing for Your Role in the Spiritual Battle.

Many years ago in London, the daughter of a Swedish pastor lived with us for about three months learning English, which I taught her. She was a very beautiful, talented girl with a lovely singing voice. Her father was the pastor of the largest Pentecostal church in Sweden, and she had grown up in a very strict Pentecostal environment.

When this girl was about fourteen years old, she was listening to what all her friends at school talked about—all the pleasures of the theater and dancing and things like that. And she became more and more interested. So one day she went to her father and said, “Father, I want to thank you for the care that you’ve given me, the way you trained me and brought me up. But I want to tell you that from now on I want to go another way. I want to find out what the world has to offer. I hear all my friends talking about it, and I want to find out for myself.” And her father, who was a wise man, said, “Barbara, your mother and I will pray for you.” He didn’t argue. He didn’t say it was wrong. He said, “We’ll pray.”

That night, the daughter had the most vivid dream of her life. In this dream she saw two cities, and one was a big, modern, beautiful city. It was filled with lights flashing and glittering everywhere. Across a valley there was another city that had a different kind of light. It didn’t flash, it didn’t glitter, but it was steady and calm. While she was looking at the city with the glittering neon lights, a man introduced himself to her. He was very cultivated, very educated and very well dressed. He said, “I’d like to show you around this city.” And she went with him.

The further she went with him, the uglier he became. Soon she realized it was the devil himself. As she stopped there in horror, all the lights in this neon city began to go out one by one by one until the city was in total darkness. She turned to look across at the other city, and it was as bright and clear as it had always been. The next day she went to her father and said, “Daddy, I’m coming to church with you.” She was a wise girl. She listened when the Lord spoke.

Prophetic Vision of Joseph Ayo Babalola