"There" is where you worship

     

   When will the church take worship seriously?   It is the stated goal, something God seeks, for us to worship the Spirit in spirit and in truth (reality), Jo. 4:27-29.  Yet, we offer Him almost everything except for that which He seeks.  For the most part, we do not worship God the Spirit. We prefer some other form.  We don't worship in the spirit, which has to include being filled and anointed with Spirit power to worship, including worship in tongues.  We don't worship in truth (reality), we just  say we are worshiping. When you think about it, we, in this country, have had it perpetrated upon us that because we "believe" in God, therefore we worship God.  Or, that if we go to church on Sunday, therefore we have worshiped God.  There are not enough words to tell you how insane such thinking is.  Translate that to the Bible, to the New Testament and see if such thinking would fit those folks.  No, indeed.   

    Almost as crazy as those ideas is the one that if we have sang some songs in church, or a few choruses (two  fast and one slow), that we have worshiped.  In church we have broken down our time to what we think is most important.  One hour for Sunday school, one hour plus for preaching, and twenty minutes or  less for what we call worship.  That is two hours for man and twenty minutes or less for worship. Anything wrong with that picture?  Most of the time the songs we sang were about us and sang to us for our enjoyment.  They might have been  praise or thanksgiving but sometimes they don't even rise to that level and even if they did, it still does not mean we have worshiped.   

   You see, worship is what happens when thanksgiving, rejoicing and praise have their way.  If they truly happen, they bring us to worship.  This is clearly illustrated in the Tabernacle of Moses approach (Ps. 100).  There, you  (the priset on your behalf) entered the gates with thanksgiving and through the courts with praise. That was compartment one and two and brought you to the last compartment, the holy of holies.  In this compartment, only the high priest could go in (on behalf of the the people) and meet with God.  There, in that spot, was the mercy seat and on that mercy seat, God's presence would manifest.  There, in that spot, in God's presence, nothing, nothing, nothing else mattered.  God was there!  This tabernacle of Moses was built on the pattern of the heavenly (spiritual) tabernacle of which Moses was given a vision (Heb.8:5).

    Worship is what you do when you are "there" - in God's presence.   Oh, "there" is a wondrous place. Nothing else matters when you are "there".   My friend, we have generalized the term "worship" until for most, it means nothing, but in the Bible it is specific.  It is what you are doing when in God's presence, you begin to respond to Him.  What you are doing, the activity, the song, the words, etc.,  when you are "there" may vary from one  to another and it makes no difference.  What matters is that you are "there" and you are responding to Him with all your being. Speaking or singing in English, tongues, hands up,  body dancing, prostrate on the floor, shouting, running, weeping tears of adoration and  probably laughing.  Doesn't much matter - it is just you responding to just Him "there".  This is worship.

     Keys to success:  (#1), You have to want to be "there". No desire for this? Don't worry, you won't be bothered by it.  (#2), You have to be free to respond when you are "there". That includes being filled with the HOly Ghost again and again until music boils up inside of you to Him. Filled until you speak in tongues freely, often and better than with your earthly tongue.  Do whatever else you have to do to be free to respond; body, soul and spirit.   (#3), Pray for "times" of God's manifested presence for only in His presence, ("there") can you truly responsively worship.  (#4), Go to a church where God's presence is welcomed and likely to manifest and if that is impossible, pray for your church to become that and if that fails, pray for God to raise such a church up that you can go to.

Music for God's ears

   You think God cares about our music?  Apparently He does.  He commands us fifty times to "sing" unto, directed toward, for the benefit of, "Him".   Now, I know we also sing to one another and that too is good. We are to teach and admonish one another in songs  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Col. 3:16.  It is good to sing to men, for the benefit of men,  but the part I love, and I think we don't do enough of, is "singing with grace" to the Lord. Toward Him you extend your favor in your song. Toward Him you extend your praise, your adoration, your love.    Now, that doesn't make teaching, admonishing, testifying songs bad or mean that we should stop doing them.  No, no! Some of the best sermons I've ever heard were in a song.  

    Sometimes it seems we can't take our attention off ourselves long enough to sing to Him, about Him, for Him.  Look at the music you like. Be honest. How many songs say something to God?  Even a "thank you".   Most are songs about how blessed we are, what we have been given, what we can expect, etc.. We rejoice in our blessings and we should and it is good, but are we saying anything to the Lord?   Now, if you care about this, take note it may not be completely your fault.  Where are the psalmist who can write prophetical songs to Him?  Maybe you don't know any of those songs and that is too bad.  It is hard to find worship choruses or songs these days that actually speak to God.  A few, but not many.  The "spirit of prophecy" that John wrote about and wrote in connection to worship was, "the testimony of Jesus".  For me, I love the songs, the prophecies, the sermons that turn my heart toward Him and express my heart to Him. Songs that testify of His glory!

   Look at it this way:  suppose you are trying to get intimately close to the spouse.  There you are, romantic and ready to sing your love to her (even if you can't sing).  What song are you going to choose?  Are you going to sing about yourself, or her? Is the discussion going to be about her beauty or your beauty? Are you going to whisper in the ear "You are so wonderful" or shout, "I am so wonderful".   Are you going to sing "Its all about you" or sing "Its all about me"?

  One word to those who are involved in leading worship.  If you want the love affair to deepen between the Lord and those you are leading, teach the people to sing to Him.  Look for the song that expresses the adoration of the heart to Him.  Those other songs of thanksgiving and praise, testimony and admonition are good but if you want to move to worship more frequently, take those fifty commands to sing "to" the Lord seriously.

  

So, You Want Prosperity!

    I believe God wants us to prosper.  I believe in and I teach prosperity.  But, I think we should be careful in defining what it means.  The problem with  some of today's crop of prosperity believers is that they want to define it by  how much "stuff" they have accumulated.  "Stuff", otherwise known as "mammon" in the Bible is okay - but the danger is that seeks to make you subservient.   Jesus said it is was impossible to serve mammon and God at the same time.  Not forbidden, just impossible.  This ability to capture and make subservient is a big part of the deceitfulness of riches. "Mammon", (money, possessions,) will seek to master you. and in doing so, choke the word of God. When you want God to give you "stuff" just for the sake of having "stuff", you may have bit the worm, taken the bait, fell into the snare of the deceitfulness of riches. You know, I love to hear the truly prosperous tell of how God has blessed them so that can do what they love to do....give, give, give.  It is distasteful to hear some who think they are prosperous reel off their list of "stuff". When I hear someone brag about all the "stuff" they have,  in the presence of missionaries trying to survive on the mission field, I feel sick inside.  I want to stand up and shout at the top of my lungs "sell your stuff and bless the missionaries - now - thus saith". 

   I have searched the Word and so far, I have not found one promise where God or the Bible says "for money I will give you money".  Maybe I am wrong but so far, those who seek to prove me wrong,  are usually going to give me a verse from a different covenant than this new and better one we have, and, even then they won't have it right or in context.  Or, they may quote from Luke 6 about how if we give,  it will be given back to us, pressed down, shaken together and running, given to us, to our bosom, our wallet, by men.  Actually, the whole context shows that verse is not about money, but about "mercy".  If taken to mean money, then when we give, we must always be watching other men to see if they are going something back to us. Unfortunately, that is a familiar sight!   Our eyes will be on men, not God. God only knows how many offerings have been taken, using that verse to extract money from the congregation, some of whom were desperate for mercy, not money.  Or, they will tell me about the parable of the seed and sower where seed on good ground might come back with 30 to a 100 fold return.   Just a teensy-weensy bit of research will show that this parable is about God (not us) is sowing seed words into our lives, words which is handled properly, can become full revelations. How that ever became a prosperity verse remains a mystery to me.   It is not "give ten dollars and get a hundred dollars in return".  It is much more important than that.  It is about how God communicates with us.   God only knows how much money has been pried out of the hands of gullible believers with that little jewel.  And, they are still waiting for the 100 fold increase and maybe standing in the same line with those waiting for other men to heap to their bosom mo' money.

    The truth is,  when we give, God considers it us showing Him "grace".  In fact, the Bible speaks of our giving as a "grace".  For our grace, He gives us grace.  We reap what we sow.  Sow grace, reap grace. When we give into the Kingdom, we are giving, showing involvement in God's business and in return, He in turn involves Himself in our business.  You sow grace, you get Grace.  According to the Galatians six passage about sowing and reaping, which is indeed about money,  if we sow to the spirit (sharing resources with those who teach us the things of God), we will reap "life everlasting". If we fail to sow to the spirit, we will reap "corruption"; (malfunctions and breakdowns).  This is not about money. This is about everlasting life (the Holy Ghost).  Life is not money.  You can't sow money and reap life.  You can't buy everlasting life, no matter how much you give. This is about God, for your giving, manifesting His life, His grace in your affairs.  In the 2nd Corinthians nine passage, which too is about money, God said  that for our sowing the return would be abundant grace, sufficiency, abounding in good works and enrichment in all things.  Could mean money?  Yes and double yes!  But, to simply call it it money is to dramatically lessen the blessing.   God's grace cannot be measured by dollars.  His grace will bless you and bless you and bless you but sometimes that blessing you need is not money.  Sometimes it may be a touch on your body, an intervention in a dire situation, a rescue from failure, a wisdom to handle your business, etc..

    My favorite definition of grace is that it is the "willing involvement of God, or divine influence, in the affairs of men".  And, according to the Word, grace can be multiplied.  Grace can grow.  Grace can move from marginal to abundant.  Giving of money or treasures is just one of the ways we interact with God, sowing grace for grace.   Want more grace?  Give more and give cheerfully, whatever you have to give.  That can be certainly mean money, or it could be praise, time, service and many other things.  Just keep in mind that God's measure of acceptance is the attitude of the giver.  He loves a cheerful giver.  A lot of giving is wasted giving because of rotten attitudes such as grudging, greedy, grumpy, and mercenary thinking. And, don't give your treasures to men.  You may  put it into man's hands, but know in your heart, it is to God you are giving.   You are obeying His voice to give here or give there.  And, for goodness sake, don't set around waiting for men to give it back to you.  How many stories have we heard about someone giving something of value to the church, then gets mad and wants their money back?  Or, walks away from God because at the hour they were looking for men to heap to them riches, it didn't happen?  All too often.

 

So, you are praying for America?

   You know, trying to understand the radical Muslim who attacked this country can't be done unless you understand the demonic.  When demons take control, rational, logical thinking flies out the window.  To try to understand the irrational is hard, but to understand the demonic is impossible.   I watched, this 9/11, as America remembered the horrible attack carried out by demon possessed people and thought to myself "most folks cannot understand what really happened".  And then I thought,"and, they won't be able to understand what is right now happening to America".  My friend, we are under spiritual attack, and have been for some time, and it is not just or only, related to Islam or what happened on 9/11. 

    Let me give you a run-down:  For generations the doctrine of the Masons  has been pushed forward in this nation, even into the realms of political leadership, and now, into the church.  This is a doctrine is says that we all serve one God by whatever name we might choose to call him.  That is a damnable lie.   This began to creep into the church, at an alarming rate, after the mighty charismatic move of the 60's and 70's.  I think it came as a strike-back from the devil, with recently Holy Ghost baptized people just learning there even was such a thing as the Holy Ghost who began to push the idea of "unity".  Unity, they said, was going to bring revival.  I tried to warn others of this, but so often, it fell on deaf ears. No such call exist for that kind of unity in the Bible, I told them, but that didn't matter.  The only unity the New Testament calls for is the unity of the Spirit.  We are not to create that unity, we "keep" that unity and we don't  even do that.  We are to be "one" but that oneness, Jesus said, is done by the "glory", (the Holy Ghost,) whom He has given us.  This call to  unity led to the people friendly mess of a church we see now where the only conviction that matters is that "we just all get along", "don't preach anything that would offend", "just luv-luv-luv one another".   This has led to an incredible shut-out of the Holy Ghost  and strangely, it all began at a time He had chosen to cross denominational lines and reveal Himself to America on a huge scale.  This call to unity led to the end of the preaching of deep convictions expressing the will and pleasure of God and led to a place of pop-psychology and sermons designed only to increase the comfort and pleasure of people.

   This situation now exists in America where a president had the audacity to declare the we, and the Muslims all serve the same God. And, the next president and tons of other politicians have all declared the same, seemingly without the slightest reservation.   I know my God can defend Himself and I don't need to, but for His sake and my love of Him, I find that to be insulting. I deeply resent it.  (I would venture a guess a good Muslim, dedicated to what he thinks is god, might also be insulted).  If we serve the same God,  then we have the same gospel and that is certainly not the case.  Get it clear, those people don't serve the same God we do, not even those we consider moderate, nice people.  A lot of other people, proclaiming they believe in God, don't serve or believe in the same God we do as Christians.  Should we love them and show them love?  Yes, yes!  We do that even with our enemies.  Should we embrace them as brothers.  No, no! Should we be in unity with just anybody who says they believe in a God? No!

   It is important to understand that this war of today is not just about a country called America, or even Israel. It is about Jesus.  It is about the Holy Ghost who proclaims the Lordship of Jesus. It is about Christianity as defined by that Bible we treasure.  It is about the Jesus Christ the Lord, as revealed only by the  presence and power of the Holy Ghost.  Today the loudest voice proclaiming "God" to us, comes from a group that believes Jesus was the brother of Lucifer, that he was a man who became god and if we follow their teachings, we too will become gods.  Plus a lot of other equally crazy stuff, including the idea that Jesus will not come back and set up His kingdom in Jerusalem but rather in Independence, Mo.    Yes, he and other voices are declaring "Return to God America" and to that I say "amen", but my next question is "Which God?". Watching this unfold, my inner spirit is getting more and more edgy.  I wondered, as I  watched evangelical and even Pentecostals line up with this man, how did they deal with this matter?  Are they so concerned about saving political America that they would throw overboard their convictions of the gospel of Jesus Christ?  I hope not.  My friends, what if we return to God and do so with the idea firmly imposed upon us that coming to God, or being saved is accomplished any old way you choose to do it?  What if we continue to go down this path that leads to a conclusion that being "saved" is no more than just believing that there is a god, by what ever name you are comfortable with?  My friend, we will be more lost than ever.

   Yes, it was awful that a bunch of demoniacs blew up the Trade Center.  Yes, it is awful that godless politicians men seem to be intent on destroying this country, destroying our economy and taking away our liberties, but if you think this attack on America is just coming from the Muslims, or corrupt and sorry politicians, think again and pray some more.   If it is true we can all get to God, by whatever means we choose, then there is no God, there is no gospel that matters.  All is vanity!   If that be the case, don't just burn the Koran, burn the Bible too.  Our New Testament proclaims to us that no man can come to God except by Jesus Christ the Lord.  If that is not the truth, if that is not the only way to God, then that New Testament is utterly useless.  My friend, here is the truth.  There is only one way to God and that is through the blood of Jesus. There is only one salvation and that is the new birth carried out by the Holy Ghost.  There is only one relationship with God and that is to walk in fellowship with that same Spirit that birthed us.  There is only one redemption plan and that plan cost the precious blood of Jesus on the cross.  There is  only one heaven and only one way to get there, and that is through Christ the Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost. My friend, be clear about it, as you listen to people equate their God without ours.  Jesus was not a man who became God.  He was God who became man.  

    While these voices are crying out for the rebuilding of America, my friend, be careful, be prayerful.  Keep your sword in hand and the eyes of your spirit wide open.  Stay full of the Holy Ghost so that your inner witness alarm bell is always charged up and in the "on" position. For me, I am not only praying that America return to God but even more fervently, I pray that God, the Holy Ghost, will return to America.  What does that mean?  It means I want the Holy Ghost to fall on us like rain.  It means that He, the Holy Ghost, the manifested presence of God on earth, will find entrance into this nation and its churches.  And, I don't mean  by this prayer that the Holy Ghost will come in some way that makes the mega churches get bigger, Christian TV get more money,  people friendly church outgrowsthe fellowship hall, have a successful membership drive or build another ornate and gaudy church building.  And, I don't mean it in a way that God suddenly showers us with money and we all become rich.  And, I don't mean it in a way that causes us to throw the Dem's out and put the Repub's or the Tea Party folks in those political throne rooms.   No, I mean in a way that shakes the hell out of the churches where we assemble. I mean in a way that the preacher, as was Peter once, gets interrupted by the Holy Ghost who shoves him aside, falls on the church right in the middle of his sermon and takes over.  No, I mean in a way that is totally upsetting man's order.  No, I mean a disruptive, disorderly, unexplainable, nation shaking, mountain melting manifestation of God.  I mean it like this, as Isaiah prayed "oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!  When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence", Is. 64:1-3.  Think it can happen?  I do.

Patterns of God

     Does God speak by patterns? I think so. He not only speaks by command but by pattern.  Some of the most important things we can learn, we learn by seeing the pattern God reveals to us.  According to pattern, church was birthed in an outpouring of the Holy Ghost (Acts2).   Pattern?  Holy Ghost falls and church sprouts.  God was so anxious to do this when Peter preached for the first time, that He didn't even let Peter finish preaching.  "While Peter yet spake" the Holy Ghost fell and the Gentile church sprouted up out of that.  Same pattern as Acts 2.  God's patterns don't require constant repetition on Bible pages.  He does what He does - perfectly.  That is why we can sometimes trust the pattern more than we can simple words. We are too prone to interpret words to suit ourselves.  Harder to do that with a picture pattern.   What happened when the brand new church that sprouted up after the first Holy Ghost rain was threatened?   Another outpouring of the Holy Ghost (Acts  4).  Another pattern.

     Think about these patterns and then look at the church of America.  Are we observing the patterns?  I fear the situation is that we have strayed so far from the pattern we have forgotten there was a pattern.  I don't sew, but I can imagine the happy little seamstress sewing away making a dress.  She just loves sewing so much and she sews on a piece here and a piece there, just humming as she sews.  Forgetting that there is a pattern to observe, when she holds up what she has made to the light, it bears no resemblance to the pattern before her and she has no idea what she just created, if anything. It is worthless, though she worked so hard. Feeding the poor, even reaching the lost and other good works are wonderful things churches can do to reach out beyond their walls.  But, churches according to God's pattern didn't spring up from feeding the poor or any other good work.  They emerged from the soil of a God-manifestation.  They survived and grew from a steady stream of God-manifestation.  The great Pentecostal church of today didn't start with feeding the poor or reaching the lost.  It started with a Holy Ghost outpouring on Azuza street, in an run down building in California with some kids and a black preacher willing to believe for revival.  Observing the patterns is why the Bible defines the gospel, not as mere words, but words accompanied by the demonstrations and power of the Holy Ghost.  That is why the Bible gives us a promise that God would go with us confirming the Word, not with more words, but with signs and wonders. 

    The problem, among well-meaning people, is that we want to race to the end product - reach the lost - feed the poor - do the good work.  We are like those who stand over a plot of ground, wanting a apple from an apple tree that hasn't yet been planted.  I know a lot of good people busy, busy, busy praying for the salvation of the lost who have not prayed with equal or greater intensity and desire "oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that mountains might flow down at thy presence" Isaiah 64:1.  Isaiah went on to say that there was none who would call upon His name, that would stir himself up and take hold of God.  There are lot of apple-pickers willing to pick the fruit but too few who will stir themselves up and take hold of God, who will call down the rain, the manifestation of God that makes mountains move.  I went to a beautiful fruit orchard this last spring. "Wow", was all I could say as I stood under those peach trees, branches bent with the weight of the fruit.  I loved picking those things, but looking at the healthy trees and well kept ground, it occurred to me that someone before me, put in a lot of work in order to have that harvest I was enjoying, with so little effort.

     The pattern says that from "glory to glory" we are being changed.  Glory falls and the church springs up. This will go on until the very end, but the pattern will never vary.  We are all looking for the end of this pattern, when Glory appears in the eastern sky and suddenly, we all spring up, an immortal church.  But, for some reason, we fail to observe the pattern in the here and now.  We don't need more people in the pews. We don't need more money in the pocket.  We need more glory, more revealed God, and those who want God will run to God. Understand, this is not a new word from God, or a best-selling Christian book, or a great sermon from the pastor.  This is a manifestation of GOD!  This is happening around the world right now with awesome results. God is showing up in far away places like Nepal, and boom, church is springing up in the wake of a God-manifestation.  Come saints. Stir yourself up and take hold of God. 

Heaven

  
     Heaven!  How long since you were excited about heaven?  In some religious places, church in name only, you may not have even heard the word "heaven" in a long time.  But, there is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain.  Where are you headed, my friend?   I know some may see it different, but I believe Revelation four contains a dramatic end to the church age, the age of grace, and the beginning of something beyond wonderful.  It starts with a voice that said to John "come up here".  And, oh, the sights John saw. We, too, will one day see these sights. The first thing that caught his eye was God almighty, so beautiful that John used the beauty of jewels and rainbows to describe His glory.  John met His maker at that moment.  Then his eyes were filled with the twenty four elders, representative of the church and Israel, clothed in white righteousnes, wearing gold crowns of authority.   Then he saw the "seven" Spirits of God, the number "seven" meaning complete and perfect.  He saw the formerly invisible Holy Ghost, on whose wings he had made his journey from the dust of Israel to golden streets of heaven.    He saw those streets, beholding the beauty of God's throne room.  He saw the heavenly creatures and I believe that he, along with the elders cast his crown at the feet of God and began to sing "thou art worthy".  What a song!  And, what a sound, the sound of the clashing of the crowns being cast at the feet of God.  The more he looked, the more wondrous things became.

    Some thing, however, in chapter four was missing from his view.  After all, how can the eyes of man, even with heavenly eyes, take in all that heaven is?  Something was missing.  Chapter five reveals what it is.  A book was held up and a loud voice asked "who can open this book?"  No man, of heaven or earth, was able to open it and John said he began to weep.  Something to be seen could not be seen until that book was opened and someone stepped forward who could open that book.  Then, as he wept, an elder stepped up and told him "Don't weep, the Lion of Judah, the root of David, will open the book".   And, then, suddenly, stood a Lamb!  Suddenly, what was missing from his view became visible.  John saw Jesus!   My God, what a moment.  He saw what Jesus had been and what Jesus now was.  He saw that clothing of the Holy Ghost that Jesus had been wearing all along, even when He walked among those disciples.  And then the worship of the redeemed really kicks into gear. An innumerable host, ten thousand times ten thousand, thousands of thousands began to sing "worthy is the lamb".  And the elders fell at His feet and worshipped Him.  Oh, what a moment of recognition and worship!

     It is at that point that John is suddenly aware of not only God Almighty, the church, the Holy Ghost, the glory of heaven, the Lamb called Jesus but when he saw that host,  he became aware of the multitude of the redeemed.  Maybe it is only my imagination, but at that moment, in the midst of worship beyond dreams, he sees and knows those who have made it.  No, there will be no "rose garden" in the sky meeting, but there will be a meeting.  There, at the feet of the Lamb, in the midst of worship, we will look across the multitude and see that Mom made it.  Dad made it. That baby we lost prematurely, made it. Our spouse made it.  Our kids, they made it. And, our grandkids.  And, oh, there are those we won to the Lord, they made it. And, some of our friends, there they are.   John must have looked across the crowd and no doubt, noticed that Peter and the other disciples made it.  Something in us will recognize those we have loved before.  No, we may not run over and hug them, though we might.  We will be to busy in our mutual mission now, doing what we were created to do, saved to do, taken to heaven to do, that we might not do that family reunion right at first.  For the first ten thousand years, we will sing the song of the redeemed, sharing the mutual harmony that only a singing family might understand. And, then, after ten thousand years, maybe we will start all over and sing another ten thousand years or so. "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever".

    My friend, lift up your eyes.  Point your feet toward eternal destiny.  Worship now, practicing, for what you will do there.  Let "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"  guide your journey

Our adversary

     Did you know that satan is our adversary primarily because he is an adversary of God?  Sometimes, in our shallow human-centered thinking, we think the fight is about us. Actually, it is about God.  And. it started long before there was man.  At that far away time, the adversary attempted to ascend, without invitation, to the throne of God and was cast out of the heavens. Since then, the war has gone on.  He strikes at us because we are made in the image of God.  He can't get at God, so he strikes at what looks like God. He strikes at us becase we have access to the throne of God, and it is the throne he has always wanted to ascend to and can't.  He strikes at us because we can worship God on the throne and he has always wanted that throne so he could have that worship.  So, my friend, when persecution comes from the adversary, it may be that your resemblance, your nearness to God, your worship of God has become too sweet and has become more than his nerves can handle, so he strikes out. So, on that day, rejoice and leap for joy.  And, keep on doing what you are doing.

Play It Again God

   The Word of God and the ministry of that Word by the Holy Ghost is a marvelous thing.  Have you ever watched those commercials advertising the oldie songs now on CD?  They play a bit of a song that once was so special to you and your attention is captured and there is a little turning in your soul that goes on.  You are reminded perhaps, even of special things related to that song and they flash in your mind.   You know, the Spirit also does this with the Word.   He can make a passage, a principle, a book of the Bible so powerfully real that it changes your life.  In fact, it becomes a part of your life.  For a while you live in that passage and it feeds you and grows in you.  Then time goes by, and it sort of fades from your thinking for a while.  And, then....the Holy Ghost makes an old revelation a new revelation - again.  Don't you love it?   It reminds me of a Cornflakes commercial of a few years in which we were encouraged to "Eat it again for the very first time".

   Some folks love the Word for what they can gain out of its promises.  That is fine with me.  Others love the Word because they just love the Word.  That is fine with me as well.  I guess I love it for both reasons.  It does sustain, it does offer riches both earthly and eternal.  But, I also just love it because it is loveable.  It is honey to the soul.  It reminds me of Him who soul thirsts after.  I love the way the Holy Ghost ministers it.  I love it when a fresh new revelation comes bursting through into my mind.  I love it when an old revelation becomes new again.  It makes me want to say "Play it again God".