See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Colossians 2:8 NIV

You see, we are not of this world, if we will only believe.

This world consists of the things that can be seen, can be touched, can be handled.  Hence, Paul writes of the rules and restrictions of this earthly life that we are no longer subject to, calling them, “Do not handle!  Do not taste!  Do not touch!” (Colossians 2:21).  These are the ordinances of this life, and have no bearing on the life of a Christian, having no proper benefit to any man, ultimately.

Read more…

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17

The revival we are seeking is the “revival of repentance”.  We could say, we see a measure and we must prepare our hearts more for the coming thing that God has, but the heart of every true revival must always include a increasing draw towards holiness, from the head to the foot.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.  The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:41-42

Read more…

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

Matthew 19:16

The man came to the Master, asking for Eternal life.  Jesus, the truth, never told any lies, or exaggerated anything, but told Him the honest answer.  He had to sell everything.

We know, of course, the Teacher never was interested in our possessions, per se, but rather, our hearts.  Obviously, the man had issues in his heart, for he valued the treasures of this world above that of the world.  But, these were Jesus’ words, that the man might be perfect.

Read more…

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Isaiah 42:1-6

The eyes of the Lord are perfect, they are whole.  The knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ was perfect upon the Earth.  While it may not need to be said, while he walked upon the Earth, He only walked in perfection while in His flesh.

Consider the woman caught in adultery.  No doubt, she had many sins in her life other than the adultery.  Assuredly, there were underlying factors to this, this led to that, which led to that, which always occurs when someone eventually commits adultery.  It never comes out of thin air, but there is usually a host of other problems that leads one down the wrong road. But, Jesus barely addressed the issue directly, only to tell her to sin no more, lest something worse happen.

Read more…

By Him, all things were created.  Things that are in Heaven and in the Earth, both visible and invisible.  Whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).

The Builder Himself came down to the built, the maker to the made, and lived with them in skin.

Through Him, all things were made that have been made, yet it, they, we did not recognize Him.

The most stunning puzzle of all Eternity, God Himself, the only self-existent God, lived a life of a creature, indwelt the flesh, and became man.

The one deserving to be served, served, and humbled Himself to His Father’s will.

Untold angels peered on into this delivery, as messengers came by.  Prophets of old had desired to understand this, and the multitude of the heavens looked on to comprehend.  What was this bold, blazoned, bizarre, and blessed plan of God?

Read more…

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 17:20 KJV

As has been talked about elsewhere, unbelief is the greater belief in the seen, rather than the unseen.  This is often described as more than simple a lack of faith, is a force that works against true faith as it is a “faith” in the visible, rather than in the invisible.

Read more…

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

John 12:26

There is no other Truth than Jesus.  Paul didn’t surpass Jesus’ truth.  Peter didn’t understand more.  John, in his great revelation as the last book of the Bible wasn’t in possession of a greater revelation than that which Jesus is.

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

1 John 1:1-4

Read more…

And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

Luke 18:19

The victory cry of Israel was, “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”  Psalm 100:5  They sang this refrain over and over, as a praise to their God who had given them them their victory.  No other words are recorded, if there were any, this was their triumph!

No one is good but God.  Even Jesus, God Himself, didn’t try to stand in His own goodness as a man.  Everything He did, He obeyed His Father, as an example.  He said that whoever does truth comes into the light so that it might be plainly be seen that what has been done has been done through God (John 3:21).

Read more…

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Matthew 7:24-27

You see, it must be understood, whenever a leader falls, it is solely, squarely, and positively because of what is in their heart.  This bears both great compassion and unswerving commitment to integrity.  Every leader that has ever fallen has fallen, not because of the devil, not because of other people, but solely and squarely because of themselves.

As a man helping to raise up a global prayer movement, Mike Bickle, said, “God won’t stop it.  The devil wont stop it.  Only you can stop it. This should not come as a surprise to the church. God has provided a better way in Jesus.

Read more…

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Get behind me, Satan! he said. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.

Mark 8:33

In Colossians 3:1-2, in the light of the finished works, having both died and been raised with Christ, Paul exhorts his disciples to set their hearts on things above, where Christ is seated, and to set their minds on things above, and not on Earthly things.

Remembering of course that is only the man that is born again, living by the Spirit, that can do this (John 3:3-5, John 3:12), we must be gracious to those who are yet weak in the faith, while exhorting each other with correct language and not overly simplifying it to the point where it has no meaning, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

Read more…