“They loved not their lives unto death…”(Revelation 12.11)
What is it about that rare kind of Christian, who in the core of his being burns with the desire to impact his generation with the power of the Holy Spirit and leave a legacy that will haunt the complacent till they breathe their last? As if he has genuinely been issued a divine call, he chooses to live it, breathe it and empty every ounce of his life upon that which he has directed his heart toward.
What happened to him to cause him to exchange his natural desires of governing his own path, creating his own reputation and living in the common self-preservation current of life, for a courageous, relentless zeal that drives him to seek God with all his heart and pour his life out for the gospel? He lives to maintain a steady, uncompromising stance and continual pursuit of God and souls.
Why is it that this is so attractive, so inspiring and challenging? Is it not because all of us Christians have tucked away inside of ourselves such an abandonment no matter how hidden, yet no less real?
Is it not that you desire to live wholeheartedly set on such a fixed end, so that in your last moments having apprehended it or facing death for it, you know deep inside you have invested sincerely, truthfully and completely in the only thing worthy to live and die for?
The most dangerous men are those whose lives are lost in the abyss of absolute surrender!
Is this not the mentality of the martyr, looked on at the time of his death as a fool, but honored in the future as a man who has chosen not to hide that abandonment that every Christian has inside?
Here I am, you as well, with the opportunity before us to choose to continue to be haunted by the lives of those who gave themselves for their cause, or to choose as they have, to give our lives to the only thing worth the liquid soul in our veins. Every man will one day have his final thoughts; he will turn around on life’s path and see where his blood has been spent. There, in that moment will undoubtedly be the true test of a man’s soul.
We all only have one life.
One life made up of time, consisting of moments, and even as you read this now, your life heads toward its end.
So, as the martyr smiles at the axe, for in its shine he sees his legacy, the coward weeps at his past, for in his tears he sees his lethargy, complacency and decadence. He sees a weak, lost life, blown away in the wind and eternally worthless.
Why write such thoughts? To what end or conclusion do such sobering thoughts bring us to?
Well read them well and let them resound with an ever-lasting echo which walks by your side down a crowded road or haunts you in the silence of solitude.
Who are you, dear reader, today?
Will you stay that way?
Think on this.
2 Corinthians 5:9-11 Therefore also we have as our ambition…to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.
1 Peter 1:17 And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth;
Romans 14:12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.
I issue a challenge to you, in light of such a coming day, fearfully conduct yourselves as Christians heading toward an impartial day of judgment. It will not be a day to take a written examination to test your knowledge nor a day to look over your resume’ of service, but a day in which God will contrast your image with the image of His Son.
Take a serious look at your…
Mind (thought life)
Motives (the why behind your actions)
Mouth (the idle words/preaching)
Money (stewardship of substance)
Ministry (what is God doing through you?)
Message (what you are teaching)
Marriage (what your spouse has to say about you)
Minutes (how you spend your time?)
Seriously ask yourself if they are worthy of the call (1 Thess. 2.12).
Now is not the time to sit back and coast, now is the time to press in!
“Now is the time where we either seize the moment, or look back with everlasting shame that we missed it.”
~Dr. Michael L. Brown
Surrender everything!
Go After Him!
Eric Gilmour is an Associate Editor for Voice of Revolution, overseeing Revival & Evangelism. Visit his website at agonypress.podbean.com
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Very much related… http://www.lawandliberty.org/krulak.htm (note the speaker had become the Commandant of The Marine Corps)
Peter and Paul went through changes after their adoption, changes that healed, redirected their hearts, and solidified their devotion. It was after Mars Hill Paul declared looking only to Christ crucified, after Peter’s solid rock confession of Jesus as the Christ and his denial thereafter of being with Jesus that he wrote what he clarified through his letters. They were indeed adopted Sons, being changed and disciplined by our Father and redirected their devotion to make their calling more certain.
To be a Son is not only to be born from above, to bear a Cross, and pursue the charges of the Commission, it becomes in heart and way–as a concordance can quickly confirm–that all NT adopted children of God become like their Master, for the sake of others and Jesus, Servants of God. Sons=servants of the Most High God. It is written the Holy Spirit was sent to bear testimony of Jesus; there is no other incarnation for salvation, justification, sanctification, or commission. Called as Sons, perhaps even to do greater things, but always on the level playing field of the foot of His Cross and for His service.
Are we willing to lay what can be the vanity of a “ministry” on that playing field? Are we willing to permit the action of the Holy Spirit to complete others apart from our possession and grasp? Are we desiring change for this Generation for His sake, or do we see ourselves as kingpin of regen for the amen? What is the difficulty with such formula faith, that it makes kingpins of regen for the amen as a script?
The Great Commission remains the stewardship of the Church of God. Christ likeness is utmost devotion to the Father’s redemptive plan for the laying of one’s life down for others. A generation is now in our nation which seeks the way of this world. The ASBURY MODEL OF RENEWAL for our nation can reach out of a shared community of faith by turning totally to the possibility of Christ in Us who call on His Name turning the upcoming present generation to Him, as it was by a small beginning in 1970 due to a covenant of prayer spoken by the few gathering regularly in His Name: for Petition for Him to Come again and visit and rekindle our land’s faith, hope, and love.
LET US COVENANT TOGETHER TO FOLLOW THIS MODEL, BY MAKING AN ACTION PLAN, TO MAKE SUCH CONDITIONS OF GATHERING FOR OUR HEARTS ONCE MORE, TO BE HUMBLED IN THE MIX OF THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, AS OUR HOLY ONE: COPETITIONED TO MAKE IT SO. LET US COVENANT TOGETHER TO SO PETITION GOD THIS FALL, 2011, IN ORDER FOR OUR FATHER TO DO HIS WORK IN 2012. LET IT BE SO. This call for action means the VOR could serve Him as a means of proclamation to be employed to so call for such a prayer covenant among us all, spiraling among other believers to let it be so in our nation. What are the present obstacles to the VOR making such a call on the Body of Christ in the USA, and following through with the potential for such an Action Plan? He remains the candlestick of our churches, where permitted to be so. What are the possibilities???
A CALL TO ANGUISH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI
CALLED AS SERVANTS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI
A CALL TO PRAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O554P9P1KXQ
I will probably fail.
If adopted, Daniel, He will pursue you. Mt. 18 considers all of us who fail worth the independent pursuit of the Shepherd. There indeed seems to be a tension between accepting conversion based on grace through faith and obedience in all instances of possibility. Who can measure up? We accept Him, not we ourselves, and Him as substitute for our failures, by His atonement. Then God fathers us, pursues us, places experience in our path, and the need for the New and Living Way of Jesus. All fail, all fall short of the glory of our redeemer, for sure. That is why we need Him, and the saving power of His resurrection, as well as His indestructable life. We accept His substitution for our lack and our failure to meet the requirements of the law. He was born under the law, and fulfilled its requirements for us.
Now the struggle is to simply accept that, and orient toward that reality of needing the Cross of Jesus. There is no other way than to ask Him for HIs already accomplished atonement and substitution for you, me, event the author of this article. We won’t measure up, we may not be able to totally surrender all at once, yet we acknowledge our need of Him, the savior. He wishes to enter our being, our soul, and commune with us. Why? That is what He is about, redeeming us from this planet, Fathering us, sending us His Spirit by request. “What must I do to do the works of God” He was asked. “Believe on the One who was sent” He answered. Change happens over time after the new birth from above, received by faith. It is a beginning. Then, over time and as His children, we are changed and altered and grow in grace and truth.
He loves us, and desires fellowship with us. He knows our need, and He propitated for us indeed.
@Daniel, consider your simple statement and ask yourself which side within you it feeds, the eagle or the wolf. Then consider if that is a statement you could envision The LORD communicating. To take captive every thought and make it submit to the Mind of Messiah is not a suggestion, it is an imperative. The LORD does not require of us obedience which we cannot perform, so make no space in your life for such depressing accomodations justifying failure–they are deceptions that refute your God-given ability to overcome (not by your own strength!). If you do not fight them, you will suffer their consequences. I pray you find your motivation within to resist that evil.
Taking captive every thought, renewing one’s mind with Christ’s is an admonishion for disciples of Jesus Christ. We have not yet asked Daniel information about himself, his interests or lack, and what compelled him to such a confession. Yes, Jesus is the Way, no, love does not insist on its own way. Dialogue, not Decalogue delivery demand leads to declaration of personal faith in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So, Daniel, what has you hesitating from ???
David Craig, It seems you are demanding something. Who wants to accept a love which only demands somthing as prerequisite to receipt of that love?
Does not Jesus say, come to me all you who are laden, with heavy burdens, and I will grant you peace? This does not seem like a demand at all, but a possibility from the Lord of Life.
@jabez, I perceive you completely misunderstand my motivations for sharing what I shared. I demand nothing. Neither does The LORD as I read it. He really hopes we (as individuals) will choose His Ways, though, because such choices benefit us, which indirectly and secondarily benefits Him. IMHO, of course–YMMV. :-)
Daniel,
I understand your fears of being a failure before God and not living up to your calling and His will.
I would encourage you to read more about Mephibosheth 2 Samuel, but I want to key in on this:
2 Samuel 9:1-12
David Finds Mephibosheth
1
Then David asked, “Is anyone still left from the family 2 of Saul, so that I may extend kindness to him for the sake of Jonathan?”
9:2 Now there was a servant from Saul’s house named Ziba, so he was summoned to David. The king asked him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “At your service.” 3 9:3 The king asked, “Is there not someone left from Saul’s family, 4 that I may extend God’s kindness to him?” Ziba said to the king, “One of Jonathan’s sons is left; both of his feet are crippled.” 9:4 The king asked him, “Where is he?” Ziba told the king, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.
9:5 So King David had him brought 5 from the house of Makir son of Ammiel in 6 Lo Debar. 9:6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed low with his face toward the ground. 7 David said, “Mephibosheth?” He replied, “Yes, at your service.” 8
9:7 David said to him, “Don’t be afraid, because I will certainly extend kindness to you for the sake of Jonathan your father. You will be a regular guest at my table.” 9 9:8 Then Mephibosheth 10 bowed and said, “Of what importance am I, your servant, that you show regard for a dead dog like me?” 11
9:9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s attendant, and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire house I hereby give to your master’s grandson. 9:10 You will cultivate 12 the land for him – you and your sons and your servants. You will bring its produce 13 and it will be 14 food for your master’s grandson to eat. 15 But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will be a regular guest at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
9:11 Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do everything that my lord the king has instructed his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth was a regular guest 16 at David’s table, 17 just as though he were one of the king’s sons.
9:12 Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. All the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants. 9:13 Mephibosheth was living in Jerusalem, 18 for he was a regular guest at the king’s table. But both his feet were crippled.
Mephibosheth had good reason to fear. It was common in ancient Middle East for founders of new dynasties to kill the children of former rulers to keep them trying to regain the throne in the name of their families.
If you don’t know the story of Mephibosheth, he became crippled in his feet at age 5 because his mother dropped him as they fled from King David, thinking he would kill the descendant of Saul.
They did two things, they judged the king by thinking he would do them harm.
Secondly, they ran from from the impossible to the possible. In their own minds thought it impossible for the king to spare him, so they turned to the only think they thought possible; RUN FROM THE KING!
But because David and Jonathan had entered into a covenant of friendship and protection that was extend to their offspring.
David invited him to come and eat bread at his table. Mephibosheth would always have a place at David’s table as a member of the royal court, the income from Saul’s estate would provide for for his house and family.
It’s quite the contrast of how Mephibosheth saw himself, “Of what importance am I, your servant, that you show regard for a dead dog like me?” Dogs in Israel were regarded as unclean scavengers, and were generally viewed with contempt. The remark reflects how low self-image and his astonishment at the grace being shown to him.
In much the same way, the king of Kings looks at you very much in the same way. You may look at yourself as a no good dog, a nobody, a failure, but the king himself is inviting you to sit as His table. How amazing is that! Mephibosheth may have been crippled, but once he sat at that table no one saw his deficiency and they were all at the same level.
This is God’s grace! Mephibosheth was blessed was wonderfully blessed, not because of anything he did, but because of the king’s faithfulness to a covenant promise.
“Loving a person means seeing him as God intended him.” –Dostoyevsky “We all sit around and suppose, and suppose. The secret sits in the middle of our circle and knows and knows”. Perhaps it is time to let Daniel get back with us, if we have not driven him away.
DC, Perhaps it was the word “imperative” which gave the impression.
Sorry if my message was poorly written. I saw this right before going to bed, but wanted to write Daniel.
I believe it’s the same Daniel who was on the lineoffire.com comments. The discussion was about suicide, how he had attempted it, feeling that The Holy Spirit was calling him, but the fear of hell stopped him Maybe I was feeling a bit of urgency.
I apologize if it’s not the same Daniel.