Elijah lived in Israel during the reign of wicked King Ahab.
King Ahab and his foreign queen Jezebel, sinned against God by worshipping Baal and killing God's prophets. Because of this awful sin, God called Elijah, and sent him to tell king Ahab, that He was going to send a drought.
Elijah was obedient and did just what God told him to do.
After he had delivered the message to king Ahab, God spoke to Elijah and told him,
1 Kings 17:2-7 "Get thee from here, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook, Cherith, which is before the Jordan.
And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
So he went and did according unto the Word of the Lord; for he went and dwelt by the brook, Cherith, which is before the Jordan.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook.
And it came to pass that after a while, the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land."
After the brook dried up, the Word of the Lord came again unto Elijah, and told him to go to Zarephath.
There, he met a widow whom God used in a miraculous way to provide a cake for him to eat. This widow, whom the Lord had chosen, had a handful of meal and a little oil. She had come to the end of her tether and was quite desperate - she had no faith at all to begin with, and she told Elijah that she and her son would both die after they had eaten the last cake that she was about to bake. Elijah said to the widow,
1 Kings 17:13 "Go and do as thou hast said. but make me of it a little cake, first, and bring it unto me, and, afterwards, make for thee and for thy son."
Oh what a lady, she was obedient, and did just what Elijah told her to do. Can you see that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of the Lord. Her barrel of meal and her cruse of oil, never ran out, until God lifted the drought.
GOD, HAD SPOKEN HIS WORD THROUGH ELIJAH.
Job 5:7 "Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upwards"
After this marvelous miracle, the widows son became ill, so ill that he died. Once again this dear widow became so distraught that she lashed out at Elijah for this awful thing that had happened to her.
Elijah took the boy from her bosom and placed him on his own bed.
Then, he cried out to the Lord three times, and asked the Lord to return the boys soul to him.
THE LORD HEARD THE VOICE OF ELIJAH, AND RETURNED THE BOY'S SOUL TO HIS DEAD BODY.
Elijah took the living boy and handed him back to his mother.
The widow declared at once,
1 Kings 17:24 "Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the Word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth."
In the third year of the drought, God spoke again to Elijah and told him to go and show himself, to wicked king Ahab.
Elijah was obedient and did what God told him to do.
Now because of the severe famine in Samaria, king Ahab was very afraid of losing his mules and his horses. He told Obadiah, who was the governor in his palace, to go into the land, to all the fountains and brooks and see if there was any grass for the mules and horses to feed on.
Obadiah was a man who greatly feared God and when Jezebel had decided to kill God's prophets, he had hidden a hundred of God's prophets in two caves, and fed them with bread and water.
King Ahab and Obadiah divided the land between them and Ahab went one way and Obadiah the other. As Obadiah was walking along, he met Elijah.
He knew Elijah and at once and he fell on his face before him.
Elijah asked him to go and tell king Ahab,
1 Kings 18:11 "Behold, Elijah is here."
Obadiah, displaying no faith at all, said to Elijah, "Please do not ask me to do this."
Obadiah was afraid of king Ahab.
He thought that the Spirit of the Lord would once again carry Elijah away, and when king Ahab could not find Elijah, he would kill him.
Elijah at once claimed to be a servant of the Lord, and he told Obadiah that he would swear, that he would not disappear, and that he would go and show himself to king Ahab.
Obadiah then took the message to king Ahab.
King Ahab came out to meet Elijah and as soon as he saw Elijah, he began to accuse him of being a troublemaker.
ELIJAH SPOKE BOLDLY and he told king Ahab, that he himself, was the cause of all the trouble. That he and his fathers house had forsaken all the commandments of the Lord and followed Baalim.
My, how we need a voice like Elijah today.
I do believe that Elijah will be one of the two witnesses that will return after the church leaves the earth.
Elijah told king Ahab,
1 Kings 18:19 "Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves (idols) four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table."
Ahab and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the idol Asherah who ate at Jezebels table, gathered together at the top of Mount Carmel and when all Israel had gathered, Elijah spoke boldly and asked the people how long they would follow two opinions?
Elijah said that if the Lord be the true God, then they should follow Him, and that if Baal be the true God, then they should follow him.
THE PEOPLE DID NOT ANSWER ELIJAH.
Elijah told the people that he was the only prophet of God that was still alive and that Baal had four hundred and fifty prophets.
He asked the people to give him two bullocks for a sacrifice and that the true God, would send fire to burn up the sacrifice.
The prophets of Baal were to sacrifice a bullock to their god,
and Elijah would offer the other bullock to the true God.
The god who sent fire from heaven, would that day prove, that he was the true God.
The prophets of Baal prepared their sacrifice and called upon their god. They danced and shouted and cut themselves with knives as they continued to call upon their god.
This was the way they worshipped Baal,
BUT NO FIRE CAME.
At evening time, Elijah called the people to the Lord's altar.
The Lords altar had been broken down and so he took twelve stones, representing the twelve tribes of Israel - the sons of Jacob.
He built an altar in the name of the Lord and he made a trench all around the altar.
Elijah cut the wood and placed it on the altar.
Then he cut the bullock in pieces and placed the pieces on the wood.
After that, he poured four barrels of water over the sacrifice.
He repeated this process three times.
The water ran down the altar and filled the trench.
At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah came near and called on the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Israel.
Elijah asked God to let it be known that day, that
THE LORD ALONE IS GOD,
and that he, Elijah, was His servant and that all that he had said was according to the Word of God.
Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and all the water that was in the trench.
1 Kings 18:39 "And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said, The Lord He is God; The Lord He is God."
Elijah told the people to take the prophets of Baal down to the brook Kishon and slay every single one of them.
Then he told king Ahab to get up and eat because he could could hear the sound of an abundance of rain.
King Ahab got up and he ate and drank, but Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel and "cast himself down on the ground with his face between his knees."
Then, he told his servant, to go and look towards the sea.
The servant went, but he saw nothing.
Elijah told him to do this seven times and on the seventh time he came to Elijah and told him that he could see a small cloud, the size of a mans hand, arising out of the sea.
Then Elijah sent his servant to tell king Ahab to prepare his chariot and to get going to Jezreel and not to let the rain stop him.
The heavens grew dark with clouds and the wind blew and there was great rain.
Ahab rode in his chariot and went to Jezreel.
The Mighty hand of the Lord was upon Elijah and Elijah,
1 Kings 18:46 "....girded up his lions and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel."
King Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and that he had slain all the prophets of Baal.
Jezebel was furious and she sent a messenger to tell Elijah that by the same time tomorrow, if the god's spared her, she would have him slain.
Elijah was so afraid of Jezebel that he ran all the way to Beersheba, a place in Judah, and there he left his servant and walked into the wilderness.
He walked for a whole day and then he sat down under a juniper tree. There he requested of the Lord, that he might die.
Then he fell into a deep sleep. While he was sleeping, an angel touched him, and told him to get up and eat.
Elijah saw a jar of water and a cake that had been baked on coals.
Elijah ate the cake and drank the water, then he went back to sleep. The angel came to him the second time and told him to eat and drink because he was about to take a long journey.
Elijah again ate the cake and drank the water. The food gave him strength to walk for forty days until he came to Horeb, the Mount of God.
There he came to a cave, and while he was in the cave the Word of the Lord came to him again,
1 Kings 19: 9 "What doest thou here, Elijah?"
Elijah poured out his heart before the Lord.
He told God all that had happened.
He told God that he was the only prophet that was still alive and that Jezebel sought to kill him.
God told Elijah to go and stand on the Mount before Him
1 Kings 19: 11-13 "And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind.
And after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire a still, small voice.
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave.
And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"
Again Elijah told God that he was very jealous for the Lord, that the children of Israel had forsaken the covenant, and that they had thrown down the altars and slain all the prophets with the sword.
He told God that he was the only prophet that was left and that Jezebel, was now seeking to kill him as well.
God told Elijah to return to Damascus.
1 Kings 19:15 "...and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu, the son of Nimshi, shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel. And Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy stead."
Elisha, was to take Elijah's place, as God's prophet.
God told Elijah that Hazael would kill all those who worshipped Baal and that Jehu would kill all those who escaped from Hazael, and that Elisha would kill all those who escaped from Jehu.
Then God told Elijah that there were seven thousand Israelites who had not bowed before Baal.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS.
This is a very short account of the story of Elijah and from it I learned some very interesting facts. The first truth that I learned was that I needed to be sure that the reason for this Cherith project, was to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, alone.
Notice that Elijah's only desire was to bring glory to God.
I have a deep desire to be a true witness - an ambassador, one that does not need to be ashamed at our Lord Jesus' appearing and so I sought a way in which I could reach out to the whole world with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I longed to share with others what the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ really means to me.
To tell others about the grace, the ever present mercy , the kindness and the goodness that the Lord Jesus has showered upon me and that He longs to shower His ever present mercy on all who simply call on His name.
God is so rich in mercy,
He has been so merciful to me.
I KNOW THAT GOD IS ALL GOODNESS AND ALL MERCY.
I can only trust Him that this is what He has called me to do with the gracious gift that He has bestowed upon me and that in His great mercy, He will bless Cherith for His own dear names sake. I love the Lord Jesus with all that is in me made possible alone through the Holy Spirit. I feel great excitement concerning this project as it is a dream come true.
To be able to write about the One whom I love with all my heart, is truly a wonderful blessing. I feel sure that God has begun a good work in me and that He will complete it. He has enabled me to learn about Himself through His Word for the past almost 56 years of my life and though I am fearful as I go out into the world of the internet and lay myself bare - become totally transparent, it is a huge blessing to know, that without a shadow of doubt, God, has given to each one of us who asks, the Holy Spirit.
I do praise God continually for the Holy Spirit and trust that He will fill me each new day with the truth. That He will cleanse me and strengthen me and anoint me with His power so that I may bring the message of my beloved Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to all those whom He leads to be born-again, encouraged, uplifted and exhorted through thoughts from Cherith. I also know, that the Lord Jesus, will hold me responsible, for all that I say, and do, and that everything I write, will be tested.
I know that I will have to give an account of all that I am doing.
The only credential that I have, is that I love the Lord Jesus Christ.
To me, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS GOD OF VERY GOD,
and I bow prostrate before Him. He has blessed me abundantly and He has also taken me to the woodshed. I can only praise Him, honor Him, adore Him and thank Him for all His unspeakable goodness, grace and mercy. I know that there are many, many mistakes that I have made and will continue to make, but I feel sure, very sure, that the Lord God who is already working in my life, will continue to mould me and make me to be more and more like the Lord Jesus and I do believe that the formula that will produce the Christian life in me is found in
Galatians 5:6 "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love."
God has promised to work all things together for good to those who love Him, to those whom He has called according to His purpose. The Lord Jesus paid the penalty for all my sin on the cross of Calvary and I long for those who have perhaps wandered away from God, to return to the Lord, and to discover once again, just how wonderful it is to have the Lord Jesus not only as a Saviour, but as a Shepherd, a sure Guide and a True Friend that is even much closer than a brother.
The Lord Jesus is willing to dwell inside us and He is willing to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I long for His blessing on Cherith, and my earnest prayer is that He will use it to draw, those whom He calls to Himself, closer to one another.
Every prayer that we pray, must be according to His will, that is, it must be what He wants in the first place. We cannot demand anything from God - whatever God does is right because He is sovereign.
We can only ask Him for mercy.
Elijah, prayed for the glory of God.
Listen to his prayer in
1 Kings 18:37 "Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people might know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again."
This is the type of prayer that moves the arm of God.
Here we also see that God treats the nation Israel, as ONE.
When the people turned to God, the rain came and so did the blessings. Notice in the prayer prior to this one that Elijah says, Lord God of Israel. Israel, was the name given to the twelve tribes.
Elijah also says in his prayer, let it be known, that You are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your Word.
The altar had been broken down and Elijah took twelve stones and rebuilt the altar. Notice, that he took twelve stones, it was to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. He did not single out any specific tribe, the altar, represented the place of unity. Elijah put the altar back together again.
ISRAEL AS ONE NATION.
Today, division is caused when the Word of God is cut into pieces in the same way that we cut a pie into pieces. We say, lets get together but how can we get together? We cannot get together unless we get together in Christ Jesus and the only way to do this, is to enter through the narrow door.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the narrow door.
He alone is the builder of any work that we ever attempt to do. He alone is able to keep us together - unified. All those who have trusted Christ Jesus as their own personal Saviour, are baptized by the one and only Holy Spirit and placed
IN THE ONE AND ONLY BODY OF BELIEVERS.
They are, the true church - the called out body of Christ.
They are the ones whom God has chosen in Christ, to become His bride.
Ephesians 5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it. That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word; That He might present it to Himself a glorious body, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
How might He do this?
This is where I realized my own specific calling. As I pondered over this truth, I realized that my time on earth was short but that it was for God's specific purpose. I was to be made ready, through the "washing of water by the Word."
Today, as I look back over my life, this is a marvelous truth and it just fills me to the very brim with pure joy. The Lord Jesus Christ loved me and gave Himself for me. That while I was yet a hell bound sinner, "dead in trespasses and sins," Christ died in my place, on the cruel cross of Calvary. He redeemed me, and He purchased me for Himself with His own precious blood. That before I was even conceived, the Lord Jesus had a purpose and a plan for my life. God is willing to use a plain ordinary vessel like myself, to fulfill His divine purpose in this world and I know that He is calling you, dear reader, to also be a part of His divine purpose. He wants you, dear reader, to accept His plan of salvation and He wants you, dear reader, to become part of His own great pleasure - His bride.
God wants to have communion with us and He wants us to enjoy fellowship with Himself. He wants us to enjoy Him forever. He wants us to partake of all His goodness and His mercy, and to use the gift that He has bestowed upon each one of us, to bring glory, honor and praise to His Holy name. The Lord Jesus tells us that there is much joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, more joy than over ninety nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Oh dear reader there is no greater service than to lead one single sinner to the Lord Jesus Christ through the reflection of the light of the Lord Jesus Christ working in our hearts and lives. There is no greater deed or pure delight that Christ Jesus is using any one of us for His great purpose. The greatest joy in my own life was when God, through Christ Jesus, gave me a brand new heart.
Dear reader do not ask God to change your old heart, and do not give Him your old heart as the Word of God tells us plainly
Jeremiah 17: 9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
We need to throw our old heart away on the dunghill and ask God in His great mercy to give us A BRAND NEW HEART.
A heart, that will seek after God, and that will seek to do His will in all circumstances, and will long to be cleansed and made pure because of the hope that is within us.
1 Thessalonians 4:4 "That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor."
This should be the practice of every believer.
If we are true children of God, we should to be honest.
The apostle John wrote,
1 John 3:3 "Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that has this hope in him purifieth himself even as He is pure."
THE LORD JESUS IS GOING TO PRESENT HIS BRIDE TO HIMSELF.
Revelation 19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready."
I pondered on this thought. How can the bride of Christ make herself ready?
The Lord Jesus imputed His righteousness to us at the time of our conversion and this righteousness has enabled us to do His righteous acts.
Righteous acts, indicate the practical living out of that which God, by the Holy Spirit, has worked within us.
HE HAS CLEANSED US AND MADE US HOLY.
Preparation for Him, involves setting ourselves to behave in a holy manner in every realm of our lives - in our relationships in the home, and in our godly relationships in the workplace, as well as
IN THE HIDDEN THOUGHTS AND DESIRES OF THE HEART AND MIND.
The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and still floods them.
Preparation for Him, involves a showing forth of that love to everyone without exception, including people that it is difficult in the natural to love at all. He has enabled us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. We are to go into the whole world and tell the gospel of our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ and we are not to exclude any person from the message that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. This is the true love that exceeds all other "feelings" that we have concerning the way we like to express our love.
GOD'S LOVE, IS THAT HE LONGS FOR TRUE FELLOWSHIP WITH MAN AND THE ONLY WAY THAT THAT IS AT ALL POSSIBLE, IS FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT, BY SPIRIT BAPTISM TO PLACE AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE BODY OF CHRIST.
We must live out what has been wrought within us. We must adorn the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what the apostle Paul did after the Lord called him and set him apart.
The Lord Jesus has also called us - those who belong to Him, to be witnesses, and to reflect His light in this dark, dark world. We are to go out each new day and tell the world - all those we come in contact with, that God is good, so good, that He sent a Redeemer. One, who is not willing that any should perish. He died on the cross to save us and He lives eternally in heaven to keep us saved.
The Lord Jesus is right now, seated at the Father's right hand, making intercession on our behalf. He wants us to be clean, empty vessels, fit for the Masters use. He wants to fill us with the Holy Spirit, so that He can use our lives to call others to Himself, those still outside of Christ, through our own special gift, that He has so graciously given each one of us.
CHRIST JESUS, IS AT PRESENT, CALLING OUT A PEOPLE FROM THIS WORLD TO BE HIS BRIDE.
Once we are saved, no one can ever pluck us out of His Hand because He is able to keep us. This is the best news ever and it is what has motivated me to start this Cherith project. I was weary, hungry and very thirsty in a dry land, a wilderness, a place of desolation. I longed for the Lord Jesus to come and take me home, to take me out of this world which is so filled with evil. The Lord Jesus led me to enter the Promised land - TRUE REST IN HIMSELF - REST IN CHRIST JESUS - and He has fed me with the bread of heaven - Himself - and, the pure milk of the Word of God and I have tasted honey and I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that it is sweet.
Psalm 34:8 "O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."
I have tasted of the Lord Jesus and I know that He is more, much, much more than I can ever hope for. He has filled me with a deep desire to live for Him and to study His Word. He has taught me that it is His desire that I should study His Word and in this way show myself approved unto God. He has taught me that the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ can be found on every page of His Word and that is why I never stop searching the pages of the Word of God. It is so very exciting to hear what God has to say each new day as He brings something new and something old from His very own Word to all those who seek after Him.
CHRIST JESUS IS TRULY, THE BRIGHT MORNING STAR.
Sing along with Losinda. I HAVE FOUND A FRIEND IN JESUS.
I have found a friend in Jesus, He's everything to me.
He's the fairest often thousand to my soul.
He's the lily of the valley, THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR,
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.
In sorrow He's my comfort,
In trouble He's my stay,
He tells me every care on Him to roll.
He's the lily of the valley, THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR,
HE'S THE FAIREST OF TEN THOUSAND TO MY SOUL.
AMEN!
2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that NEEDETH NOT TO BE ASHAMED, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Gracious Father, Help me to study Your precious Word. Help me to be a diligent student of Your truth. Thank You for placing me in the body of believers, in Christ Jesus, where I am safe and secure from all alarm, leaning on the everlasting arms. Lord Jesus You have truly satisfied my every longing and You have supplied my every need. Christ Jesus alone, is my righteousness, and I rest entirely, in Him
Are you able to sing this lovely chorus with Losinda?
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest name I know,
Fills my every longing, Keeps me singing as I go.
Verse 1.
What a fellowship, What a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, What a peace is mine,
LEANING ON THE EVERLASTING ARMS
Chorus.
LEANING, LEANING, SAFE AND SECURE FROM ALL ALARMS;
LEANING, I'M LEANING, I'M LEANING ON THE EVERLASTING ARMS.
Verse 2.
O how sweet to walk, In this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh how bright the path grows from day to day,
LEANING ON THE EVERLASTING ARMS.
Verse 3.
What have I to dread, What have I to fear;
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace, when my Lord is near,
LEANING ON THE EVERLASTING ARMS.
AMEN.
The Lord Jesus has filled my own heart with a real true joy and a happiness that surpasses all other happiness. I long for others to also discover that the Word of God contains everything that we need to learn about Him who is our Saviour. We must not just read portions of Scripture but we must read the entire Word of God.
It will help you greatly if you are able to buy a Scofield Bible, and read the notes carefully and prayerfully as these notes do help concerning the different times and the covenants. It really helped me to put these things in their proper place. This wise saying by John Wycliffe has also proven to be gold as I have studied the Word of God.
QUOTE:
It shall greatly help thee to understand Scripture if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom, to whom, with what words, at what time, where, and to what intent, under what circumstances, considering what goeth before, and what followeth.
Once you begin to read and study the Word of God with a deep desire to know the Lord Jesus, your eyes will be opened to a whole new realm. The Lord Jesus is in every book. The Holy Spirit will lead and guide you into all the truth as you study the Word of God. There is no need for us to run around and look for all kinds of entertainment, things to excite us and make us happy.
IT IS CHRIST JESUS WHO MAKES US HAPPY.
When He abides in us,
WE THINK ABOUT HIM AND WE DO AS HE DOES.
His Word is the only way that He can abide in us. It tells us what He thinks and how He works. It shows us His character and how He handles every single situation that we find ourselves in. Once our eyes are fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing else really matters much at all.
THE LORD JESUS IS THE GREATEST COMFORT.
He is Himself, Comfort, the Comfort we ought to know.
His Word gives us the only true happiness that there is.
The Scriptures fill us with love and joy and peace because, they are
ALL ABOUT HIM.
Study Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will take care of all the rest. Fill your heart with Him and He will supply all your need long before you ever ask Him to. He knows all the desires of your heart and if you will desire Him and delight yourself in Him, all those desires will be fulfilled.
Psalm 37: 4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine own heart."
As you desire more and more of Him, He, will become more and more delightful to you and He will be the true and deepest longing of your heart. The Lord Jesus Christ is not the "superstar" that the majority of people in the world talk about. The world actually hates the true Lord Jesus Christ, and the world wants to be rid of Him. They will not accept that He is the only way to heaven. Once you become a true child of God, the world will hate you also. The world hated the Lord Jesus without a cause and they will hate you also if He dwells in you. Nothing has changed. Mankind today is still the same as he was over two thousand years ago. Right here is a true test as to whether one is really born-again.
Does the world hate you?
Are you willing to bear His reproach?
The world today, hates the Lord Jesus in the same way that they hated Him back then, and they are always trying to get rid of Him. We read in
Psalm 2 "..... that the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and His anointed saying, Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us."
One of the bands is marriage, and today they have gotten rid of marriage. The cords, speak about the ten commandments. God gave us the ten commandments in order to protect mankind. But man, has thrown the commandments out the door and we have lawlessness because crime is not punished. Man, has gotten rid of God, and he wants to be free - free to do as he pleases, he wants to get rid of all restraints. In the political world there is confusion, and in the moral realm there is corruption. In the spiritual sphere there is compromise and indifference and in the social sphere there is luxury. This affluent society in which we live has one goal and that is to make things even easier than they already are. Today, they have broken the bands and cast away the cords. The world that we live in does not want the true Lord Jesus Christ. The world wants a "superstar"
MANKIND TODAY IS DEAD, "dead in trespasses and sins" AND HE DOES NOT WANT TO BE WOKEN UP.
Ephesians 2:1 "And you (THOSE WHO ARE BORN AGAIN) hath He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins."
Only the Lord Jesus Christ can give us a brand new heart.
HE IS THE GREAT PHYSICIAN.
He does not want your old heart - He longs to give you a new one.
A heart that will SEEK AFTER HIM and find all its satisfaction in Him.
He wants you to belong to Him entirely, heart, soul, mind and body. He wants you to place yourself willingly - by your own free choice, in His hand. He wants you to TRUST HIM.
He knows what you have need of, and He wants you to be a part of His body - HIS CALLED OUT PEOPLE. One of my most favorite verses is found in
Hebrews 2:10 "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, IN BRINGING MANY SONS UNTO GLORY, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."
GOD'S PURPOSE IS TO CALL YOU, DEAR READER, TO HIMSELF.
Elijah was tired, hungry, and all alone.
He needed a Saviour, and he needed a Comforter.
THE LORD JESUS WAS HIMSELF THAT COMFORTER.
HE FED ELIJAH, AND THEN, HE PUT HIM TO SLEEP.
THE LORD JESUS PREPARED ELIJAH FOR THE JOURNEY.
I also learned that the journey in this life is far too great for me and that I not only needed the Lord Jesus as my Saviour, I also needed Him to be my daily Comforter. I need His Word constantly as my guide and my motivation.
THE WORD OF GOD IS THE GREATEST COMFORT THAT I CAN EVER IMAGINE.
IT IS MANNA TO THE HUNGRY SOUL.
The Holy Spirit used some very fine teachers of the Word, to build me up in my most holy precious faith and I can truly say this day, that, by the grace of God alone, I am what I am. God has enabled me to grow in grace and in the knowledge of His Word. I had never realized that the Bible could become my complete motivation in life, the reason to get up each morning and do the things that I need to do. It has filled me with hope... love... joy... peace... awe... wonder and very great excitement.
The Lord Jesus has blessed us abundantly by giving us, those who ask His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has made the Lord Jesus so real to me that I feel I can almost find Him on every page of Scripture that I study. I am learning to love all the Bible characters that He has so graciously given to us. They are such examples of His goodness and mercy. Sometimes I feel as if I already know them. I long to see them some day and talk with them. Like Jochebed, the mother of Moses. Not much is said about her in the Bible but it is by pondering the Scriptures that we do have, that we can clearly see her character, her tremendous faith, her thoughts, and her desires. What a real inspiration she is to all mothers. It is because of my love for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is my Redeemer, that I am attempting to tell all those who read these thoughts, especially those who are perhaps sad, lonely and weary in this dark world, what the Lord Jesus, through God's Word, means to me, daily. I long to have fellowship with others who feel as I do and I long to encourage those who have not yet discovered the excitement and sheer joy that the Word of God gives us each new day.
The study of the Word of God is so vast and we see the truth clearly as the Holy Spirit opens our eyes, and He teaches us all about Christ. He reveals Him to us little by little each new day. It is personal, yes, but
WHEN WE SHARE CHRIST WITH EACH OTHER, WE LOVE EACH OTHER MORE AND MORE.
Every one who loves Christ Jesus, also loves those, who love Him. We meet many people who say that they are in Christ, but after speaking with them for a short while, we discover, that they do not have Christ inside them - inside their personalities. I say this because if Christ is in us, then we also have a deep desire for the things that He desires. Many people do not have the desire of the Lord Jesus in their hearts, the desire that all men should come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The careful study of the Word tells us quite clearly that we are to desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can be witnesses of the TRUTH.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS THE TRUTH.
SOME BELIEVERS NEVER EVEN MENTION HIS NAME.
THEY NEVER PRAISE HIM FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR THEM AND FOR WHAT HE IS DOING IN THEIR LIVES.
He is actually not a part of their lives, or even of their conversation. They believe that they are Christians and they do worship God on Sundays. "Calvary," happened such a long time ago that they have forgotten what it cost the Lord Jesus to redeem sinful man.
WE OUGHT TO REMEMBER THE LORD JESUS IN HIS SUFFERINGS.
CHORUS.
My Saviour died.
Pierced by those cruel nails,
Was CRUCIFIED.
Lord Jesus THOU HAST DONE,
All this for me.
HENCEFORWARD I WOULD LIVE,
ONLY FOR THEE.
AMEN.
Are we truly living for the Lord Jesus today? Have we forgotten the great cost of our salvation? Does the agony of the Lord Jesus Christ only need to be spoken about at Easter? Do we always have to be these "happy people" walking about like Cheshire cats who have just lapped up all the cream? Have we totally forgotten that there are millions around us who are still DEAD in their trespasses and sins and that they are on their way to a lost eternity - for all time. Daily there are those who pass away out of this life, through the doorway of death and go to a lost eternity.
The saddest of all is that many people who claim to believe in Christ, actually do not believe in a real hell at all and much less do they believe that it is daily filling up with people, sometimes people, that they, claim to love.
GOD'S WORD SAYS,
2 Corinthians 5:11 "Knowing, therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences."
Those who know the true God, know of the terror that awaits those who do not accept Him as their personal Saviour.
MANY PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THE TRUE GOD AT ALL.
THEY DO NOT KNOW HIS WORD AND THEY DO NOT KNOW THAT HE IS RIGHTEOUS AND JUST AND THAT HE WILL PUNISH SIN.
They do know however, that God is love and some pastors like to presume that everyone has accepted the Gospel and that even though their lives, and their desires, prove that they do not have the Holy Spirit, they convince these people that they only have intellectual problems when these very people make very definite statements that they do not believe God.
Are we also content to let these folk think that they are born-again and treat them as though they are saved when their lives do not "bring forth fruits worthy of repentance?"
This is quite heart breaking. The Bible teaches us that we are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith or not.
Those who love the Lord Jesus and have accepted Him as their personal Saviour, desire to spend time with Him and He is foremost in their thoughts.
This is the truest test there is.
Do we seek to share the Lord Jesus Christ with those who love Him?
These are the true believers, the ones who believe that He is God of very God and He is more important in their lives that anything or anyone else in this world.
This, is the true fellowship, that we are to seek after, and this fellowship does not lead to boastfulness, jealousy, bitterness, anguish and loneliness. It is what our Lord and our Master desires from us. We are to have fellowship with the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.
His Holy Spirit dwells in us and in those who are part of His body.
It is only through Him that we are able to truly love one another.
I mean, love each other in the same way that Christ Jesus loves us.
CHORUS.
Sing along with Losinda (John 13:34-35).
A new commandment I give unto you,
That you love one another, As I have loved you,
That you love one another, As I have loved you.
By this, shall all men know that you, are my disciples,
If you have love one for another.
By this, shall all men know that you, are my disciples,
IF YOU, HAVE LOVE, ONE FOR ANOTHER.
AMEN!
It is because of His dear love for us that we are able to love our brothers and sisters that are in Him. Christ Jesus has called us to have fellowship with Himself and with those who are accepted in the Beloved - those who have asked Him to be their personal Saviour.
He is preparing those He has chosen out of this world, to be His bride. The Holy Spirit is the One who does all the work. He places us in the body of Christ.
Christ Jesus is willing to live His life, through us.
The only thing that we need to do, is to surrender ourselves to His divine will. We are to surrender to Christ because of our great love for Him.
The only condition the Lord Jesus has given to us is that we that we love Him.
He created us to have a free will so that we can make our own choice to love Him.
THE LORD JESUS SAYS,
John 14:23 "If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
We are to be motivated by His love, we desperately need the true love of the Lord Jesus in our hearts. We love Him because He first loved us and He has paid the price for our redemption. He has completely satisfied God, and fully met God's requirement for the salvation of every single person that calls on His name.
Our motivation to serve the Lord Jesus and to do His will, must come from within our hearts. Do you dear reader have the love of the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart?
We need to examine ourselves to see if we really do belong in the faith or not. This is what the apostle Paul spoke of in
2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; prove yourselves, know ye not yourselves how Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are discredited."
We need to put ourselves to the test.
Do we really love the Lord Jesus?
Are we longing for Him? Are we busy doing those things that He has commanded those who love Him to do?
Are we waiting and watching for His return, the day when He will come again, and receive unto Himself, those who are His own?
Do we long for that day when we shall hear His voice sounding like a trumpet, and we shall MEET HIM IN THE AIR, with all the saints that have gone before us?
Do we long to be FOR EVER, WITH THE LORD?
He is the Christ of the Old Testament and He is Jesus of the New Testament.
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
Oh I do trust, that you dear reader, have already accepted Christ Jesus as your personal Saviour. If not....please...
WILL YOU MAKE A DECISION TO ACCEPT GOD'S OFFER OF SALVATION EVEN RIGHT NOW?
THIS PAGE UPDATED: 17-1-2007.