"Perilous Times"

In recent months I have found myself more and more aware of the rapid decay of our nation. It is not only evident that we have departed from our basic governmental foundations and under-pinnings, but we have also allowed ourselves to be swept away by the currents of our compromising, God-less culture.

Now, let me clarify, I do not mean to insinuate that we have jettisoned religion, even religion that many call Christianity. What I mean to say is that we have left, in large measure, "the faith once delivered to the Saints", that is, biblical Christianity!!
We are a nation of "comfort-lovers", a nation of apathetic "self-seekers"! We give lip-service to God and His word, but, in reality we love ourselves and our temporal things far more than God and vital holiness.

Pauls' words to Timothy come to mind: "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power." (2Tim.3:1-5)

Does this not describe the day in which we live with great accuracy? We are a nation of organizations, of political groups, of churches, of individuals, that have been "rocked to sleep" by the music of self-indulgence and greedy pragmatism!

God is simply a means to an end, a heavenly "vending machine", a celestial genie who we use when needed and forget about when all of our present desires for "health, wealth, and prosperity" are met.

Tragically though, this is not the Holy God of scripture! This is not the Sovereign God who commands all men every where to repent or perish, no, this is the God of men's fallen and depraved imagination, a God made in man's "image", rather than the true God that is declared to "hold our breath in His hand", and testifies to us that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord"! This is the Creator and Sustainer of all things that warns: "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psa.9:17)

We are doing despite to the matchless grace and long-suffering of God and we are daily, as a nation, and as individuals, rebelling against His precepts, and rejecting the way of life so that we might continue to fulfill our own evil desires for autonomy and fleshly gratification!

I cry in my heart with the prophet Jeremiah: "....turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God." (Jer.31:18)

Our only hope as a nation is that God would "make His arm bare" and send forth His quickening Spirit to turn us from our race to destruction, to awaken us from our drunken stupor and our lethargy!

Brothers and Sisters, may our God grant us hearts of discernment and compassion so that we might not be content to "lay in our beds" and entertain ourselves with the "pleasures of sin for a season" while men and women, and our nation devolve into greater and greater darkness and misery!!

I pray that I and you who read this are not as those in the days of the prophet Ezekiel when the LORD lamented, "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found NONE." (Ezek. 22:30)

"Being Conformed"

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Rom.8:29)

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" (Phil.3:10)

What does it mean to be "conformed" to his image? What does it mean to be "made conformable to His death"?

This is how a dictionary defines "Conform": (to make similar in form or character/to bring into harmony)

I do believe we have a problem!......"similar in form or character", "To bring into harmony".....With Christ!!

This will take a radical work of "conforming"!! Christ is holy and ever walks in the way of the Father in perfect obedience and complete faithfulness. I am unholy and I walk after my own wants and desires and am found to be most faithful, not to Him, but to myself! If such a "conformity" is ever to be achieved, God must do it. He alone can bring to pass such a radical transformation! I also know that this work will not be comfortable or appealing to the flesh, on the contrary, the flesh will resist it and strive to run away from it.

There are other words and phrases that desribe the ordained plan and purpose of God for the believer, such as, "Pruning", "Purging", "Refining"........Crucifying!

None of these words conjure up images of ease or pleasantness. Instead they bring to mind discomfort and suffering. But if One is to be "conformed" into the "similar form and character" of the Son, and brought into "harmony" with Him,.....there is no other way.

O' I wish there were! I have no innate desire for the way of struggle, the way of suffering, the way of constriction and narrowness that presses so hard on all that my flesh holds dear!....But, if I am to be "conformed", I must follow Him to Calvary!

This is the calling of every true believer. This is the aim and purposed end of the Father for us.....To "conform" us to the image of His dear Son. And, in order for this image to replace what I have inherited from Adam....I MUST die!

I must be "made conformable to his death".....I must, "take up my cross and follow him"!

There is no easy, flesh gratifying way to be "conformed", to be pruned, or purged, or refined.

No wonder Jesus said, "If anyone will follow me, let him sit down and count the cost." I recall a statement that was attributed to Bonhoeffer: "When Christ bids a man follow Him, He bids him to come and die."

Christianity is costly....It is costly indeed!.....But, consider the cost from this perspective: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. 8:18)

In contrast, we can seek to save our lives and preserve our comforts here, and in the end, lose both!

Yes, being "conformed" is an arduous and hard road.....yet, it yields true life, eternal comfort, and what every true believer so earnestly desires....To be like Him!!

"The Tyranny of Fear"

"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was AFRAID, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen. 3:8-10)



In this post it is my aim to briefly consider "Fear". The fear that I wish to deal with is not that "noble fear" that the scripture declares to be "the beginning of wisdom", or that proper and reverent awe and circumspection that is to be present as we contemplate the Holy character of God. No, the fear that I have in mind is that fear that began with our first parents at the Fall. This "fear" is a servile fear, that fear that brings seperation and enmity, that fear that I believe is summed up well in the word, "condemnation".

The account from Genesis that I noted above is such a stark contrast to what previously had been the experience of the man and the woman in Eden. What once was a place of sweet fellowship, harmony, and peacful co-existence with their creator was now a place that simply afforded them foilage and cover in their effort to hide from the One who should have been their chief joy!!

Now we, as their progeny, feel the weight of their terrible choice. We bow our faces toward the ground as we sense the displeasure of God toward our rebellious thoughts, words, and deeds!
We are creatures now that know fear intimately and deeply. We are tyrannized by it!

If I were to ask the question, "What are you afraid of?", or if you were to pose that same question to me, I have no doubt that we could quickly reply with a vast number of particular fears that we have. We are afraid of so many things, both animate and inanimate.
We fear the prospect of failing health. We fear the rejection of other people. We fear the loss of jobs or of economic security. We fear loneliness. We fear other people. We fear crime. We fear violent weather. We fear not being prepared for exams and questions that confront us. We fear the darkness and the unknown noises of the night. We fear to stand in front of others to speak or to just simply be there before their searching eyes. We fear the death of loved ones. We fear our own death!
We fear God! We fear His Just judgement against our own painfully perceived guilt and sin.

We are most miserable in our fears. It is bondage! It is a pitiless tyrant who hounds all those of Adam's race and dominates much of their daily motives and activities. We are indeed, moved by our fears!

Just ask yourself the question, "How many things do I do on a daily basis that are motivated by some sort of fear?" I would assert that fear taints many of our decisions and our actions!
How many of our "doings" and our "stresses" are directly related to the "fear of man" or, to the "fear of God"?

We are driven by an uneasiness, a feeling of uncertainty about people, places, and things, and most especially, the Holy gaze of God. We so desire certainty and acceptance, but alas, it seems so allusive!

I believe that I can say confidently, it's a scary world out there! It is, many times, an extremely inhospitable place. Also, we are ever aware of our failures and shortcomings with regard to our Creator's Holy standards and precepts!

O' wretched man that I am!!! Is there any hope for the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, or is it our destiny to pine away our days in trepidation and dread? Must we live this life in constant uncertainty and, even worse, contemplate the terrors to come when we stand before the righteous Judge who will "by no means clear the guilty"?

Is there any hope? For, if there is not, I would shout unapologetically, It would have been better to have never been born!!

But God!! He has not left us to our just desserts! He has not abandoned us to our self-imposed bondage, and the cruelity of sin's dominion!
He sent forth His Beloved! He sent forth the Son who lay in His bosom! He sent forth the One who was hated and despised by those whom He had made, and the One whom supplies our every breath!
He sent us HOPE and said to us FEAR NOT!!

The Son who had known no fear before the ever approving eye of the Father, must now bear our fears. The Son who had ever enjoyed the sweet fellowship that we threw away in the garden must know the crushing hell of fear fully realized......utter forsakeness by God!!

O' the depths of the riches of the mercy and grace of God! There is hope for our fear enslaved race!! May we all be enabled to look to the bearer of our fears and our condemnation, to Him who drank every last drop from the cup of God's just wrath, and may you and I hear these words afresh, each time fear seeks to dominate us once again, "FEAR NOT"!!!

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb.2:14-15)

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1John4:18)

"He Loves Me :)........He Loves Me Not :("

My life-long struggle is not unique to me...it is apparently the lot of many who name the name of Christ. What I am referring to is the matter of doubt, that
nagging uncertainty that relentlessly plagues the minds of those who are
naturally self-conscious and introspective.

Does He love me?, or, does He loathe me? Am I really His, or, am I self-deceived? Have I experienced true saving faith and repentence?


It is a cruel foe, a pitiless task-master that never seems to tire in its assaults upon the minds and emotions of its victims!

I am an accomplished doubter...I am extremely adept at finding fault and failure within myself. I have wrestled and do wrestle with this vicious adversary on a daily basis....as I said above, it is a relentless opponent!

I also asserted above that I am not alone in this fight.....In talking and listening to others over the years it has become painfully evident that this particular malady is very wide spread and prevelant among professed believers.

Yes, I know full well what the scripture says concerning the atoning work of Christ, and the finished transaction of Calvary...and so do others, but, I also know of the scriptures that speak of self-deception and a false belief that one is under the salvific merits of the Lord Jesus.
The accusations come.....do you measure up here?....have you neglected to do that there?.......Where are the fruits and the evidences in you that are to characterize one who claims to be born from above?

So, the battle rages. On the one hand there is the clear declaration that Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself....a declaration that serves as an anchor and a bright light of hope that bursts forth upon the soul and mind of the guilty, and the despairing.
But soon, without fail, the doubts are resurrected in all their foul vitality and fury! Yes, they argue, the redeeming work of Christ is indeed true and real......but.....that awful word.....BUT!
But?......The accusing thoughts say......How do you know that these accomplishments of the Son are applied to you and are reckoned to your account?....How do you know that?.....If it were so, the thoughts continue like a room full of prosecuting attorneys, would not your life reflect more of the evidences of the New Birth?

There, in the midst of these conflicting thoughts, many, including myself, find ourselves regularly!

What is the remedy? Where is relief to be found? These charges ring true!....Does not the scripture declare again and again that the regenerate are a people that are known by their holy character and fruits?
I cannot answer these charges!....I cannot deny my guilt!.....I cannot find a reason, a righteousness, a feeling, or a ground of confidence when I look at myself!

I am a sinner!...I am wretched!....I am hopeless on my own!.....I have no plea...BUT CHRIST!!!

This is not a cop-out.....this is not a mind game......this is my only refuge from the Just Wrath of a Holy God!!
So, as I continue to be charged, as I continue to be accused, as the battle continues to assault me......I WILL PLEAD THE MERITS OF THE SAVIOR'S BLOOD!!

Here I Stand, I can do no other!! God Help Me!!

"The Journey"

"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." (Jer. 10:23)


Life on this earth is often described as a Journey, the walking of a path that winds and turns as we live out our alotted time here. This Journey is sometimes pleasant and there is laughter and smiles, there is good news that comes and accomplishments that are achieved. This Journey is also marked by struggles,unfulfilled dreams, by sorrow and tears, by unwelcome tidings and failures of various kinds.
This Journey is often confusing and mysterious and it causes questions to arise in our hearts and minds, such as, "What is my purpose?", "What difference am I making in this world?", or ultimately, "Why am I here at all?"
This Journey is too great for us and often leaves us bewildered and feeling very small, insignificant, and alone!
This Journey is an opportunity for us to come to know ourselves as we come to know God, our Maker and Redeemer.
The aquired knowledge that is gained in this Journey concerning ourselves is, many times, grievous and causes us to groan within and to desire to quit or to turn aside in an effort to find a more pleasant and smooth way, but, as by an Invisible Hand, we are constrained to persevere and to take one more step and to Journey one more day.
This Journey has proven clearly to me that I am not equipped for the rugged terrain or the often harsh elements, and that I desperately need a guide, a Wise Counselor, a Shepherd to lead me in the way!
In this Journey I have experienced His direction, His care. He has often brought those into the path with me whom I needed for that very hour and struggle! He has often illuminated a verse of scripture that spoke to my present dilemma.
He has also, graciously hemmed in my way when I sought to turn down a side path that would have led to destruction and misery!
He has chastened me as a loving Father that I might be a partaker of His holiness.
When I reflect on this Journey I am humbled, I am moved to tears, I am ashamed of my, too often, cold and unthankful heart, and conversely, I am amazed at His longsuffering and faithfulness!
I don't know what lies around the next turn or over the next rise, but this thing I do know and am convinced of, if I acknowledge Him in all my ways, He shall direct my paths.
These paths will, no doubt often, be rough and hard, nevertheless, I have this promise, that He walks with me by His Spirit and ministers to me through His people and by His Word!
I stand upon the declaration of His Word which assures me that He completes what He begins.
This life is indeed a Journey, a pathway that stretches before us, sometimes bright and cheerful, sometimes dark and foreboding, but in this Journey I take consolation in this, that One has gone before to provide life now, and at the end of this Journey, and has been, and can be toucned with the feelings of my infirmities and ever liveth to make intercession for me!
Because of these exceeding great and precious promises I will continue to walk by His grace and hope for the coming day when I no longer "see through a glass darkly", but instead, I will behold Him face to face! Then I will know as I am known and the path I have trod and the Journey I have taken will be seen for the glorious "working together for good" that God had ordained for me before this world of paths and Journeys was!

"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Prov.4:18)