In the depths of poverty, in the realms of despair, no matter what it seems, He is there.

By faith alone we stand, against the storms and the dregs, no matter what the devil unleashes, because of Christ alone, I live.

There is a saying that goes like this.  Faith is faith when God has you out on a limb, sawing off that limb, and the tree falls. And the limb, severed, remains aloft, with you on it.  A Faith walk is not described as walking across a gap where you see no bridge, it is walking off a cliff when you don’t see the other side.

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Lord, I commit to you all the way.  No holding back, no part of this life which is over.

You said that I am crucified to this world, and that is what I am.  No part of this world is worthy of you, so I take nothing of it before you.  Into your hands, I commit my spirit.

There is nothing this world has to offer.  I hate it, with all of it’s corruption.  While I may be in it, I am not of it.  For I have died.  I am crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but it is Christ that lives in me.  The life I live, I live by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  Galatians 2:20.

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And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.  My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.

Matthew 18:34-35

Jesus has commanded that we love one another, and in order to do this, we must be willing to forgive.  Total forgiveness may begin with an act of the will, but always must proceed to the depths of the heart.  Forgiveness is being willing to live with the consequences of another’s actions.

In order to forgive, you must first be willing to say, “that was wrong.” When there is no attributable wrong, how can there be forgiveness?  If you cannot say it was wrong, what are you forgiving?  What forgiveness is not is trying to minimize the hurt so that no offense can take root.  This may seem profitable in the short run, but lacks the integrity to go the distance.  No, rather, when someone does something wrong, it is important to acknowledge that what was done was wrong.  It is from this place that all forgiveness can happen.

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The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.  The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

Psalm 19:9-10

Just one thing is valuable, and that is the anointing, the presence of God.  I can lose everything else, but if I ever am without the presence of my Lord in my life, I am the the most poverty stricken on the planet.

What is more substantive, the presence of God or the shoes on your feet?  What has more worth, all the gold of the Earth, or the words contained in the Bible?

To know the Lord, and to have Him daily in my life is more important than friends, than eating, than social standing or a good job, or any view of wordly success this life could ever afford. Read more…

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Matthew 7:11

It is God’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32).  Not some day far away in some millenial reign, but right here, today, at hand, where we need it.  When we need it.

Our Father knows our needs (Matthew 6:32).  He will give them to us if we are seeking after His interests.

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Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:21-23

The Way is not power, it is faithfulness.  The path is not promotion, it is servant-hood.  The gift is not yours, it is theirs (2 Corinthians 1:6).  The road is not wide, it is narrow.

Jesus said plainly, unless you hate father, mother, sister, brother, children, spouse, even your own life, you cannot be His disciple (Luke 14:26).  He said quite distinctly that if you love someone else more than Him, you are not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37).

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Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Matthew 8:20

What does it take to dissuade someone from pursuit?  A little hardship, a little persecution?  Lack of a comfortable home?

Jesus said,

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19:29

What you lose is only temporary, what you gain is worth it.  It is Good News.

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Now watch this doctrine of Balaam most carefully. Notice above all, that it is the deliberate maneuver of a corrupt clergy to bind the people to them, by leading the people deliberately into the sin of unbelief. The Nicolaitane doctrine was the corruption of the clergy as they sought political power amongst themselves, while Balaamism is the subjection of the people to their system of creed and worship in order to hold them. Now watch this carefully. What was it that bound the people to the nominal church and thereby destroyed them? It was the creeds and dogmas formed into church tenets. It was the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. They were not given the true food, the Word. They were given the food that came from idol worship, Babylonian paganism wrapped up in Christian terminology. And that very same spirit and doctrine is right amongst all Protestants and it is called DENOMINATION. Nicolaitanism is organization, humanizing the leadership of the church, and thereby deposing the Spirit. Balaamism is denominationalism which takes the church manual instead of the Bible. And right to this hour, many of God’s people are caught in the snare of denominationalism and God is crying to them, “Come out of her My people, lest ye be partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not her plagues.” You see they are ignorant. But if the rapture should take place at this moment, ignorance would be no court of appeal from the judgment of God for being in the wrong ranks.

William M. Branham, a prophet from 40’s and 50’s, wrote the above words towards the end of his book on the seven church ages.

 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

John 18:36

Jesus said His Kingdom was not of this world, nor of this realm.  It was the Kingdom of the Heavens.  John 3:3-5 indicates that the Kingdom cannot be seen nor entered unless one is born again, born of the water and the Spirit.

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It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

God wants us free.  He wants you free, He wants me free.  He wants me to point you to His freedom, and you to point me there.  He wants each of us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

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If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:26

The way of discipleship is the way to follow the cross.  The requirement of discipleship is to never look back.

Jesus said that the Kingdom was like a precious pearl, that, when found, a man sold all he had and bought it.  There is something about finding something that is worth it.  If you can see it, if you can recognize what you see, and correctly appraise it, it is not a hard choice to lose everything else to obtain the best. Read more…