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…

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Matthew 7:15

Everyone knows that false prophets come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  Cult watch pages abound with calling this or that minister a false prophet, and often simply serve to spark fear in everything of God.  Many of these are either completely cessationist (believing that all the miraculous power of God has ceased), or at least non-Spirit-filled.  They all generally deny basic doctrines such as speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:4) for the church today, and should generally be ignored (2 Timothy 3:5).  They do not enter the Kingdom themselves, and shut the door in the faces of those who are trying (Matthew 23:13).

What is the mark of a false prophet?  They present themselves as something they are not.  Moreover, Jesus called them ravenous.  Not every reference to “wolves” in the Bible is an evil reference.  When Jacob blessed his sons, he called his son Benjamin a ravenous wolf  as well (see Genesis 49:27 and surrounding chapter).

Jesus also cautioned about the yeast of the Pharisees, which in Luke 12:1 He identified as hypocrisy.

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When all is stripped away, and nothing else remains, you can trust in His love.  His love remains, when everything else is shaken (Romans 8:37-39), and by it, we live without fear (1 John 4:18).

Into His love we commend ourselves each day.  Further into His glory, His goodness, His mercy.

All we need is His love.  Our only true possession in this life is this place of union.

The life of the flesh doesn’t matter in the end.  What matters is Eternity.  According to Isaiah 40, all of man’s pomp and pride fall away into the dust and ashes they came from, and all that remains is faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

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The cry of a generation, to cleave wholly to the Lord.

They are sick of compromise, and a church that is irrelevant.  They are confused over a teaching that on one side talks about power, but on the other hand, can’t get out of its own politics and powerlessness.

Jesus said that would know us by our love, and yet they know us by our cliches.

We have traded faith for doctrinal statements.  We have traded true understanding for a listening to sermons we really don’t believe down in the depths of our heart–not enough to be changed.

Some are sincere, but they lack tools to apply.  Many want to teach and help others out of the mire, but they fail to understand how to reach in.

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