Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Someone Will


The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Obadiah 3


I have been off work for quite some time now due to health problems.  It has given me more time to spend it with our Lord, to pray more, and to read and study His Word (the Bible) even more.  I love it!  Secular work is necessary, but for those who know the Lord has called into the ministry like me, I rather be full time for Him than work for the world.  The Lord's benefits are more wonderful and outweigh the world's treasures anytime. Furthermore, to be employed in the Lord's work makes me happier than any job can.  Although secular work pays our food and bills, but the Lord's payment means "He will supply ALL your need according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus".  He will, even if you have no job (amen and amen). So being off, I  now have done much reading, studying, and focusing on God's Word. He gives me much when I search and look for Him to feed me.

The above verse tells me much because the Lord convicted me and fed me, too, with this short message.  I have no notes so that I will write as the Lord leads me.  I know this will glorify and lift Him up, not me. If I,  then my pride is taking charge of me.

Obadiah tells us that God will punish the Edomites for their participation in the humiliation of Jerusalem. This verse also speaks of them as being full of pride and vanity thinking nothing will bring them down because they think of themselves as being invincible. The Lord condemns this and through Obadiah, God will bring them down.

So how about us? What about us? Will we continue to be a proud nation that is so full of ourselves?  Will we see ourselves as a proud nation that God would not condemn nor trodden by His wrath and anger even though we sin due to our pride? Woe to us who do not confess our sins and repent.  Woe to us  who do not ask the Lord's forgiveness and accept His SON Jesus Christ as personal Saviour and Lord so as not to keep from going to hell. As a Christian, I  am saved already, but I know my pride gets the best of me too much.  I have prayed to our faithful Lord to convict me more than ever.  I need His hand on me to shake me once in awhile for me realize l am nothing without Him and His righteousness. Without Him l can do nothing.  Without Him none of you can do anything.  If not for His glorious grace and mercy, all of you would be in hell  because we all deserve hell, His anger and His wrath. But, He has loved us so much that He want to save all humankind from hell.  His wrath and anger will show if we do not set aside our pride and put on robes of Christ's righteousness. Pride kills and destroy the very foundation of society .  America and Canada are no exemptions. Because of stupid pride, there are wars not only among countries, but among individuals.  Church members are diking out and not swallowing their damnable heathen pride to turn from their sins and admitting their faults and mistakes.   Even saying "I Am Sorry" and asking forgiveness is very hard to do. 

With the world getting more contemptible and wicked every day,  it is time to seek the Lord even more.  Let us love and forgive those who wrong us.  Pray that we bridge the gap instead of  holding grudge with people.  Avoid being callous in our thinking and being crude in our talk.  The day of the Lord is coming very soon. Instead many of us are so full of pride to think nothing or no one can knock us down.  Many of us have attitudes that proudly say nothing bothers us when we sin.  These never even bother us or our conscience anymore. 

Well, rebellious heart, you will be beaten into oblivion and smashed into submission from God.  He will not stand much longer the evil that is constant in this world and inside you. Because of pride,  it makes you feels you are much greater than what you are. You will hide in high places and will say that no one will tell you anything because you are right and everyone else is wrong. That is pride!  It will send many to hell partly because of brain-dead theology, too, that so many teach is contrary to the Word of God.   Your pride will be your downfall.  You say like it says it the verse above, "Who shall bring me down to the ground?"  Yes, the LORD GOD Almighty will bring you down!  Not only will He humble you, but He will humiliate you, smash you, beat you into submission, and cast you in hell, if you have never admitted yourself as a sinner.  Confess your sin, repent, ask His forgiveness, and accept God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ into your life with tears of conviction and heartfelt remorse. 

Sodomite, child molester, porno person, abortionist, killer, adulterer, drinker, drug addict, etc. will all face His Highness, the Lord.  They will be judged horrifically before the great white throne and after that, they will He thrown in hell.  To you  who  repent and accept Christ as your Saviour and Lord, will go to heaven.

So, is it worth it to allow pride and other sins to do to you what it has done to others?

(c) Mike Carey, January 5,2011

Friday, January 7, 2011

Why Do People Rise Up Against The Lord?

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Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? Psalm 139:21

Reading Psalms is wonderful as it shows the glory and reverence of the Lord that l believed also. It shows His omnipotence, too. There is nothing He does not know nor cannot do to show forth His greatness and power in forming man. David put it so vividly in the chapters of this book. But, this one verse stands out to me in many ways that someday l shall preach on it. It gets me to ask, “Am l not to hate those who hate our dear and precious Lord Jesus Christ?

I seek for the answers and find them. Below is a summary that I gather:

a) We are to hate the filthiness, wickedness and sensual desires of this world and all kinds of sins. We are to hate our sins, too. We are not to allow them to be “caught” on us. Instead, we are to repent and ask forgiveness from our Lord and get right with Him. I believe we are to hate, abhor and despise all that has to do with rebellion against the Lord! We are to have the desire to love all that He has allowed us to have. He is the Creator of all things. He allows us to enjoy the good things as well as to go through bad times to learn our lessons. He also takes things from us to make us stronger in Him. He will then lead us to the place that is higher than anyone could ever reach and attain as we can never attain the incomparable greatness and magnificence of the Lord Himself.

b)  I believe we are to hate the attitudes of others when they do not adhere to the Lord's commandments, nor comply with His promises in His Word. Adherence to His commandments will give us comfort in times of distress and need or in times when we need nothing. No one should hate a person, but the Word of God is true. We must not stray from our commitment to them. Instead, we must follow the His Holy Word every day. Best of all, His Word confirms to us that Jesus Christ alone separates us from hell. Our wholehearted acceptance of Him as our personal Savior and Lord means we are heaven-bound. This is clearly written in His Word. It is a commandment. We must not delay in keeping with the Lord's commandments, or He will supply many with a one-way-ticket to Hell in refusing, rejecting, refuting, denying, ignoring and downright rebelling against Him and His Word, the KJB Bible. He hates it when so many reject His free gift of eternal salvation. Yet, how very simple is the matter of wholehearted acceptance that a child can understand it with no problem. What foolishness, ignorance and plain stupidity it is when an adult would not surrender even till death and be cast into the lake of eternal hellfire. The proud are apparent evils on this earth. When the Lord sees all the good and evil, His face is much focused on the rebellion, pride, hatred and bitterness in many of us. The Lord is much heartbroken over those who refuse His free gift of salvation. He hates it and it grieves Him much too.

c)  We must hate evil of all kinds and even expose sins in others so that they can see their unrighteousness clearly, too. Either they or we must not think of ourselves highly by trying to elevate ourselves above others. We are to think lower of ourselves even when others honestly compliment us. We need to thank them though, but with humility. We should hate sinning and the thought of it. Furthermore, it is always upright to fear the Lord and depart even from evil thoughts. We should be bothered deep in our soul when we commit errors. Our spirits should be heartbroken and sore at the thought of loving sin and hating righteousness. We should be grieved and hurt very much when we see others in evil sin. Committing them should make us hang our heads and cry for them. Moreover, we should cry for the Lord to save them by using us as vessels and witnesses to lead them to Christ Jesus.

d)  We all should hate it when others rise up against our Lord to do Him harm (though we can never harm God). We must hate how they take His name in vain, curse Him, blaspheme Him, and mock His Holy Word. We need to hate it when others rebel against the Lord in all things. e.g. smoking, drinking, adultery, fornication, thefts, lying, prostitution, sodomy, pornography, all kinds of sins and evils. We should hate the devil as he is the father of all lies. We need to love what GOD loves and hate what HE hate, not the other way around. Most of all, I believe we should hate evil and sin, in such a way, that it makes us even wince and feel so much ashamed to even think wickedness, evil, profane thoughts and to even to sin just to have pleasure for a season. We know our Lord Jesus is a God of love. Yet, we know, too, that He is a God of hate and great wrath. The Bible says so. If anyone thinks He is not, read the Bible if there is one available and study it. We should stop making excuses and give sweet words about the Lord not condemning sin because it is a lie! We must do something honorable by believing only the truth. Many will die thinking the Lord will bypass the evils they had done while alive. For it is written in His Word: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.(Heb.9:27)”  We all will be judged by the Lord in EVERYTHING WE HAVE DONE ON EARTH. NO ONE is exempted from His mighty wrath after death. God will not hold our hand and tell us that we have been exceptionally good that is why we are heaven-bound. Neither will He allow us in heaven just because we may not have broken His Word on how He tells us to live. Not even the little words of remorse will convince Him to give us the best favor. He will not be convicted, convinced nor intimidated by us because us if we are not truly saved! We are filled with rotten, filthy, stench-filled pride and vile wicked sins while on earth. He will send us to heaven if we are saved or hell if not. It is not His will that anyone perishes and goes to hell. There is coming a day when every idle word we say will be put in front of us and He will judge us all not just on what we do, or how we live. He will also judge us on what we did that we shouldn't have done, on what we should of done that we didn't do, on how we treated others and what was said that never should have been spoken, and on everything. If are saved, all these will not be counted against us. What if we are not? So, beware the wrath of the Lord when so many think they can rise up against Him, show Him hatred and contempt and get away with it. No one will face Him and still standing unafraid. God will show His great wrath and anger. It will be very sad for so many who will witness the same end because sooner this will happen to them, too. If they have not believed on the name of the Lord to save them from their sins, ask for His great forgiveness, have never repented of their rotten sins, and turned from them in humiliation and tears, they sure know their end.

A recapitulation: we need to love our Lord God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, with all that is deep within us, with all our strength. We need to love what God loves, too. We need to hate what God hates, not the other way around. We need to hate our sins and the sins of others. We need to do something about them. We have choices: not sin and then not be convicted by them or continue to live in sin by rebelling against the Lord Jesus Christ who created us to have communion and fellowship with Him.

God is love. God hates, too. God judgeth the righteous and God is angry with the wicked everyday (Psalm 7:11). Those who only were taught God is love will never have that relationship with Him till they understand that God loves us so much that He hates our sins. He loves us so much that He hates it when people rebel against Him. He hates it when people put up a wall between Him and them and live as though there is no hell. Furthermore, He abhors those who live as if they are so full of pride that they put on acts of righteousness before others. But, the Lord knows the heart of us all, bar none.

Amen and Praise our Lord God for His goodness which endures forever and to every generation.

(c) Michael Carey; January 4, 2011

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

A New Year Begins

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A new heart also will l give you, and a new spirit will l put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  Ezekiel 36:26

A great verse and great comfort to me this verse is, as the chapter gives account of the judgment of the Lord on Judah, and as Ezekiel gave hope to Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Lord gave them the hope they need to let them know God Himself will restore the people to there homeland. The Lord also graciously gave them a new heart and a new spirit.

What about you as this new year starts? Has it started with a bang for you with some wildness and parties to celebrate the New Year? With friends and family? Or are you looking to the Lord to a better relationship with Him, to be stronger than ever this year with His coming just around the corner?  Maybe you are unsaved and have no idea what the above verse means? If you are saved, you can have the hope of our Lord's return very soon.  But, until then, what about now as you read this? If you are saved, you should be looking for a new and clean heart.  You should be willing to sacrifice and give in to the Lord so that He can melt your stony heart, give you a new heart and of flesh as well.

Most too often, whether Christians and unbelievers, harden their hearts to all around them.  They are oblivious even to the Holy Spirit touching them.  For them to become human sacrifices, they need to be for the Lord. Instead, they are bystanders watching as other Christians abuse and ruin themselves like we do also.  They try to play up to the crowd of the world not heeding the Holy Spirit who convicts them. God, who is Lord of lords and King of kings, is expecting out of them the need for Him first, then others after. Yet, they put Him off.  So, instead of hearts being fresh and new for this new year, too many of  these are hardened to sins and to selfish heathen pride.  They are not open-minded to the Lord who loves them and wants a personal relationship with them more than ever in these last days.

As the new year begins, what joy it  will be when God will give all of us who trust Him a heart not of human flesh, but of flesh that is from Him.  His Holy Spirit will create in us a new heart.  He will renew a right spirit within us.  New year should begin with the Lord Jesus Christ, and not with your woes, sorrows and desires which would only bring us heartaches, heartbreaks and disasters. If we have the such, let us take them to the Lord in prayer.  He will comfort and console.   He cares for us as He would a newborn baby. He will never leave us nor forsake us.  He would draw near to us IF we would draw near to Him.  Let us get right with the Lord so we can be His men or women.  We can walk with Him as once did Enoch. 

If you are unsaved, call upon the name of the Lord out of tearful repentance and conviction.  The Lord Jesus Christ will save you.  Start this new year with a big BANG by accepting the Lord Jesus as your personal Saviour, seek Him each day and keep your heart and mind on Him till He returns in all His glory. So, unsaved dear soul, do you want a new heart in place of your wicked stony heart, and a new spirit placed inside you? If not, hell is where you'll go with no way out. Not the Lord's will that anyone goes to hell, but if you want a new heart and the Holy Spirit abiding in you, call on the name of the Lord and He will save you, dear person.

So, look to our Lord Jesus Christ this new year for a new heart and get rid of the old stone-cold heart you once had.

Amen and praise our Lord!

(c) January 4, 2011; Michael Carey

Saturday, January 1, 2011

My Reflection: "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"

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It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22, 23 

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

"Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, 
they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Truly, o God, You are most faithful forever.  Nobody can change that. Most of all, Your compassion for me, a believer who has many times failed you, is endless.  I am blessed to be Your daughter forever despite my unfaithfulness.  I thank You for forgiving me.  I thank You, too, for Your persistence to hold Me in Your hand, never letting me go.     

"Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is 
Thy faithfulness!"
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
"Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me! 

Yes, Your faithfulness, my God, is beyond measure.  You have given me more than I need.  Out of my nothingness, You fill my needs abundantly each day.  Everyday is a new surprise!  I am always in awe at Your goodness.  I really thank You for everything. 

Summer and winter, and springtime 
and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. 

In season and out of season, my Lord, You have shown Me Your great faithfulness.  You have shown me how merciful You are.  In my misery, You  had lifted me and brightened my day. Your love for me has always been from everlasting to everlasting.  How really faithful You are. 

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer 
and to guide;
Strength for today and bright 
hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! 

Oh, how great You are, my God. You have forgiven me many times for the wrong I have done to You.  Your presence in my life has always  been felt by me.  You have always strengthened me especially in times of my weaknesses.  You have assured me that in the midst of my sickness You are always there to make all things right.  I still believe that one day soon You will heal me completely while I am still on earth.  You have given me much.  Even the impossible, You have made them possible.  Your help is never late.  They have always come on time.  That is why when immediate things get me worried, I just pray and Your answer is there. How wonderful You are, o Lord.

(Every time this song is sung in church, I  cannot help but cry at the thought of God's great faithfulness in my life. Amen!)

(c) January 1, 2011; Luisa Mercado