ARE YOU READY

Luke 12:40- Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye thinketh not.

 

 

In contradiction to popular opinion, there are only two categories of people that exist in this world: believers (the just) and unbelievers (the wicked). Moreover, since the beginning of time, there have only been two kingdoms that exercised dominion in the earth: the kingdom of Light (God’s Kingdom) and the kingdom of darkness (Satan and his hordes of evil spirits).  With God, there is no middle ground, no purgatory.  Don’t let Satan fool you, there are not many ways to enter into the kingdom of God, there is only one way. Jesus is the door. (John 10:1-10).  God is not interested in whether or not you think that you are apart of his family. Why? In order to live in the Kingdom, to experience the fullness of the new Heaven and Earth, you must be born again (John 3) before you die.  A transformation must take place or else you will be left outside the gate, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Luke 13:24-30) 

 

Time is not our friend; therefore, let us not waste it. It is moving with a swiftness never seen before, but Jesus said that this would happen in the last days. (Matthew 24:22) Today, we must be assured in our hearts that we belong to God. In II Peter 1:10, we are directed by the Holy Spirit to make our calling and election sure.  I encourage you brethren to make sure that you are in Christ. Don’t leave your eternal state to chance.  When Jesus returns, know without a shadow of doubt that he will be coming for you.

 

 

Brother Mark Johnson

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NO MORE CONTINGENCIES

Ps. 34:1- I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

 

Life can be full of disappointments, and discouragement forever lurks around the corner.  Sometimes we pray and seemingly see no end to our troubles, despite pouring out our souls to God.  Some would say, “Is there no end in sight?”  Oh, the uncertainties of life over which we have no control!  Sometimes the burdens are so heavy—it is wished, like David did (Ps. 55:5-6), that we could take wings and fly away.  But would the lesson be over?  Did we pass the test, or would we have to take it over after returning from overseas where our wings took us?  Unfortunately, we would probably land in the middle of greater trouble.  Running away will not solve anything.

 

Our human nature bases how it responds to God based on what God has done to it.  Likewise if we receive nothing from God, again in our nature, God will not receive anything from us.  This is why God commands that His children worship Him in Spirit and in truth.  In our spirit we worship God not based on the contingency of Him doing something, but we worship Him because of who He is!  And the truth is—whether our flesh believes God has blessed us or not is irrelevant; He blessed us when He gave us the Holy Spirit. In our spirit the truth is God has done great things!  So, we must bless Him at all times.  His praises should be standing at the doors of our mouth.  Do not make blessing and praising God contingent on how things turn out.  Bless Him without contingencies, do it continually, and He will strengthen you to deal with life’s irregularities.  

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FORGIVENESS


Mark 11:26- But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

 

We cannot go forward until forgiveness is given to those who have intentionally or unintentionally wronged us.  No matter how hideous, cruel, inhumane, or uncalled for an action another did to us, as Christians, we must forgive.  Forgiveness is not just for the offender, but more so for the offended.  God must see that we are in full compliance with His Word and the only way to accomplish this is to willingly pardon those who have mistreated us.  However, in our flesh this is a daunting, demoralizing, uncomfortable, and intimidating task!  Yet, if we do it in obedience to God, as unto the Lord and not to please man or ourselves, forgiveness will be quite liberating.

 

In spite of all the horrible, immoral, and wicked things we did before coming to Christ, there at the foot of the cross is the blood of Jesus showered upon us; we were healed and forgiven all at the same time!  Furthermore, God has promised to remove our sins far from us (Micah 7:19; Heb. 8:12).  Forgiveness is apart of God’s amazing grace that is so critically important to believing sinners like ourselves. It is commanded of us to show the same mercy which was graciously extended to us.  Delay no longer!  Sincerely, genuinely, and lovingly forgive today.  Or else you won’t be forgiven by the God of all the earth.

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READY OR NOT


Isa. 24:20- The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

 

God will only do one thing when it comes to sin, judge it.  If you keep up with the current events of the world like I do, then you know that wickedness and perverseness covers the earth just as water does. If America is the example that other nations are to follow, the world is in trouble!  Don’t get me wrong, as a citizen of the greatest earthly nation to ever exist thus far, I love this country.  However, the United States of America is coming apart at the seams, and patches will no longer cover the holes of the fabric.  The forces of darkness have tricked all nations and governments to autonomously rule over their own affairs without seeking the counsel of God.  Having done so, the earth is critically sick from sin and man has rejected the only cure, the blood of Jesus Christ.     

 

The prophet Isaiah foresaw the earth staggering like a drunkard from wine.  Only the earth was intoxicated by sin and would soon fall because of its inebriated state. The same forces of darkness (“the host of high ones”) which deceived the nations to love sin will soon be punished by the Master of the Universe.  Moreover, the leaders (“the kings of the earth”) who do not serve and lead their nations to the one and true living God will be punished also.  “Whether you are ready or not” the earth is on a collision course with doom because judgment is coming, and very soon!  Serve God with all your heart, and steer your life far from the path that leads to sin.  If you are not in Christ, give your heart to him today.  Be ready, for the systems of the world will soon “fall and not rise again.”

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CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

Matt. 4:17- From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

How humbling it is to know that the first message our Lord Jesus Christ ever preached in His incarnate days on earth was repent, which means “change,” in the beginning of His three year productive ministry. In our verse for today we must take notice of how entering God’s kingdom starts with repentance first.  As creatures of habit, change is not always welcomed with open arms.  For a lot of us it is met with opposition, resistance, indifference, and justification of why change is unwanted, not needed, or impossible to do.  Yet it is very necessary for all of us.

We view change as a task of drudgery.  Yet change will set us on course to a fresh start, a new beginning. To continue on the same path knowing it is the wrong way is insanity in pure form!  Like a traveler on a highway who has traveled far off from the intended destination, and has to be redirected, we will have to find our way back to the state of change sooner than later.  In whatever area change is needed in your life, do not stick out your hand to keep him at arms distance; rather embrace him, for he will lead you to your God given destiny far from your enemy.  

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Restoration is Now

Sadly, the word Christian has been diluted over the last 2000 years.  The enemy has made what was originally intended to be a lifestyle into organized religion.  A religion filled with souls that think Christianity is relegated to going to church every Sunday and giving their tithes. Is this not the same thing that has happened to the Jews of the Old Testament, who were punished for hypocrisy?   
 
Man’s purpose on earth is to worship God in spirit and in truth.  This is only accomplished by living a life that is holy and acceptable unto God (Rom. 12:1-2).  Our sacrifices of praise only remain pure when our heart is pure and fully yielded to God (Hebrews 13:15).   If God is in your heart, then His Word will come out of your mouth. For out of the heart proceeded the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).  And the tongue speaks that which is in the heart.  This is trueworship, This is true praise!
 
God is calling for a renewal of vows; a renewed commitment to him. We must put off the religious mindset, and return to our first love.  We are so far away, yet we are so close. God is saying, turn your heart back to me..  Remember the sweetness of the fellowship you once had when you first came to Christ.  Take back your praise and worship that the enemy has stolen through deceits and trickery. Our Lord Jesus Christ is knocking on the door of your heart (Revelation 3:20) ; will you let him in?
 
 
Brother Mark Johnson
@mtolivehop

SEEK TRUTH

I Tim 4:1- Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

From our beginnings, the enemy has sought to discredit the Word of God. Suggesting to us that we should do what we want, and that God is hiding the truth from us (Gen. 3:4-5). His greatest tool against mankind is deception. I define deception as something seemingly good with hidden evil intentions. The equivalent is having a plate of food laced with a poison that is hard too detect. Unfortunately deception is an easy product to market, and even easier to sell! And with over 2500 religions in our world today, it cannot be denied that the forces of darkness have enjoyed the success of their seduction. Thank God for sending the truth, Jesus Christ, to walk among us so that we may counter the lies of satan.

Please read Ps. 1:1-3. Let us take heed to what the Holy Spirit has said. Surely we are in the “latter times.” Many are giving heed to compromising messages and teachings that lead them further from the truth of God’s Word, and closer to “another gospel” (II Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:6). Rather than seek the truth, many seek what is intellectually acceptable and comfortable to their lifestyle. This is a gospel void of sacrifice and commitment to the teaching of the Bible, and suggests merely a self-improvement agenda without denial of self (Matt. 16:24). This is, in fact, the doctrines of devils (better translated demons). In all our getting we must get an understanding (Prov. 4:7). Let us seek truth, which is only found in the Word of God, and we will avoid departing from the ways of God.

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THE AFFECTION AND DISTRACTIONS


Judges 16:1-20

20. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

 

Hopefully you know the story of Samson.  He was a judge in the days of Israel.  He was, physically, the strongest man that ever lived.  However, his super strength came from the Holy Spirit.  Without the anointing, Samson was a mere man.  He was many times during his life distracted by women.  And although he defeated 1,000 Philistines with the jaw bone of a donkey, carried the gates of a city uphill, caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail, and defeated a young male lion, it was the distraction to his affections that made him as vulnerable as a city without walls (Prov. 25:28).  His distraction made him lose focus of what was most important: the Will of God for his life.  We can easily blame Delilah for the fall of our brother, for we often look for a scapegoat, but the truth is that she was merely a vessel used to cause him to walk in the weakness of all men, the flesh!

 

As it was with Samson in the physical by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit will spiritually empower us to overcome our enemies through the same grace.  He will enable us to defeat our attraction to satan’s distractions.  Fear, worry, struggle, the hustle and bustle, etc… are simply used to throw us off course.  The enemy’s plan is deliberate and intentional: “Don’t allow them to meditate on the goodness of God’s great grace at all!”  Let us be wise people of God.  We are not ignorant of satan’s devices (II Cor. 2:11)!  Like Samson’s natural eyes being distracted by Delilah, and then extracted by the Philistines, we must be careful not to lose sight of obeying God’s Word in all that we do.  It is a terrible thing to feel that God has left us when we need Him.  Are our affections on things above (Col. 3:2)?

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GRACE UNLIMITED

II Cor. 12:9- And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

God’s grace is His favor.  After Jesus died for the sin of the world on the cross (John 1:29) the way was made for the lost.  God promised to save all those who believe in the sacrificial death of our Lord.   Therefore, grace is the means by which we are saved through faith (Eph. 2:5, 8).  But grace even goes further than this!  The grace of God carries us through trials, tests, pain, and struggles in our Christian walk.  The power of Christ in us, through the person of the Holy Spirit, enables believers to triumph even through tribulations.

When God spoke to Paul in our verse for today the apostle was going through some type of pain in his body.  After being instrumental in the healings of others, maybe Paul expected his prayers should easily be answered for himself?  He sought God for this cause three times.  And finally God said, to him, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.  Paul’s healing and comfort was to rely, remember, and rest on the favor of God, and this would help him overcome his obstacle, whatever it was.  In our weakness God’s unlimited, boundless, and all sufficient grace is more than enough.  Jesus walked with God’s grace even unto death, and then rose with it triumphant over death and sin!  So don’t think about how big your problem is, but focus on the greatness of God’s unlimited grace.     

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