MOM

MOM

By Rick Mathes

Luke 2:19 (NASB) 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

His heart beat with hers and her blood flowed through His veins until He cried out His first breath and then the process began to reverse itself. He died so that she might live and He poured out His blood so that she could be born again. That was His mom, Mary.

Only barely a teenager she was found acceptable by God her creator to bear His Son What a privilege!

An unusual calm came over her as the glow in her bedroom grew brighter until the form of Gabriel became clear and His purpose of announcing her conception became acceptable with her submission and obedience. Her name was Mary and she was His mom.

The pain was worth the gain and baby Jesus smiled His toothless smile, Father God proudly looked and saw that this was good and the heavens exploded in praise because the angels couldn’t contain themselves. A silence hushed over the flames of Hell and Satan staggered out with a vengeance in his smoldering heart that he vowed to kill God’s only Son.

A word got out, some were wondering; “What in the world happened?” The afterglow of the departing angels still lingered a bit across the sky and the earth trembled at the Devil’s rage!

The Word teaches that innocent and exhausted Mary slipped into a world of her own and pondered these things in her private heart.

It was a protected moment that she treasured to her dying moment in the arms of the Apostle John in Ephesus; This onetime delivering God’s only Son gave her an introspection of her own heartfelt love for God and responsibility of pursuing holiness and raising His Son to do the same.

But at this moment, in the cave with her beloved Joseph holding her hand and loving on her, was a meditation with God that we will never know the depth of. I can only draw a conceptual understanding of her willingness to be God’s handmaiden and Joseph’s deep love for this truly one a kind Mom.

DIVIDED WE FALL

DIVIDED WE FALL

By Rick Mathes

John 7:43 So there arose a division in the multitude because of Him.

The Word teaches us that we are the Body of Christ that must be in one accord. The devil wants to squeeze in between us and Jesus any way he can because he knows that if we are divided we will fall.

What can be much worse than for us to divide because we have diverse opinions about our doctrine and church liturgy? Christians have never been in total agreement about either. We do, however, agree on the basic foundations of Christianity. If you confess Jesus as your Lord, which means living accordingly, then you are going to heaven just as you are. If your church or denomination excludes other Christians for disagreements over anything else, they are acting on behalf of Satan. We can agree to disagree and still have a wonderful opinion of Jesus together.

It’s all a matter of trust whether you are a Presbyterian, Baptist or Pentecostal, you still trust Christ as I do and love Him with your whole heart, mind and soul with all your strength. Truwst is what got Peter out of the boat and fear is what almost sunk him. You and Jesus must have a mutual agreement that you love each other and share an eternal destiny of glory.

Love is the super-glue that holds the Body together. Now understand that we don’t have to like each other but we must love each other. Yes, what I just stated makes sense when you think about it. WE don’t have to enjoy the same music, clothes or even culture to love each other.

It’s all in the development of obedience. There are not just growing pains but there is a learning curve involved also. This takes time so don’t allow a division because of things outward but rather has a unity of things upward. We’re back to the destiny of life with Christ here and now as a unified body.

Roman Catholics point out that we are divided because of our many denominations but they are not aware of our unity in the Spirit. Any true Christian knows that when we put aside our distinctions, our fundamental doctrine and beliefs are the identical. In my humble opinion we are all Calvinists but some haven’t matured enough to realized it yet, AMEN?

DEVOTED

DEVOTED

By Rick Mathes

Acts 2:42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

How simple can it get?

  1. Teaching
  2. Fellowship
  3. Breaking of Bread

I ache to step back in time to the Primitive Church before 325AD when Constantine ruined it all until Martin Luther raised the true faith from the ashes and the Puritans brought it to our shores. It was a time when correct doctrine was not optional and the gospel still had the ring and memory of John the Revelator.

The fellowship was as much a struggle then as it is now but restoration was mandatory and love was unconditional. They had the problems as we do but their world view was fresh from the forty day seminar the Lord held with His disciples before He went home to the Father. We don’t have to like each other but we must love each other.

Our communion is unbreakable because our body is one: it is in unity with the Triune Godhead with our own trinity of mind, heart and soul. We can sense the spirits in our midst and the love that flows between us. We are only one heartbeat and one glimpse away from all of glory before us.

The communication that seals our security is prayer. It is a fragrance of praise to take to our Daddy (Abba) and tell Him how much we love Him. The fuel of faith is the prayer of a righteous saint and the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.

The Baptist of believers makes us one in the Spirit and faith. Oh there are denominational distinctives yet to be agreed upon, but the basic fundamentals of Protestantism are unified and cannon. There is the rock solid agreement of Bible only, Jesus only, Grace only and Faith only. Any deviation from Calvinism is heresy. We believe that everyone else has a God given rightr to be wrong or too stupid to understand that TULIP is the only gospel. (I’m in trouble now!)

So let’s praise Him with joy in true worship. It can only be found at the feet of the Master. Just a look in His eyes will cause you to be devoted to Him to the end of eternity.

CORRUPTION

CORRUPTION

By Rick Mathes

1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Corruptions on every front occur in the world and the church before our very eyes and we let them happen; everyone, whether in politics or in the pulpit is afraid to speak the truth because truth has been corrupted beyond recognition.

In either circle it begins by following humanist leaders. We call them liberals but the fact remains that they are conservatives with masks on. They are not just “Joe six-packs” in taverns or legislators in government; they are also graduates of seminaries.

They favor earthly, carnal, self-centered wisdom no matter how it’s packaged or marketed. I live in the real world but my heart is in the heavenlies. I see and you do too the nonsense that is offered as good-sense.

You can’t help but flounder in the flesh of relativism. It’s like throwing darts at a moving and changing target. There is no objective bull’s eye there is only bull s—t.

With an ever changing truth we give little or no thought for future judgment because what is there to judge? When there is no right there is no wrong and the lie becomes the truth. The Word of God warned us and the fulfillment is upon us. Why fear a judge of no laws or punishment. Muslims call it “kismet.”

The spiritual leaders flatter themselves by the attendance and wealth of their churches. All of hell has put its weight on their eyes to look outward instead of upward.

When you aren’t eye to eye with Jesus you are well on your way to sink to the depths of Satan’s evil abyss of fire. Faithfulness to Christ is measured by three words: repent, submit and obey If you will do these corruption wherever you feet are planted will flee.

Otherwise you are fragmenting the Body of Christ. You have corrupted to the point where you are not the solution, you are the problem. Guess what happens when you spit into the sky; it falls back on you.

CARNALITY

CARNALITY

By Rick Mathes

Romans 6:23 (NASB77) 23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A carnal Christian is one who claims allegiance to heaven but lives only for everything on earth. The temporal toys are worth more than the eternal blessings later. Carnal Christians are just demons with a mask on. The devil has learned that to beat the church to death you must o it from the inside with a pillow instead of outside with a sledge hammer

A church with no real spiritual leaders is defeated before it has ever begun You would shudder if I told you of the experiences I have had with demonic churches over the years. I was even paid to get a Bishop and two Priests a hooker for the week-end on time I now the darkside of Satan’s synagogue well because I worshipped there for 25 years. Then as a minister for over 25 years I saw from the inside that all I saw on the outside was just a prelude to an orchestration of demons behind protestant altars.

Evil associations and personal material gain are rampant to those that gather under the cross to achieve worldly success. Why even the prostitutes in South America gather to pray to the Virgin Mary for a profitable evening!

The shallowness of this tragedy is the lack of a solid gospel message. The carnal church is built around doing instead of done All these empty lives are reinforcing each other with trivial distractions, plays, music, videos and laser shows to attract those with no spiritual insight to return next Sunday for some more entertainment, with an offering of course.

Endless hours are spent on the business plan and the sermon soon becomes a brief after thought. There is no love of God but there is an all-encompassing love of the world to build bigger and better buildings: for denominations to outdo each other in worldly attractions instead of the exercise of spiritual gifts. If you call yourself a Christian and you love this world more than the next, the love of the Father is not in you. You are a carnal, demonic moron.

DECEIT

DECEIT

By Rick Mathes

Acts 13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

The devil keeps his prey in sight and on friendly terms until the time is right to strike and make him a child of Satan. Jesus said, “I AM the way, the truth and the life.” Satan is the wrong way, a father of lies and an executioner of your soul. When you sin you are declaring, “Satan is my Lord.” Let that sink in a minute.

The sewer of truth is deceit and we all have a place for it in our hearts that we are not willing to give up. It’s this resistance to repentance that hinders knowledge. Didn’t the Word warn, “My people perish for lack of knowledge?” The lies you choose to nurture keeps you from God. Oh how He wants to hold you in His arms and love you but the slime of deceit, dripping from your soul makes God gag.

It’s buying the lies Satan throws at us that leads to pride. We have success with a little lie; get more things so we escalate our lies and deceit to get a bigger slice of the world’s toys and trinkets. We become like a decorated Christmas tree blinking and beautiful. But when the decorations are put away we notice that the tree is dead. It was all a false façade with no living substance to sustain it.

Everything contrary to truth is a fraud. When Pilate asked, “What is truth?” Jesus didn’t waste is breath explaining it to him because all Pilate was doing was concealing that hate that throbbed through his heart. Most inquirers are only conceiving evil plans and distracting truth by semi-truth twisting or circular reasoning. It’s all relative they claim because they don’t want the light to shine on their darkness.

Lies and deceit can only encourage sin. They have no other motive but to slash that whip on the Lord’s back one more time. The dirty-duo grinds that crown of thorns into His head again and again. They thrust the sword of death into His heart again and again all because you have polluted your souls with unconfessed sin.

In the last analysis your heart hardens I was shocked to learn I had four hardened arteries. Within two days I was on the operating table and my physical life was extended. But a hardened heart has no cure but to repent, submit and obey Him. Otherwise you are going to burn baby burn!

CONFESS REPENT

CONFESS REPENT

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 3:2 ” Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Many will confess but very few truly repent and it is very important that you do so. Every time you wantonly sin Satan writes that sin on the caulk-board in heaven and every time you repent, the Holy Spirit erases the sin out of sight. Sanctification’s objective is to keep the blackboard clean but just confession won’t do it.

  • Confession sin is worrying about the punishment that is the consequence of sin.
  • Repentance is worrying about the sin whose consequence is punishment.
  • Conversion is a change of action after you have had a true change of mind.
  1. The first sermon John the Baptist preached was “Repent!”
  2. The first sermon Jesus preached was “Repent!”
  3. The first sermon Peter preached was “Repent!”
  4. The first sermon Paul preached was “Repent!”

Are you getting the message?

Repentance is simply a turning toward Jesus. I never quit drinking. It quit me. When you are looking upon Him, the devil has no entry level. I love Jesus more than the sin and you should too.

When you turn to God you have put your back to Father Lucifer. The devil does not like your disrespect of the “Angel of light.” You have declared war on hell and I can guarantee all of his fallen angels are going to break loose on you like a swarm of angry hornets. You can expect violence and deceit unimagined from the most unlikely people!

Reverend Lucifer is too slick to make him obvious. He would rather turn your heart back to him from the pulpit of your favorite churches. If your minister doesn’t preach repent, submit and obey you have been sitting under the evil one. You have become a Satanist because you won’t turn from the sin the Holy Spirit has been convicting you of.

You refuse to turn from sin to the Savior and cause the very angels of heaven weep for you as the Good Shepherd laments one lost lamb.

The fruit of true salvation is good works. You were created in the image and likeness of Jesus and all he did while he was on planet earth and served those who were His. Repent and do likewise so that all will know that you have had a conversion experience and are now walking you talk!

CHURCH CORRUPTIONS

CHURCH CORRUPTIONS

By Rick Mathes

1 Corinthians 1:2 (NASB77) 2  to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

Every denomination has a “Church of Corinth” that has drifted in its leadership and lost its first love and focus. There are a few basic corruptions that know no religious distinctive. When Satan gets his nose into your church fellowship, his body is soon to follow.

Following humn leaders, that are humanists, only provides you with a veneer of a carnal communityof self-gratification. The devil knows that to disrupt the church he needs access to the pulpit he is often relegated to a leadership position because of our shamefuil apathy.

When earthly wisdom is favored, spiritual absolutes are compromised and wateed down to relative absurdities. A twelve inch ruler is 12 inches long and not 11 or 13 inches long depending on your personal law or rule of measurement. The same applies to salvation. Jesus is the ony way and you can’t be part saved by believing otherwise.

Like a fish out of water, the Word of God. You are signing hour own death warrant or rather certificate of dying in flames continuing action. Without the “Rock that don’t role,” your faith will only have the substance and constancy of cotton candy. It will tase good but there is nothing thee.

There’s no sense o flattering yourself with self-gratifying deeds, prayers or rituals. When you are your own god, you will have to deal with your own hell all by yourself! Pride of self dropped Lucifer from the highest plateaus in glory down the rungs to the dungeon of glow-torch flames from hell.

The culprit is lack of discipline. You are sovereign over you. The sin you have you want becaue if you didn’t want it more than you do want it, you wouldn’t have it! It’s that simple. Love the Lord more than the sin.

All the above shaken up and spread out is a fragmenting of the Body of Christ. When the head is sick the whole boy suffers. When lall yur body parrs are bruised, battered and broken, they can no longer work together in harmony. The corruption of your church has polited you too. Don’t be a Corinthian Church that even 50 years after Paul wrote the third letter to them, things got worse because of the younger members disrespecting the elders.

BLOODY FOOTPRINTS

BLOODY FOOTPRINTS

By Rick Mathes

(Author of “Allah or Jesus”)

Luke 23:26 And when they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

What was going through the thoughts of Simon as he stepped into the bloody footprints of Jesus? He couldn’t help but wonder why this innocent man was being put through this torturous execution. There must have been a look or a word from our Lord because in time, both of Simon’s sons became the first Bishops of color in this new world conquering religion.

Let’s put ourselves into Simon’s sandals and carry our Lord’s Cross. How can we do this? Pick up and continue His love for His brethren. We don’t necessarily need to like each other but we must love each other. Love is not an emotion, it is a decision. The emotion may or may not follow. The last beatitude is persecution so let’s get used to it and carry His Cross, the weight of Hell’s effort to trash His atonement.

Don’t forget that He walks before us. He is leading us to quiet waters through the reconciliation with the Father through His death; His final sacrifice. The Lord, the real Lord is our Shepherd. We don’t follow Father Lucifer anymore. Our old shepherd only let us to death, insanity or incarceration.

It’s by His grace, will and strength that we can carry His cross, keep the faith, fight the good fight and finish the course. We press on because we know where He is leading us to. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is our partner and the burden is light yoked to Him.

It is only for a short time of three-score and ten that this burden is ours so let’s give it our best shot. The consequences of our sin is truly a heavy load but we did it to ourselves and the least we can do is pick up our cross and follow Him. The reward, like childbirth, is well worth the pain. What a privilege it is to take it to the Lord in prayer.

BLIND

BLIND

By Rick Mathes

(Author of “Allah or Jesus”)

 

Romans 3:11 (NASB) 11  THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

AUGUSTINE

Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that thou mayest believe but believe that thou mayest understand.

The ignorant man always adores

What he cannot understand.

Our condition before God is so bad we get into denial to hide our real self. If you saw my heart as God sees it you would run from me and yours would be terrifying if exposed. We have an underlying and an ulterior motive. The underlying motive is in plain sight but the ulterior motive is under the table and driven by self and sin.

When we walk in willful sin we cannot really see the beauty of Christ’s countenance. It’s blurred with the smoke from hell. You lose the presence of His grace because you have yielded to Satan’s lordship; Satan has become your lord. It’s like running your hands through the filth and decay of a cesspool and then lifting them to God for mercy. You are only making God gag.

Keep focused on the things of God by seeing through His eyes. It’s like moving from black and white to color; a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. This can be a wonderful adventure as His world, sin-free opens up to you.

I have controlled glaucoma in both eyes. My mom and grandfather both went blind from it. I am so grateful for the gift of sight and I dedicate this medical miracle to the Great Physician. Of all the terrible things that could happen to me physically, I fear going blind most.

The pressure of Jesus points out the need of a new birth. The evil of this world is smothering us body and soul with the filth of sin. This sin killed God’s Son. This is very serious. In your blindness you will have the penalty of sin fade into the wide road that leads to eternal flames. So get your spiritual eyes checked as I did and don’t allow yourself to go blind to the grace and goodness of our Savior, Jesus.