November 26, 2009

“Thankful in Collapse”

Blessed Thanksgiving folk!

Today is the day that we in the united States take a brief moment to give thanks.

This is well and good.

We should give thanks to the Lord with every breath.

As we give thanks, let me encourage you to press on in the thanks…

Begin with repentance.
Then confess...our sin, then confess the glory of the Lord.
Then call upon the Lord to forgive us as a people/nation.
We have sinned before the Lord - greatly.
We have blood on our hands.
We have rebelled.
We have sought our own way rather than the Lord’s.

We are now reaping the fruit of such.

Very, very difficult days are just ahead.

Economic collapse is imminent. I do not believe it can be avoided.
There are things that could be done, but our leadership will not take the necessary, difficult steps. They will simply kick the can down the road, or they will do what has been done before - war.

There are things occurring on a daily basis which are not reported.
For instance, today Dubai announced a partial default. That probably means nothing to most, but is extremely significant. Even as I write, markets around the world are experiencing “setbacks”.

First, the “economy” will collapse.
Shortly thereafter there will be tremendous “social upheaval.”
Division of labor will become non-existent.
At this point the enemy within will manifest itself in fullness...all in the name of protection from the enemy without.

We will become as the city of Jerusalem, described in Lamentations 1…


Lam 1:1
1 How lonely sits the city That was full of people! She has become like a widow Who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces Has become a forced laborer!

Lam 1:8-11
8 Jerusalem sinned greatly, Therefore she has become an unclean thing. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Even she herself groans and turns away.
9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; She did not consider her future. Therefore she has fallen astonishingly; She has no comforter. "See, O Lord , my affliction, For the enemy has magnified himself!"
10 The adversary has stretched out his hand Over all her precious things, For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, The ones whom You commanded That they should not enter into Your congregation.
11 All her people groan seeking bread; They have given their precious things for food To restore their lives themselves. "See, O Lord , and look, For I am despised."

NASU
(Read all of Lamentations 1 soon&hellipWinking

Give thanks.
Trust in the Lord.
Fear not, remember the words of David…

Ps 37:25-27
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
KJV

Again, trust the Lord.

Even in times of tremendous chaos and destruction, those who know God will be used by Him to His praise and glory.

Dan 12:3
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
KJV

Dan 11:33
33 "Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many
NASU

If we trust ourselves? Well...the fruit of the flesh is never good…

So, give thanks.
Rejoice in the Lord.
Prepare in the Lord to shine as darkness increases.

Blessings!!

November 25, 2009

“Thanks?”

Blessings Folk!

According to the world...at least in our society...it is the “season to be thankful.”

This brings some thoughts to mind.

Even the world acknowledges the need for thanks.

What is interesting is what is meant by this.

The world will “give thanks”, but to whom?

By definition, a giver and a receiver are implied.

The world is thankful, usually for stuff, etc. But, again, to whom are they thankful?

Perhaps they are thankful for one another. This is good, yet, is man the source of blessing?

More and more the world is thankful to man. We have rapidly reached the point that our “leadership” receives of the thanks and adulation once reserved for the Lord Himself.

Still, we know what true thanks is.

We are to give thanks unto the Lord.
Why?

There are many, many statements...here are a few…

1 Chron 16:8-11
8 Give thanks unto the Lord , call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.
10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord .
11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.
KJV

1 Chron 16:34-35
34 O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.
KJV

Ps 97:12
12 Rejoice in the Lord , ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
KJV

Ps 105:1
O give thanks unto the Lord ; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
KJV

Ps 106:1
Praise ye the Lord . O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
KJV

Let us do so with every breath.

Remember, the will of God is for us to give thanks. Don’t believe that? Give heed to these rapid-fire commandments. Let us determine to live so…

1 Thess 5:14-23
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
16 Rejoice evermore.
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
19 Quench not the Spirit.
20 Despise not prophesyings.
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
KJV

Now, we have a “thankful” deal for you!

We have significantly lowered the digital download version of the Victory Park CD “Without New Words.”

You can download the entire CD for 5 dollars. Just this weekend!
Such a deal! Happy
Go to this website...just click the link.
http://www.digstation.com/victorypark

Click the “buy” button.

After the download you can listen on your computer, burn a cd for the car, transfer to your IPod/mp3 player/phone etc.

Fear not if you have never “downloaded” music. It is easy.

The world exalts “Black Friday” sales and the like, but we are not of the world.
We are of light, not of darkness!

So, check it out.

Also, if you would rather have the actual physical CD you can order it from here…
http://www.cdbaby.com/victorypark

Makes a good gift. Happy

Let us continue to walk in thankfulness unto the Lord and rejoice in Him.

Blessings!!



November 18, 2009

“D, D, D”

Blessings Folk!!

This week in our local Bible studies we studied one of my favorite portions of the Word.

We are studying 1 Samuel (will begin 2 Samuel the second week of January...locals come join us).

We are now learning ‘bout Saul, David, Jonathan, etc.

David was anointed King when he was around the age of 12...we don’t know the exact age...but, he was young.

He did not “ascend to the throne” until he was 30.

Hummmm...do I see a parallel with Jesus? Remember that David is a “type” of Jesus. We see things in the life of David that point toward Messiah...anyway…

The Lord was “training” David in this 18 year period, and thereafter.

Saul had placed David over his guard.
David was Saul’s son-in-law.
David was faithful to Saul.
The people loved David.

Yet, Saul grew in hatred toward David and sought to kill him (a picture of how the “religious” react to those whose hearts are directed toward God...but, I digress)

David finally had to flee Saul. Many chapters in 1 Samuel cover this time of Saul’s pursuit of David. Our passage today is a vignette from the period.

Read this carefully.
Note the setting.
Note what happens.
Note who is involved.


1 Sam 22:1-2
1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.
2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

KJV

Just a quick step-by-step…

David escaped and was in a cave. He was trying to hide. Somewhat humorous. He was trying to hide, yet 400 men found him. Tough to hide with your entourage growing. Some commentators say that David was “raising an army.” This is not true. The men found David. They would soon grow to a force of 600 men.

David’s brothers and all his father’s house heard where he was and came to him.
Not to comfort him.
Not to visit.
I suspect it was to save their own necks.
If Saul was after David, we can be assured that his family was not safe.
A few verses later we see that David provides for the protection of his parents...with the Moabites!
His brothers apparently stayed with him.

Now look at the details of the men that came to David.

They gathered themselves unto David.
Why?

They were distressed.
They were in debt.
They were discontented.

Look familiar?
Sounds like most of us.

These folk were experiencing exactly that of which the Lord had warned.
The Lord had told them, through Samuel, that “if you want a king, then here is what he will do…”
All of it was coming true.

They were distressed.

The King was taking much from the people.

They were in debt.

They realized that something was very wrong.
They knew that the path that Israel was on was leading to destruction.

They were discontented.

In light of this, they turned to David.

They fled with him.
They fought with him.
They knew that the Spirit of the Lord was with him.

Again, David is a “picture” of the Lord.

This does not mean that David was perfect...whoa...far from it…
We see that he lies.
We see that he seeks his own way.
We’ll see more later…

Yet, his heart was after God.

That is where many of us are today.

We are distressed.
We are in debt.
We are discontented.

We are distressed with what we are seeing…
We are reaping the fruit of the world’s approach to debt…
We are discontented with that which passes for “church”, “religion”.

Deliverance is found in the Lord and in Him alone.

We must turn to Him.

Seek no other way.

One last observation.

David became captain over them.
David had already been anointed as King.
He did not declare himself leader.
He knew his time was coming.
He also knew not to seek it by his own hand.

Here is the principle for us…
True leadership is raised up by God, not by man.
People will acknowledge true leadership from the Lord.
Sadly, this is not the case in most portions of the Body of Christ today.
For the most part we “call”, “hire”, “assign” leadership.
We lead by position or status rather than by the Spirit.
Continue to allow the Lord to reveal His Truth to you...

Blessings!

The new Victory Park CD, “Without New Words”, is now available for purchase through CDBaby. This is where you can buy the actual, physical CD.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/victorypark

Will be available on ITunes soon...Amazon also….digital download and CD.

Of course, if you live locally, you can find the CD at Moxie’s, Yates Bookstore and Johnny’s BBQ.

You can also download it at…
http://www.digstation.com/VictoryPark

Spread the word! We appreciate all the help.

If you already have the CD, take a moment to write a review at the CDBaby site...that would be most helpful…especially if you like it. Happy Happy

Makes a wonderful present...ho, ho, ho.