When I Wake Up

Psa 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Soon, all believers will awake to sleep no more. Oh, how our senses shall operate in full capacity when we awake in the likeness of our Savior.

The sights and sounds, the smells and textures that await us on heaven's bright shore are unattainable to our present dull abilities to experience.

But greatest of all will be to behold the face of our wonderful God in righteousness. At present, it is impossible for us to see the face of God and live. But there, we shall never die and will never have enough of seeing the face of the Lord.

Lord, hasten that glad day when we wake up to sleep no more.

Blessings Here and Pleasure Hereafter

The Path and the Pleasure

Psa 16:11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Down here there is a path, upon which I am led
It runs beside still waters, in green pastures I am fed.

And all the while I know, in Him I can confide
The joy of His sweet Spirit dwells deep down inside.

In His presence there is such fullness of happiness
But yonder in the heavens pleasures always tend to bless.

So I serve my gracious Lord and Savior each and every day
Looking on His love and favor He will keep me in the way.

Til one day I reach that land where sorrows never come
No tears, no death, no danger, neither Satan's sibilant hum.

I will safe there be with God, the Father, Spirit, Son
Finished with the vale of sorrows, hearing Him say, "Child, well done!"

No Holiday for Fools

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

Psa 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Poor foolish infidels! They have no One to praise for their blessings on Thanksgiving. At Advent, their manger lies empty, devoid of divinity. Their calls to "Dial-a-Prayer" go unanswered. Presidents Day is a misery due to the strong faith of Washington and Lincoln. Martin Luther King day honors a preacher. St. Patrick's the same. Why, even New Year's is tied to the year of our Lord. Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, etc. are way too overtly religious. Even Halloween holds no charm for them, for they know nothing of the supernatural.

Alas, only one holiday holds any promise for them whatsoever, the first day of April. 'Tis their special un-holiday.

I have a favor to ask!!!

Would you please click on "follow" on the right of the page so that I might pray for you?

I know I have friends who are viewing our post in Russia, Sierra Leon, China, Australia, the Netherlands and in several other countries. You honor me greatly by reading my blog!

Blessings,

Pastor Gary Fuller

Hello to all my dear friends in Russia!!!

The Full Bounty

Psa 13:5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
Psa 13:6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Let's imagine that you feel the Lord has forgotten you, that He has hidden His face from you. Pretend that your heart is laden daily with sorrow, that you have enemies on every hand, they knock you down and stand over you, taunting you. Your eyes are so weary from crying that you think they are going to close in death. Now that, my friend is some serious sorrow and depression! Yet, that is how David was dealing with life at this particular time.

But that is not the end of the story. David makes a key choice in the midst of his depression. He chose to trust in the mercy of God and rejoice in the fact that he is saved.

Trusting and rejoicing cause David to do something wonderful, he begins singing praises to God. And the theme of his song? The fullness of God's bounty to him. That is Thanksgiving at its finest. Praise amidst depression.

America, in Danger of Hell Fire

Psa 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Even with a godly heritage, our once great nation is in imminent danger of damnation.

On the positive side of the ledger, I see the following:

A foundation that was rich in Christian values. Wallbuilders.org will supply any inquiring mind all the information required to ascertain whether the founders of our country were Christians, deists, agnostics or atheists. Fact: America was established as a Christian nation.

A heart for the less fortunate. What other nation, with the ability to annihilate its foes, instead rebuilds their nations and supports them after the battles are done? What other nation pours tens of billions of dollars into struggling nations, even those that hate their benefactor? Which nation always leads the way in outpouring of relief dollars and resources for areas stricken by disaster? America has been, and still is to some extent, a big-hearted nation made up of good-hearted people.

A church-going nation. On any given Sunday, the largest proportion of church attendees anywhere in the world is right here in the good old US of A. There may not be enough gospel in some of those churches to fill a thimble, but those folks are trying to find a way to connect with their Creator.

A missions-hearted, missionary-sending country. From the Mayflower Pact, drawn up, ratified and signed while still in the bay before its unlading, to the missions boards of today, there is no greater missions-minded, missions-supporting people in the world than the Americans. We sacrifice to ensure that the gospel reaches the farthest corner of the globe.

But, there is also the negative side of the ledger.

Abortion, our legalized genocide of 1.5 million innocents per annum, no doubt, continues to draw the ire and wrath of Heaven.

Sodomy. The strutting sissies have bashed the nation over its head with their purses until our brains have gone soft. Now, "gay" marriage, civil unions, special rights for homos, anti-hate ordinances, ad nausea, are the rule of the times.

Allow me to quickly enumerate the some of the others: greed, crime, corruption, deceit, gang-banging, hatred, hypocrisy, heresy, satanism, epicureanism, back-biting, libel, hatred, blasphemy, sexual deviance of all kinds... well the list goes on.

We have Satan and his emissaries to thank for their propagation and proliferation of these dark vices which will eventually drag our nation to hell. We have, in large part, forgotten God.

We stand in need of revival and renewal and it will not start with the guy down the street. It starts with you, dear reader, right here and right now. Humbly come before God, turning from your wickedness to embrace holiness. Fall back on your knees for regular and prolonged sessions with the Lord. Consume ample amounts of the Bible and appropriate and assimilate God's message into your life and actions. Seek the Lord's face with all your heart, soul, mind and body.

If your nation goes to hell, so be it. But don't allow it to happen because you haven't been revived and haven’t done your dead level best to win those in your sphere of influence, that they would not forget God and be turned into hell.

How Excellent is Thy Name! (and how inefficient our ability to express praise)

Psa 8:1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
Psa 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
Psa 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Psa 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psa 8:5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
Psa 8:7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
Psa 8:8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
Psa 8:9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

I love this psalm. It comes as near as words can possibly express the glory that is due our great Creator.

And if man, with earthly tongue and quill can express this heartfelt praise of the Holy One, how much more shall our new tongues glorify the Lord in His very presence!

Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing a for a thousand hands to raise in honor to the King.

Four Fingers Pointing Back at Me.

Psa 6:6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
Psa 6:7 Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
Psa 6:8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.

Far be it from me to say of the king, "poor David", for he sure had his faults and brought a lot of this groaning and crying upon himself. The Lord promised him that the sword would not pass from his house. Sure enough, there was plenty of infighting and other misbehavior on the part of his kids.

Also, we find David doing a lot of complaining about his enemies. So would I if people were constantly harassing me, trying to depose me from my God-given throne, and even making attempts on my life.

But you gotta realize that his enemies made themselves so not just because David touted the things of the Lord, but because of the hypocrisy involved.

Imagine if your pastor or your president had committed adultery with the neighbor's wife and then had the husband jackpotted in battle, resulting in his death. Imagine him saying, for the next several weeks, "I never had sex with that woman!" When the truth was about to be known by way of a pregnant Bathsheba. And then, witness him being extremely harsh, even demanding the life of a made up tyrant a la Rev. Nathan, not realizing that "he was the man."

Honestly, we would have little grace toward a leader like that. We would want them run out of town on a rail after being tarred and feathered.

And yet, we read, Psa 6:8b ...for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.
Psa 6:9 The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
Psa 6:10 Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

Did you catch that? When everyone else gives up on a person, God doesn't. When we disqualify an individual, God re-qualifies them. He is the God of the second (and third and fourth and five hundredth) chance!

I can relate. There is no reason I should still be sucking air. I wonder why I don't have as many enemies as David, considering all my faults and foibles. But David was a better repenter than he was a sinner. God is a good and merciful God, pardoning iniquity when forgiveness is undeserved.

To boot, God goes on to call this king, "a man after God's own heart." The press must have had a heyday at David's expense. His enemies must have been livid that their efforts against him were foiled. But God delighted in granting him mercy and heavenly favor.

Ditto for me. Thank you, Lord!

Reason to Rejoice

Psa 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Psa 5:12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Don't you remember the old days of sci-fi when every space ship and many super heroes had a force field? That invisible shield that popped into place at the push of a button or at the whim of a voice command? Now that was really keen!

Praise God for the reality of the force field of the believer, the shield of favor that surrounds each of those made righteous by the blood of Christ.

Ah yes, we are safe in the hand of Jesus, Who is held in the hand of the Father, then wrapped and sealed in the Holy Spirit and then guarded by angels too boot!

And because we are defended by our Sovereign we need to ever shout for joy. AND, one day soon, the transporter will be activated and we will be made immortal in the blink of an eye.

The Sci-Fi Channel can only dream of such stuff!

The God Who Deserves Our Thanks

Psa 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

Starting the first of January, and until yesterday, I have blogged through the Bible. A hundred and seventy five posts later and I have made it all the way from Gen 1:1 to Rev 22:21. It has been a tremendous blessing to me to focus on a verse or a passage almost daily and mine a nugget or two from the depths of the Word. Just know that, as thankful as I am that someone might happen upon my thoughts in these blogs, and I hope you are blessed, but they are primarily for my benefit. I am journaling what God has given me day by day.

I am not sure where I am headed now in my studies of Scripture, I am still praying about that. However, Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I am in a real "giving thanks" mode. So I am looking through the Psalms at the references to the word "thanksgiving."

These psalms of gratefulness come from the heart of David and Asaph, and the rest are unascribed.

Enjoy the following verses and be sure to give God thanks...

Psa 50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

Psa 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psa 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Psa 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Psa 107:22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

Psa 116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

Psa 147:7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

Little Devil Go Nighty-Night

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Ahhhh, don't you feel sorry for the poor little tempter? He has to go and be tormented for a little while, say, a few hundred million years. Then, they will stoke the fires to keep him warm for a billion more years. He's going to be so toasty in his sackcloth snuggy.

No one deserves this eternal pampering more than Li'l Red, the inspirer of murders, father of lies, tempter of souls, author of confusion and purveyor of pride.

No one will be happier for lucky little Lucifer than me. I may even throw a hallelujah party in honor of his good fortune. He's going to have a hot time in the old town!

Well, until he gets to his new home, here's hoping his every plan is confused and every device is thwarted.

"...but now thou art tormented and he is comforted."

In reading the events of the tribulation period, I am struck by the discomfort, yea, the torment of the unbeliever. Imagine, there is no relief, no comfort, no refuge for the one who has rejected Christ.

Then, I think of the poor, suffering Christians on earth at this time who are suffering unimaginable persecution. One day soon, heaven will be theirs, with all of its comfort and consolation.

Soon, all will be changed. Trust Christ while you may!

Demon Locusts

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Rev 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

A little something in store for the God-haters.

Pardon the interruption!

Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Greetings, Earth dwellers. Sorry to interrupt your meaningless existence. You need to know that Heaven is offended by your impudence. You have ignored Heaven's laws and spurned its love. You have blindly gone about your lives of nothingness, ignorant of truth, content to feed on wicked frivolity.

The Son of Righteousness visited your planet to save you from the penalty of breaking God's laws, but you rejected Him. He has offered you forgiveness, extended His patience and granted you much mercy. But you go on in your worship of self and pleasure.

Heretofore, Heaven has winked at your ignorance.

But the offer was for a limited time, only a few days remain. Soon you will hear an angelic voice from the skies proclaiming Woe, woe, woe! Much discomfort is headed your way. The conveniences of your life will soon be only a memory. There will not be a place you can hide from the wrath you have bought with your indifference to Heaven's grace. Soon, flipping a light switch will produce no illumination. Opening a faucet will bring forth blood red putrification. Your means of conveyance will be worthless without gasoline. The sun will scorch you when you are outside and the darkness inside will cause you to gnash your teeth. Great hailstones will crush your crops. Fierce bugs will inflict you with great pain. You will bow to the devil’s spawn for a mere morsel of sustenance. A day’s work will yield one measly loaf of bread.

Meanwhile, those who received the glorious Gospel of Christ will dwell in comfort and safety honoring the blessed Three-in-One.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled secular lives. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow….

Speak to Me, Trump of God!

Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

It has been 1920 years since Gabriel has talked to anybody with his trumpet. I am sure he has been practicing a plenty, but the anticipation of the announcing archangel must be piqued.

He was quite busy making announcements there for a while, proclamation to Zacharias, message to Mary, pronouncement to Joseph, herald to the shepherds and vision to John. But for past 700,800 days he has reported to the throne for duty, trumpet in hand, ready to speak to me with his trumpet. But the response has gone from, "Be patient" to "One of these years" to "Soon, Gabe!" to "Better get your embouchure in shape" to "Shine up the trumpet and empty the spit valve!"

Hold on......

Sorry, thought I heard a brassy sound up in the clouds there for a moment. Guess it was just wishful thinking this time.

Our Church in Heaven

Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Sometimes we feel our little local church small and insignificant. This is not at all the case. In heaven, our church is signified by a candlestick, used to light our area. It is granted a star, which is the angel of that church, or its messenger. This is probably the pastor.

Furthermore, I see in verse 4 that there is an assigned spirit for each church before the throne representing each church. And, best of all, Jesus is walking in the midst of the churches.

We dare not make ourselves of the number which compare ourselves among ourselves, measuring ourselves against other churches. II Cor 10:12 In the case of churches, size is not a real factor, but the brightness of the light, the measure of love for Christ and souls and faithfulness to God is.

True, gospel-preaching, soul-saving, Jesus loving churches are a treasure of heaven, attended by the Jesus, gifted with angels and empowered by the Spirit.

We must not sell ourselves short.

I'll Meet You in the Rapture!

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

The words "shortly come to pass" can be taken two different ways. It can mean that the events will unfold in a quick manner or that they will happen soon.

Seeing as how this revelation was penned a couple of millennia ago, the first rendering seems to carry more weight. However, due to chronology, we know that never have we been so close to the time of the revelation.

Chapters two and three give us an overview of the church age. Actually, there is a 3-fold interpretation of the letters written to the 7 churches of Asia. A direct, literal sense, a prophetic sense and a general sense.

The secondary interpretation puts us on the very cusp of what happens in chapter 4, verse 1. After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

The Laodecean age of the church, in which the overall health of churches is summed up by Luke warmness, is in full operation. The whole "rich, increased with goods, need of nothing, but wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked" description is more apt than ever among the churches of God.

As bad as that is, it does portend that we will soon be hearing a trumpet talking with us saying, "Come up hither."

Therefore, these things may very well shortly come to pass. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Should I Weep?

Zec 7:3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, 5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

Wow! A scheduled time of weeping. And most believers can't even do it impromptu.

Why should we weep? Our sins have offended heaven. Our nation is on the verge of judgment. Souls are dying without the Savior.

Perhaps we should plan a time of weeping and fasting.

Is the Seed Yet in the Barn?

Hag 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

Because the remnant of Judah, left in the land during the captivity in Babylon, dwelt on their own interests, rather than on the things of the Lord, The land had experienced drought.

Now, God is preparing to do a great thing for His people. He is readying them for revival if they will rebuild the house of the Lord.

But they were holding back from sowing seed. They would reap even fewer grapes, figs, pomegranates and olive than before because their recent drought experience taught them to be miserly in their planting. Why waste seed if it will result in little or nothing?

But when the curse of sin is removed and God heals the land, the seed will be multiplied and fruitfulness abounds.

So, the advice of the Lord though His prophet Haggai was to take the seed out of the barn and sow bountifully. You reap what you sow! Paul tells us in II Cor 9:6, "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

Have you been keeping the seed in the barn? Have you felt it a waste of time and resources to get the Word of the Lord into the field? Isn't it about time get our eyes off ourselves and onto the fields? Shouldn't we trust the Lord to bless our sowing and reaping efforts?

Seed in the barn does absolutely no good, so tell someone today about the gospel. In fact, tell several someones! God can only bless our acts of faith. He will do nothing if we don't sow. Is your seed yet in the barn?

The Pure Eyes of God

Hab 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Why should One as holy and just as He,
Look upon one so sinful as me?

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold sin,
Yet, thou watchest over failing men.

Though thou searchest our hearts and holdest our reigns,
Our wretchedness requireth the purity of thy blood stains.

Thank thee, oh Holy Father for thy lovingkindness,
Undeserving we are, in all our worldliness.

And in the End, God!

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

We begin the Bible with these words, "In the beginning, God..."

The minor prophet Micah lays before us a dark scenario owed to the evil works of God's chosen people. Each chapter exposes Israel and Judah for their treacherous deeds. All seems hopeless and lost.

Sin is like that, the end of it is always death. But then God Almighty steps in and grants a glimmer of hope. In chapter 5, verse 2, the Remedy for sin is introduced; "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

God's answer for sin is Jesus. Only through His Son can we find pardon for our iniquity. Only by Him can our transgression be passed by. The anger of our holy, just God is assuaged because He delighteth in mercy through His beloved Son.

We too stand in need of compassion, of having our iniquities subdued and our sins cast into the depths of the sea.

Our sins are every bit as dark as those we witness in the book of Micah, but the same Remedy is available to us. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Thank God for the wonderful ending to a sad book. In the end, God!