“I am a beautiful island sanctuary: My waves are reaching out to you. My beloved, won’t you let Me in? I am ever-present and ever-willing to heal, for My mercy endures forever. My waves are incessant.” (from Tears from a Lonely God – 25: Sands of the Soul.)

I thank God that His mercy endures forever! I am so thankful that no matter how many times I seem to mess things up, Jesus is always waiting with outstretched arms to restore me back into fellowship with Him.

Some people will give you a second chance; some say that the third time’s a charm; sevens are lucky; cats have nine lives; but the mercy of God endures forever! So long as we are repentant, we simply can’t wear Him out.

Psalm 118

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.

They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.

They compassed me about like bees: they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.

Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.

The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.

The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.

The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.

The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.

Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:

This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.

The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

“Here is the perversity of sin: for you would work and toil your entire life for My cause, yet you will not so much as begin to seek the very one for whom you labor.” (taken from Tears from a Lonely God – Chapter One: Seek My Face.)

I’m convinced that God does not want busybodies, running around trying their very best to do what they believe is in God’s best interest. Rather, I think that God is looking for those that are willing to stop and consider who God is, what pleases Him, and what He actually has planned for a person’s life.

It is much easier, and the work much more heartfelt and sincere, when your boss is someone you care about, and your employer is one whose missions and objectives you intimately understand and follow.

“Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” -Jeremiah 9:23-24

Have you ever been in a building when a fire alarm goes off? I’m not talking about the tiny little smoke alarms found in houses, I’m talking about fire alarms. They’re quite startling – and loud.

I think fire alarms work in much the same way that God plans to work at the end of this world. Everyone will be sitting at ease, completely unsuspecting, and in one terrible instant, everything will be changed. All hearts will be melted, and every mind will be shocked. No matter what anyone was doing before this moment, it will all be trivial compared to the present astonishment that will take hold on every person’s life.

Anyhow, here is a message I wrote yesterday that follows along this line of thinking:

The Grand Illusion

Dear child, I will ask you one thing: if you have been born again by My Spirit, why don’t you walk in the Spirit? Why do you seek only after your own welfare? Have I not said that you should redeem this short time on earth, and do My will diligently?¹

Beloved, I uncover for you a thing that is hidden to the world: this earth shall one day pass away, and all things in it. And know this also: all works and rewards shall also be tried in this fire, to see if they will last. Not everyone that will say to me, “Lord, Lord” shall be rewarded, but those that have done the will of God.²

You do not see the urgency of this final day because it is coming as a surprise. It is coming as an alarm – a panicked and frightening alarm. A sudden alarm. A fire alarm. And if the owner of a house is vigilant and sober, he will be prepared when the alarm sounds.³ But if he is asleep, or distracted, the alarm will catch him off guard, and he will suffer great loss.

Again I say to you, you do not see the urgency of this alarm, because you do not know when it is coming. But know this assuredly: it is coming. As surely as the sun rises, so too shall this world be judged in the last fire. And where will you be?

Do you not see this impending flame? You do not, because from the beginning of your life up until now you have dwelt at ease. You have not considered that every action will be weighed, every idle word judged. For the good, done according to my will, an eternal and everlasting reward; for the bad, done in your own desires and wantonness, a consuming fire.

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” -1 Corinthians 3:13-15

Dear child, would you not be grieved and shaken up to see your entire house burned to the ground before your very eyes? And how much more frightening do you suppose it will be to see the very fabric of your life – your actions, your thoughts, and your words – being burned up and incinerated in preparation for an everlasting life in heaven?

You do not see the impending flame, because it is coming as a thief in the night.⁴ You dwell at ease, and do not consider the judgment that is to come. You consider not the weight of your actions, nor your ability to exercise your soul to do either good or evil; but also, you do not consider your own inclination to fritter away in vanity. If a mind is a terrible thing to waste, how much worse do you suppose it is to leave your life and soul eternally wasted?

How long must I bear with you? How long before you see that the only thing keeping Me from placing great grace and righteousness into your hands is the vanity and trivialities that your hands are already occupied and busy in carrying?

“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” -Luke 14:33

You do not see the urgency of judgment because it is coming in an hour that you know not. Satan, the temporary lord of this world, has blinded your eyes, and caused you to dwell at ease.⁵ “Where is the promise of His coming?” he questions. And that evil one whispers further: “How could life ever be any different than what it has been since the day that you were born? For the sun rises, and sets, and this is all that there is of life. Nothing will ever be any different than this.”⁶

And yet I say unto you, ask the dead what will become of this present life. Ask those whose souls are now in torments, if life could ever be anything more than just a sunrise, and a sunset. Or ask those that have gone to glory, and are now enjoying the beginnings of everlasting life, if their hope in the Savior was in vain?

And yet you are blinded, and faithless. You live as though the only things that matter are the things that you can see and touch.⁷ You do not consider the impending flame that is to try every man’s works. You do not consider the immense wealth that could be stored up for you in everlasting glory, and instead pursue the things of this passing world.

For sin and carnality have blinded you, and prevented you from seeing the fire that is to come. For all you see is the sun rising, and the sun setting, and think that nothing more will ever come; and this is the grand illusion, and it has deceived many. It has been a very expensive error, and has cost mankind much. My will is for you to awaken from your slumber, and dispel this illusion.

Come, you sleepers, and rouse yourself from your drowsiness. Behold the everlasting gold that awaits you. Behold the terror and eternal weight that the actions of your own life possess. And consider: one day the earth shall be clean dissolved, and why should you too suffer loss at this flame?⁸ Turn from vanity, and lay hold on My eternal rewards.

1. Ephesians 5:15-17
2. Matthew 7:21-23
3. Matthew 24:42-44
4. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
5. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
6. 2 Peter 3:3-4
7. Colossians 3:1-4
8. Isaiah 24:19-20

(Music by: Kevin MacLeod)

Don’t Look Down

Look.
Look at Me.
My child, look to Me.

Look into My eyes, and know this: I am your salvation.¹ I am your healing.

You need not understand all of what is happening, but simply that I am the answer.² Don’t look down to your own ways, but rather, look up to Mine.³ Do not look to your mire, but look to My rainbow. Do not focus on your own faults, but know the power of God. Do not look to the entanglements of sin, but rather the goodness of God.⁴

Beloved, you have crossed from death unto life. You have run off a steep cliff, and you have not fallen. You are afloat on My grace. Don’t look down.

You have run off a steep cliff; and, how can this be!? It is My salvation. Just as Peter walked out onto the water to Jesus,⁵ so too have I called you unto Myself. Don’t look down. Do not see the difficulties below, but the boundless power above.

Look at My countenance. I am your health. I am your purity. I am your strength. You need not sift them out from the hay and stubble of the world. Look unto Me, and you will have peace.⁶

1. Psalm 40:1-3
2. Acts 1:6-8
3. Isaiah 55:8-9
4. Hebrews 12:1-2
5. Matthew 14:28-29
6. Isaiah 26:3-4

Here is my latest offering:

Also, as a supplement, you can find the text version, along with some Bible verses to read, here.

“But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.” -Deuteronomy 4:20

The “iron furnace” – this was sort of a nickname given to Egypt, or rather, the type of lifestyle that the Jews of this time were subjected to while living under an oppressive rule in Egypt.

“[T]he children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.” -Exodus 2:23

Now think on your iron furnace. Each of us live in different areas, and have different lives and circumstances. Yet there is always a constant, no matter who you are: sin. Sin is found in every single human being since Adam.

“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” -1 Corinthians 15:21-22

The children of Israel were in bondage to physical masters, yet today we are in bondage to the spiritual power called sin. “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34). Though we sin in our bodies, it is our soul that has become captured by the enemy.

Look once again at your life, an iron furnace, what do you feel?

Surprisingly, you might like it.

If you do not know God, if you have not confessed your sins before His Son Jesus, you are living under the bondage of sin. You are, in a spiritual sense, just like the children of Israel; yet you may not want to change your ways. Remember, God only heard and saved His people when they cried to Him. It was only when they were discontent, and disgusted with their present condition that God looked upon them with mercy. They hated where they were, and knew that there must have been a better life than the one that they were now living.

But being a son of Adam, inheriting the curse of sin, we are simply oriented to enjoy our lives of sin – it is almost second nature to us. Yet this pleasure is only temporary, and in the end will only be swallowed up in pain! Even those who feel no remorse or regret for their selfish actions in this life will one day be judged, and then all of the happiness they once had will be forgotten, and drowned out as they are cast into a lake of fire. There is a much greater life than that of sin – and its rewards are eternal!

Even Moses, who helped free the Israelites from the grips of the Pharaoh, and of the oppression of Egypt, saw the tradeoffs:

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” -Hebrews 11:24-27

Will you forsake Egypt? Will you too turn your back to the iron furnace, and reach toward the highest goal?

He who is invisible calls out to you – can’t you hear His gentle plea?

Turn from your old ways, and trust not in your own mind. For I created heaven and earth, and do I not also know the best path for you also? For if you do not know my Son, if you have not called out His name, come to Me.

The path which you are now on is not good, though it be pleasant. For your joys are as the grass, which grows tall one day, and the next is mowed down and cast to the ground. Seek Me, and you shall have an everlasting joy, and an eternal inheritance in My family.