“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!”

Pure as He is pure? Is that possible? It is not only possible, it is expected!

We are to be like Him. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. ³And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3: 2-3)

So how do we purify ourselves when we are already pure? Are we?

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, ¹⁷  comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NASB).

Did God and Jesus intend far more by introducing us to grace, grace as a concept versus just a gift, a priceless gift yes, never the less far more than a gift? This concept has a future intent, a “good hope” not yet achieved, according to 1 John3:2-3 above.

As God’s children, do we know of grace in terms of His experience, His use of grace, the example He set, the teachings, to adopt that grace which has drawn us to Him, that others might be drawn? “Well sure Michael, Jesus wants everybody to receive Him, to receive grace.”

What about this? Did grace enable His own departure and resurrection, proving how critical it is to us also? Remember, all of His examples of grace were of grace granted not received. That is, except for one instance, where I believe it is now clear that He received grace.

Paul said, “We are saved by grace through faith…” (Eph 2:8 NASB) Do we see the duality of grace, the grace that saves us?

We are first initially “saved” by receiving grace through believing in Jesus as our personal Savior, there after we maintain that purified, cleansed, and righteous, relationship to God as if we implement what we have learned about grace from our Lord Jesus, and He showed us primarily how to grant it!

What we now call “getting saved,” undoubtedly because Paul referred to it in that term, Paul more specifically calls it getting “reconciled” back to God in his letter to the Roman church. This verse reflects the duel use of grace.

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10 (NASB)

Paul declares a two stage relationship to God, the initial (gift) of reconciliation and then the lifetime responsibility, under the Lordship of Jesus, to purify ourselves via the help of the Holy Spirit who brings to remembrance the Words of Jesus, and by them helps us become pure as we obediently keep our eyes, hearts and actions focused on Jesus and what He taught us; resulting in salvation, according to Paul. We remain pure which we must pursue all of our renewed lives.

“Pure as He is pure?” Yes! Why put a requirement out of our reach? Stop looking at your weaknesses and grasp His strength! He has given us everything pertaining to life and Godliness! (2 Peter 1:3 NASB)

Paul also wrote in his letter to Titus, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, [first] by the washing of regeneration, and [second] renewing of the Holy Ghost….” Titus 3:5 (KJV) [ ] added for clarity.

Phase 1, Strongs 3824 NT “Regeneration”: palingenesia, from <G3825> (palin) and <G1078> (genesis); (spiritual) rebirth (the state or the act), i.e. (figurative) spiritual renovation; specially Messianic restoration : regeneration. Webster’s renovate: to make as good as new. This is a rebirth, as new babes, sinless, cleansed, washed by the blood, purified if you will, given a new chance live our remaining lives righteously by grace.

How do we? We are still in these bodies, we have the same memories, we have carnal attitudes? We are new yet we must become new? Yes. Made pure we must remain pure by purifying ourselves daily from the muck and mire of this life. We are the restored 1967 GTO that must be maintained diligently. How do we do that, to be pure as He is pure?

Phase 2, “…renewing of the Holy Ghost ” This next stage in Titus 3:5 is different and takes place after being reborn. It is a process of making new that is an equipping of the new born, fitting him with different understanding. Why the two stages? Because we still have our flesh and our world yet to resist. We are new but our flesh does not know that!

What was once our impaired judgment becomes repaired, via new understanding provided by Jesus. The revelation of the enduring love of the kingdom is in the light of Christ’s Ways, His Truth and Light; by Jesus’ life as Paul was quoted earlier.

This phase is the saving, the purifying process, the renewing that follows and is expected after reconciliation, it is critical dare I say mandatory preparation for actual salvation. If my love can gracefully endure this world and its predicted onslaught then I win against lawlessness, I shall be saved according to Jesus. This gate is narrow. It takes preparation to pass thru.

The Holy Spirit is our guide, leading us into all truth.  So,…we first have a born again experience, then we have an educational relationship that equips us with everything pertaining to life and Godliness. This process will purify us if we adopt it in obedience to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Yes we too will learn obedience by the things we suffer, but so did Jesus. This is not optional. Heaven and the Peaceful kingdom is inhabited by the obedient. The danger to us is, we have a will and that is what is being tested. This test has nothing to do with whether God loves us or not. HE DOES. Do we love Him? Do we fear Him?

“No, no testing…Christ died for me!” So, no race to run, no working out your salvation with fear and trembling? Yes my friend He did die for you. He died so you could have a second life/chance here, a better life, a purified life obtained by the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness; a tested life, a life that will be admissible into heaven, your next life.

You are not in heaven yet are you? Neither am I. He died for us so we could live for Him. He has made us able to do that by the renewing that we must embrace and grip as though our life depended on it. Which it does. Even His did!

Why such a grip? His return is closer than ever before. Look at the news. Shadow governments? Isn’t this a threat to the constitution! That was called treason at one time. Is a former president behind this threat by pre-planned emplacements and rule changes within the bureaucracy in the last days of his presidency? Is that treasonous? Yes it is. Those within the bureaucracy who help in this betrayal are traitors to the constitution and have violated their oaths of allegiance and secrecy. Why would they do that? Our constitution is to be cast aside by these progressive globalists. We saw evidence of that in decisions and actions so profound that we voted the bums out. The oath to protect the constitution is never abated. We hear of people attempting to unseat a fairly elected President, and that even has gained a name, a “soft” coup d’ etat? Our religious freedom is next. “Darkness is coming when no man can work.” John 9:4 NASB

Are we seeing the times we are in? How do these things and the news make you feel, a little hatred going on there maybe? Wouldn’t blame you at all but you might as well have let the devil shoot you in the head. Anger, bitterness and hatred are his weapons. You are dead already until you repent and intercede for the souls of your enemies from your heart. You protect yourself by doing so, just as Jesus did.

Is it hopeless? Maybe, if this world’s restoration is our goal. On the other hand if heaven is our goal…? If we are in the beginning of a reprieve we had better make it count! Souls are filled with hatred and death. Some of them are us.

Remember the crucifixion of Christ helped Him accomplish His departure! Luke 9:31, ACCOMPLISH? Yes!

General Patton told the Airborne troops before D-Day, “Forget about home, consider yourselves dead already…”

As we see the darkness closing in, we again are on the verge of one of the greatest battles in history. A battle fought by grace and love to spare as many as possible from a death force God Himself will unleash upon the stumbling blocks within mankind’s number. (Matthew 13:41, 18:7)

We are responsible to wash ourselves so our identity is seen and our deliverance is sure whenever it takes place.

Do I have a blessed hope? Yes I do. Do I hope for that which I possess? No I hope for that which I expect in faith as I “pursue peace with all men and the sanctification, without which NO ONE will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14-15 NASB) By this I purify myself as He is pure.

“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:7 (KJV) We “should be made heirs” but will we be? Grace is God’s by-directional, two sided coin of the realm that justifies us.

Now reconciled to God, I am justified in life because of the grace I grant! As I grant grace, God is faithful to grant me more grace. As I forgive, He forgives me. That is the concept, the Good News. You simply have to obey the rule. You get what you give, from God. He has entrusted grace to His children, to purify His children and hopefully others.

We receive grace as a debtor, we grant it as a favored child of the King.

Speaking of purified, was Jesus ever not pure?  BLASPHEMY!!! Really? Don’t be so sure! It is actually GLORIOUS! He does show us the Way to be pure doesn’t He? How better to show us than from His greatest moment of weakness.  Experience is a hard teacher for Him as well as those who seek to follow Him.

I love the Lord and He loves me. By His mercy and grace I will praise Him forever.

See  “Pure as He is pure? Is that possible?” Part 2

“If we remain in His grip, how far from His heart can we be!”

In the guardianship of Christ,

Michael

    Exit Strategy

   We initiate the return of Christ!  (The E-book)

Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, many others and around the world. $6.99

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!”

So, government is the hand of God?

“Love does no wrong to his neighbor.” (Romans 10:13 NASB) If wrong is defined by both the victim and the perpetrator then wrong is subjective not objective. It is skewed, slanted, biased and therefore not defined at all because objectivity is the goal so both parties are subject to it and therefore “fair” being unbiased or prejudiced. This is one reason why government is the hand of God.

Definitions of wrong and right were meant to be standardized to resolve conflict. God gave Moses those definitions. Later on, because man had confused some of those instructions, through Jesus of Nazareth, God gave clarification to help mankind get back on track. One may not believe in God but the objectivity of the rules He has made known to us certainly reveal His entity and identity.

Mankind seldom is objective on his own. We had a need for help because our judgment was impaired. God knew from Adam and Eve that our judgment needed to be repaired. So, again He spoke through a man and then through men, and then through an uncountable number of people. Today in your hearing, He is speaking again.

So, again how can we know “Government is the hand of God?”

I have heard it said on TV and not just FOX that the enemy has a theocratic government and the religion of this theocracy believes an unyielding unbeliever must die. There is an implied opposition to a theocracy also. Yet for the most part, as a nation, we embrace the phrase, “In God we trust.”

So who is defining wrong today? Our enemies are for sure. Are we as a nation or have those definitions become subjective? There is a world wide fight over those definitions. It is not for territory. It is over definitions of wrong. Subjective definitions embolden one party against another.

To fight the fight we must fight, as a nation, we must now re-declare, from the top, an allegiance to the God that we as a nation recognize. The pilgrims knew Him. Our Founding Fathers knew Him. We however previously elected a man who does not know Him. He and Leaders before him had agendas that excluded God or included Him only as a mask of acceptability.

The last administration, renounced God as our nations one and only God. “We are not a Christian nation, … not just. We are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, ….” (Barack Obama) Each of those religions have there own definitions of wrong! That puts our nation in submission to a subjective, skewed, or biased, a prejudiced set of definitions. This opens America up to criticism and makes us a target of those who are more zealous of their definitions (of wrong) which foment aggressive acts endorsed by other aspects of their belief system. Man is fighting one wrong over another, claiming divine authority. America has renounced divine authority in separating God from State.

Fighting fire with fire, we must now take or more correctly re-take a Theocratic position also. This is the only stance our enemies understand. It is their language, so to speak. Don’t we know from history that their god has been defeated over the centuries by our God? They know that, but we have forsaken our God, proving to them that their “wrongs” are right. As relatives of Esau this is their unavoidable quandary.

“In God we trust.” Now that is a Theocratic stance. Our conflict is religious at heart, within and without. I suppose they feel they will be run over by us, “the great Satan,” so they, the militants, are taking the offensive.

The other (non-militant) Muslim’s can afford to wait and see how it all shakes down, they win either way. Their religion hates our nation’s immorality. They should. God does also. Yes, our God. “Well, many in America do not believe in God and want to choose their own way.”  So, THEY are to set the course of our nation??? Are we doomed or what?

WAKE UP FOLKS, they already have!!! “Well yeah Mike but we just defeated the unbelievers.”  Did we now?

Let’s get down to it as we are “flash banged” by the evening news.

The election of Donald Trump was a reprieve from a more immediate destruction. We seem to be waking up as a nation, or are we?

The government might return to its proper stance “under God” if the government and churches as real followers of Jesus of Nazareth will stand firm in the renewing process we so desperately need. We can not just walk this out. We need to run like crazy toward our forsaken homestead and the Father that is waiting. We are a prodigal nation!

Think of this. Government is a minister of God for good. That is a quote! “… for it [government] is a minister of God to you for good. (Romans 13:4A NASB) [added for clarity]

“… for conscience sake…” (Romans 13:5) Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection for conscience’ sake. Wrath is also a concern. (Romans 13:4B)

A ministry of God? Be in subjection to it? For conscience sake or else wrath is coming? Sounds like we better have the right government if we are to obey it and God! It better be a righteous government, otherwise we mourn!

“But Mike, there have been terrible governments in the world, horrific leaders that took people into hell via death and carnage; including ours!”  Oh Yes. If they could be led astray they were. If they could be victimized, they were. If retribution was their plight, God ordained it, even if God used them as enemies to trouble, to herd His children back to Him. Those straying nations were personified by the governments they chose, until it was too late. Judgment came. The Hebrews experienced this also.

After a heated discussion recently I conclude that the legislation of moral principles is an extension of God’s already established principles. Authority (government) has an obligation to serve the One who grants that authority. It is not man voting who grants it. Voting simply reveals the heart of a man or his nation. God goes from there according to our choice.

“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” (Romans 13:1 NASB)

Will God allow us to choose the unrighteous to lead us? Yes He will and He will use that government to trouble us back to a righteous choice.

Now get this. God just declared Mr. Trump as the right choice. It took trouble for us to do it but He did so with the election of President Trump, his policies and the RNC platform. It is pro God, pro-life, anti-threats, anti-globalism, (which would kill millions or billions if given the chance), pro-nationalism, (again an anti-globalist position), pro-America and it keeps going.

This is why the Word says, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” Proverbs 29:2 (KJV) Rejoice why, because righteousness is good. In a righteous atmosphere all will be treated according to their own choices, choices governed or potentially influenced by the rules established by the government; as well as religious establishments.

There can never be any successful separation of God and state! By the righteous governance our nation can be looked upon with favor by God, by following His rules. Other religions can be here but One must be declared allegiance to as a nation for wrongs to be uniformly understood.

Paul writes, ^“for it [government] is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it [government] does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.” (Romans 13:4 (NASB) Yes folks, that is government according to Paul.

So what about government? “Thou shall not kill (murder)!” (Exodus 20:13 ASV) Any government or person that kills unrighteously is an enemy of God. If government supports unrighteous policy like abortion, it is an enemy of God, as is the nation that elected it. If it supports or promotes a life-style that God speaks against, it is an enemy of God, by encouraging a separation from Godly ways, by redefining “wrong.” If man and his ungodly wishes move the hand of government instead of God, that government is an enemy of God, as well as that nation and its majority. The enemy of God is unrighteousness in whatever form it takes. God defines unrighteousness by defining righteousness! God provides grace to the repentant, be it a person or a nation!

Seeking righteousness, insisting on righteousness, willing righteousness into our government as well as our own heart is the only way to have God as our ally. This is why I posted “Eve of Destruction 1 & 2.” There is no lasting future for America if we do not will righteousness back into our system of government. Without it we are an enemy nation of God, a prodigal, dead to his father. We can however come to our senses and run, not walk, home!

Without an obvious pursuit of righteousness our enemy thinks they are serving God by destroying us. Jesus said, “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.” (John 16:2-4 (NASB)

This conflict has always been. It is between Jacob’s and Esau’s. Only the righteousness of God wins. This is a religious conflict between two beliefs and it distracts from another darker agenda that is meant to doom both our religion and our individual countries. This agenda will attempt to eliminate the “conflict of the ages” by bring all religions into a one world religion. While we weaken ourselves in conflict and societal turmoil this other foe named “Globalism” watches, hoping we will destroy each other. Yes and we may if we do not heed the warning and the reprieve we have been granted.

Of all the times for Russia and America to be better friends, it is NOW. In spite of the past leadership of either country, at heart, we are both Christian nations. The days of total atheism are gone in Russia. Believers are everywhere. Like in America, some believers are not very strong but then many are. Israel also is more Christian than we know and even if it were not so, God says to watch out over her in His name anyway.

The men in power right now, if they truly believe the scriptures, will dance around but will not attack or forsake Israel. Our countries need each other to stand against globalism. Each government is the hand of God in service in each of their nations. Be it for good or for evil is up to them. God will win either way. The fear of one nation of another can be assuaged via God.

Americans look at President Trump, some with unwarranted or even fabricated outrage and many others with a new hope. In this I think about a lowly donkey and how precious that donkey was to Balaam, after he saved Balaam’s life. Read Numbers 22: 22-35. What a great story. Our nation has been hell bent for destruction. Maybe you will see the honoring similarity.

As a patriot, President Trump is trying to save us as he tries to save America. Are some of us so blind that like Balaam we do not see it? Are we beating the donkey that is trying to protect us? Yes in fact some are.

If God is for Mr. Trump, who can be against him? How many years has it been since a politician has lifted up God as our protector? Surely government IS meant to be the ministry of God for our good, scripture says so. We must choose righteousness for that to happen pleasantly. We must support righteous biblical standards which must be legislated by government as a reflection of a people that see God as a guard rail between our nation and the chasm of unrighteous destruction. God’s definitions of right and wrong benefit all who embrace them. There is no successful government without God, no successful nation without a Godly government.

“If we remain in His grip, how far from His heart can we be!”

In the guardianship of Christ,

Michael

    Exit Strategy

   We initiate the return of Christ!  (The E-book)

Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, many others and around the world. $6.99