Maintain a Distance

Maintain a Distance

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

We know, both from the Word of God and from personal experience, that we should maintain a distance from situations and people who may lead us into temptation and sin. However, that is not the only distance we should maintain. As they were entering the Promised Land, the Lord cautioned Joshua and the Israelites to maintain a distance from the Ark of the Covenant so that they could more clearly see the path they were to follow.

Joshua 3: 1-4 “Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.''

Our nation has not passed this way before.  As believers who walk in faith, we must stand back a bit and withhold our judgement of both good and evil until we have a better perspective.  This is not a time for impulsive reaction. 

Even while mainstream media and talk show participants react in fear and the resulting anger, we cannot respond out of our own fear and anger. We must maintain a distance from ungodly emotional response.  Jesus said that He would establish His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  It is time for us to stand back, to pray for those who despitefully use us, for those who persecute us for His name’s sake (Matthew 5:44). It is time to maintain a distance in order to watch what the Lord is doing. 

It is also time for us to follow Joshua’s addition instruction: “And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you'' (Joshua 3:5).

To sanctify is to set apart for the purposes of God.  Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” 

To sanctify ourselves, we must, in spite of the situation and those around us, act justly even when others do not.  We must desire and pray for the mercy of God in our lives and in the lives of others. We must humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and allow Him to lift us up (James 4:10).

It is time for us to sanctify ourselves, to maintain a holy distance, and to watch what the Lord has done, is doing and will continue to do.

These Are the Days of Elijah

These Are the Days of Elijah

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Remember the song “These Are the Days of Elijah” by Robin Mark? The Lord has again taken me on a journey through the lyrics of the song and through the life of Elijah. Elijah was a confronter. He confronted Ahab and Jezebel. He confronted the worshipers of Baal. His confrontations caused him anguish, depression and even despair. But, in spite of the pain, he demonstrated the power of El Shaddai, the Lord God Almighty, over the demonic spirit of Baal.

Elijah means “my God is Yahweh (Jehovah).” Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Robin Mark composed the lyric that has worshippers declaring 16 times consecutively “There’s no God like Jehovah”. Not Baal, not Buddha, not Vishnu, not Allah. There’s no God like Jehovah.

We are living today in a world that parallels that of Elijah. In about 935 B.C., the kingdom of Israel split. The northern kingdom of ten tribes became Israel; the southern kingdom, Judea, consisted mainly of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

A nation divided is a nation weakened. We live in a divided nation. The division is greater than legitimate differences of opinion that can and must be discussed and resolved. Fed by the vitriol of a disenchanted media, the differences of opinion have escalated into animosity and violence. American has not become an ethnic melting pot. We have not all repented of and/or forgiven the atrocities of our history. We are a divided and, therefore, a weakened, nation.

Jesus warned in Matthew 12:25: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”

The Old Testament prophets of God had continually warned the people to repent of their sins, particularly of their idolatry and to return to the Lord. During the time of Elijah, under the leadership of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, many Israelites had embraced the worship of Baal and Asherah. The worship included ritual sexual acts, temple prostitution and even the sacrifice of children, particularly first-born children.

The anti-biblical culture of the world today has embraced and encouraged the same practices.

The Lord Jehovah cautioned the Israelites before they went into the Promised Land: Deuteronomy 12:29-32: "When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, `How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' "You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”

We must understand that the commandments of the Lord are meant to lead us into the abundant life. God has not placed them as obstacles to thwart our happiness.

In the behaviors of the worldly culture today, we see the idolatry of the ancients. I “googled” the search phrase, “idolatry in America.” I found several lists outlining what Americans worship. The following appeared on more than one list:

Self

Money

Sex

Beauty

Comfort

When we examine the list closely, we realize that only one false god exists—self. The others exist only to undergird #1.

It was the idolization of self that caused Lucifer to be driven from heaven. ““I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Idolatry seeks to win favor, control, happiness for oneself by appealing to the forces of nature, the unregenerated conscience of man, or the appetites of those in power.

Robin Mark’s lyrics call out to believers, “Still we are the voice in the desert crying, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”

What is the way of the Lord?

Matthew 22:37-39: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

When we love Jehovah God with all our heart, we will come to love who we are in Him and then we can love others. In love, the division is healed.

The idolater looks into the mirror as says, “I am awesome because of who I am, what I have done, and what I plan to do.”

God speaks into the heart and says, “My child, you are awesome because I created you in My image, because I have declared you righteous in Jesus Christ, because I have given you a future and a hope.” In His love, the division in our heart is healed.

Let’s declare His word. There is no god like Jehovah!

What Does the Lord Require of You?

What Does the Lord Require of You?

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

The prophet Micah, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God wrote of the birth, reign and deliverance of our Messiah Jesus Christ. His message is an awakening call to God’s people.  Micah emphasizes that a true relationship with the Lord will be seen in a practice of mercy, compassion and justice toward all.  

A key verse is Micah 6:8 (NKJV): 
^“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”

Justice must flow in mercy and humility.

We must realize that mercy does not enable the sinner to remain in sin.  Mercy does not deliver us from the consequences of our actions. God, in His mercy, has paid the wages of sin for us, but in His mercy, as well, we must face the consequences of our decisions and of our behaviors.  We grow when we accept the responsibility for what we have done. 

Remembering that the mercy of God has redeemed us, we must pray for the salvation of those facing justice both in the world and in heaven. That is mercy.  That is humility.  It is not God’s desire that any should perish. (2 Peter 3:9).

To walk in humility, we must walk in forgiveness.  As Christians, we often struggle with forgiving others and ourselves because we operate under a false perception of forgiveness. To forgive does not mean that we deny the hurt and anguish that other people or circumstances have brought into our lives.  To forgive does not mean that we do not want others to face justice.  To forgive does not necessarily mean that we put ourselves back into the line of fire.  

To forgive is “to stop feeling anger toward someone who has done something wrong; to stop blaming someone; to stop feeling anger about something.”[i]  Forgiveness, especially for the deeply wounded, is a process not a single event.  When we are wounded, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually, we cannot heal without experiencing a grieving process.  Progressive forgiveness, whether we are forgiving ourselves or others, will expedite that process.  An ever present prayer in my own life is, “I forgive.  Father God, please help my unforgiveness.”

Many would like to eradicate the Church today.    In spite of what is happening, we cannot fall into the snares of unrighteous anger and name-calling.  We must stop attacking individuals and start standing against ungodly ideologies.  We must stop giving into fear and start walking in faith.   

Most of all, we must remember that just as judgment starts at the house of God, so does transformation.  The more we walk in mercy, humility and forgiveness, the more we will see justice manifested in our land. 

Isaiah 60:1-3 (NKJV) “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.

The Gentiles (unbelievers) shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Psalm 106:3 (NKJV) “Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times!” 

---

[i] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forgive

The Bride of the Lamb of God

The Bride of the Lamb of God
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

   Many Christians have unanswered questions about our position as the Bride of the Lamb of God and our relationship with our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

   Some ask, "Do we become prepared in the 'twinkling of an eye' (1Corinthians 15:42) when we go to be with the King?" Some may insist that because we are born again by the grace of God, our acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus is enough for Jesus to present us as His bride, without spot or wrinkle .

    However, scripture reveals the answers! 

    Who prepares the Bride?

   "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." (Revelation 19:7-8)

   The above passage reveals that the Bride must make herself ready. It is only through cooperation with the Holy Spirit that we are able make ourselves ready. Our righteousness is possible only through the grace of God, but we are to grow in grace and knowledge and determine to become more Christ-like in our walk.

   Romans 3:10 reminds us that left to our own devices, "There is none righteous, no, not one”.  If none are righteous, how can we possibly prepare ourselves for our Bridegroom?

   Matthew 19:26 declares: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. ."The preparation of the Bride involves the Bride's living, moving and having our being in the Holy Spirit of God (Acts 17:28).

   The preparation of Queen Esther exemplifies this process. "Now the young woman pleased him (the king), and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice

maidservants were provided for her from the king's palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of women." (Esther 2:9.)

   The seven maidservants represent the Holy Spirit, the seven ministries or spirits of God as detailed in Isaiah 11:2: His presence, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and reverence for holiness.

   As symbols of God's Holy Spirit, the maidservants become the provision needed by Esther in her preparation to become the bride of the king.

   Just as cooperation with the seven maidservants was necessary for the preparation of Esther, the preparation of the Bride of the Lamb of God is a cooperative relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Bride.  As we cooperate more fully with the Holy Spirit who indwells us, as
we learn more and more to live and move and have our being in Him, we become more and more the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:27.)

   May we desire to be dressed in the fine linen which symbolizes the righteous acts of the saints.

   Let us pray with the lyricist Thomas Chisholm:

   "Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
   Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
   Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
   Seeking the wandering sinner to find."

Celebrating Jesus in the Spring Feasts of the Lord

The Triumphal Entries

The Triumphal Entries

By Rev. Lonnie C.  Crowe

Matthew 21: 5-9:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, `Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.' '' So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their garments on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! `Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' Hosanna in the highest!''

“Hosanna” means “God save us” or “God is our salvation.”  Later that week, the crowds became a mob demanding His crucifixion.  Little did they know that it is the crucifixion that brings the salvation.

On that first Palm Sunday, our Lord entered from the Mount of Olives, which is east of Jerusalem, on the back of a donkey.  He came as the obedient servant. Matthew 20:28: “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.''

A few days later, Jesus knelt, as a servant, and washed the feet of His disciples, even the feet of Judas Iscariot.  Later that evening, He was arrested, tried by three courts, and then died on the cross at the time when the Passover lambs were slain.  He served.  He gave His life as the ransom for sin.  He gave His life for all the children of Adam.

Ø  The triumphal entry fulfilled an ancient prophecy.

Ø  Zechariah 9:9 reads: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

However, it isn’t over.  He is coming again.  He is coming again along the same route.  He will again enter through the Eastern Gate.  Zechariah 14:4a: “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east.” 

He will enter again, but not as a servant riding a donkey.

Revelation 19: 11-16:  “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

It will not just be crowds on earth that will welcome Him. A great multitude in heaven will sound forth.

Revelation 19:1, 5-: 7a “After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power to the Lord our God! Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!''

“And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory.”

Look up! Your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28).

Psalm 24:

⁷    Lift up your heads, O you gates!

    And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!

    And the King of glory shall come in.

⁸    Who is this King of glory?

    The Lord strong and mighty,

    The Lord mighty in battle.

⁹    Lift up your heads, O you gates!

    Lift up, you everlasting doors!

    And the King of glory shall come in.

¹⁰    Who is this King of glory?

    The Lord of hosts,

    He is the King of glory.

The First Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem has passed.

The Second Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem is to come.

The question is “Will you live in triumph with Him today?

How Did We Get Here?

How Did We Get Here?

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

In the past months, I have been taking a new approach to the book of Revelation. I  am seeking the Lord for fresh revelation.  Because prophecy contains a message for the time in which it was written, a message for today (whenever that day may be) and a message for the future, I have been praying for the Holy Spirit to give me messages for this moment in which we are living regardless of whether or not we are in the last moments of history. 

The Holy Spirit drew me to Revelation 6:1-2 (NKJV): “Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”

This conqueror on the white horse represents both the antichrist of the tribulation period and the spirit of antichrist which has been in the world since the beginning . 1 John 4:1-3 (NKJV) “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.”

The phrase that captured my attention is “a crown was given to him.”  This, I sense, is a key verse in understanding much of what is happening in our lives.  We have given a crown, that is, placed in authority over ourselves, those whose decisions and actions are bringing about the circumstances represented by the four horsemen of the Apocalypse: violence, inflation, famine and death. We have participated in crowning the antichrist spirit in our personal lives, in our nation and in the global arena.

We have become a people so consumed by fear, that we have fed and empowered the red horse personifying violence. Revelation 6:3-4 (NKJV): “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.” 

In scripture, the word of God is symbolized as a sword (Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12.)  The word of the Lord brings victory to those who stand on it.  However, the sword of the antichrist brings spiritual defeat to those who wallow in fear. 

One of our fears is based on the economy.  Ironically, in that fear, we spend ourselves into near bankruptcy.  

That brings us to the third horse, the black one. Revelation 6:5-6 (NKJV): “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."

Two things cannot be harmed by poor economic conditions—the oil and the wine. In scripture, oil represents the anointing, the empowering of the Holy Spirit.  The wine represents the covenant we have through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  In darkest economy times, the power and authority of God stand firm.  We have no need to fear.

In 1706 Matthew Henry wrote, “During the progress of this black horse, the necessaries of life should be at excessive prices, and the more costly things should not be hurt. According to prophetic language, these articles signified that food of religious knowledge, by which the souls of men are sustained unto everlasting life; such we are invited to buy, Isa 55:1.

“But when the dark clouds of ignorance and superstition, denoted by the black horse, spread over the Christian world, the knowledge and practice of true religion became scarce…The famine of bread is a terrible judgment; but the famine of the word is more so.”

The famine of the Word does not result from a lack of availability.  It most often results from Christians who are spiritually anorexic and/or bulimic.  We either refuse to eat of the Word or we purge ourselves of it as soon as we step out of the church door. 

What is the answer?  We must take back the authority we have been given in Jesus Christ. That authority is, amazingly, protected by the Constitution of the United States of America. Our hope is in the Lord who is our provision, our strength and our light. It is time for us to step out of the darkness of the spirit of antichrist and into the light of Jesus