Christ Is King
Remembering the Children
by Pastor Suzanne L. Taylor on 01/27/12
Remembering the Children
January 22, 2012 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Wikipedia says, “In a January 13, 1984 proclamation, President Ronald Reagan designated January 22, 1984 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The date was chosen to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that first recognized the constitutionally-protected status of abortion in the United States.” Maybe I live a protected life, but I don’t recall having heard of this before. I’ve asked others and they have not either. Wonder why that doesn’t get as much coverage each year as other holidays do, like the celebration of Roe V Wade.
Think about this, though. Isn’t it sad that we must set apart a Sabbath day to remind us of all the tiny babies who have been offered up on the altar of convenience, or selfishness, or fear. It’s very sad that the little children whom GOD knew before He created them in their mother’s wombs are pulled apart, piece by piece, and removed from the place of safety that God created for them. Don’t these people know that God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 AMP). Don’t they recognize the truth that murder is always wrong?
On September 11, 2001, 3,500 people were killed in the Trade Towers and Philadelphia plane crashes. It was such a shock that people who never gave God a thought went sprinting to local churches to be near Him. Many professed to have given their lives to Christ, and I’m sure some of those salvations were real, however, three weeks later, after the attention span of a gnat had been satisfied, most forgot all about God and resumed their normal lives, except…
Eleven years later, we still mourn for those lost lives. We still make a big deal each year of honoring the victims of those tragedies and their families. Yet every single day in this country, 4,000 babies are killed and not one word is spoken in their behalf, not one tear is shed, not one obituary is written for them. Tell me: Why is it that we sorrow for the loss of those 3,500 people but not one bit of grief is spent for the 1,460,000 children in the United States who are killed each year through abortions? There are 42,000,000 children killed globally each year through abortion.
Pastor Jeff Strite, pastor of the Church of Christ at Logansport, said, “Everything else God created… HE MERELY SPOKE and they appeared. BUT when God created man He climbed down into the mud and got His hands dirty. Nothing else in all of creation required… Nothing else in all of creation called for that degree of attention that depth of involvement by God. And the reason was simple: Man was the only created being on earth that was formed by God. Man was the only created being made in the image of God.”
The scientific claims made that these are simply fetuses and not human life is definitely refuted in the above Scripture. Not satisfied with that? Well, there’s more. “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16). The “lower parts of the earth” is the depth of the mother’s womb. In that secret place, hidden from view of all people, God spends time weaving each individual part of every human being together. The parts don’t always come together as we believe they should according to visible standards, but they are always as perfect as God wants them for HIS purpose.
I’ve been told scientists believe life doesn’t begin until the blood is in the body of the “fetus.” These Scriptures convince me that their thesis is wrong. Did you notice the word “unformed” above? Blood has nothing to do with the life that is being formed. God sees a fetus’ substance before he or she even resemble a baby. Yes – the life is in the blood– “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11), but according to the Scriptures, life begins even before conception. It begins in the heart of God.
From the moment of conception, God writes the name of each child in His Book and the number of days for his/her life is assigned to each one. Don’t be fooled by the world, my friends. There is no good reason to abort a child. God loves each one of them before Mama and Daddy have a thing to do with it.
My Lesson
by Pastor Suzanne L. Taylor on 10/07/11
Tonight as I lay in bed trying to sleep, which I have not yet accomplished, the Holy Spirit gave me a teaching about the wages paid to the vineyard workers and what the first and last means from Matthew 20.
Jesus told the parable about the landowner who went out several times one day to hire workers to tend his grapevines and bring in his crop. He went out the first thing in the morning, again at nine, twelve, three, and five oclock and each time there were men hanging around idly. When he came to the men at five oclock, he asked them why they were not working; they said it was because no one had hired them for that day. He told them to go also and work in his vineyard.
When the landowner hired the first men in the morning, he agreed with them for a wage of one denarius. The men left and went to work. To the rest of the hired helpers, he simply said he would pay them -what is right.-
Each of the men worked until six oclock. The landowner then told his foreman to call the last workers first and to give them each a denarius for their pay. The men who worked from early morning saw that and expected a higher wage for working so much longer. There was quite an uproar among the early workers when they received the same one denarius pay as all the others. Scripture says they grumbled, and said, ~These who were hired last worked only one hour,~ they said, ~and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day~ Matthew 20:11, 12.
I just think the landowners reply was genius. He said, ~Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen~ Matthew 20 13-16. ~Is thine eye evil?~ is the landowner asking them if they are jealous of the other men.
Salvation is perfect. No one gets one drop more of the Blood than any other. The first ones who came in the Old Testament and the last ones who will come in the Tribulation will receive the same amount of mercy and grace. The evangelist with millions of saved souls in his account will not get a larger room in the mansion than the little guy who led one or two to the Lord. Look at these words of the angry worker. ~…you have made them equal to us.~ Paul wrote about this same concept when he said, ~There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus~ Galatians 3:28.
Do you get it? It does not matter who we are! When the Holy Spirit calls us, Deep unto deep for salvation, and we reply with, ~Yes, I’ll come,~ we gain equal footing with all those others who went first. When we go out into the harvest field and begin to work, we have agreed to the wage, eternal life with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and with each other. When the foreman calls us to receive our wage, whether it be by the grave or, glorious day, by the rapture, we will all get the same thing!
I do not know about you all, but I sure needed that lesson. You see, I often compare myself and my ministry to others and when I do, I come up short. This teaching of the Holy Spirit showed me that there is no comparison, we are all equal, and we are all valuable. God gave us each a unique work to accomplish and I can not be like anyone else nor should I want to be. Neither should you.
Suddenly Gone
by Pastor Suzanne L. Taylor on 07/09/11
Most of you have read or heard about Shannon Stone the 39-year old firefighter who lost his life catching a foul ball for his son Thursday, July 7, 2011 at Ranger Stadium in Texas. I am sure many of you shook your head in sadness for his 6-year old son who watched his father, his best friend fall over the rail to what would ultimately be his death. Undoubtedly, your heart ached for Shannon-s wife waiting at home for her boys to come and regale her with stories of the baseball game. You probably felt sorrow in your heart for Shannon's family, his fire station family and his friends because of this loss in their lives. But - did you stop and pray for all of them?
When I read the article about Shannon and his son, it was as though a heavy rock fell into my heart. My first thought was, -Oh no, that poor child! He not only lost his Dad, but he watched it happen. What an awful memory for him to carry throughout his life-. There they were enjoying the game and the people around them, and suddenly, Shannon was gone.
One other thing this did was show me just how fragile life is. -Here one minute and gone the next- is not simply an axiom, it is a fact. We do not know the day or hour our lives will be required of us or those we love. There are situations that arise in which people have no time to assess their faith status with Jesus. They are here; then they are not here. Their final destination has been determined eternally. Hebrews 9:27 warns, ~And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment…~ No heart change can take place after death.
I believe there is a lesson in this for all of us, and that is; there is no time to waste. Speak the truth of Jesus to all you meet. Do not allow shyness to stand in the way of leading someone to Christ that he/she might be delivered from hell. Tell them about the brevity of life. Let them know that they might not get another chance to change their minds. Let them know that ~now is the accepted time; today is the day of salvation~. ~II Corinthians 6:2~ Do not coerce, push, or shove them. Love them into the kingdom!
One day, at your ~appointed time~ you will stand before Jesus. Your works will be tested. Your works will either be burned with fire or receive a reward. In my estimation, the best –works- a Christian can do is to evangelize the nations, one family member, one friend, one neighbor at a time. The highest calling in a Christian’s life is to be a soul winner.
Please allow this story of a family shattered by one stretch of the arm to move you to want to see people won for the kingdom. Please do not just let Jesus live in you. Let Him live through you. When the Holy Spirit nudges you toward a person, move forward and let your lips, your tongue be used to bless the person-s-. If they reject Jesus, that is their call. You will have done what Jesus told us all to do, ~go~ and make disciples. ~Matthew 28:19~
I sure hope someone took time to speak with Shannon about Jesus, and that he was saved before his fatal accident.
Day Nine in Revelation
by Pastor Suzanne L. Taylor on 06/15/11
As I read this portion of Scripture relating to the church at Laodicea , the Holy Spirit showed me that this church is the most offensive one before God. They rely on their money and their businesses for their security rather than on the God of Heaven who made them and blessed them with those things. These are the fence sitter. According to what is going on in their lives, they can go one way or the other, either hot or cold; for God or against Him, and see no harm in what they are doing. Mostly, they sit there in church lukewarm yet smugly believing they will one day go to heaven. This is the church of the Tribulation.
Revelation 3:14 tells us that Jesus is the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness and the Beginning of the creation of God. No, this does not mean Jesus was created like the angels. It means He was there with God before the foundation of the earth and when all things were created. Look with me in John 1:3, ~All things were made by him (Jesus); and without him was not any thing made that was made.~ Again speaking of Jesus, Paul said in Colossians 1:16, 17, ~For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.~ Therefore, Jesus truly is the Beginning of creation and the Amen of God’s unchanging authority.
In the Revelation Bible studies I wrote a few years ago, I explained that Laodicea was a rich church on the way to Colosse. It was located approximately 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia. Laodicea was plagued by major earthquakes and had once again had been destroyed by an earthquake, but 35 years later, at the time John wrote Revelation, it had been reconstructed by the wealthy business people of the church. They refused all reconstruction help from Rome and made this a demonstration of their great wealth and total independence from God and man. Still today there are ruins of this once popular city.
The main industries in Laodicea were banking, wool and the production of an eye salve. Their primary product was black wool. Jesus mentions all three of these things in verse 17 when He says they are ~poor, blind, and naked~. They were poor in spirit, blind because they would not see the truth of who Jesus is and naked because they were not clothed with righteousness. Thank You, Father, for these truths.
There was a medical school in Laodicea where students were taught to make ear potions of spice nard and eye salve from Phrygian rocks ground to powder and mixed with oil. It is no wonder then that Jesus told the Laodiceans to, ~Anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see~. In this metaphor Jesus was not speaking of healing their physical eyes, but their spiritual eyes that they might see Jesus. – Luke 11:34 –
Albert Barnes said, – When the eye is directed steadily toward an object, and is in health, or is single, everything is clear and plain. If it vibrates, flies to different objects, is fixed on no one singly, or is diseased, nothing is seen clearly. Everything is dim and confused. The man, therefore, is unsteady –.
Jesus wants us to be steady. He wants our eyes focused and looking on Him so that we will not stumble and fall into the many varied temptations the devil throws in our paths daily, hourly. We know that the road to destruction is wide with little to trip us up, but the road to righteousness is narrow and there are many pitfalls along the way that the devil sets up to confuse us and turn us from our way. We need to continue in the narrow path with our eyes fixed ahead and our spirits reaching for God in Christ to keep from being distracted.
Laodicea is the only one of the seven churches of the Lycos Valley about which Jesus had nothing good to say. I would not want the epitaph of my church to declare of the people, ~they were wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked~.
Do you spend time in the Word getting to know God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and what your position is with them? If so, good for you! If not, you can not be an on fire Christian for the Lord. This spiritual relationship between God and man can be understood by comparison with our earthly relationships. The more time we spend with someone we care about, the more we come to know him/her and the reality of who he/she is. We long to spend time with the person, call him/her on the phone, or make excuses to stop by wherever this person is just to see him/her. Just as we long for contact with the person of our affection, we should crave time with our Lord. We should be devoted students of the Word – the Lord Jesus – who dwells among us by His Holy Spirit whom the Father sent to us at Pentecost. We should hunger and thirst after righteousness ~Matthew 5:6~
Do you know the truth of the Word well enough that you can recognize false teaching and preaching? There are people out there now claiming there is no literal hell and others who are teaching that there is a hell, but because of His great love, God will not allow people to remain in hell for eternity, but will release them after a time measured according to their sin. My Bible says, ~And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire~. – Revelation 20:15 –
Can someone tell you there is no hell and have you believe it? If so, you are probably a lukewarm Christian and you need to ask God to ignite a fire in your spirit and soul so that you will long for the meat of the Word and be able to make a difference in the lives of the lost. Be a Christian who is blazing for Christ. Allow yourself to be used to set this old world on fire for Him.
In Revelation 3:18, the loving Jesus counsels the members of the church at Laodicea , ~I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see~. Jesus gave this message to the Laodiceans centuries ago and is still telling us this same thing. Come up out of your stupor and SEE what the Lord is telling the churches! Why does He continue to speak into the churches, even those who have rendered Him no more than a mighty Prophet? Your answer is in II Peter 3:9, ~ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance~. You see, God sent Jesus so none would perish but come to repentance. Most rejected Jesus and refused to heed the many warnings God issued about the wrath to come, and yet, God restrained His hand giving the people in each generation countless - second chances – to be redeemed so as not to die in sin and live in hell. It’s true what the false teachers say. God did not design or create hell for people but for the dragon, the beast, and satan. We choose to be sent there every single time we reject Jesus.
Revelation 3:19 says, ~As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent~. God will not allow us to live in sin without bringing up the fact to us in many ways. Rebuking is scolding and chastening is reprimanding or punishing. Understand that God rebukes and chastens out of love. No matter how the people of Laodicea lived, no matter how the lukewarm Christian lives now, God loves them, and so like any good father seeing his child go astray, He punishes them to get them in line. When I punished my children, the first thing they did when they were done being angry was repent. They came to me and apologized for what they had done and promised to do better. This is exactly what Jesus is calling on the lukewarm church to do! Repent and know that He is God!
Our loving Father God never leaves anyone hopeless. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said, ~ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me~. So many people keep Jesus on the outside looking in, but He’s not easily dissuaded. He knocks and knocks, and knocks until we let Him in, or make the final rejection of His request.
I can hear Jesus now, asking, – Will you open your heart and let me come in? – Let Jesus in! Don’t live a lukewarm Christianity that leaves you cold and an object of revulsion for the Lord so that He will – spew – you out of His mouth. Merriam Webster says that – spew – means, to send or cast forth with vigor or violence or in great quantity. Have you ever seen anyone projectile vomit? If so, you have a vivid picture of what Jesus is saying. The lukewarmness of Christians makes Him so ill, He will heave them out of His mouth like the putrid thing they are.
If you do open your heart, and you do accept Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life, He will ~ come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me ~. Look at what Jesus promised in John 14:23, ~ If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him ~. By His precious Holy Spirit, God lives in true Christians, the temples of the Holy Spirit – I Corinthians 6:19 – and He works with them and eats with them and loves them all the day long.
Those who overcome, come out of the lukewarm church, and truly begin to live for the Lord, will one day sit on the throne with Jesus as He sits on the throne with God. ~ That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me ~.
– John 17:21 – I suggest you read the entire chapter 17 of John. In the Upper Room after Jesus had instituted Communion from the Passover Supper and shared it with His disciples, He took time to pray asking the Father to glorify Him so that He could glorify God. Jesus announced that His work of spreading the name of God among men on earth was finished; the apostles and all the disciples of Jesus knew who Jesus was and that He came from God. He then went on to comfort them with prayer. Jesus had promised His disciples that He would prepare a place for them where He was going, but that was in their future. For now He prayed for their spiritual growth and safety as long as they were to live in the world and spread the truth of the gospel among the nations, tribes and tongues of the world, as far as they could reach. And, Jesus prayed for us. Do not believe me? Look at verse 17:20 in John, ~ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word…~
– Which shall – is future tense. Jesus prayed for Himself, His followers of His day and the followers of the future – which shall come –.
Do you have a spiritual ear? Are your spiritual eyes open? Do you hear and see what the Spirit of God is saying and doing in the world? If so, repent. Get on fire for the Lord. Blaze for Him so that you can be used to light spiritual fires everywhere you go.
In the worship song Shine, Jesus Shine written by British song writer, Graham Kendrick, we sing these words, – Blaze, Spirit blaze set our hearts on fire –. Let this be our prayer! Let us never be lukewarm in Your eyes, Jesus!
Day Eight in Revelation
by Pastor Suzanne L. Taylor on 05/13/11
And to the angel of the church in
Look at all the things Jesus said about Himself in this verse. He is holy, which means He is set apart, separated from others, set apart for a good work. Jesus was set apart by God for the work of the kingdom. Peter told us to be holy because Jesus is holy ~ I Peter 1:15, 16 ~. If you are born again of the water and the Blood of Christ’s death on the cross you are also holy, sanctified and set apart unto good works ~ II Timothy 2:20, 21~. When we grow in Christ and begin to reach a new level of holiness, we are able to speak the Word without fear and see others changed for the kingdom as they accept Jesus as Savior.
Understand this: You are not responsible for what the newly saved do with their salvation. Yes, when you lead someone to Christ, you should be willing to come alongside the person and help him or her learn, but you cannot change them! It is the job of the Holy Spirit who takes up residence in people at their salvation to help them transform their lives. When we think it is our responsibility to see these people changed, we are moving from holiness into pride, and pride goeth before destruction, yours and theirs. Indeed, if you see brothers or sisters in sin, it is your job to correct him or her so they know that what they did offended God. If they listen, praise the Lord. If not, let the Holy Spirit work it out in them.
Jesus is true. In other words, He tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth, because He is God. John wrote a verse in I John 5:20 that made this point clearly.
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
The Holy Spirit is showing me something here about truth. Being true, as Jesus is, doesn’t only refer to telling the truth, but to being faithful to the Word. He did not waver for a moment when the devil tempted Him, or when He was challenged by family, the Pharisees, and others. He remained true, in line, straight to Himself, the ~ Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us ~. When we begin to live a – true – life, we will not be swayed by false teachers or their false doctrine. We will live faithful and true to the Lord God and His Word, Jesus.
Jesus called Himself the one who has the key of David. This refers to the power and authority that was given Jesus as King. He now sits on the throne of David as the King of kings throughout all nations and times. No one else will ever again be ruler over nations or tongues, tribes or people. He is Lord of all and it’s He who opens and closes doors. In Isaiah 22:22, Isaiah said:
And the Key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
The possession of the Key of David for opening and closing was assigned to Jesus hundreds of years before He was born ~ and before the beginning of time ~. It was mentioned in Scripture only twice. Here in Isaiah, and later when Jesus spoke to the church at
After reading this description about the church in
It is for the church like
And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles ~ Acts 14:27.
For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries ~ I Corinthians 16:9.
Our “works“ is to preach the truth of the kingdom for the salvation of many. We are the lights of the world to shine in the darkest corners who teach that Jesus came in the flesh, born of a virgin, ministered to the Jews, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, suffered, died, was buried and rose again on the third day, and is now seated at the right hand of God always making intercession for the saints. Those who will come are saved; those who will not are to be eternally damned; separated from God in the
Jesus, the Lord who opened the door, will make the enemies of the church bow down before them. This in no way means they will be made to worship the church or the people in the church. It means the Synagogue of satan, the ones who are Jews and worship God in a false manner, or Jews who worship false gods will be made to know the truth of who Jesus is and want to become part of the family of God. The Jews are the chosen race, yes, but they are not the only ones God loved, loves. They are not the only ones who are called the “children of God“. Anyone who accepts Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, becomes a child of God and coheirs with Jesus. He will make the unfaithful Jews see this because He loves His church and wants them to be a main part in it.
When Jesus came to earth, it was for the House of Israel first. He came to save them which were lost. But they despised Him and rejected Him, so Jesus turned to the Gentiles and salvation became ours as a way to make the Jews jealous. ~ Romans 11:11 ~ But this was not an unexpected turn of events that the Gentiles would be saved. It was foretold in the Old Testament. Let’s look in Isaiah to see this.
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious ~ Isaiah 11:10 ~
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising ~ Isaiah 60:3 ~
Henry Morris, Ph.D. wrote the following in regard to the words of Isaiah:
These words were presumably directed to the Son by the Father as the triune God prepared to implement the ancient promise that a Savior would come to bring salvation to a world lost in sin. That salvation would not only be the restoration of
The old prophet Simeon referred to this prophecy when he took up the infant Jesus in his arms, and said: "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace. . . . For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people
It was always in God’s plan that the Gentiles – anyone who is not Jewish – would be saved. The Holy Spirit keeps telling me that the first
F.Y.I: The word church is the Greek word ekklesia translated from two words 'ek' meaning 'out' and “ kaleo” meaning to “call“.
It is because the people were patient and kept the Commandments of God that they were so blessed. Jesus promised to the congregation of the
Jesus is admonishing those of us who are faithful to Him to “hold fast“ because He is “coming quickly”- and if we do not want to lose our crown we have to keep from false gospels, false teachings, idols and all things ungodly. If we remain steadfast, Jesus will make us a pillar in heaven. That is not to say He will make us a solid piece of cold stone that people use now to honor dead people. It means we will have all the honors of heaven on us to demonstrate our position in Christ. Look what the Lord says:
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name. ! Revelation 3:12 ~
We will not be stone cold statues, but vibrant and live, walking with the Savior in the glory of God.
What we need to decide for ourselves is if we want to be righteous and stand before the righteous One who will judge each of us one day at the Great White Throne Judgment where we will be divided either into the eternal presence of God in the kingdom of Heaven, or into the eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire.
~ Choose this day who you will serve ~
