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Lowell Brueckner

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Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter six

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6. CHRIST, THE I AM

So the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.” John 8:57-59

THE SON OF GOD IS ETERNAL AND OMNIPRESENT

The words of Jesus, “I AM”, have the same significance that the writer of Hebrews gave to us, when he wrote, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. The only one who does not change is God. The Jews understood well what He was saying and for that reason they wanted to stone Him. To them, His declaration was blasphemy, because He was proclaiming himself to be God. To suggest that He existed before Abraham, after saying “before Abraham was born”, simple correct grammar would demand the same tense from the following state-of-being verb. He should have said, “I was”. However, truth demanded that He say “I am”, because that means that He exists in eternity, where there is no past or future. He was declaring Himself to be eternal.

March 26 – April 1 Daily Meditations in the Psalms

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March 26

Psalms 27:1-8

1.  The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2.  When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3.  Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4.  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
5.  For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6.  And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
7.  Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8.  When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

     God’s ability eclipses the natural assets, which came to me through birth or which I have acquired. The Lord is the source of light, salvation and strength. When the attributes of God become mine, the fear of man is removed. I can trust in the Lord and rest assured, though surrounded by enemies. What foe can stand before Him?
     The Lord is secretary of our department of defense, leaving us free for one single-hearted purpose: “One thing have I desired of the Lord” (verse 4). Paul said, “This one thing I do....” Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.”  The one passion, the one goal in the life of every saint is to dwell in the place of God’s presence. There are two good reasons for it: First, it is to enjoy and to contemplate Him; to be as the living creatures, full of eyes, in order to attempt to take in as much of Him, as we possibly can. Secondly, we seek to inquire at the source of wisdom for the answers to those things, which pertain to Christ and His kingdom. It is the theme of this Psalm.
     We sense the attraction and hear the call. I believe it to be the cry of the Spirit of God today – “seek ye my face” It is the single quest, which we are now considering. The born-again spirit warms and responds, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”


Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter five

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My great concern for the church today is that, in fulfillment of Paul´s prophecy, it has a form of godliness, but denies the power. It has doctrines that excuse and justify the lack of power. We have grown accustomed to the abilities and talents of men and fit it to their plans and schemes. Where is the manifestation of the Wonderful One as a practical Head over His Body, the Church. Where is the supernatural demonstration of the Holy Spirit moving and working among us. If He were in practical control, the ritualism and traditionalism would disappear from our gatherings and we would experience days of heaven on earth.  Wesley said something like this: “Would to God that we could have revival without the excesses! But if there must be excesses, then let us have revival at any cost!” Samson certainly had the excesses, but no one ever questions that the power of God rested upon him and that he supernaturally delivered Israel from their enemies.


5. CHRIST, THE WONDERFUL ONE

“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORD ‘WONDERFUL’

The book of the prophet Isaiah has been called, at times, the Gospel of Isaiah, because it gives the clearest vision in the Old Testament of the coming Messiah, with the possible exception of the Psalms of David. Isaiah looked for a name for the coming Messiah, in order to present him to Israel and the world. He could not find one single name, so instead he used these five: Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. A person’s name should reflect his character and personality. Throughout scripture, we read of a change of names, when people were changed, beginning with Abram, who later was called Abraham. In the New Testament, Simon was called Peter by Jesus and Saul of Tarsus came to be known as Paul.

March 19 - 25 Daily Meditations in the Psalms

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March 19

Psalms 24:1-6

1.  The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2.  For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3.  Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4.  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5.  He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6.  This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

     Does this Psalm teach universal salvation because all the people are the Lord’s? Not at all. The Owner has the right to save and the right to condemn. Who, of mankind, shall excel and ascend unto God? Those, who intend to outlive this world, rise into the presence of the Lord, and stand in His holy place must come with clean hands and a pure heart. They have come to understand the vanity of humanism. They have repented of the human method of guile (by which all humanity operates and gains promotion) and submit to the godly way of truth and honesty. They receive the blessing of God and the imputation of righteousness.
     The last verse refers to a generation. It does not define people in relation to time, but in relation to kind. Bred and born for the purposes of God, they are a spiritual race. They will enter into salvation, the blessing of God and be clothed with divine attributes. They are born, not made. They are generated, following the pattern of Jacob (the name means supplanter), who became Israel (prince of God), through a supernatural transformation. By this means they have been saved, their hearts and hands have been cleansed, and they will ascend into the eternal, holy hill of God.


The Ten Most Read Articles

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 What we have in this document are the articles most visited in this Call to Commitment blogspot. Half of them are personal testimonies, stories of how a very real and living God moved in the life of different ones. Some are family and all are people that I know very well.  For those who haven’t read some or all of the stories, or if you would like to review them, I have made it easy by giving the site, where they are found. 

The story most read was from Alaska, written by Karyn about Steve’s airplane accident. Following it is one of over twenty documents, in which were included 45 of Len Ravenhill’s personal letters to us. This one contains a couple of them. There are stories about Coach Luneau's best basketball player, Brandon; our daughter, Raquel, writing about Katia swallowing a battery, as well as the life story of a good friend… a Native American, named Herman Williams. There is an article from our grandson, John, and there is a chapter taken from one of my books.

I hope you enjoy going over these documents…

Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter four

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4. THE CHRIST WHO PROVIDES

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son: it was he to whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called’. He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” Hebrews 11:17-19

“DO NOT STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD”


The truth is that Abraham had been tested many times before. His faith was first tested, when God called him and he had to go, leaving everything behind without knowing where he was going. He was tested by a famine in the land of Canaan and had to go to Egypt. In Egypt he was proven, when Pharaoh wanted his wife and took her into his house. He was tested in the strife between his servants and those of his nephew, Lot. He was tested by the king of Sodom, who offered him great riches won in battle. He was tested, because he and his wife entered old age without a son to inherit his name. As in Egypt, he was tested again in Gerar, because of the beauty of his wife.

The life of faith is one filled with testing for anyone who enters into it. One test prepares you for the next and it seems that each new test is more difficult that the one before. We cannot avoid them. It is not because God desires to bring difficulties upon us, but because He has a very important reason for permitting and even commanding that they should enter our lives. He is polishing a jewel that has great value for Him. He is perfecting the virtue of highest price in His children and that virtue is faith.
 

March 12 - 18 Daily Meditations in the Psalms

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March 12

Psalms 22:1-16

1.  My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2.  O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3.  But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4.  Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5.  They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6.  But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7.  All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8.  He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9.  But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10.  I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
11.  Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12.  Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13.  They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14.  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15.  My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16.  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter three

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3. THE CHRIST WHO TEACHES US TO PRAY

“Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am’… ‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me’”. Genesis 31:11, 13

THE GOD OF BETHEL

Here again, we specifically have the Angel of God. He appeared to Jacob in the place that he called Bethel, which means The House of God. He is the Messenger of God or the one who is the Word of God in person. We will turn to Genesis 28 to study the story and, as we do so, we will remind ourselves that the principle purpose that we have in mind is to see this Person revealed.

In spite of having taken place thousands of years ago, what God revealed to Jacob, He has preserved, because He wants to show it to many more people. We have something of top importance before us, if we are people awake to the things of God and are seeking the treasures of heaven and eternity. If we want to have a part in them, this portion of Scripture will reveal to us the way that we can have it. We will consider the connection – the only connection – between earth and heaven. We ought to be happy to know that God has given us this word, which shows us that He has provided the way and it is within our reach.

THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE PROTEST

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THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE PROTEST 
against the miniseries and the new movie, Son of God

A. W. Tozer said that the first step towards the downfall of the Christian Church is “a wrong answer to the
Author of  "The Knowledge of the Holy\"
question, ‘What is God like?’ and goes on from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.”

“It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God… is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.”

The movie is said to be an evangelistic tool. However, it is essential in evangelism that God be presented rightly: “The multiple burdens of time may be lifted from (a man, but) the one mighty single burden of eternity begins to press down upon him with a weight more crushing than all the woes of the world piled one upon another. That mighty burden is his obligation to God. It includes an instant and lifelong duty to love God with every power of mind and soul, to obey Him perfectly, and to worship Him acceptably. And when the man’s laboring conscience tells him that he has done none of these things, but has from childhood been guilty of foul revolt against the Majesty in the heavens, the inner pressure of self-accusation may become too heavy to bear. UNLESS THE WEIGHT OF THE BURDEN IS FELT THE GOSPEL CAN MEAN NOTHING TO THE MAN; AND UNTIL HE SEES A VISION OF GOD HIGH AND LIFTED UP, THERE WILL BE NO WOE AND NO BURDEN. LOW VIEWS OF GOD DESTROY THE GOSPEL FOR ALL WHO HOLD THEM.

March 5 - 11 Daily Meditations in the Psalms

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March 5

Psalms 19:11-14

11.  Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12.  Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13.  Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14.  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

     The Bible, on the one hand, carefully warns and illuminates us concerning every possible pitfall and danger. On the other hand, it inspires and motivates us to great reward. It invokes prayer, because we see that we need God, in order to be preserved or rewarded. We do not know the deceit in our own heart. What we might think totally justifiable, can be an abomination to Him and condemn our soul. We need to open the scriptures in faith and trust God. Let Him reveal the unknown faults and also give us the strength to overcome known sins, for from Him alone comes the enabling. Only in His spotlight can I be upright, blameless and innocent.
     The Psalm in the last verse expresses the noblest desire of the human heart. It states: let me be acceptable, not before men, but before God; not only in actions, but also in words; not only in words, but also in thoughts and motives. Let me be totally right before you, Lord. Let me make You smile, but not by my own strength or self-righteousness. Bring the two graces of strength and redemption into my life. You are the source of my strength. You are my Redeemer, who bought my soul, cleansed and renewed it, and brought me into fellowship with You.

A New Movie Called, "The Son of God"

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When I was a teenager, my older brother told me about something he had seen concerning advertisers, who would display their product for less than a split second and a person would not be conscious that he had seen anything. Yet, an impression was made on his subconscious mind that effected him positively towards the product. 
Movies that are well-produced, with a good story, appealing background music, good writing, good acting, etc., creates a powerful impression through the eye-gate (as John Bunyan termed it) into the human soul. While you are taken in by this creation, some even overwhelmed by it, you are positively impressed by the main character. 
All of this is fine, if we are talking about secular entertainment, but when we are taking into account a movie, such as the recent production, titled "The Son of God", then we must be very careful of characteristics that are subtilely introduced into the story, to leave you with something less than the biblical revelation of the main person in the film, namely Christ, especially when it concerns his divinity... i.e. the Son of God. In that case, a misinterpretation can mean blasphemy.
Someone directed me to a critical review of the film, written by Sunny Shell.  Before I took her review into account, I went to her website and was very impressed with her doctrinal statement and also the presentation of salvation, which was offered. It was better than most. Sunny Shell is an Asian-American, a professional writer and editor. Early in her review, she stated:  "Last year I was contacted by a media group for The History Channel. They emailed me, requesting my help in promoting their upcoming 10-episode mini-series called 'The Bible'." She wrote a review after watching the entire series and they never contacted her again. I was impressed by that kind of personal conviction.