0 – Fraglen Inkwell Diaries

The Pretenders

IIf you teach a person the truth so that he believes it with his whole heart, then you have given him both the capability and the tools with which he may move the world.

To this day, the whole earth trembles under the footsteps of Martin Luther. Why? He was strong in faith. Luther was a living believer. The academics with whom he had to contend were mere disputers, and the priests, cardinals, and popes with whom he came into contact were mere dealers in dead traditions; therefore, he struck down their ideas unsparingly and with great devastation.

With his whole being, he believed in what he had learned from God. Revelation 2:27 says, “He shall rule with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken.” That was the way Martin Luther was. As an iron rod among potters’ vessels, he smashed to pieces the pretenders of his age.

Spurgeon On Prayer & Spiritual Warfare by Charles H. Spurgeon

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Isaiah 29:13 (NIV)

“All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.” Micah 4:5 (NIV)

Following Where

December 10, 2017 jakin7

Many people want to direct God, instead of resigning themselves to be directed by Him; to show Him a way, instead of passively following where He leads.
Madame Guyon (1648-1717)

I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Jeremiah 10:23

Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Psalm 27:11

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”… Matthew 16: 24, 25

In the Deep

November 30, 2017 jakin7

Others went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep. Psalm 107: 23, 24

Let not my faith be wrecked amid storms and shoals; Bring me to harbour with flying pennants, hull unbreached, cargo unspoiled.

I ask great things, expect great things, shall receive
great things. I venture on thee wholly, fully, my wind, sunshine,
anchor, defence. The voyage is long, the waves high, the storms pitiless, but my helm is held steady, thy Word secures safe passage,
thy grace wafts me onward, my haven guaranteed….Help me, protect me in the moving sea until I reach the shore of unceasing praise.
Valley of Vision p. 202 & 203

A Noble Theme

October 31, 2017 jakin7

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. Psalm 45:1

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5:18

But it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. Luke 16:17

The Invisible Is Happening

September 30, 2017 jakin7

the invisible is happening

Fraglen is about going THERE getting THERE being THERE

O thou whose every promise is balm, every touch life, draw near to
thy weary warrior, refresh me, that I may rise again to wage the strife, and never tire until my enemy is trodden down.
Give me such fellowship with thee that I may defy Satan, unbelief, the flesh, the world, with delight that comes not from a creature, and which a creature cannot mar.
Give me a draught of the eternal fountain that lieth in thy immutable, everlasting love and decree. Then shall my hand never weaken,
my feet never stumble,
my sword never rest,
my shield never rust,
my helmet never shatter,
my breastplate never fall,
as my strength rests in the power of thy might.

The Servant In Battle excerpt from The Valley of Vision

The Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:10-18

A Red Robe of Absurdity

August 25, 2017 jakin7

If, as often seems to be the case, we have driven Jesus away, or at any rate back to the catacombs, then we are totally at the mercy of our rulers, whoever they may be and whatever the ideology on behalf of which they purport to govern.

The only antidote to the poison from Caesar’s laurel crown comes from Jesus’s crown of thorns. He alone can deliver us from the monstrosities and buffooneries of power, as has been discovered by the most perceptive spirits of our time, such as Solzhenitsyn.

Faced with power at its most unbridled and most brutal, they turn for help and comfort, not to Universal Declarations of Human Rights and other pronouncements, solemn undertakings,Covenants and Charters in a similar vein, but to the man wearing a crown of thorns, decked out in a red robe of absurdity and with a court of jeering soldiers.

There alone the sting of power is drawn and its pretentions are exploded, and the princes of this world have no recourse but, like Judas, to flee into the night.
Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990)

How Many Times?

July 19, 2017 jakin7

Matthew 18:21, 22

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

“Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred.

It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.”
― Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983)

Matthew 18:23-35
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.” The servant fell on his knees before him.

‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.“ Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

…perhaps the most difficult of all to deal with – FORGIVENESS. I believe this is keeping more people from having power with God than any other thing — they are not willing to cultivate the spirit of forgiveness. If we allow the root of bitterness to spring up in our hearts against someone, our prayer will not be answered. It may not be an easy thing to live in sweet fellowship with all those with whom we come in contact; but that is what the grace of God is given to us for. [Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) Prevailing Prayer p.46]

Of Willows and Harps

June 18, 2017 jakin7

By the rivers of Babel we sat, and there we wept, when we remembered Zion.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

Then they that led us captive, required of us songs and mirth, when we had hanged up our harps, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing, said we, a song of the Lord in a strange land?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget to play.

If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth: yea, if I prefer not Jerusalem to my chief joy.

Psalm:137:1-6 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

Seeking God

June 16, 2017 jakin7

…it is obvious, that in seeking God, the most direct path and the fittest method is, not to attempt with presumptuous curiosity to pry into his essence, which is rather to be adored than minutely discussed, but to contemplate him in his works, by which he draws near, becomes familiar, and in a manner communicates himself to us.

…though we are deficient in natural powers which might enable us to rise to a pure and clear knowledge of God, still, as the dullness which prevents us is within, there is no room for excuse. We cannot plead ignorance, without being at the same time convicted by our own consciences both of sloth and ingratitude….

…for no sooner do we, from a survey of the world, obtain some slight knowledge of Deity, than we pass by the true God, and set up in his stead the dream and phantom of our own brain, drawing away the praise of justice, wisdom, and goodness, from the fountain-head, and transferring it to some other quarter.

John Calvin from Institutes of the Christian Religion Book First Chapter 5