Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Some Christians think God is not interested in a nation’s politics. Therefore, they surmise that pastors and Christian leaders should not promote any particular candidate, nor should they voice their own political opinions to others in any way, shape, or form. They believe Christian leaders should keep their teaching and exhortations entirely to spiritual matters only. I personally respect these people’s opinions.

However the basis of their argument cannot be supported by Scripture. Spirituality and righteousness are required of all men, in every aspect of our lives-church attendance, our marriage, our family life, our career, the organizations we belong to, and our political persuasions.

The current GOP candidates all say they are pro-life. However, some are not totally pro-life, but compromise according to circumstances. They are happy to kill a baby in the womb because it was conceived through rape. And yet, if someone ended the life of that same person years later, they would be guilty of murder:

Ted Cruz: Opposes exceptions for rape and incest.
Marco Rubio: Opposes exceptions for rape and incest.
Ben Carson: Opposes exceptions for rape and incest.

Who should we elect to be our next president? A very important question. As a nation we stand on the brink of a very important election which will test our national discernment.

In 1 Chronicles 12:32 we read of the children of Issachar “which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.”

Luke 12:56; “Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?”

Hebrews 5:14: “Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Job 39:25: “He smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.”

The warhorse has heightened senses. He is warned by the smell of the battle. Even though the battle is far off he can still smell it, hear it, and taste it.

It’s high time for the true people of God to begin laughing the laugh of faith. There is such a thing as the laugh of faith and there is such a thing as the laugh of unbelief.

The warhorse that prances and charges among the trumpets is not laughing in unbelief. Absolutely not. He laughs at the utter foolishness of the enemy because he knows from whom his strength and salvation come. The Lord Sabbaoth (the God of armies) is riding on his back.

Job 39:25: “He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha.”

People may laugh, but God will always have the last laugh. Psalm 2:4 says: “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.”

The warhorse described in Job 39 is a well-trained horse. In a proverbial sense he is like the horse that Jesus Christ, the Conqueror of conquerors rides upon in Revelation 19:11.

Are you familiar with the words of “Chariot of Fire”? The words are by Jack Hayford to the tune used in the move, “Chariots of Fire.”

I rise up to worship,
I stand to acclaim,
The King of all Glory,
Christ Jesus, His name.
I ask you Lord Jesus,
Fulfill my desire;
Please light me and make me
A Chariot of Fire

Job 39:24: “Neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.”

Job’s warhorse has only an ear for battle. If the sound of the trumpet says, “Retreat,” he does not believe it. If the trumpet says, “Stand Down.” as at Benghazi where brave men died because they put American lives and honor before the trumpet of neutrality and indecisiveness.

These navy seals were true warhorses. They would not accept the trumpet call to stand down, even in the face of death. These men knew that whoever was blowing the trumpet to “Stand Down” was out of touch with truth and honor. To stand down when an American consulate, along with all the staff, were about to be overrun by blood thirsty terrorists could not be accepted, even if it came from the White House. It’s high time that the American warhorse be unshackled from the chains of feministic diplomacy.

Likewise, the Christian church needs to wake up and realize that if it’s going to win in the battle against the hordes of darkness, it needs to have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches (Revelation 2:17).

One thing for sure, the trumpet that sounds from Heaven does not call for its warhorses to stand down. It never has said “Stand Down” and it never will say “Stand Down.” Let’s have a thousand Amen’s to that!

We must not listen to those who stand behind polished pulpits and never challenge us towards spiritual warfare. If the church does not learn to wrestle and fight with the powers of darkness, how can we ever win?

We must be very careful who we listen to in this hour. There is something wrong if the trumpet does not call us to prayer. Or to engage in battle. Especially in this crucial hour with failing marriages, crumbling families, and all manner of advancing evil.

All evangelical leaders need to examine their trumpets at this election hour to see whether they are calling on their members to vote for a man who has used his own trumpet to the cause of righteousness or evil in his past. We must be careful not to lay hands on a man suddenly if his track record is questionable No matter how appealing he may be, if his record is dubious and clouded, stay away from his trumpet.

I do not believe we should listen to the trumpet of a billionaire who has amassed his fortunes through gambling casinos. What are these evangelical leaders thinking about? There is something very wrong with their trumpets, as well as their hearing. What foolishness.

1 Timothy 5:22 says: “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.”

Stand up, stand up for Jesus! The trumpet call obey:
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day;
Ye that are men now serve Him against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.

Ezekiel 33:3-6 states: “When he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life

“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.”

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Job 39:24: “He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage.” This describes the warhorse speeding along, motivated by anger and rage. I think the terminology used here of “swallowing the ground” means that the distance between him and the target is quickly diminished by the adrenalin rush, the righteous indignation and fierce rage that possesses the spirit of the warhorse.

Politically speaking, we now live in a world where all anger and rage are regarded as evil. Tolerance is the politically correct attitude toward all evil. No one is allowed to be angry at evil. As a result, western nations have become “milk toast” and mushy.

We are taught that civilized people should never get angry at anything, let alone evil. We are told we must take our time in the face of evil and must never rush to identify the target in case we hit the wrong one. We are told that our war planes cannot drop bombs on ISIS in case there are innocent civilians in the building, in the oil tanker or truck, etc. The rules of engaging the enemy have now become so feminized and emasculated that we can no longer win a war.

In the meantime the enemy punches us right between the eyes and scoffs at our so-called tolerant and sissy behavior. There are too many progressive, socialist, educators both within the church and the nation who want to destroy and take away our manhood. They want to take away our guns and fighting spirit. They want to turn us into a bunch of jelly fish wimps.

We see a different spirit in David. 1 Samuel 17:45-47 states: “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.”

Verse 48 tells us : “And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David HASTED, AND RAN toward the army to meet the Philistine.” In the face of great danger, David is filled with the same spirit of Job’s battle horse. He ran towards the enemy.

As believers, we are called to do battle with God’s enemies. We are to be “slow to anger” with one another, but never with the devil. We should not drag our feet to man the battle stations, the prayer meetings, where we fight it out with the devil.

Ephesians 6:12 says: “For we wrestle (hand to hand combat) not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

May God hasten our steps to run to the prayer meetings where we can start slinging our stones at the Lord’s enemies. It’s high time for us who dare to call ourselves Christians to get really mad at the devil, and not at each other. Tolerance can only be towards each other as brethren, but not towards sin or the powers that tempt us to sin.

We need to be clothed with the zeal of the Lord, the same zeal that caused Jesus to cast out the money changers in the temple (John 2:15-17). It’s high time we 21st century Christians cast off this wimpy tolerance toward evil and become eaten up by the same zeal for God’s house that Jesus had.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Job 39:23: “The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.”

The church must wake up to the battle that, never for a single day, ceases to rage against the cause of Christ. Every born again believer, without exception, must quickly come to the realization that they have a divine calling upon their lives to fight, resist, and stand solidly against the armies of hell.

We must clearly understand that we have not been purchased by the redeeming precious blood of Christ to have an easy life of self-pleasing and catering to the desires of our flesh while the enemy tears our nation’s morality to shreds.

How is it possible for us to not stand up and resist the ever-increasing holocaust of abortion, abuse of alcohol, drugs, marriage and family breakdown, sexual abuse within the church, let alone resisting it in the world which is outside the church. It will only get worse until we, the true church, rise up and mount our own white battle horses. We must willingly follow our Commander in Chief, The Lord Jesus Christ, who has already mounted His white horse and leads the charge against the enemy.

It’s time to get rattled by the rattling quivers. God’s warhorse gets rattled (yes, angry) at the sound of the enemy’s rattling quivers. King David was rattled (angry and indignant) at the arrogancy and mockery of the Philistine giant, Goliath (1 Samuel 17:41-47).

David says in verses 45-46: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee: and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth: that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

Jesus Himself was rattled (righteously indignant) as the quivers of the devil rattled against him with the buying and selling in the temple (John 2:13-17).

What’s it going to take to get the sleeping church righteously angry at the enemy? Has our present leadership in Washington DC not rattled our cages enough? When will we say, “Enough is enough”?

Are we tempted right now to elect an immoral, compromising president who will lead the country into more immorality and sin? Are we not rattled enough to bust out of our cages and elect a president who will stand up against abortion, same-sex marriage, and all the evils of our times?

But that is just the beginning. The riders of God’s battle horses realize that the battle is only won through prayer and daily intercession. Yes, it is time to get mad at the devil who cleverly sucks us into lethargy, sin, and deception. In Ephesians 6:11-18 Paul exhorts us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (v. 11).

And he gives reasons why:

1. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (v. 12).

2. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (v. 18).

Only when we do these two things can we effectively ride the white horse of Revelation 19:11 and follow our Commander in chief into battle.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

We continue studying the characteristics of the warhorse.

Job 39:22: “Neither turneth he back from the sword.”

Job’s description of the warhorse states that it will never turn back from the sword. Though swords flash all around it, it still charges forward. There is not an atom of retreat in God’s warhorse.

There is no retreating in God’s service. God’s warhorses always charge onward. “Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war” is a mockery to a retreating church.

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!

Such a magnificent song should never be sung by those who have no understanding of spiritual warfare.

Song of Solomon 6, 10 describes the church as “Terrible (majestic, inspiring) as an army with banners.” These banners display the declaration of God’s truths which are an awesome sight to behold. Psalm 60:4 says: “Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.”

In Revelation 19:11 the Commander in Chief of the church, Jesus Christ, rides a white warhorse. White represents purity and righteousness. Jesus Christ was called “Faithful and True” and all those who followed Him also rode white horses. Revelation 19:14 says: “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”

They would never follow a Commander in Chief who made his reputation through building gambling casinos and all the sexual perversions that go with it. They would never follow a Commander in Chief whose wife posed herself nude for a pornographic magazine in Europe.

Men, we are in a great spiritual battle for the souls of the citizens of USA. We had better make sure the one we elect to follow as Commander in Chief is riding a pure white horse, as much as possible for an American president to ride.

He must be one who is faithful and true to his word--the testimony and character of one who is worthy to rule. He should not have a track record of flip-flopping on major issues of morality and justice. There should be no signs of retreat from the foundational truths on which our nation was founded.

I wonder, could it be that a people who lack moral backbone, who themselves flip-flop all over the place regarding morality, could easily elect a Commander in Chief who will hopefully amass them more money to follow more of their lusts?

I believe this is what we face in these coming elections. We must not retreat from the sword of our enemies. Never. But we will retreat if we as a nation, and as a church, do not take a strong stand for righteousness and truth. Righteous morality is the only thing that gives us backbone.

May we never be like the Ephraimites. Psalm 78:9-10 says: “The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law.”

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Job 39:22: “He mocketh at fear and is not affrighted”

Proverbs 29:1 says, “The righteous are bold as a lion.” Just as the warhorse mocks at fear, even so we should mock at the enemy’s strategy to put fear upon us. Fear is debilitating. It paralyses the strongest of men. A physically small man that has no fear is stronger than a physically strong man who is full of fear.

Job 39:21: “He goeth on to meet the armed men.”

The warhorse is not afraid of confrontation. He expects it and willingly marches on to meet it. He knows that confrontation and battling it out with the enemy is what he was born for.

Immediately following Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). Verse 2 says: “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights.” Spiritual warfare requires the discipline of the spirit and this is where prayer and fasting is very important.

6a. HIS STRENGTH continued.

Men, as the warhorse rejoiced in his strength, so we should rejoice in the One who gives us all the strength we need to not only fight in the battles, but also to win every battle.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 Paul talks about the battle he continually faced which he described as a “messenger from Satan to buffet him.” He cried out to God three times to be delivered, but what did God answer? “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

6. HIS STRENGTH

Job 39:21: The warhorse “rejoiceth in his strength.”

How easy it is for us to be discouraged. We get discouraged especially when we become wearied by those we thought were for us and then find they were betraying us behind our backs. We get discouraged when our bodies become weak and lack endurance. We also get discouraged when the battle continues long and there seems to be no end in sight. It’s not good to think we are the only ones who have to go through these battles for they are common to man.

5. HIS PAWS

Job 39:21: “He paweth in the valley.”

When a horse paws, he is usually agitated because of being confined. He can’t wait to get going. The warhorse does not like to be hemmed in or stand around doing nothing. He was bred for war and all of war’s challenges.

Valleys are typical in Scripture of places of depression, stress, anxiety, and imprisonment. Valleys are places where you can’t see the sunrise or the sunset. Valleys are the places of limited horizons and long shadows. However, no matter how negative valleys can be, warhorses paw their hoofs in the valleys.

Isaiah 61:1-4 prophecies the anointing of the Spirit that was to come upon Jesus Christ in order to deliver the people who were down in the valleys, in the prisons, the broken-hearted, and the mourning. Jesus Christ was the greatest of all warhorses who was, and still is, more than eager to set the captives free.

Psalm 84:6 speaks of those who go into the Valley of Baca (weeping). As they pass through it they make it a well of the water of life and cause the rain of the Spirit to create pools of water for the thirsty.

Psalm 23:4 says: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will far no evil: for thou at with me.”

2 Chronicles 35:22 mentions the valley of Megiddo where many ancient battles were fought and where some believe that the Battle of Armageddon against Gog will be fought (Ezekiel 39:1-4).

The warhorse, Caleb pawed his hoofs as he looked up from the valley at Mount Hebron where the giants called Anakims lived. The cities were great and fenced with high walls. But Caleb the warhorse cried out “Give me this mountain” (Joshua 14:12). Joshua 14:10 reminds us that Caleb had been pawing his hoofs for the last 45 years, waiting to go and take that mountain. All mountains have valleys on their sides. When Caleb declared, “Give me this mountain” he also accepted the valleys that go with it.

We can go one better than Caleb who said, “Give me this mountain,” We can say, “Give me this valley also.”

The warhorse, Joshua pawed his hoofs in the Valley of Ajalon where he commanded the sun and the moon to stand still so the children of Israel could have a complete victory over the Amorites (Joshua 10:12-14).

Men, no matter what valleys we are in now or maybe in the future, the same eager spirit of the warhorse that gets into the fight to bring victory in the valleys can also come upon us. We can be possessed with the same Holy Spirit that caused Caleb to paw the ground with eagerness to take the dangerous and challenging mountain.

There may be all sorts of valleys ahead of us--perhaps economic valleys, Islamic terrorism valleys, or political valleys, etc. God is able to make us willing to conquer the valleys.

God calls His church to paw in the valleys. We paw in the spirit when we pray and intercede. Are you one who paws in prayer? Do you paw to get to the prayer meeting? You can’t wait to get there to fight the battles in prayer. This is the description of a true spiritual warhorse.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

4. HIS NOSTRILS

Job 39:30: “The glory of his nostrils is terrible.”

There is something awesome and terrible about the nostrils of the warhorse. He breathes through his nostrils the breath of life that gives him strength and stamina for the battle. Whether the battle be in the valley or on the mountain top his nostrils provide him with all the air he needs to not only carry himself, but also the rider and whatever load he has to carry. Though the valleys may be full of mud, bogs, and potholes, or the mountains dangerously steep, his nostrils do not fail to supply him with all the oxygen his strength requires to succeed.

We continue looking at the characteristics of the warhorse.

3. HIS FEARLESSNESS

Job 39:20 says: “Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper?" Never. Perish the thought. Just as this warhorse is not afraid to go into battle, even so we who call ourselves soldiers of the cross should not be afraid to go into battles against spiritual enemies. Ephesians 6:12 says: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Today we begin to take a closer look at the warhorse.

1. HIS STRENGTH
“Hast thou given the horse strength?” (Job 39:19). The answer is yes. The warhorse’s strength comes from God in order to accomplish feats of great strength. Spiritually, God gives us all the strength we need through His Holy Spirit to accomplish things that our own strength could not accomplish.

The warhorse described in Job 39:19-25 certainly had the right attitude about battle. This horse was built and bred for speed, strength, and endurance of the horrors and demands of the battlefield. Most of us do not see ourselves as warhorses. We do not care to put ourselves in harm’s way. Our highest aspirations are for peace and tranquility. We usually prefer the easy road.

However, life is fraught with ups and downs, mountains and valleys. Many of the battles we face we wish we did not have to face and we wish they would just go away. But sadly that is not usually the case. Rather, they continue to dog us until we decide to take action and often we take the wrong action and make matters worse.