Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The fountain of peace is found under the shadow of the Almighty--rest from the burning heat of the day; a place where the cool breeze of the Holy Spirit refreshes and restores the soul. This promise of heavenly bliss is given with a condition: to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Much of our life is a wrestle; we struggle to stay on top of things, and we yearn for the peace our soul so desperately needs. This lack of drinking at the fountain of peace has caused most of the industrialized world to seek the help of various sortsiesof psychological therapy or medicines. I sometimes wonder how God, the provider of this source of peace, looks at it.
It is sad, but whereas we are told where to find the peace we so desperately crave, we often only pay a token visit to it. Why is that? Is the fee too high?
What are we afraid to lose by coming to God in closer intimacy? Are we apprehending the fact that He may ask us to reconsider elements in our lives that cause it to be confusing? Are we going to have to put something on the altar of His divine will in order to find that peace?
May God help us, today, to come so close to him that we may dwell in the temple of his shadow. May he help us to not trade the bliss of his continual presence for anything this world has to offer, that we may drink abundantly of the fountain of peace to our fill.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
'Be strong, be strong and be strengthened!'
Sunday, August 26, 2007
HOME
Psalms 106:47-48 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord.
Here is the cry of the traveler weary of wandering; the longing of the pilgrim anxious for his destination; and the yearning of the stranger desiring a place to call home.
Some of us live in the country of our birth; some of us have moved to settle in another country. Some of us live in or near our hometown; some of us have moved cross-country. There are also some of us who are so traveled, that ‘home’ is not a geographical place, but wherever we find ourselves in the world as long as it is in the company of our loved-ones or people of akin passions.
Whether we travel or live a sedentary life, our soul yearns for home. Our soul longs to be gathered unto its people and unto its God. Our soul was delivered from Egypt; it found its God at Mt Horeb; it has dedicated its life to follow the Lord. Now our soul traverses the wilderness of this world learning precious lessons of yieldedness, sanctity, trust and obedience to our Savior before it finally arrives in the heavenly Promised Land where as the old song says, there are no strangers”.
Oh, my Lord and my God, how my soul longs for your presence. How it yearns to be gathered into the place that you have prepared for us (John 14:2-3). My soul desires you; it longs to be gathered to the place where misunderstandings, sadness and strife are things of the past. My heart cries for the place where it can lay fully opened to the light and not get burned; where it can lay it right open on the sidewalk without fear of being trampled upon. This, my friends is ‘home’.
Hebrews 11:13-16 . . . and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Here is the cry of the traveler weary of wandering; the longing of the pilgrim anxious for his destination; and the yearning of the stranger desiring a place to call home.
Some of us live in the country of our birth; some of us have moved to settle in another country. Some of us live in or near our hometown; some of us have moved cross-country. There are also some of us who are so traveled, that ‘home’ is not a geographical place, but wherever we find ourselves in the world as long as it is in the company of our loved-ones or people of akin passions.
Whether we travel or live a sedentary life, our soul yearns for home. Our soul longs to be gathered unto its people and unto its God. Our soul was delivered from Egypt; it found its God at Mt Horeb; it has dedicated its life to follow the Lord. Now our soul traverses the wilderness of this world learning precious lessons of yieldedness, sanctity, trust and obedience to our Savior before it finally arrives in the heavenly Promised Land where as the old song says, there are no strangers”.
Oh, my Lord and my God, how my soul longs for your presence. How it yearns to be gathered into the place that you have prepared for us (John 14:2-3). My soul desires you; it longs to be gathered to the place where misunderstandings, sadness and strife are things of the past. My heart cries for the place where it can lay fully opened to the light and not get burned; where it can lay it right open on the sidewalk without fear of being trampled upon. This, my friends is ‘home’.
Hebrews 11:13-16 . . . and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Friday, August 24, 2007
PERSECUTION; OR CORRECTION FROM THE LORD?
Psalms 106:46 He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
The life of the child of God is one of tribulations for righteousness’ sake. Sometimes God ordains the tribulation as a correction to his child, (Judges 2:13,14) and other times He allows it for the purpose of spiritually purifying his children (Daniel 12:10). The time is coming when tribulation will be used all over the earth to reveal God’s true faithful ones (Revelations 13:16,17).
In spite of this, it doesn’t mean that every time we find ourselves in opposition with family and friends, that we are ‘suffering’ persecution for righteousness’ sake’. Sometimes, our social conflicts stem from the fact that we may just be wrong on something, blind to some truth, or even that we have an arrogant obnoxious attitude about it, which God does not bless (2 Timothy 2:24). These same principles can be applied in the realm of business and international politics.
God owns the heart of his children. He also owns the heart of the nations, and none of either one can make a move without His permission. We need to always remember that God is ultimately the one in charge, in control, and ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in our lives, and in the world. When we repent from our errors, when we harmonize our soul with God’s Spirit, God also pours His blessings on us in the form of the favor of our enemies.
So when we are faced with personal, social or political conflict, let us not be so quick in adopting the ‘persecution syndrome’. Let us check our heart to see if maybe our poor relationship with our ‘neighbor’ is a reflection of our disharmony with God’s Spirit.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
The life of the child of God is one of tribulations for righteousness’ sake. Sometimes God ordains the tribulation as a correction to his child, (Judges 2:13,14) and other times He allows it for the purpose of spiritually purifying his children (Daniel 12:10). The time is coming when tribulation will be used all over the earth to reveal God’s true faithful ones (Revelations 13:16,17).
In spite of this, it doesn’t mean that every time we find ourselves in opposition with family and friends, that we are ‘suffering’ persecution for righteousness’ sake’. Sometimes, our social conflicts stem from the fact that we may just be wrong on something, blind to some truth, or even that we have an arrogant obnoxious attitude about it, which God does not bless (2 Timothy 2:24). These same principles can be applied in the realm of business and international politics.
God owns the heart of his children. He also owns the heart of the nations, and none of either one can make a move without His permission. We need to always remember that God is ultimately the one in charge, in control, and ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in our lives, and in the world. When we repent from our errors, when we harmonize our soul with God’s Spirit, God also pours His blessings on us in the form of the favor of our enemies.
So when we are faced with personal, social or political conflict, let us not be so quick in adopting the ‘persecution syndrome’. Let us check our heart to see if maybe our poor relationship with our ‘neighbor’ is a reflection of our disharmony with God’s Spirit.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
JESUS’ MANY TYPES
Psalms 106:44-45 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
After they rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden, God made a covenant of redemption with Adam and Eve. This covenant declared that somewhere, sometime, a ‘son of Adam’ through an ‘Eve’ would redeem them from their sin incurred (Genesis 3:15). Through Noah’s flood, Moses’ Exodus; through oppression by neighboring nations, the story of the people of God has been a story of sin and redemption. They would sin against God by practicing idolatry, so God would let them fall in the hands of enemies. God knew that there was still a promise to be fulfilled, so after they realized their error, He heard their cry and sent them a redeemer. If they were desperate enough and heard this redeemer, He delivered them from their enemies.
Even today, the people of God have a redeemer to free them from their enemies. All they have to do is call upon Jesus Christ and he delivers them. Jesus, Yeshua Hamashia’h, has many types. He is Noah building an ark to preserve the covenant seed from a world bent on destruction; He is Abraham taking us to the Promised Land, and pleading for the nations. Jesus is Moses the mediator and lawgiver; Joshua the conqueror of the Promised Land. He is Samson, Gideon, David, and all those who came before to supernaturally redeem God’s people.
Today, Jesus Christ is the perpetual redeemer who always stands in the favor of God’s people. When we call upon Him in desperation and repentance, He is ever present to redeem us from our enemies and from the results of our sins. Who could be so foolish to neglect so great a salvation?
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
After they rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden, God made a covenant of redemption with Adam and Eve. This covenant declared that somewhere, sometime, a ‘son of Adam’ through an ‘Eve’ would redeem them from their sin incurred (Genesis 3:15). Through Noah’s flood, Moses’ Exodus; through oppression by neighboring nations, the story of the people of God has been a story of sin and redemption. They would sin against God by practicing idolatry, so God would let them fall in the hands of enemies. God knew that there was still a promise to be fulfilled, so after they realized their error, He heard their cry and sent them a redeemer. If they were desperate enough and heard this redeemer, He delivered them from their enemies.
Even today, the people of God have a redeemer to free them from their enemies. All they have to do is call upon Jesus Christ and he delivers them. Jesus, Yeshua Hamashia’h, has many types. He is Noah building an ark to preserve the covenant seed from a world bent on destruction; He is Abraham taking us to the Promised Land, and pleading for the nations. Jesus is Moses the mediator and lawgiver; Joshua the conqueror of the Promised Land. He is Samson, Gideon, David, and all those who came before to supernaturally redeem God’s people.
Today, Jesus Christ is the perpetual redeemer who always stands in the favor of God’s people. When we call upon Him in desperation and repentance, He is ever present to redeem us from our enemies and from the results of our sins. Who could be so foolish to neglect so great a salvation?
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
DOWNFALL FROM BLESSINGS
Psalms 106:43 Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
Can we be trusted with God’s blessings?
When life rolls like a song, we seem to forget God; we think it robbery to enjoy the blessings of His grace and love (Philippians 2:6). Like naughty children, we promise to obey the rules, then run to our own devices. We get in trouble, cry for deliverance, and when God bails us out we go right back to it. It’s a wonder to realize how, in his carnal state, man prefers sin and hell than God’s blessings in heaven.
As a dog returneth to his vomit the Bible says, so the fool returneth to his folly (Proverb 26:11). The pages of history, not only of Israel’s history, but that of the world, bear witness to this fact. We seem to never learn from our past. We have a perverted hunger for territorial wars, for control of strategic resources, and for an unhealthy independence from God’s way of life. Israel was time again brought under the yoke of its enemies because of his disobedience after God had delivered them. It almost seems like a microcosm of the spiritual attitude of the whole world. It is also an extension of the way each one of us handle our lives.
We cannot do very much in the realm of politics, but as individuals, we have the power to change the world. Using Murphy’s law, (the fact everyone of us has influence on at least 250 people in our lives) let us decide, each one of us, as individuals, to buck the tide of the accepted way; to be thankful for God’s blessings, prefer heaven than hell, and live a life that “walks the Bible’s talk”.
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Can we be trusted with God’s blessings?
When life rolls like a song, we seem to forget God; we think it robbery to enjoy the blessings of His grace and love (Philippians 2:6). Like naughty children, we promise to obey the rules, then run to our own devices. We get in trouble, cry for deliverance, and when God bails us out we go right back to it. It’s a wonder to realize how, in his carnal state, man prefers sin and hell than God’s blessings in heaven.
As a dog returneth to his vomit the Bible says, so the fool returneth to his folly (Proverb 26:11). The pages of history, not only of Israel’s history, but that of the world, bear witness to this fact. We seem to never learn from our past. We have a perverted hunger for territorial wars, for control of strategic resources, and for an unhealthy independence from God’s way of life. Israel was time again brought under the yoke of its enemies because of his disobedience after God had delivered them. It almost seems like a microcosm of the spiritual attitude of the whole world. It is also an extension of the way each one of us handle our lives.
We cannot do very much in the realm of politics, but as individuals, we have the power to change the world. Using Murphy’s law, (the fact everyone of us has influence on at least 250 people in our lives) let us decide, each one of us, as individuals, to buck the tide of the accepted way; to be thankful for God’s blessings, prefer heaven than hell, and live a life that “walks the Bible’s talk”.
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
CONQUER THE ‘LAND’
Psalms 106:42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
History stands as a witness. As a nation or as individuals, the dynamics of life remain the same. The evil that we allow and compromise with and the wrong that we fail to denounce, become our oppressor. Be it excess materialism, perversion of morality, distortion of faith, as a rod on His children’s backside, God uses those with whom they perversely seek fellowship. Those who yoke together with unbelievers; those who fellowship with the works of darkness; those who attempt to serve God and mammon; (2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:11; Matthew 6:24); see them now; day and night they push the treadmill of these who have become their masters.. They labor and find no pleasure in their labor. Their Sabbaths are robbed from under them; they have no time to fellowship with their God; no time for their own.
The scriptures have warned us, we cannot take fire into our bosom without getting burned (Proverbs 6:27). Even now a foul smell of burning engulfs the world’s atmosphere; smoke billows on the horizon and the drums of war sound in the distance.
The oppressor first seeks to conquer our mind. As he did with Eve in the garden, he tries to convince us that there is no pleasure in the keeping God’s word. Our enemy tells us that he alone has the treasures of wisdom. Once he has conquered our mind, our body and soul fall into his hands.
Let us acknowledge the enemy’s his evil. Let us denounce his wicked intentions to our souls. Today, let us free ourselves from the heavy burden of his bondage and take upon us the easy yoke of our Messiah, Jesus, and once again let us conquer the land of our hearts for God.
John 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
History stands as a witness. As a nation or as individuals, the dynamics of life remain the same. The evil that we allow and compromise with and the wrong that we fail to denounce, become our oppressor. Be it excess materialism, perversion of morality, distortion of faith, as a rod on His children’s backside, God uses those with whom they perversely seek fellowship. Those who yoke together with unbelievers; those who fellowship with the works of darkness; those who attempt to serve God and mammon; (2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:11; Matthew 6:24); see them now; day and night they push the treadmill of these who have become their masters.. They labor and find no pleasure in their labor. Their Sabbaths are robbed from under them; they have no time to fellowship with their God; no time for their own.
The scriptures have warned us, we cannot take fire into our bosom without getting burned (Proverbs 6:27). Even now a foul smell of burning engulfs the world’s atmosphere; smoke billows on the horizon and the drums of war sound in the distance.
The oppressor first seeks to conquer our mind. As he did with Eve in the garden, he tries to convince us that there is no pleasure in the keeping God’s word. Our enemy tells us that he alone has the treasures of wisdom. Once he has conquered our mind, our body and soul fall into his hands.
Let us acknowledge the enemy’s his evil. Let us denounce his wicked intentions to our souls. Today, let us free ourselves from the heavy burden of his bondage and take upon us the easy yoke of our Messiah, Jesus, and once again let us conquer the land of our hearts for God.
John 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Monday, August 20, 2007
THE PATIENT LOVER OF OUR SOUL
Psalms 106:40-41 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.
The husbandman went on a journey far away; He left his estate in the able hands of his wife, the redeemed bride; the one he has redeemed with a strong hand and a great price. When she realized her husband tarried to return home, she went to the streets and played the harlot. She invited many lovers to her bed and defiled it with adulterous loves. The husbandman returned and was stricken with grief at the sight of his polluted wife and household. He did not dare to enter in. If that is what his beloved wife wants, so be it and he left her in the evil hands of the abusers of souls until she receives the due recompense of her actions.
What else could we do in such a situation? Even if he would come in and chase the lovers away it would be to no avail. They were not the offense. The offense was the ungrateful bride and her desire for stolen waters and for bread eaten in secret (Proverbs 9;17). The husband, as hurt as he was, had no other recourse than to let the bride finish what she was doing until, bruised and abused, when she has received the fruits of sin, she cries in a repentant spirit to him for help. Then, he will chase the lovers away, deliver his bride from their impure hands, cleanse his house from the filth of their abominable orgies, and receive his bride again unto him in a spirit of new life and forgiveness.
Can we understand this parable? Do we understand the Lord’s mercy towards us? What would we do in His place? We would probably reject the bride and divorce her. God had done that before, and he swore that He would not do it again. Because He loves His bride dearly, He now takes the hurt, the offense, the shame and the insult into His own bosom and waits for His beloved bride to return. When she has finally learned to love Him and truly desires to forsake all others for Him, He reinstates her to her former status. What a wonderful Lord we have.
Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
The husbandman went on a journey far away; He left his estate in the able hands of his wife, the redeemed bride; the one he has redeemed with a strong hand and a great price. When she realized her husband tarried to return home, she went to the streets and played the harlot. She invited many lovers to her bed and defiled it with adulterous loves. The husbandman returned and was stricken with grief at the sight of his polluted wife and household. He did not dare to enter in. If that is what his beloved wife wants, so be it and he left her in the evil hands of the abusers of souls until she receives the due recompense of her actions.
What else could we do in such a situation? Even if he would come in and chase the lovers away it would be to no avail. They were not the offense. The offense was the ungrateful bride and her desire for stolen waters and for bread eaten in secret (Proverbs 9;17). The husband, as hurt as he was, had no other recourse than to let the bride finish what she was doing until, bruised and abused, when she has received the fruits of sin, she cries in a repentant spirit to him for help. Then, he will chase the lovers away, deliver his bride from their impure hands, cleanse his house from the filth of their abominable orgies, and receive his bride again unto him in a spirit of new life and forgiveness.
Can we understand this parable? Do we understand the Lord’s mercy towards us? What would we do in His place? We would probably reject the bride and divorce her. God had done that before, and he swore that He would not do it again. Because He loves His bride dearly, He now takes the hurt, the offense, the shame and the insult into His own bosom and waits for His beloved bride to return. When she has finally learned to love Him and truly desires to forsake all others for Him, He reinstates her to her former status. What a wonderful Lord we have.
Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
THE PRINCE AND THE UNGREATFUL PRINCESS
Psalms 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
The young maiden sat on the street corner, a slave selling herself to earn money for her evil master. She was dirty, tired, starving, and thirsty. She had been beaten, used, misused, abused, and raped. Even as she sat on the street, she was the object of scorn, and took the brunt of the village’s young men’s perverted games; how she was still alive was a wonder.
The Prince of the realm rode through the streets on his white stallion. He was happy, wealthy but lonely; he needed a bride with whom to share his happiness. His eyes fell on the young maiden. The Prince saw beyond the filth, the corruption, the blood that had stained the young girl’s skirt. He couldn’t see her scarred legs, her swollen feet and bruised face. In a moment, the love that came upon him as he looked in her eyes transcended all that the corruption the world had laid upon the maiden. The prince got off his horse; with a stroke of his staff chased the perverted young men. He generously paid the ransom for her freedom and with a look of happiness and satisfaction, he put his skirt upon her to hide her shame. He then mounted her on his horse and took her to the palace to live a new life of happiness with him.
After a few days in the idyllic palace, the maiden hankered after her old life. She brought the perverted young men into the palace of the prince and polluted it with their filth, evil orgies and dirty inventions. The prince was heartbroken; how could the maiden do this?
Oh, the foolishness of the young maiden. Yes indeed, how could she do this? As foolish as the maiden was, are we—the children of the Most High who have been redeemed by the blood of the prince guilty of less? After having been redeemed with a strong hand by our Savior, do we not hanker after the evil that previously abused and shamed us? Do we not bring the evil of the world into the Holy of Holies of His house, into the ‘Holy Land’: our heart?
May God help us to be good brides for the Prince; to keep His house clean and free from the corruption and confusion of the world.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
The young maiden sat on the street corner, a slave selling herself to earn money for her evil master. She was dirty, tired, starving, and thirsty. She had been beaten, used, misused, abused, and raped. Even as she sat on the street, she was the object of scorn, and took the brunt of the village’s young men’s perverted games; how she was still alive was a wonder.
The Prince of the realm rode through the streets on his white stallion. He was happy, wealthy but lonely; he needed a bride with whom to share his happiness. His eyes fell on the young maiden. The Prince saw beyond the filth, the corruption, the blood that had stained the young girl’s skirt. He couldn’t see her scarred legs, her swollen feet and bruised face. In a moment, the love that came upon him as he looked in her eyes transcended all that the corruption the world had laid upon the maiden. The prince got off his horse; with a stroke of his staff chased the perverted young men. He generously paid the ransom for her freedom and with a look of happiness and satisfaction, he put his skirt upon her to hide her shame. He then mounted her on his horse and took her to the palace to live a new life of happiness with him.
After a few days in the idyllic palace, the maiden hankered after her old life. She brought the perverted young men into the palace of the prince and polluted it with their filth, evil orgies and dirty inventions. The prince was heartbroken; how could the maiden do this?
Oh, the foolishness of the young maiden. Yes indeed, how could she do this? As foolish as the maiden was, are we—the children of the Most High who have been redeemed by the blood of the prince guilty of less? After having been redeemed with a strong hand by our Savior, do we not hanker after the evil that previously abused and shamed us? Do we not bring the evil of the world into the Holy of Holies of His house, into the ‘Holy Land’: our heart?
May God help us to be good brides for the Prince; to keep His house clean and free from the corruption and confusion of the world.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
GOD’S LIBERTY OFFERED ON THE ALTAR OF THE DEVIL’S FREEDOM
Psalms 106:37-38 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
Why, why is it that man would rather yield to the burden of devils than to submit to the easy yoke of Yehovah? Why is it that when given wholesome spirituality, we hanker for the cesspool of superstition? Why is it that when we are given life, we snuff at it and choose death?
Is our modern civilization above such lowly crimes and passions as the children of Israel were guilty of? Do we hear these verses and think of these ancients who didn’t know better? As we read, do we picture primitive people in the distant lands of Africa or in the Amazon forest?
Since the second part of the twentieth century, our society has experienced a general rebellion against the very principles that were the spiritual building blocks of this country; it now even denies God as the creator of us all. Bewitched by a false concept of freedom, our modern civilization has strayed from wholesome boundaries. As a result, we have birthed a culture of death; we have created the spiritual genocide of a generation.
We have been lured and persuaded by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) to remove godly and healthy spiritual boundaries, and now, the proverbial werewolves roam freely, feasting on our precious lambs: our children. Dressed in sheep coats, the gods of ‘freedom’ of speech, press, choice, art, religion, and government, demand the soul of our children, and we are too willing to sacrifice them on the altar of independence from God. We exchange our God-given liberties, and sacrifice our children on the altar of the devil’s freedom.
God has a way with His children. He usually ends up letting them reap the fruits of their own doings. God eventually allows His people to be conquered by a foreign or an ungodly power. Our generation is said to be soon the witness of the revelation of such a power (Revelations 13). At that time, God’s children will repent and call unto Him. Isn’t it when the children are in trouble and need help that they finally call home?
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Why, why is it that man would rather yield to the burden of devils than to submit to the easy yoke of Yehovah? Why is it that when given wholesome spirituality, we hanker for the cesspool of superstition? Why is it that when we are given life, we snuff at it and choose death?
Is our modern civilization above such lowly crimes and passions as the children of Israel were guilty of? Do we hear these verses and think of these ancients who didn’t know better? As we read, do we picture primitive people in the distant lands of Africa or in the Amazon forest?
Since the second part of the twentieth century, our society has experienced a general rebellion against the very principles that were the spiritual building blocks of this country; it now even denies God as the creator of us all. Bewitched by a false concept of freedom, our modern civilization has strayed from wholesome boundaries. As a result, we have birthed a culture of death; we have created the spiritual genocide of a generation.
We have been lured and persuaded by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) to remove godly and healthy spiritual boundaries, and now, the proverbial werewolves roam freely, feasting on our precious lambs: our children. Dressed in sheep coats, the gods of ‘freedom’ of speech, press, choice, art, religion, and government, demand the soul of our children, and we are too willing to sacrifice them on the altar of independence from God. We exchange our God-given liberties, and sacrifice our children on the altar of the devil’s freedom.
God has a way with His children. He usually ends up letting them reap the fruits of their own doings. God eventually allows His people to be conquered by a foreign or an ungodly power. Our generation is said to be soon the witness of the revelation of such a power (Revelations 13). At that time, God’s children will repent and call unto Him. Isn’t it when the children are in trouble and need help that they finally call home?
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Friday, August 17, 2007
THE SIREN’S TEMPTATIONS
Psalms 106:36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
The Greek writer Homer tells us of Oedipus’ desperate journey home. His way took him through many adventures, which tested his integrity. One such test was sailing through sirens infested waters. (Sirens: mythological mermaids).
Sirens usually inhabited rock filled sea regions. Mariners who would approach them would meet their doom as the rocks pierced their vessel. Sirens lured sailors with their beautiful feminine voices. Attracted, captains would order the ship towards what they were beautiful bare breasted women, and thus were lured to treacherous hidden rocks lurking just beneath the surface of the water.
Oedipus, this ship’s captain, knew of the danger of following the siren’s call, but he wanted to hear their song. As his ship neared the siren-infested waters, he commanded his men to tie him to the mast of the ship and to stuff their ears with straw. He also told them to plug their own ears so they could ignore any command of his to stir the ship towards the sirens. Thus, Oedipus heard the song of the infamous sirens and kept his vessel on course.
How like the lure of Homer’s sirens is the call of temptation. Did Oedipus really foil the siren’s attempts? His body may have been tied to the mast, but through his ears, his heart was still conquered. His body couldn’t conceive temptation into sinful action, but his heart was nevertheless taken.
The fear of negative repercussions instilled in us by religious and secular laws may tie us to ‘the mast’ and keep us from doing the wrong things, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that our hearts do not yearn for the evil.
Jesus and Paul both warned us to not deceive ourselves by pretending to obey God by following the letter of the law. God sees even the thinking of evil in our heart (Matthew 5:28). What are we to do now when we live in a world where in every media possible, where in both religious and secular institutions, sirens scream their songs at us through loudspeakers? How can our heart not be negatively affected?
We cannot isolate ourselves from the world, but we can avoid the sounds of the sirens in our own homes, and insulate our heart from their songs by the Holy Spirit that is given to us.
Proverbs 4:14-15 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
The Greek writer Homer tells us of Oedipus’ desperate journey home. His way took him through many adventures, which tested his integrity. One such test was sailing through sirens infested waters. (Sirens: mythological mermaids).
Sirens usually inhabited rock filled sea regions. Mariners who would approach them would meet their doom as the rocks pierced their vessel. Sirens lured sailors with their beautiful feminine voices. Attracted, captains would order the ship towards what they were beautiful bare breasted women, and thus were lured to treacherous hidden rocks lurking just beneath the surface of the water.
Oedipus, this ship’s captain, knew of the danger of following the siren’s call, but he wanted to hear their song. As his ship neared the siren-infested waters, he commanded his men to tie him to the mast of the ship and to stuff their ears with straw. He also told them to plug their own ears so they could ignore any command of his to stir the ship towards the sirens. Thus, Oedipus heard the song of the infamous sirens and kept his vessel on course.
How like the lure of Homer’s sirens is the call of temptation. Did Oedipus really foil the siren’s attempts? His body may have been tied to the mast, but through his ears, his heart was still conquered. His body couldn’t conceive temptation into sinful action, but his heart was nevertheless taken.
The fear of negative repercussions instilled in us by religious and secular laws may tie us to ‘the mast’ and keep us from doing the wrong things, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that our hearts do not yearn for the evil.
Jesus and Paul both warned us to not deceive ourselves by pretending to obey God by following the letter of the law. God sees even the thinking of evil in our heart (Matthew 5:28). What are we to do now when we live in a world where in every media possible, where in both religious and secular institutions, sirens scream their songs at us through loudspeakers? How can our heart not be negatively affected?
We cannot isolate ourselves from the world, but we can avoid the sounds of the sirens in our own homes, and insulate our heart from their songs by the Holy Spirit that is given to us.
Proverbs 4:14-15 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
EXCUSE ABUSE
Psalms 106:35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
The children of Israel spent decades in an unfriendly desert. Their lives were hard and uncertain. We could almost excuse their sin of seeking security by making alliances with surrounding neighbors. In the midst of their seeming uncertainty, we can almost understand their need for a god that can be seen like that of the nations around them. But really, can their difficult lifestyle constitute an excuse to their sin of idolatry? When they arrived in the land that flowed with milk and honey, instead of obeying what Yehovah had told them and staying separate from the evil practices of idolatry, they mingled with it, and assimilated it. It was not the harshness of the wilderness that caused Israel to sin, but the natural human hankering for evil. As much as we speak of freedom and liberty, we love the security of dependence on what we can see and understand instead of on an uncertain God; and that to God, is dolatry.
It is so easy to find excuses not to be all we need to be for God. It is so easy to blame personal conditions and circumstances; and in most cases our friends will also excuse us because in doing so, they excuse themselves. But the question is: will God excuse us? Will God excuse us when we have at our disposal, at the fingertips of prayer, the wise advice from His Words and the power of the Holy Spirit that can move mountains at our request?
Let us ponder these things and remember that we will stand alone before God without the support of well-meaning friends, or the props of the excuses we so often indulge in. Let us be today all that we can be for the Lord; not looking for excuses as to why we can’t obey what God asks of us, but rather searching for the reasons why we should.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
The children of Israel spent decades in an unfriendly desert. Their lives were hard and uncertain. We could almost excuse their sin of seeking security by making alliances with surrounding neighbors. In the midst of their seeming uncertainty, we can almost understand their need for a god that can be seen like that of the nations around them. But really, can their difficult lifestyle constitute an excuse to their sin of idolatry? When they arrived in the land that flowed with milk and honey, instead of obeying what Yehovah had told them and staying separate from the evil practices of idolatry, they mingled with it, and assimilated it. It was not the harshness of the wilderness that caused Israel to sin, but the natural human hankering for evil. As much as we speak of freedom and liberty, we love the security of dependence on what we can see and understand instead of on an uncertain God; and that to God, is dolatry.
It is so easy to find excuses not to be all we need to be for God. It is so easy to blame personal conditions and circumstances; and in most cases our friends will also excuse us because in doing so, they excuse themselves. But the question is: will God excuse us? Will God excuse us when we have at our disposal, at the fingertips of prayer, the wise advice from His Words and the power of the Holy Spirit that can move mountains at our request?
Let us ponder these things and remember that we will stand alone before God without the support of well-meaning friends, or the props of the excuses we so often indulge in. Let us be today all that we can be for the Lord; not looking for excuses as to why we can’t obey what God asks of us, but rather searching for the reasons why we should.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
LIGHT CONTAINS NO DARKNESS
Psalms 106:34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
Israel was on a crusade. God sent them to Canaan for a reason far more important than to find a country to settle in. They were to conquer the Judean mountains and all the lands adjacent to them and make it God’s country. They were to make it a country where God’s Words and Spirit would flourish and be a testimony to the nations in the rest of the world. Israel was meant not to just conquer the land and settle, but they also were to destroy its inhabitants. They were meant to annihilate the evil idolatrous culture of the Canaanites. Israel was to loath their human sacrifices and their perverted religious orgies, and become the sample nation that would birth the Messiah. Israel disobeyed and compromised instead, sheathing its sword and settling in before the battle was utterly won, and as Moses had predicted, the nations around them became their constant spiritual snare (Deuteronomy 7:16).
Even today, the ‘Canaanite’ lives on; his evil indulgent practices fill our society; they are found in our stores, in our media, in our schools, in our churches and there is nothing we can do about the perverted influences of these great institutions of the world. Today, the place where we fight and win against the ‘Canaanite’ is in our heart.
Let us fight a valiant and courageous warfare against the ‘Canaanite’ in our heart. Let us never be influenced by his smooth words. Let us never be attracted by his loathsome practices. Most of all, let us never make peace with him; this is a war to the finish.
There is no peaceful co-existence of good with evil. There is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness. There is no communion between light and darkness; Belial has no concord with Christ. The believer has no part with the infidel, and the temple of God in our bodies has no agreement with the temples of idols (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Israel was on a crusade. God sent them to Canaan for a reason far more important than to find a country to settle in. They were to conquer the Judean mountains and all the lands adjacent to them and make it God’s country. They were to make it a country where God’s Words and Spirit would flourish and be a testimony to the nations in the rest of the world. Israel was meant not to just conquer the land and settle, but they also were to destroy its inhabitants. They were meant to annihilate the evil idolatrous culture of the Canaanites. Israel was to loath their human sacrifices and their perverted religious orgies, and become the sample nation that would birth the Messiah. Israel disobeyed and compromised instead, sheathing its sword and settling in before the battle was utterly won, and as Moses had predicted, the nations around them became their constant spiritual snare (Deuteronomy 7:16).
Even today, the ‘Canaanite’ lives on; his evil indulgent practices fill our society; they are found in our stores, in our media, in our schools, in our churches and there is nothing we can do about the perverted influences of these great institutions of the world. Today, the place where we fight and win against the ‘Canaanite’ is in our heart.
Let us fight a valiant and courageous warfare against the ‘Canaanite’ in our heart. Let us never be influenced by his smooth words. Let us never be attracted by his loathsome practices. Most of all, let us never make peace with him; this is a war to the finish.
There is no peaceful co-existence of good with evil. There is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness. There is no communion between light and darkness; Belial has no concord with Christ. The believer has no part with the infidel, and the temple of God in our bodies has no agreement with the temples of idols (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
LEADERSHIP IN HIS IMAGE
Psalms 106:32-33 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
Leadership is a heavy crown. Never does the old adage, “others may, but you cannot” ring truer than when we are called to such a position. People look up to their leaders so whether they like it or not, in a bi-product sort of way, they become teachers. People learn more by what they see than by what they hear; therefore the example of the leader they see has to correspond with the example of the leader they hear.
God had so blessed Moses; in the eyes of the children of Israel, he was the very representation of God; the closest thing to God Himself. Moses was also the mediator between God and the people. After the many miracles of protection and supply God had already performed for them, the people of Israel complained again, wondering if they were going to die of thirst. God asked Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses smote the rock twice and offered it to the people in an angry fashion (Numbers 20:3-13). As a representative of God, Moses couldn’t indulge in giving in to his own anger. God had to make him an example to become a reference point for generations to come for all his spiritual leaders, teachers, and parents.
God had mercy on the people, compassion on their unbelief, but Moses got frustrated with them. God showed a similar amount of mercy and compassion on the whole world in sin and rebellion, by sending His Son Jesus Christ, in a spirit of true mercy and compassion to take our sin for us.
Every one of us, whether we like it or not, has a spiritual responsibility to others, if only by living our life in way that encapsulates the God we claim to represent. We are responsible to the world, but most especially to our friends, to our co-workers, to our spouses, and to our children.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun to the earth in the night sky, may God help us to effectively reflect the light of God’s mercy and compassion to everyone we meet in this dark hour of the world.
James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
Leadership is a heavy crown. Never does the old adage, “others may, but you cannot” ring truer than when we are called to such a position. People look up to their leaders so whether they like it or not, in a bi-product sort of way, they become teachers. People learn more by what they see than by what they hear; therefore the example of the leader they see has to correspond with the example of the leader they hear.
God had so blessed Moses; in the eyes of the children of Israel, he was the very representation of God; the closest thing to God Himself. Moses was also the mediator between God and the people. After the many miracles of protection and supply God had already performed for them, the people of Israel complained again, wondering if they were going to die of thirst. God asked Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses smote the rock twice and offered it to the people in an angry fashion (Numbers 20:3-13). As a representative of God, Moses couldn’t indulge in giving in to his own anger. God had to make him an example to become a reference point for generations to come for all his spiritual leaders, teachers, and parents.
God had mercy on the people, compassion on their unbelief, but Moses got frustrated with them. God showed a similar amount of mercy and compassion on the whole world in sin and rebellion, by sending His Son Jesus Christ, in a spirit of true mercy and compassion to take our sin for us.
Every one of us, whether we like it or not, has a spiritual responsibility to others, if only by living our life in way that encapsulates the God we claim to represent. We are responsible to the world, but most especially to our friends, to our co-workers, to our spouses, and to our children.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun to the earth in the night sky, may God help us to effectively reflect the light of God’s mercy and compassion to everyone we meet in this dark hour of the world.
James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
Monday, August 13, 2007
PASSION FOR THE MESSIAH
Psalms 106:31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
Oh, how God judges by the motives of the heart. A violent act was committed; one that contained domestic and international political repercussions. Pinehas the priest delivered a death sentence to a prince of the children of Israel and a princess of the nearby Moabite city while they were publicly committing flagrant rebellion against Moses—God’s appointed leader, a spiritual forerunner of the Messiah Himself.
Pinehas did not look to the right nor to the left. He did not consider the opinions of man, neither did he care about them; a much more important thing was at stake than his personal reputation: the honor of God. Pinehas was personally offended for God with holy indignation, just as Jesus was at the people who transformed faith into a business when He came to the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21;12).
Pinehas’s actions had nothing to do with personal gain, power, politics, revenge, and the likes. His was an act of passion, an act of zeal for purity and righteousness, an act of love for God; an act of concern for the generations to come who would reference the character of their faith through these stories. Such pure motives draw the blessing of God on man and on his seed.
May God bless us with passion; passion that denies its due to the opinions of men; passion that soars beyond man’s erroneous sense of justice; the wholehearted and single-eyed passion (Matthew 6:22) of the lover careful to protect the honor of his bride, of the wife standing up for her husband’s virtue.
2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Oh, how God judges by the motives of the heart. A violent act was committed; one that contained domestic and international political repercussions. Pinehas the priest delivered a death sentence to a prince of the children of Israel and a princess of the nearby Moabite city while they were publicly committing flagrant rebellion against Moses—God’s appointed leader, a spiritual forerunner of the Messiah Himself.
Pinehas did not look to the right nor to the left. He did not consider the opinions of man, neither did he care about them; a much more important thing was at stake than his personal reputation: the honor of God. Pinehas was personally offended for God with holy indignation, just as Jesus was at the people who transformed faith into a business when He came to the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21;12).
Pinehas’s actions had nothing to do with personal gain, power, politics, revenge, and the likes. His was an act of passion, an act of zeal for purity and righteousness, an act of love for God; an act of concern for the generations to come who would reference the character of their faith through these stories. Such pure motives draw the blessing of God on man and on his seed.
May God bless us with passion; passion that denies its due to the opinions of men; passion that soars beyond man’s erroneous sense of justice; the wholehearted and single-eyed passion (Matthew 6:22) of the lover careful to protect the honor of his bride, of the wife standing up for her husband’s virtue.
2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP
Psalms 106:30 Then stood up Phinehas, and *executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. *Executed judgment: The Hebrew verb used in this sentence is “Palal” and means: pray; entreat; judge; intercede; make supplications.
The story is of God’s judgment executed against a man who exhibited the epitome of defiance. The children of Israel were required to remain pure from the idolatrous practices of the idolatrous nations whose religious rituals involved unnatural and unhealthy sexual practices. In spite of having made a promise to obey God about these things, the people of Israel went to the nearby Moabite city, hobnobbed at the temple of Baal-Peor, and indulged in their gross practices (Numbers 25:3).
God, through Moses, showed strong disapproval, and people in the camp were in a spirit of repentance and mourning for their sins. In spite of all this, one of the princely leaders of Israel brought the object of God’s anger to his own tent: a Moabite princess (Numbers 25:4-6; 14,15). Pinehas the priest, in zeal and indignation toward the cause of God, took a javelin and pieced them both during their contemptuous act (Numbers 25:8). Just as God caused a plague to erupt in the whole camp because of the rebellious sin of one, God also caused the plague to cease because of the righteousness of one, Pinehas.
God’s mercy is at the same level as His indignation. Just like the ill-inspired deeds of one man can cause a group, a church, a society, or a country to be the object of God’s wrath, the God-inspired righteous zeal of one man can cause the plague to be removed.
Oh, that God may give us ‘men’ who have the ‘guts’ and righteous zeal to be moved and pray fervently about their part in eradicating the evil that affects us.
Thank God for Jesus Christ--he had the ‘guts’ to stay the plague from us by taking our sin upon his responsible shoulders, and thereby executing judgment.
1 Timothy 5:20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
The story is of God’s judgment executed against a man who exhibited the epitome of defiance. The children of Israel were required to remain pure from the idolatrous practices of the idolatrous nations whose religious rituals involved unnatural and unhealthy sexual practices. In spite of having made a promise to obey God about these things, the people of Israel went to the nearby Moabite city, hobnobbed at the temple of Baal-Peor, and indulged in their gross practices (Numbers 25:3).
God, through Moses, showed strong disapproval, and people in the camp were in a spirit of repentance and mourning for their sins. In spite of all this, one of the princely leaders of Israel brought the object of God’s anger to his own tent: a Moabite princess (Numbers 25:4-6; 14,15). Pinehas the priest, in zeal and indignation toward the cause of God, took a javelin and pieced them both during their contemptuous act (Numbers 25:8). Just as God caused a plague to erupt in the whole camp because of the rebellious sin of one, God also caused the plague to cease because of the righteousness of one, Pinehas.
God’s mercy is at the same level as His indignation. Just like the ill-inspired deeds of one man can cause a group, a church, a society, or a country to be the object of God’s wrath, the God-inspired righteous zeal of one man can cause the plague to be removed.
Oh, that God may give us ‘men’ who have the ‘guts’ and righteous zeal to be moved and pray fervently about their part in eradicating the evil that affects us.
Thank God for Jesus Christ--he had the ‘guts’ to stay the plague from us by taking our sin upon his responsible shoulders, and thereby executing judgment.
1 Timothy 5:20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
LESSONS FROM HISTORY
Psalms 106:29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
The writer of this psalm uses the events in the children of Israel’s desert journey as a platform for precedents. He reiterates parts of it to form spiritual lessons that unveil to us the character of the Lord; to reveal His likes and dislikes.
This story refers to a time when the children of Israel camped by a Moabite city. Balak, the Moabite King hired Balaam the prophet to curse them, but Balaam, under the threat and inspiration of the Angel of the Lord blessed them instead (Numbers 22,23,24). As the story continues; it tells us that the children of Israel committed fornication and idolatry with the Moabites, and therefore brought down a curse upon (Numbers 25).
The Lord must get very frustrated with us sometimes. He gives us His Word to lead and guide us; He even works for us as He foils the enemy’s plans against us. The question then to ask ourselves is: as individuals or even as a corporate groups, how many of our problems, sicknesses and our financial difficulties How many of our sociaux-political problems and family breakdowns are self-inflicted, due to our disobeying His rules of conduct because of our going after the ‘forbidden fruit’?
It has been said that the only thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history. Can we break this vicious cycle?
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
The writer of this psalm uses the events in the children of Israel’s desert journey as a platform for precedents. He reiterates parts of it to form spiritual lessons that unveil to us the character of the Lord; to reveal His likes and dislikes.
This story refers to a time when the children of Israel camped by a Moabite city. Balak, the Moabite King hired Balaam the prophet to curse them, but Balaam, under the threat and inspiration of the Angel of the Lord blessed them instead (Numbers 22,23,24). As the story continues; it tells us that the children of Israel committed fornication and idolatry with the Moabites, and therefore brought down a curse upon (Numbers 25).
The Lord must get very frustrated with us sometimes. He gives us His Word to lead and guide us; He even works for us as He foils the enemy’s plans against us. The question then to ask ourselves is: as individuals or even as a corporate groups, how many of our problems, sicknesses and our financial difficulties How many of our sociaux-political problems and family breakdowns are self-inflicted, due to our disobeying His rules of conduct because of our going after the ‘forbidden fruit’?
It has been said that the only thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history. Can we break this vicious cycle?
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Friday, August 10, 2007
AS THE DOG RETURNS TO HIS VOMIT . . .
Psalms 106:28b . . . and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Idolatrous worship often included necromantic activities. People would use the organs of dead animals sacrificed to their dead god to divine the future.
We humans seem to never learn, we always return to the same thing. Eve was not satisfied in the spiritually perfect realm of the Garden of Eden and ate the forbidden fruit. The children of Israel despised being owned by the living God of the universe and made a golden calf--they returned to Egyptian witchcraft.
It is easy to understand the plight and have compassion on those who have never known the living God. They roam in an esoteric junkyard realm, desperately groping, trying to find spiritual substance to feed their poor shriveled soul. But how saddening it must be for the living God who gives us the pure living waters of life when we, who know the wholesome light of His spirit, return to the works of darkness. Why should we trust the works of the flesh, the wisdom of man, or dark sciences (Matthew 7:15) to find purpose and life?
Let us, with holy repulsion, lay aside the filthy elements of the world and with godly appreciation, let us wholly feed on the kosher meat of His Word (John 6:55), and drink the fresh living waters of His Spirit. Let us not only be full satisfying ourselves, but let it fill us to the point of overflowing to the people that daily cross our path.
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Idolatrous worship often included necromantic activities. People would use the organs of dead animals sacrificed to their dead god to divine the future.
We humans seem to never learn, we always return to the same thing. Eve was not satisfied in the spiritually perfect realm of the Garden of Eden and ate the forbidden fruit. The children of Israel despised being owned by the living God of the universe and made a golden calf--they returned to Egyptian witchcraft.
It is easy to understand the plight and have compassion on those who have never known the living God. They roam in an esoteric junkyard realm, desperately groping, trying to find spiritual substance to feed their poor shriveled soul. But how saddening it must be for the living God who gives us the pure living waters of life when we, who know the wholesome light of His spirit, return to the works of darkness. Why should we trust the works of the flesh, the wisdom of man, or dark sciences (Matthew 7:15) to find purpose and life?
Let us, with holy repulsion, lay aside the filthy elements of the world and with godly appreciation, let us wholly feed on the kosher meat of His Word (John 6:55), and drink the fresh living waters of His Spirit. Let us not only be full satisfying ourselves, but let it fill us to the point of overflowing to the people that daily cross our path.
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Thursday, August 09, 2007
TO EAT HEALTHY SPIRITUAL FOOD
Psalms 106:28a They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, . . .
We know that when we feed on junk food instead of good healthy food, we injure our physical health. Our body becomes deformed and we feel uncomfortable as we reap the fruit of an improper diet. The same goes with our spirit. It is the holy of holies of our humanity. Only the kosher dedicated food of God should be consumed in it, and we cannot indulge in the philosophical ‘sweet’ doctrines of man without injuring and confusing it.
Once we reject the living oracles of a living faith by a living God, we are only one step away from legalism, ritualism and eventually, mysticism. Once we separate ourselves from the truth that God pleads for us to receive, we are left dependant on the errors of man’s wisdom, listening to the rhetoric of wise religious philosophers and therefore doomed to their spiritual confusion; and from this seed of spiritual confusion grows idolatry.
May God help us to try the spirits (1 John 4:1) of the material we feed our mind, heart and spirit; and not only to ours, but also to be diligent to feed the hearts of our children with the kosher food of His Word coming from His spirit.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
We know that when we feed on junk food instead of good healthy food, we injure our physical health. Our body becomes deformed and we feel uncomfortable as we reap the fruit of an improper diet. The same goes with our spirit. It is the holy of holies of our humanity. Only the kosher dedicated food of God should be consumed in it, and we cannot indulge in the philosophical ‘sweet’ doctrines of man without injuring and confusing it.
Once we reject the living oracles of a living faith by a living God, we are only one step away from legalism, ritualism and eventually, mysticism. Once we separate ourselves from the truth that God pleads for us to receive, we are left dependant on the errors of man’s wisdom, listening to the rhetoric of wise religious philosophers and therefore doomed to their spiritual confusion; and from this seed of spiritual confusion grows idolatry.
May God help us to try the spirits (1 John 4:1) of the material we feed our mind, heart and spirit; and not only to ours, but also to be diligent to feed the hearts of our children with the kosher food of His Word coming from His spirit.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
WHAT HE SAYS HAPPENS
Psalms 106:26-27 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
The Bible tells of countless nations, kingdoms, empires and individuals whom God promised to destroy because they incurred His wrath. This stands as an earmark of the divine authorship of its words. The study of history teaches us that whom God said should be destroyed, has been destroyed. In the ancient world, one of the most threatening forms of destructions, as a person or as a nation, was the termination of the family or tribal name and therefore, of the descendance.
In the case of the children of Israel, the Bible tells us that God made a promise of perpetual descendance to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. This promise was to be fulfilled through someone from the tribe of Judah, the son of Israel (Jacob) (Genesis 32:28), to be born in Bethlehem, Judea (Micah 5:2). The Bible also tells us that the land of Canaan was given to the children of Israel under conditions of obedience to God’s laws; that if they did not obey Him, He would scatter them throughout the nations (Leviticus 36:13-42), and give the land to a more worthy one (Matthew 21:33-36).
The children of Israel disobeyed, and disobedience cannot go unpunished (Romans 6:23). The Assyrian empire conquered the ten northern tribes which then dispersed into the world, but God preserved Judea until such a time when He fulfilled His promises in Jesus.. Forty years after Jesus crucifixion, Judea was also scattered into the nations.
Such is the fruit of sin in the world. Attachment to the land no longer bears the importance that it did in the past. Mankind has now become a wanderer and is no longer ‘grounded’—he has lost his connection and attachment to the land. His descendance is scattered all over the world. Thank God that as in the case of the Jewish nation, the promise of a return home, of a gathering of our seed is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. We will all meet in New Jerusalem, the kingdom that he has prepared for all of us who long to go home after a long journey through the wilderness (John 14:2-3; Revelations 21:2-3).
Revelation 22:2-3 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
The Bible tells of countless nations, kingdoms, empires and individuals whom God promised to destroy because they incurred His wrath. This stands as an earmark of the divine authorship of its words. The study of history teaches us that whom God said should be destroyed, has been destroyed. In the ancient world, one of the most threatening forms of destructions, as a person or as a nation, was the termination of the family or tribal name and therefore, of the descendance.
In the case of the children of Israel, the Bible tells us that God made a promise of perpetual descendance to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. This promise was to be fulfilled through someone from the tribe of Judah, the son of Israel (Jacob) (Genesis 32:28), to be born in Bethlehem, Judea (Micah 5:2). The Bible also tells us that the land of Canaan was given to the children of Israel under conditions of obedience to God’s laws; that if they did not obey Him, He would scatter them throughout the nations (Leviticus 36:13-42), and give the land to a more worthy one (Matthew 21:33-36).
The children of Israel disobeyed, and disobedience cannot go unpunished (Romans 6:23). The Assyrian empire conquered the ten northern tribes which then dispersed into the world, but God preserved Judea until such a time when He fulfilled His promises in Jesus.. Forty years after Jesus crucifixion, Judea was also scattered into the nations.
Such is the fruit of sin in the world. Attachment to the land no longer bears the importance that it did in the past. Mankind has now become a wanderer and is no longer ‘grounded’—he has lost his connection and attachment to the land. His descendance is scattered all over the world. Thank God that as in the case of the Jewish nation, the promise of a return home, of a gathering of our seed is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. We will all meet in New Jerusalem, the kingdom that he has prepared for all of us who long to go home after a long journey through the wilderness (John 14:2-3; Revelations 21:2-3).
Revelation 22:2-3 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
A GOOD TRADE
Psalms 106:24-25 Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
God promised the children of Israel a land that flowed with milk and honey--a rich land, the glory of all lands (Ezekiel 20:6), a land of their own. He proved his power to them by delivering them from Egypt, their land of bondage, with his mighty hand. He took them by that same hand and led them every step of the way; supplied them with water from a rock and with food from heaven. Yet, in spite of all the support God gave them, they despised the land of promise. They despised the future heaven God had prepared for them; to them, it was not worth the trouble, it was not worth crossing the harsh desert, it was not worth fighting for. “Let us go back to the bread of Egypt, to its flesh pots (Exodus 16:3),” they cried.
Our future dwelling in heaven is still earmarked with the notion of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). To acquire it, we must leave this world behind. We are not going there with our I-pods, favorite music, jewelry, houses, lands, cars, nor any of our worldly trinkets. Should we complain? Does that give us a sense of loss? Paul said that compared to knowing Jesus, he counted all things on earth as dung (Philippians 3:8).
It is a bad sign when the child of God despises his God-given heritage and future blessings and desires to dwell among the flesh pots of the world. It is a bad sign when we value the things of the world more than the land of promise Jesus has gone to prepare for us (John 14:2-3). It is a bad sign when the physical realm has such a grip on us that we do not appreciate the beauty and blessings of the spiritual realm. It is a bad sign when we murmur against he Lord because His blessings may cost a little. Complaining against the blessings of the Lord comes from doubt, and doubts come from not believing his Word.
Do we look at the children of Israel in a critical way because of these things? Let us conjure in our minds our own picture of the millennium to come--how do we see it? Is it a picture where we are surrounded with all the things of this world that are important to us, or is it a picture of deliverance from the bondage of the madness of the materialism that has brought the world to the brink of destruction?
Oh, the freedom that surrounds us when we have truly surrendered all to Him and are liberated from the flesh pots of “Egypt”. Oh the beauty that appears when our spiritual vision is cleared from material obstructions. No more murmuring, only thankfulness; no more complaints, only gratefulness.
1 Timothy 6:5-6 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
God promised the children of Israel a land that flowed with milk and honey--a rich land, the glory of all lands (Ezekiel 20:6), a land of their own. He proved his power to them by delivering them from Egypt, their land of bondage, with his mighty hand. He took them by that same hand and led them every step of the way; supplied them with water from a rock and with food from heaven. Yet, in spite of all the support God gave them, they despised the land of promise. They despised the future heaven God had prepared for them; to them, it was not worth the trouble, it was not worth crossing the harsh desert, it was not worth fighting for. “Let us go back to the bread of Egypt, to its flesh pots (Exodus 16:3),” they cried.
Our future dwelling in heaven is still earmarked with the notion of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). To acquire it, we must leave this world behind. We are not going there with our I-pods, favorite music, jewelry, houses, lands, cars, nor any of our worldly trinkets. Should we complain? Does that give us a sense of loss? Paul said that compared to knowing Jesus, he counted all things on earth as dung (Philippians 3:8).
It is a bad sign when the child of God despises his God-given heritage and future blessings and desires to dwell among the flesh pots of the world. It is a bad sign when we value the things of the world more than the land of promise Jesus has gone to prepare for us (John 14:2-3). It is a bad sign when the physical realm has such a grip on us that we do not appreciate the beauty and blessings of the spiritual realm. It is a bad sign when we murmur against he Lord because His blessings may cost a little. Complaining against the blessings of the Lord comes from doubt, and doubts come from not believing his Word.
Do we look at the children of Israel in a critical way because of these things? Let us conjure in our minds our own picture of the millennium to come--how do we see it? Is it a picture where we are surrounded with all the things of this world that are important to us, or is it a picture of deliverance from the bondage of the madness of the materialism that has brought the world to the brink of destruction?
Oh, the freedom that surrounds us when we have truly surrendered all to Him and are liberated from the flesh pots of “Egypt”. Oh the beauty that appears when our spiritual vision is cleared from material obstructions. No more murmuring, only thankfulness; no more complaints, only gratefulness.
1 Timothy 6:5-6 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Monday, August 06, 2007
JESUS, THE MEDIATORY INTERCESSOR
August 6
Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
From his conception, Moses is a primary earthly figure directing us to the understanding of what the Messiah’s role on earth would be. The edict in Egypt sought Moses’ life even as Herod would seek the life of the young Jesus. Just like Jesus after his flight to Egypt as a child, Moses was called out of Egypt to be with his people. Moses left his people as criminal but returned to deliver them even as Jesus suffered the crucifixion as a criminal but gave everlasting life to those who trust in Him.
Moses provided water from a rock; Jesus is the water and the rock. Moses prayed for bread from heaven; Jesus is the bread from heaven. Moses brought the Word of God’s instructions engraved in stone; Jesus is the Word of instruction made flesh engraved in our heart. Moses acted a mediator when people could not hear from God themselves, Jesus is the mediator between God and Man. Moses interceded for the people against the wrath of God; Jesus takes the punishment for us. Moses prayed to divert the wrath of God from us; he ordered Aaron the high priest to prepare a sacrifice of atonement (Numbers 16:46-48). Jesus prayed for us and became the sacrifice of atonement; He is the lamb, the altar and the shed blood.
Jesus told us that we, like Moses, should also pray and not faint (Luke 18:1); Paul advised us to pray for presidents and kings (! Timothy 2:1-2), and James pleaded that we’d pray one for another that we may be healed (James 5:16).
God is still in the business of answering prayers. Let us therefore join the rank of the great men and women of God, and with the sacrifice of intercessory tears for our husbands, wives, children, friends, soldiers, and politicians, tap more fervently from this all too often ignored primary resource. If prayer changes things, if things are not changed, it could lie with our lack of intercessory prayer.
James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
From his conception, Moses is a primary earthly figure directing us to the understanding of what the Messiah’s role on earth would be. The edict in Egypt sought Moses’ life even as Herod would seek the life of the young Jesus. Just like Jesus after his flight to Egypt as a child, Moses was called out of Egypt to be with his people. Moses left his people as criminal but returned to deliver them even as Jesus suffered the crucifixion as a criminal but gave everlasting life to those who trust in Him.
Moses provided water from a rock; Jesus is the water and the rock. Moses prayed for bread from heaven; Jesus is the bread from heaven. Moses brought the Word of God’s instructions engraved in stone; Jesus is the Word of instruction made flesh engraved in our heart. Moses acted a mediator when people could not hear from God themselves, Jesus is the mediator between God and Man. Moses interceded for the people against the wrath of God; Jesus takes the punishment for us. Moses prayed to divert the wrath of God from us; he ordered Aaron the high priest to prepare a sacrifice of atonement (Numbers 16:46-48). Jesus prayed for us and became the sacrifice of atonement; He is the lamb, the altar and the shed blood.
Jesus told us that we, like Moses, should also pray and not faint (Luke 18:1); Paul advised us to pray for presidents and kings (! Timothy 2:1-2), and James pleaded that we’d pray one for another that we may be healed (James 5:16).
God is still in the business of answering prayers. Let us therefore join the rank of the great men and women of God, and with the sacrifice of intercessory tears for our husbands, wives, children, friends, soldiers, and politicians, tap more fervently from this all too often ignored primary resource. If prayer changes things, if things are not changed, it could lie with our lack of intercessory prayer.
James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
HUMAN IRONY
Psalms 106:21-22 They forgat God their savior, which had done great things in Egypt; Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
This is an image of the decadence of man’s spirituality; a tragic picture of the conditioning of the human spirit; a satire to the pride of mankind mixed with a warning to future generations.
When we are given a chance at betterment in our lives, we all too often complain that it comes through those who seem to know more about things than we do; people like us, our peers, who have gone through and graduated from something we are still gripped by. This challenges our sensitive pride and leaves us with the humbling feeling that we are not valued at our true worth. Our complaints are then transformed into a cynical vilifying of the personality of our wise counselors, which in our own eyes brings them down to our low level, and excuses us from listening to their wise counsel.
Sad to say, we also do that with God. We don’t like his wise control over our lives; his obvious superiority gives us an inferiority complex which is really a ‘superiority complex’ born of pride.
While at the Mount of God, the children of Israel were asked to agree to God’s laws before they even heard them (Exodus 19:3-8); they were to wait on Moses’ return not knowing if he would even return (Exodus 32:1); they were in a total state of dependency to God, and faced with the most basic of all elements of faith: the fact that none of us as nations, societies, communities or individuals are self-sufficient.
We obviously are unable to govern ourselves and, except by the grace and mercy of God, we make an absolute mess of our personal lives. In spite of empiric historical evidence to these facts, we insist on wanting to know “better” than God. We certainly do not want a God who will lead us, poor dumb sheep, in the pastures of His great wisdom (Psalms 23:10.) We want a God in the similitude of an ox that we can lead about to serve us in our own pleasures; a god that we can yoke to go our way, one whose love for us is proven by indulging us. How parallel to the picture of the “loving god” many of us are tempted to imagine, what a blatant picture of man’s pride.
Let us now, humanity even in the person of each one of us, kneel in our prayer closet and affirm to him who created all things our utter dependence on his wisdom as nations and individuals. Let us yield to His yoke and let our soul receive the rest it desperately needs.
Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
This is an image of the decadence of man’s spirituality; a tragic picture of the conditioning of the human spirit; a satire to the pride of mankind mixed with a warning to future generations.
When we are given a chance at betterment in our lives, we all too often complain that it comes through those who seem to know more about things than we do; people like us, our peers, who have gone through and graduated from something we are still gripped by. This challenges our sensitive pride and leaves us with the humbling feeling that we are not valued at our true worth. Our complaints are then transformed into a cynical vilifying of the personality of our wise counselors, which in our own eyes brings them down to our low level, and excuses us from listening to their wise counsel.
Sad to say, we also do that with God. We don’t like his wise control over our lives; his obvious superiority gives us an inferiority complex which is really a ‘superiority complex’ born of pride.
While at the Mount of God, the children of Israel were asked to agree to God’s laws before they even heard them (Exodus 19:3-8); they were to wait on Moses’ return not knowing if he would even return (Exodus 32:1); they were in a total state of dependency to God, and faced with the most basic of all elements of faith: the fact that none of us as nations, societies, communities or individuals are self-sufficient.
We obviously are unable to govern ourselves and, except by the grace and mercy of God, we make an absolute mess of our personal lives. In spite of empiric historical evidence to these facts, we insist on wanting to know “better” than God. We certainly do not want a God who will lead us, poor dumb sheep, in the pastures of His great wisdom (Psalms 23:10.) We want a God in the similitude of an ox that we can lead about to serve us in our own pleasures; a god that we can yoke to go our way, one whose love for us is proven by indulging us. How parallel to the picture of the “loving god” many of us are tempted to imagine, what a blatant picture of man’s pride.
Let us now, humanity even in the person of each one of us, kneel in our prayer closet and affirm to him who created all things our utter dependence on his wisdom as nations and individuals. Let us yield to His yoke and let our soul receive the rest it desperately needs.
Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Friday, August 03, 2007
JESUS, THE ONLY PRIEST, ALTAR AND SACRIFICE.
Psalms 106:17-18 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. (18) And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
Two hundred fifty princes of the children of Israel had gathered together to challenge Moses and Aaron’s authority (Numbers 16). The people didn’t just challenge their authority, but also their claim to leadership. Accusations of pride and self-elevation were leveled and a full-scale mutiny was on its way. Korah, a Levite, led the rebellion with two other people from the tribe of Reuben. Their argument was that since everyone is holy, it doesn’t really matter who’s in charge; they had lost respect for God’ s messianic election of Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1).
Moses, a very pragmatic man, did not care to justify himself in front of these men; he took his case to the God who had instructed him. The levitical law expressedly forbade any non ordained religious services. Under sentence of death, services had to be ordained by God, conducted in His way, by the person of His choice (Leviticus 10:1-2). This law was an exercise to the concept of respecting the one and only atonement made for our sins in the form and manner of Jesus Christ. All Moses had to do was to tell them, “Alright, you most likely remember what happened to those who offer unauthorized sacrifices. If God ordained you, bring your censers close to the tabernacle and let’s see what happens” (Numbers 16:5-7). They did as Moses said, and they were consumed in the fiery judgment of the Lord.
God may work with us about certain things like He did with Lot (Genesis 19:20-21). But His role in our lives, as well as the atoning role of Jesus is not up to a vote, nor even for discussion. Moses and Aaron were types and images of the future role Jesus and the Holy Sprit would play in our lives. They therefore could not be upstaged. Jesus said, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (Matthew 12:31). The people who came to Moses attributed themselves a religious position of leadership that God had not ordained, which is blasphemy.
A time is coming, and its shadow is already upon us, when the people of the world will replace Yehovah with a god carved according to their own value system (Revelations 13). Those guilty of this great transgression will suffer the same fate as those of the rebellion in the desert (Revelations 19:20).
Let us make sure that Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah ordained of God, is the only atoning sacrifice in our heart. Let us rely solely on His saving blood without any adulteration from our own works and concepts. Let us serve Him with His ordained will, without the confusion of our own. Let us humbly yield our heart to God who knows best.
Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Two hundred fifty princes of the children of Israel had gathered together to challenge Moses and Aaron’s authority (Numbers 16). The people didn’t just challenge their authority, but also their claim to leadership. Accusations of pride and self-elevation were leveled and a full-scale mutiny was on its way. Korah, a Levite, led the rebellion with two other people from the tribe of Reuben. Their argument was that since everyone is holy, it doesn’t really matter who’s in charge; they had lost respect for God’ s messianic election of Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1).
Moses, a very pragmatic man, did not care to justify himself in front of these men; he took his case to the God who had instructed him. The levitical law expressedly forbade any non ordained religious services. Under sentence of death, services had to be ordained by God, conducted in His way, by the person of His choice (Leviticus 10:1-2). This law was an exercise to the concept of respecting the one and only atonement made for our sins in the form and manner of Jesus Christ. All Moses had to do was to tell them, “Alright, you most likely remember what happened to those who offer unauthorized sacrifices. If God ordained you, bring your censers close to the tabernacle and let’s see what happens” (Numbers 16:5-7). They did as Moses said, and they were consumed in the fiery judgment of the Lord.
God may work with us about certain things like He did with Lot (Genesis 19:20-21). But His role in our lives, as well as the atoning role of Jesus is not up to a vote, nor even for discussion. Moses and Aaron were types and images of the future role Jesus and the Holy Sprit would play in our lives. They therefore could not be upstaged. Jesus said, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (Matthew 12:31). The people who came to Moses attributed themselves a religious position of leadership that God had not ordained, which is blasphemy.
A time is coming, and its shadow is already upon us, when the people of the world will replace Yehovah with a god carved according to their own value system (Revelations 13). Those guilty of this great transgression will suffer the same fate as those of the rebellion in the desert (Revelations 19:20).
Let us make sure that Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah ordained of God, is the only atoning sacrifice in our heart. Let us rely solely on His saving blood without any adulteration from our own works and concepts. Let us serve Him with His ordained will, without the confusion of our own. Let us humbly yield our heart to God who knows best.
Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
GOD’S AUTHORITY AND CONVICTION
Psalms 106:16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.
God asked Moses and Aaron to perform an impossible task. God, in his wisdom, knew the nature of mankind and their habit of persecuting those who come in His authority. God’s leaders are always subject the harsh criticism from those they try to guide.
Moses had the special link with God. This link was that of a mediator between God and man, the foreshadowing of Jesus’ role. Aaron, Moses’ brother was the High priest. He executed the perpetual atonement sacrifices. Through the levitical offerings, Aaron was like a foreshadow of the Holy Sprit, constantly reminding and convicting people of their sins (John 16:8). Moses and Aaron were the physical representation of authority and conviction. These are very needed elements for a well-balanced godly life, but sad to say, we vehemently naturally, consciously and sub-consciously, fight against God’s authority and conviction in our lives.
We naturally chaff against God’s authoritative control over us. We subconsciously justify ourselves against conviction. Our natural rebellion usually finds no other way to manifest itself than to lash out in critical attacks against those vessels who represent authority and conviction. Our wounded pride blinds us to the hard work and sacrifice of those who care for us and tries to find fault with them. Our deflated ego numbs us to our own faults, and we look at the vessel of God’s conviction with bloody envy.
Jesus ‘took the flak’ of our rebelliousness once and for all. It is a good thing that now the only people we can take our rebellion to are: God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Human pastors can relieve themselves of this ungrateful task by leading the flock to the Word who will do its work in people’s lives through the Holy Spirit.
May God help us not to become one of those who in the time of God’s wrath on the earth will lift their fist and blame God for the problems they brought upon themselves (Revelations 6:9). Let us voluntarily yield our hearts to God’s gentle leading conviction, and humbly receive the light that exposes us to ourselves, so day by day, we can grow into mature spirituality
Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
God asked Moses and Aaron to perform an impossible task. God, in his wisdom, knew the nature of mankind and their habit of persecuting those who come in His authority. God’s leaders are always subject the harsh criticism from those they try to guide.
Moses had the special link with God. This link was that of a mediator between God and man, the foreshadowing of Jesus’ role. Aaron, Moses’ brother was the High priest. He executed the perpetual atonement sacrifices. Through the levitical offerings, Aaron was like a foreshadow of the Holy Sprit, constantly reminding and convicting people of their sins (John 16:8). Moses and Aaron were the physical representation of authority and conviction. These are very needed elements for a well-balanced godly life, but sad to say, we vehemently naturally, consciously and sub-consciously, fight against God’s authority and conviction in our lives.
We naturally chaff against God’s authoritative control over us. We subconsciously justify ourselves against conviction. Our natural rebellion usually finds no other way to manifest itself than to lash out in critical attacks against those vessels who represent authority and conviction. Our wounded pride blinds us to the hard work and sacrifice of those who care for us and tries to find fault with them. Our deflated ego numbs us to our own faults, and we look at the vessel of God’s conviction with bloody envy.
Jesus ‘took the flak’ of our rebelliousness once and for all. It is a good thing that now the only people we can take our rebellion to are: God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Human pastors can relieve themselves of this ungrateful task by leading the flock to the Word who will do its work in people’s lives through the Holy Spirit.
May God help us not to become one of those who in the time of God’s wrath on the earth will lift their fist and blame God for the problems they brought upon themselves (Revelations 6:9). Let us voluntarily yield our hearts to God’s gentle leading conviction, and humbly receive the light that exposes us to ourselves, so day by day, we can grow into mature spirituality
Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
THANK GOD FOR UNANSWERED PRAYERS
Psalms 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
Indulgence is so often equated with love. We think that we show love to a child when we pamper him with things. In the same way, we equate God’s love for us with the measure of answered prayers.
Answered prayer is no proof of God’s favor. When traveling in the Sinai desert, God provided the children of Israel with a food correspondent to their lifestyle. Due to the heat and lack of refrigeration, meat would have been unhealthy. But the people were unthankful for this health diet coming from the heart of the great Dietitian, and they sniffed at angels’ food (Psalms 78:25). They desired meat and God gave them so much of it that it made them sick (Numbers 11:32.).
It is the reality of our nature that we do not appreciate the good that God does to us in spite of ourselves, until He’s allowed us a taste of the bad we so much desire. When we retrace our lives with the wisdom afforded by the years, we sometimes realize how we have pushed for certain things and frustrated ourselves in our own efforts to make them happen, only to be left with ashes between our teeth and bitterness in our hearts. When we are so stubborn, God may allow us to learn our lesson by letting us have our own way and then reap the results.
Let us therefore make sure that we are yielded to God in all things. That we pray intelligently, importunately if need be, but that when all is said and done, we also leave things in his hands in the complete trust that he knows best.
Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Indulgence is so often equated with love. We think that we show love to a child when we pamper him with things. In the same way, we equate God’s love for us with the measure of answered prayers.
Answered prayer is no proof of God’s favor. When traveling in the Sinai desert, God provided the children of Israel with a food correspondent to their lifestyle. Due to the heat and lack of refrigeration, meat would have been unhealthy. But the people were unthankful for this health diet coming from the heart of the great Dietitian, and they sniffed at angels’ food (Psalms 78:25). They desired meat and God gave them so much of it that it made them sick (Numbers 11:32.).
It is the reality of our nature that we do not appreciate the good that God does to us in spite of ourselves, until He’s allowed us a taste of the bad we so much desire. When we retrace our lives with the wisdom afforded by the years, we sometimes realize how we have pushed for certain things and frustrated ourselves in our own efforts to make them happen, only to be left with ashes between our teeth and bitterness in our hearts. When we are so stubborn, God may allow us to learn our lesson by letting us have our own way and then reap the results.
Let us therefore make sure that we are yielded to God in all things. That we pray intelligently, importunately if need be, but that when all is said and done, we also leave things in his hands in the complete trust that he knows best.
Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
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