Before the Altar

In Genesis 4:4-7 it shows the result of not doing our best for God. This chapter is of course the recounting of Cain and Abel. If we choose not to do our best for God, God will not look favorably on what we do. If we delude ourselves and say, “God doesn’t care” He is again not pleased. It doesn’t mean we will succeed at everything that is put before us and certainly doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us, just that He wants our best try and He wants us not to give up. These verses also show that our initial reaction is the lie we tell ourselves that it doesn’t matter what we bring to God and then blaming God for wanting too much of us. Then we become jealous of others without others not really having done us wrong. And finally we sin against each other and ultimately God because after all we know better than God.  All the while, throughout this whole process God awaits to see what choice we make.

Give us this day

God provided for us as He provided for His people throughout time. He provided for His priests as in Numbers 18:14. And because we are now considered to be His priests, we will also be provided for, when we choose to do exactly as He wishes and when we give back to God of our bounty. (I Chronicles 26:26-27).

I am the Lord Your God

God tells Moses in Leviticus 22:18-23 to give Him the best animal without spot. And that is us. We come before God, without spot because of Christ. Christ keeps us pure by His blood. If anyone gave God something “corrupt” or blemished then the LORD was not pleased, to say the least, as shown in Malachi 1:14. Again this is us as well, when we come to God and don’t admit we sin. He is just not pleased.

And God wants us to come to Him of our own volition, not out of obligation but out of our own choice. (Leviticus 1:3, 22:19). He wants us to come to Him in joy both individually and collectively. (Ezra 6:16-17)

I am the Lord Your God... (part 2)

Leviticus 27 teaches all Christians and all peoples to take seriously any vow we make to God and before God because we are expected to follow through on what we say, not because we are supposed to do this but because God wants us to be like Him who is not remiss in keeping His promises. His most important promise was Christ, by whose blood we are saved. He stood by His vow, we should as well. Over and over in the old testament we see people dedicating themselves and the temple to Him. (Num 7, I Kings 8:2)

I am the LORD your God...

The gospel of John is a fabulous treatise in Jesus’ connection to God, in fact being part of the Trinity. Chapter 10 describes “I am”, in several descriptive terms, the door, the shepherd, the Son of God, for example. These are just a few of the “I am” statements that are described in the book of John. And if these are in a comparative relationship with what is written in Exodus 3:6-14. Jesus is God and God is Jesus. And for that reason it was perfectly logical that Jesus should be at the dedication of His Father’s (indeed, His) house saying some of the “I am” statements. After all God and Jesus were and are in the House, His House. And dedication brings glory. It was indeed a festival in which the House of the LORD was dedicated, and His children  were to be joyous. Much as in  Ezra 10:9 and 1 Kings 8:2 and 2 Chronicles 5:3). Because Jesus was, is and always shall be in His house it pleases Him to have His House dedicated and loved for He wants us to enjoy His glory.

Who is God? All hail the power....

We are to acknowledge and glorify God by growing in Him, by going His was and following and physically giving Him an altar (Haggai 1:8). For even though this is not the make-up of His church – it does give God’s people definition, shelter and warmth , a representative of a home in heaven. For God protects and looks to His people. But He wants all to come to Him. ALL. And if there are those who are not Jews and not even Gentiles that can but don’t worship God, God and God alone will deal with them. (Zechariah 14:16-18). Even Jesus knew who was the most powerful and most important. He knew that God set up Moses to lead His people and gave instruction for all to follow until Jesus’ work was finished and redemption complete. (Matthew 8:4; Mark 1:44; Luke 5:14) He is coming and we must respect and as grade school teachers would say, “Get in line”. (Revelation 14:7)

 

Who am I? My relationship to God through prayer (part 2)

And we as His people are His royal priesthood and we are called to worship Him and  be humbled before Him. (Psalm 95:6) not just in church but everywhere. God is in control in all things. His power is not just in His strength but in His handiwork and His love. Everyone of His children know of His power and salvation, indeed deep down all creatures and beings know Him, and all know His truth (98:2-3). The hard part is getting people to know they actually do know Him and will come when called. After all God is a redeemer. God loves me, God loves His people and even those not in that group, so much so that He sent His Son so that we would all be saved. He is the Great Forgiver and Healer, And for this He is deserving of respect and blessings. (Psalms 103:1-4)

 

God refines me. God refines His church. He prunes it, He makes it humble so that His worship is pure. (Malachi 3:3,4) And on the flip side, God does the bidding of His Church and longs to give delights to those that trust, obey and believe in Him. (Matthew 18:19-20). He saved me from slavery to sin and gave me freedom in the Spirit. (Romans 5:1-11, 6:18) just as He brought the Israelites to freedom. ( 2 Kings 17:36)

Who am I? My relationship to God through prayer.....

 “All shall worship Thee and sing…to Thy name”, so says the Psalmist in Psalm 66:4. And when all is said and done, my true worship to the powerful King is keeping my vows that I made, especially in times of trouble (Psalms 66:13-14), giving God His due and acknowledging His power and righteousness, for after all “…Who is so great a god as Our God?: (Psalm 77:13) And this acknowledges that I believe and trust that God is so powerful that He can distribute His power to everyone and that we can all understand Him. (Acts 2:1-4).

As if in answer to the question, “Who is God?” is Psalm 89.7. God is great, He is to be respected and listened to in the assembly of saints and be held in reverence by all around Him. God is not only powerful but His is a sanctified Spirit and a holy being.

Who is God? Almighty King!!!

And I am God’s chosen, because I’ve put Christ on. Because I put Christ on and am His chosen, like those who follow Him, I worship Him in Spirit and know “This world is not my home”. (Phil 3:5) My relationship, my unity with other believers is in prayer and faith. (1 Timothy 2:8) Because I am His, I am exhorted to offer my body as a fragrant sacrifice to God. (Romans 12:1), to live for and in God’s glory and to do all things before God’s glory. (1 Cor 10:31), and to do whatever I do in His name. (Colossians 3:17) Worship is how I live my life, not just sitting on a pew on Sunday but walking on the streets of Charlotte or Lexington or New Orleans or wherever I am.

When I am out of synch....(part 2)

I am exhorted by the prophet Joel, as were the whole of Israel and as the entire church is, in Joel 1:14-15 and Joel 2:16-17 to bow before Him and sanctify and purify myself in Him because He is coming and His judgment is near. I am exhorted  to plead for mercy and forgiveness and to humble myself before them.

 

God doesn’t want me to go to church to be going to church. He doesn’t want my checklist of good deeds. He wants me to be humble and contrite to recognize that I would be walking down the wrong road without Him and to praise Him for that. God doesn’t want us to not chase after the vanity of immediate gratification, regardless of whether it is outright sin and going against His will or whether it is indirectly related to sin even though in and of itself is not bad. (Romans 6:13) Because whatever we pursue we are always its slave. And if we do what is outside of God’s will we will be on the path to death. If on the other hand we pursue God we are servants to His holiness. (Romans 6:16) And He calls us to return and return and return so that He can provide for us. (R0mans 6:19)

When I am out of synch....straying from God's will and purpose

On the flip side, I cannot tell you what heartache my choices cause God. Heart felt pain, since He wants to be in charge and He wants me to come to Him when I make any decision big or small. (Isaiah 43:22-24) When do I most disappoint God? When do I show Him the most disrespect? When I follow the rules, whether unwritten or written during worship time, but don’t act that way every minute of every day. When my worship may be admirable but my heart remains my own. (Ezekiel 22:8) God doesn’t want me to offer the best sacrifice in the Temple, or say the most prayers, or lead the most spiritual songs, or preach the most “repent” sermons. He wants my mercy. Actually He wants me to display His mercy in addition to show I know Him. (Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-24). He wants me, my heart, my mercy, and that comes from my faith, not my works. And my faith comes from my reaching for God.

They also serve.... being hospitable...

We are all His. He wants all of us to be His, if we know who He is and that He is the One and Only God and Jesus is His Son we can truly be in Him, any of us. (Psalms 100:1-4)

God and Jesus accept anyone who will come into His house, anyone willing to change their hearts to follow God, no matter what background, or previous poor choices. (Isaiah 56:6-7)

Before the altar....where am I when I worship (part 5)

God is specific about my worship, as He was about the Israelites’ worship. (Deuteronomy 31:11-13) He wants me to know what He expects and He wants me to be in community. And I will go to be in His spiritual House and to share a meal with Him out of my obedience, yes, but also out of honoring and trusting that He is abundantly merciful and loving. (Deuteronomy 33:15) I am exhorted by the Psalmist in Psalm 97:7 not to consider anything as more important than God, as were the Israelites were in Exodus 20:3-4) I am also exhorted by the Psalmist in Psalm 99:5 to humble myself before Him. God wants all of us to realize that we have “the pearl of great price” in Heaven. As in Matthew 13:44-46 we have that pearl and will give everything we have to get it and keep it.

 

Rather than to be slaves to sin, God wants us to worship as a living sacrifice as Christ did. (Romans 12:1) He wants us to give ourselves over to Him. (2 Corinthians 8:5) Although Jacob in Genesis 28:20-22 is running, he is reminding God of His promise to feed, clothe and protect him. And that was the purpose of the altar that Jacob set up to worship God. Our desire should be like Abraham’s desire to worship and serve God. (2 Samuel 15:7-8)

Before the Altar....where are we when we worship part 4)

When I bring just myself to the altar, when I say, “Here I am, Lord”, God will cause me to flourish, sometimes physically, always spiritually. He will cause me to flourish in His church (Psalm 92:13,14) but His altar, His church is not just where I sit on Sundays. It is everywhere I walk. And He will cause me, and those that follow Him, to prosper. What can I possibly do to give the Lord His due? He saved me, He took me from sin and blessed me over and over. His love never ends. There is nothing I wouldn’t bring to Him, all is due Him. Yes, all He wants is me and my heart. (Psalm 116:12-14,17) While I may stumble God allows me into His righteousness. There is nothing I can do to give Him His due, except to praise Him. I will gladly do that and I will gladly worship Him in that manner. (Psalm 122:1)  I go before the altar with everything I have –I will dispose of things that keep me from Him and enjoy the love and mercy He shows me when I worship from my heart. (Psalm 138:12). Praising Him is always a priority, part of the very fiber of worship and of the very being and soul of me because He is God. And I will sing and enjoy Him and obey Him without working to earn His love but I will bask in Him listening to what makes Him pleased and smiling rather than what makes me feel good.  (Ecclesiastes 5:1,2)

Before the altar...where am I when I worship (part 3)

When I purify my worship God sanctifies my altar (Exodus 29:43; Exodus 30:19-21). God wants our reverence (Exodus 34:8) He gave the Israelites instructions in worshiping from their heart and that applies to His people today (I Chronicles 16:29; 2 Kings 7:36). At one time, God’s people were unable to approach God because His glory was in the tabernacle. (Exodus 40:34,35) Even Aaron in Leviticus 16:2 and the priests in David’s time in I Kings 8:31. Now because of Christ I and others that are God’s people in Christ can go boldly before His throne. (Hebrews 4:16) In fact we as His people are asked to come before Him if we are going to follow Him. (Leviticus 10:3) So that we can do this, Jesus sits at God’s right hand and provides the way for us to come before God.

 

But what can I bring to the table of the Lord that He has  not already provided? (Nehemiah 10:39) Do I bring my best, as God asks? Or am I desiring that God be impressed with my works rather than to praise Him for what He has done in me? Do I give “reverence” at His holy table? (Psalm 5:7) Do I declare Him and praise Him in His house (Psalm 22:22)? If I go before His altar, all of me  must be clean, particularly my soul. All of me must be cleansed. (Psalm 24:3-6). My mind must be cleared of what the world would use to take me away from God. God wants me to be 100% His, mind, heart, soul and body, Much as Christ was His. (Luke 2:52) It comes to the point where I share the Psalmists’ sentiment, “I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth”. (Psalm 26:6-8) and one thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek after, and that is that “I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” (Psalm 27:4)

Before the altar (where are we when we worship) (part 2)

God wants priority when we worship. (Exodus 20:24-26) He wants us to make a pure altar, not combined with anything, not mixed with what we would call beautiful or with what we would call correctly sung or written. He wants the purity. God knows that all He created has intrinsic beauty, and that is what He wants us to bring to the altar. He wants us to worship Him and only Him and not the aspects as we perceive Him. By the same token, since Christ came, we are all able to come before Him (Exodus 24:1-2) and not be represented before God by anyone but Jesus. Ministers, preachers, and others of leadership are not representatives of God but merely guides, and God is the one that allows us to be His royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9). Prior to Christ, prior to all those that profess Him, God was still gracious and promised to commune with Him after having built a sanctuary. That indicates a desire for Him to be with us throughout time with a God! We wear special clothing as mentioned in Matthew 22;10-11 and Exodus  28:34-35.

 

Before the altar,,,,where do we worship, part 1

Where was Moses when he truly worshipped God? God brought him to a place in Exodus 3:56 in which Moses couldn’t look at God for the purity, strength, and love of God in all His divinity. In Exodus 5:1 again seeing Moses worshipping God, but this time his worship is in the presence of Pharaoh by acknowledging that God is Who He says He is. And that it is time for Pharaoh to let His people go….so that they can witness the kindness and mercy of God. And in Exodus 15:2ff, Moses and the people sing the praises of God because of what He brought them through and where He was going to take them based on the past promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that were fulfilled. True worship of God is the acknowledgement of God in all of His holiness and praising Him for what He does in our lives. But more than that, when we acknowledge God in our lives especially to those who may not know Him we are indeed worshipping and actually acknowledging His mercy and kindness as well as the divinity in which He reigns. While Moses still revered God in Exodus 15, he is nonetheless joyous rather than afraid. He has seen the burning bush, he has seen his hand turn from leprous to normal, he has seen a staff turn to a snake and back and he knows God can take him anywhere. Where am I in this milieu? Am I happy to be God’s child? Am I grateful for where He has brought me, through surgeries, a controlling mother, broken hearts through loss, and job changes, am I able to go to Him and say “Praise You”? Do I go before Him, purified and strengthened in worship, no matter in the collective worship (Exodus 19:10-13)or personal worship. God is merciful (Exodus 19:20-24). He knows that in my humanness I will delight in Him even if I am in sin. I love God and that is all He wants from me is my heat.

 

God is in control...

So glad for the example of Jacob, who grew into the responsibility of telling his sons and household to get rid of their idols. And it is important to be grateful to our leaders, because they give us impetus, if not memory joggers, to truly worship only God. After all, while I consider my leaders my brothers, there is still an authority granted to them by God (Numbers 17:4) They are not His representative. Nevertheless, our leaders lead the way in being holy. (Joshua 5:15).

 

“Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth the good news…) it says in Nahum 1:15, an exhortation to be thankful and gracious and do what our teachers tell us to do.

I have a dream (blessed be the believers, part 4)

And I am so joyous to wait upon Him. To wait is to know something good is coming. My heart soars. (Isa 40:31) I have waited upon Him in trials as well as in good times. The result is always the same. God rewards me according to His Will and purpose, as well as, the delights of my heart and His love never ends. As He does all who believe in Him, trust Him and obey Him. What we get in return are relationships that are loving and kind in which we see just how much God loves us. We need one another, for comfort, encouragement, and to help up become like sheep keeping in line with our walk with God. (Hebrews 10:25). The church in which we worship is not the building with bricks and mortar; we are the church, we are the holy priesthood. We are His elect. (1 Peter 2:5) And we are accountable in how we walk and how sincere our worship is (Revelations 11:1) because of the example that we show to one another. In fact individually the relationship between and among fellow Christians must be just that—relationships--and they must be built up. We must help each other grow, because when that happens we fulfill the Law, God’s Law. (Hebrew 10:25) All the apostles knew the greatest of these is love and that is God for God is Love (1 John 4:8). And, as are all those who follow Him, I am consecrated to Him as1 Peter 2:9 describes. Consecration is a devotion to the God by worshipping Him. Just as the Levites were consecrated in Exodus 13:2 and12-15.

 

I have a dream (blessed be the believers, part 3)

We as believers are His chosen and are welcomed and blessed in His courts. (Psalm 65:4) And because of this, I share the Psalmists sentiment in Psalm 84:1-4 about worshipping God, praising Him, crying out for His presence. He cares for even the sparrow, providing for them. He will do the same for His people. I really believe that I would rather be in the stability of being in the Lord than in the vortex that worldly living brings. (Psalm 84:10)

 

We all come through the wilderness in our lives. We are starving and thirsty. Is God there? I had to sell my house when I took the transfer to Kentucky. God knew the perfect time to do this and did so and while I am in debt, I will get out of debt. Perhaps not as fast as I want to, but I will get out of debt. God told me to move and I did and He has led me from a wilderness. I have had major surgeries, had broken bones and He has taken me through all of that. Praise Him – He has taken me through a rather strong threat of furlough – praise Him throughout the earth! Yes, praise Him, and may all those who struggle and all those no matter what stage of struggling they are in realize what a great God we serve!!! (Psalms 107:6-8) You see, God always gives me something in the midst of struggle, something to lift my spirits and convinces me to continue to seek Him. ) There is never a day I cannot proclaim Him, never a day I will not worship Him. (Psalm 132:7). The Lord has chosen Zion, “the land of desolation”. (Psalm 132:13-14) just so that we would be humbled, and so that we would know that He is greater than anything that will ever happen and the author of all Creation.

Give us this Day (thank God for leader)

I thank God for an example through the leaders teach us how to be priests. The leaders demonstrate to us that we are the ones who are in contact with God, that now we can approach His throne with boldness. Our high priest Jesus has made us all like Him. We become like those in Deuteronomy 10:8 who are set apart to carry the ark. We become like those who truly are sanctified, as the Levites called by God. Aaron was to lead the Levites and they were to serve Him (Numbers 3:16-18), much as our leaders are appointed by God to serve Him. I thank God for teaching our leaders to be His instruments, to keep us on the straight and narrow, polished in and by His Word, to move toward being pure and without spot, by reflecting His Son and walking within the example of Jesus.

 

I have a dream .... blessed are the believers (part 2)

Believers are blessed by God, as they are given of His abundance (Psalm 36:8). He longs to lavish upon the believers and call us His sons (1 John 3:1) so that our inheritance is in His World. I also share David’s sentiment of what soul-felt joy it is to be in His House/ (Psalm 12:4). I am so grateful and my heart pours out thanksgiving for being able to worship Him in His temple, His House, among His people. (Psalm 48:9, 55:14) And  I am so grateful to be able to sit in His lap and enter His rest. (Hebrew 4:3)

I have a dream...(blessed be the believers)

As Jews and later Christians, God’s people were to be so totally dependent and submissive to God. This is David’s sentiment in Psalms 45:2-16. There is beauty in obeying His laws and seeking His will. And none of His Word or obedience to His Word was meant for outer attractiveness but for the inner soul to be molded to God. We must be prepared and know where we are going and to be ready for anything, being alert and ready to shine as one of His children. (Matthew 25:1-4).

The Singing God

God gives us His song to be joyous to sing we are lonely or happy. (Isa 30:29) He wants to save us and join us in singing. (Is 32:20) Because He is a merciful God He wants to share this with all of us. (Isa 49:13; Isa 52:9) We sing because we are enjoying our salvation, because it is God who after all gave us music to sing songs, especially of His bountiful goodness. (Jeremiah 31:11-12)

Give us this day...thanking God for our teachers (part 2)

I thank God for teachers that demonstrate Jesus in their lives and work as God appointed them to work, as it says in Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28 and 29. Those teachers are not afraid of the truth, and they are willing to teach as Jesus did, in the temple in Luke 19:47. And they are willing to expound the truth of Jesus, and proclaim His origin and authority, much as Jesus did in Luke 24:27. I thank God for Jesus for explaining without a doubt His authority and His wisdom and those preachers that acknowledge this and feed me with His Word accordingly.

 

Give us this day....thanking God for our teachers

Some leaders are godly men and leaders who want to serve their God and their people. In Joshua 4:1-11, for example, Joshua does as God commands and told the people to set up the 12 stones to ford the river. Why? As a memorial to what God did for His people, and to commemorate what He put in place many, many years prior to even the 10 commandments that lead to those same commandments. It was God directing the pathways of His people by setting the 12 tribes, it was God that sent Joseph into Egypt, it was God that sent Moses to be raised by Egyptians and to lead the Jews out of Egypt, and it was God to direct the movement and paths of the ark of the covenant which held the covenant between God and His people. Such men allowed God in their lives to really carry forth His plan for His people. Godly leaders helped those they teach remember God and what He has done for His people, by following God’s direction to make certain clothing or parts of clothing in remembrance of the sacredness of His people, as in Numbers 15:38-39, and also the leading His people out of Egypt in Exodus 13:11-16.

Teach me that I might teach (growth as a christian)

I thank God for Jesus, because He was the epitome of what came back in the first part of the history of the Jews. He is for His followers what the Levites were to be for their people. Way back in the day, Levites were to be an example of the firstborn sons, the ultimate of which is Jesus, just like the lambs and calves that were to be used for sacrifice.(Numbers 3:17-45). In this regard, each were given their duty by God. Each one were considered special to God because of their tasks and that He called them. Such as those tasks and that He called them. Such as those that were appointed by God to lead us as elders and shepherds and the apostles of Jesus. The Levites, the apostles, our elders and other leaders in the church today have the responsibility to teach and lead us in the use and learning of God’s Word. More than that, Levites (Numbers 8:14-18) represented their congregation, in that they were part of the sacrifices, being the first born, that were brought before God in atonement, in thanksgiving, and in offering for prayers and worship. In this way, the Levites were not only to issue sacrifices but they were the sacrifices for the Israelites, much like Jesus being the High Priest offers the sacrifice to God and was the sacrifice when nailed to the cross.. The Levites were handpicked by God (Numbers 18:6) and they were specially called to handle the corporal things involved with the Temple. (I Chronicles 15:2) The Levites were numbered and segregated from the rest of the Israelites in Numbers 26:59-62, much as Jesus was marked by God to be His Lamb, much as we as His followers are called to be His royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) and the stones around Him, who is the Chief Cornerstone. We are called to not be in the world (1 John 2:15-17) for our in inheritance is higher, and we are God’s children. Our existence is no longer merely physical but it is spiritual. Our elders and leaders, our brother Christ, are the examples of being separated from the world by sanctification through allowing the Spirit of God to exist in them via prayer and care for the flock. And God has provided me so that I can be taught His ways and Will. (Psalm 119:108) My leaders, my elders, my teachers are there so that I may be taught pure love and God’s mercy.

 

In Numbers 3:12, God explains that the Levites were special, that they were consecrated by Him. Much like those who now lead us. And in this manner those that are devoted to God are sacrificial, and more, that sacrifice is presented to God. Our leaders and teachers are consecrated before God is to lead us in being sacrificial.

THE SINGING GOD

There were and are also false teachers. Isaiah 28:9-10 even makes fun of them by penning their words to their followers. The wording was repetitious, almost sonorous, and displays the idea of the ludicrousness of the Pharisee’s teaching. This is reiterated in Matthew 23:13-29, in Jesus’ sermon about the various woes that will come upon Pharisees. In fact in looking at Matthew 5:1-48, in which Jesus instructs His apostles about the meek and poor in spirit and mourners, etc., in the Sermon on the Mount as well as divorcing, as well praying and fasting, Jesus shows His people how to look out for false teachers and to be wary of what they are indeed teaching. Mark 12:35 also displays the scribes as false teachers, because of their misinterpretation of who the Messiah is. And there was a warning about being a false teacher, without even knowing that one is a false teacher, is given in James 3:1 which says that one shouldn’t seek to be a teacher because the responsibility is stricter than for those that are not teachers. That doesn’t mean that people who are students are immune to the responsibility of spreading the gospel. No, the responsibility is there as well, according to Galatians 6:6. Hence all of God’s children have the responsibility not to spread things that are not the truth about God’s Word.

There are no Jews, Greeks, men or women...people of the church

So many scriptures in the Old Testament and New Testament point toward unity in the Spirit and in worship. Exodus 25:40 and Leviticus 1:7 for example call for us all to call upon His name, as does 1 Chronicles 22:29 and 2 Chronicles 3:7 and 28:31, Acts 13:2 and 11 Corinthians 11-14 call for us to act and worship in unity and bolster each other up in love. Worship is in the unity of the Spirit, worshipping in reverence to God and in humility before His throne.. And in remembering it is not the building, it is not the order of worship but it is the content and the love shown. We are after all invited into His presence as princes and princesses before a King.

Teach me that I might teach

When I think of ministers and preachers, I don’t really think of teachers, but so very often they are indeed involved in that. Teaching is something that keeps knowledge in the hands of the people and allows people to grow strong in God. As well teaching allows new knowledge or new ideas to be examined and to see if these are in synch with God’s word. Never ever be afraid to attend lectures at a secular college because of what it might teach you about various controversial issues. The point is to absorb and prescribe those issues and filter out what is not in teaching the bible, that is what does not agree with God’s word. The reason God had officials teach the Law in 2 Chronicles 17:7-9 is because they were the ones most versed in that Law, as were the priests. Much as in various colleges Physics is taught by people versed or becoming versed in that topic, and German literature teachers are taught by those who have some knowledge and experience with that topic. I know that my best teachers were experts in their field or else had a wide range of experiences that were attesting to the fact that they could claim to have knowledge and were getting a degree that agreed with that statement. The worst teachers I have ever had were those who had no knowledge of their subject, because they were drafted to teach English History from having taught Typing. God provided His people with a means to gain knowledge of His Word, and He made sure this Word was spread, as in Nehemiah 8:7-8. It could be said that all of the Old Testament was to teach all of God’s people Who God is and what He expects of us. For example, in Leviticus 11:44-47, the LORD speaks and tells them to follow His ways, to make themselves (consecrate) holy because He is. Does that mean perfect? No, and the Old Testament as well as the New Testament stress that God’s people can indeed come back to Him time and time again by just asking for forgiveness. (I John 1) All they have to do is follow Him, and obey His commandments. That means following the footsteps of our prime example, Jesus. After all, all teaching has its focal point in Jesus, whose teaching in Luke 4:6-21 demonstrated that He indeed was the fulfillment of prophecy in Isaiah, lending credibility to His claim to being the Son of God. And what I love most about teachers and preachers is that they give us standards from God’s Word that I can search and verify as truth. This has always been so between God and His people. For instance, Moses and the elders in Deuteronomy 27:1-26 gave God’s people commandments that had been given by God to them. They thereby instructed the people how to proceed according to the commandments and standards God set out. In this way Moses and the elders taught and led God’s people in how to conduct themselves in accordance with God’s Word. In Deuteronomy 31:19, the people were lead to sing, the song intended to tell the people where they came from and what God intended for them, much as I am led in song to know God deeper through songs in that I can see God’s Word and encouragement. God gives me a history and a way to conduct myself and preachers and teachers instruct me in these facets in accordance to His Word.

I am the Lord Your God (part 3)

God is in control, even to the minutest detail no matter who is in the picture.  In Genesis 35:1 He gives Jacob specific details about building an altar. He even tells the Israelites how they should prepare sacrifices. (Exodus 23:17-18), all because of the representation of the Passover meal. And He is always calling the shots. In Exodus 34:23, He uses the number 3 to represent Himself as a triune so that people recognize that He is all powerful. Indeed He is more powerful than His people think He is and He is multi-dimensional. He commands respect; He commands that His people know Him (not of Him, but Him); He commands that His people come to Him and listen to Him. (Deuteronomy 12:5-7, 11-12) Moses reminds His people of this. He reminds God’s elect that God has their backs. (Exodus 16:6-8). In the same way He has my back. He had a plan for the Israelites, He had and has a plan for His church and He has a plan for me all personally.

God desires me. He as King wants me and considers me beautiful. (Psalms  45:11). And I am exhorted to give Him His due. He as King has given me so much. (Psalm 76:11) He as King wants me to recognize His glory, beauty, and power. (Psalm 96:8-9).

I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD (part 2)

God’s people will come and do come now from every where. (Micah 4:2) And those people will rejoice in Him. And He is the most worthy of reverence and respect. (Habakkuk 2:20) God brings all those with a contrite heart into His throne room. (Zephaniah 3:18)

Jesus kept His focus on God during His temptation (Luke 4:8) and that is what God wants us to do during all trials. And Jesus says the time will come when we will all worship in His Spirit of truth and wisdom. (John 4:22-23) After all God made us all, and He has rulership over all of us. (Acts 17:23-24) He is Father, He is God, He is all wonderful God, He is holy. And He wants us to glorify His Name. When all is said and done and His believers gather in heaven, we will worship Him in His Spirit. (Revelations 15:4)

I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD

God rewarded the Israelites with His presence in 2 Chronicles 7:1 He also consumed the sacrifices according to His promises. But the people still could not look upon Him. Not even the priests could enter into His glory. But we, as His royal priesthood and because of Christ, can enter into His glory. And when we pray these go up to the holy place. (2 Chronicles 30:27)  And there was, and is now, an atmosphere of joy and gratefulness. (Ezra 3:10-13).

Only God is worthy of the glory and worship of the beauty of His holiness (Psalm 29:2). And He is worthy of our gratitude/ (Psalm 35:18). And God is holy and pure, and He causes His people to be thus. (Psalm 93:5). After all, God promised the Isrealites that He would protect them in their assemblies and He does this for us. (Isaiah 4:5) He promised the apostles to send a comforter and He promises us the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38) We are protected because He is a God of His Word and never changes. He is a great God, a holy Lord, a doer of excellent things. (Isaiah 12:5,6; 25:9) The Lord God is above all else. (Isaiah 66:62).

Who is God? All hail the power... (part 25)

We are to acknowledge and glorify God by growing in Him, by going His was and following and physically giving Him an altar (Haggai 1:8). For even though this is not the make-up of His church – it does give God’s people definition, shelter and warmth , a representative of a home in heaven. For God protects and looks to His people. But He wants all to come to Him. ALL. And if there are those who are not Jews and not even Gentiles that can but don’t worship God, God and God alone will deal with them. (Zechariah 14:16-18). Even Jesus knew who was the most powerful and most important. He knew that God set up Moses to lead His people and gave instruction for all to follow until Jesus’ work was finished and redemption complete. (Matthew 8:4; Mark 1:44; Luke 5:14) He is coming and we must respect and as grade school teachers would say, “Get in line”. (Revelation 14:7)

 

Who is God? All hail the power... (part 24)

As if in answer to the question, “Who is God?” is Psalm 89.7. God is great, He is to be respected and listened to in the assembly of saints and be held in reverence by all around Him. God is not only powerful but His is a sanctified Spirit and a holy being.

And we as His people are His royal priesthood and we are called to worship Him and  be humbled before Him. (Psalm 95:6) not just in church but everywhere. God is in control in all things. His power is not just in His strength but in His handiwork and His love. Everyone of His children know of His power and salvation, indeed deep down all creatures and beings know Him, and all know His truth (98:2-3). The hard part is getting people to know they actually do know Him and will come when called. After all God is a redeemer. God loves me, God loves His people and even those not in that group, so much so that He sent His Son so that we would all be saved. He is the Great Forgiver and Healer, And for this He is deserving of respect and blessings. (Psalms 103:1-4)

 

God refines me. God refines His church. He prunes it, He makes it humble so that His worship is pure. (Malachi 3:3,4) And on the flip side, God does the bidding of His Church and longs to give delights to those that trust, obey and believe in Him. (Matthew 18:19-20). He saved me from slavery to sin and gave me freedom in the Spirit. (Romans 5:1-11, 6:18) just as He brought the Israelites to freedom. ( 2 Kings 17:36)

Who is God?...All hail the power... (part 23)

“God is so good” we sing in church. And He is. Truly. God took the Jews from under the Egyptians. He hid David, guided him through campaigns, was with Elijah in the cave, protected me when I was bleeding from intestinal carcinoids, during the move to Kentucky, during heart surgery, and when tending to my mom. He is truly wonderful. He lifted Jesus up to His right hand. He gave me entrance to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, and he guided me through Tulane. (Psalms 127:6-20). God is so good.


 “All shall worship Thee and sing…to Thy name”, so says the Psalmist in Psalm 66:4. And when all is said and done, my true worship to the powerful King is keeping my vows that I made, especially in times of trouble (Psalms 66:13-14), giving God His due and acknowledging His power and righteousness, for after all “…Who is so great a god as Our God?: (Psalm 77:13) And this acknowledges that I believe and trust that God is so powerful that He can distribute His power to everyone and that we can all understand Him. (Acts 2:1-4).

Who is God? All hail the power.... (part 22)

I must pray and have no doubt, no matter how long it takes. (Luke 18:1-11). All prayers are answered, but may not be exactly the way we want them answered. I have a friend who married someone she would not have married out in the world because of his poor business sense and because of his upbringing, never mind that he has done well for himself, has been to night school and graduated. And it was an answer to prayer that she have someone so that she wouldn’t be lonely. And she regrets her marriage every day. Why? She doesn’t understand that the man is rough and can be smoothed down by God.

 

Prayer must be persistent. I must pray because my life depends on it. I must pray because God wants me to and desires a relationship. I must be strong. I must have will-power and wait on God. I must not say after a period of time of hearing “no” that God doesn’t care or won’t answer me or I don’t matter. None of these is true and all are lies of Satan. And I must not believe those lies. John 16:23-27 speaks of God wanting a relationship with us and how He gives to us. Romans 8:32 says that God wants that relationship so badly He didn’t even spare His own Son. Yes, He will answer my prayer. But I must not give up.

Who is God? All hail the power... (part 21)

Yet there are times when I wrestle with God, telling Him that His decisions are not the best, and that His judgments are not what I want. Do I win? Certainly not. Did Jacob in Genesis 32:9-33:17? Not really. He went toe-to-toe with an angel of God, probably God Himself in actuality, and may have won the match but lost the use of his hip in the offing. In return, God blessed him, God gave him the blessing of a family that would reach into Christ’s time and in fact lead to the focal point in Christ, and it all came about because of this wrestling match. He taught Jacob and me a valuable lesson. Neither of us are infallible, nor are we without spot. But it is Christ that makes us white, and pure, and holy. What amazes me still is that God blesses me continuously.  And all that does is show me how much I need Him in my life. I need Him. My hip is wounded. He helps me to walk. I am sinking. He holds me up. I need Him. Just as He taught Jacob to depend on Him, for everything from increasing the size of his herd to reconciling with his brother, God teaches me to depend on Him. I am so convinced that He has put me in the hospital so that I would learn to depend on my brothers and sisters in Christ.  I am convinced that He is trying to break me of this tendency to prove myself, to hurt others and myself, and it isn’t until I dig deep and plead with God. While what I do may be construed by many as correct, I am just prideful enough to suggest to God that because of this I am deserving of much more that what I have. And I don’t need to reconcile with others. I soon learn how alone I feel, even though God doesn’t leave me, I myself am guilty about the way I look down on people. And in asking His forgiveness and acknowledging Him then I become a recipient of His blessings – unworthy yet made worthy by the blood of Christ.  Does this mean that I can continue in my attitude? Paul says certainly not (Romans 6)! Because I am made new in Christ my walk should be humble, meek and lowly realizing that without God I am nothing. And without those to help me along the way, I will never excel along the heavenly way. Exodus 17:8-14, the love of friends kept Moses strong, because of people that God put in His life. And that is our purpose, to serve and love one another.

Who is God? All hail the power.... (part 20)

Genesis 24:12-50 teaches me about doing the will of God and getting the rich blessings in return. It is the story of Rebekah  and how she came to be the bride of Isaac. Abraham was in such relationship with God that God gave him instruction and Abraham carried things out. God knows who I need in my life. It may not be the best relationship in the world, it may even seem like a wrong relationship, but God knows what He is doing and He guides me every step of the way. There is a reason for the people God puts in my life, mostly to show me how to grant mercy, how to love without condition, how to love in spite of my feelings. There is good and bad in all of us. We may have been created in God’s image, but because of the free will we can then choose to do the wrong thing and so often do unless we turn our will to God. And that is another reason for the people in our lives. God gave us a free will, but the purpose of that will is to decide whether or not we will ask God to bless us with wisdom of how to deal with the people in our lives or whether we chose to do it on our own.

Who is God? All hail the powers.... (Part 19)

I love the passage in Psalms 107:6-20, in which God is described as guiding the writer through darkness. He comes to me when there is no other, and I am never alone. And I can trust Him, and my love for Him is returned, and He is gentle and kind and He is good. In fact Jesus said nothing is good except God. (Matthew 13:17) How much does God love me? God loved and loves me enough to make a new covenant with me through His Son, sealed with His blood, affirmed by the sacrifice on the cross and magnified and in action when I obey Him, much as He made a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15: 1-21). God is such a generous God and so merciful, the hope of mankind was foretold in the first covenant and finalized in the second covenant. Why two covenants? I believe that God knew the heart of man could not stay pure on its own and it certainly couldn’t stay pure with the first covenant. But then if that is so, why give two covenants? Why put man through this? It is the same as when in math class people learn long division first before short division. Long division gives one the reason for short division. And the presence of the first covenant, through which the law of Moses was established and added to, gives the reason for the second. The first covenant defines the sins of man, the “thou shalt nots and the thou shalts” and lays down judgment, the second defines man in terms of what He becomes when He is a child. While the first covenant was nailed to the cross, that was only the strength of the old covenant. The old covenant has not gone out existence, only its ability to condemn mankind. In the second covenant gives the power of God to overcome the sins of the world that are defined in the first covenant. Put it another way, the second covenant gives man the tools he needs to be in relationship with the Father fully and in the Spirit. The second covenant gives us hope, the hope in Christ.  God knew we would all need this second covenant and had it all planned. Think of it, God not only knows the universe’s history, He knows my history and my beginnings before I was born and He knows that my life changes in Christ, and He promises His blessings.

Who is God? All hail the power.... (part 18)

In John 16:23-27, God defines me. I am in relationship to Him because He desires me to come to Him. How do I do this? Through prayer, through Jesus who tore the curtains of the temple; both God and Jesus love me so much they welcome me, no matter what I do. A dream I had before being baptized always sticks with me. I dreamt I was answering a door and there was a figure. I couldn’t see the face but that didn’t matter, I knew who it was and was scared. It was Jesus and His arms were outstretched and the soothing voice said “Come”. I shook my head, and then in the warmest smile He said I wasn’t ready yet and so He gently closed the door. I knew that wouldn’t be His last visit. About three weeks later I was baptized. It was His desire I come to Him, but He loves me so much He gives me the choice. And He never gives up on me.

 

Who is God? All hail the power...(part 17)

God is so wonderful. Look at His perspective in history. He sent His son, His messenger, through which all things were revealed. (Isaiah 52:1-15) The people of Israel, like the people of the Church, were told over and over and over that God is in control, that He rules supreme. And He told His nation of Zion/Jerusalem that those that live by faith were called righteous, and Paul told Christians that too, that those that lived by faith were indeed righteous in God’s sight. And what I have to ask myself is am I walking toward Him or am I allowing the desolation to convince me that I am lost as well as all items within the confines of desolation. Or am I righteous and do I walk toward Him?

Who is God? All hail the power.... (part 16)

Jesus came when God was ready for Him to be transformed into a child. As part of Himself, this was not an easy task, but God knew that the only example that humanity could ever have of what a perfect being was, that was tempted yet without sin had to come in the flesh yet retain His qualities. And He knew that His son could only be like this with training and obedience, but most of all learning His timing. Isn’t that what accepting God is all about? One of the greatest lessons that Jesus teaches everyone is to wait upon the LORD God, that His time is not our time. And that when He comes, His justice would indeed be carried out, but first we have to learn that it does not come from us. (Is 11:-1-10) When He came it was from God’s time, He comes in purity, without blemish and with the love of God. The importance of His coming is that He comes to bring peace to all men and cultures and joy to their hearts. (Is 29:18-24) He came to show us that the treasures of Jesus come from God because He is God. (John 1; 1 John 1). He came to show us that God and only God reigns supreme and holy over all things. All things by God and Jesus are sown in righteousness. All of Jesus’ teachings are to bring all men to peace and to show them a new way and by His example show us who we are and who we need to be. (Is 32:1-20). He cares for all of us, He loves us, and He is all powerful, but because He allows God to be in control, and He knows that all things come from God, He is not given to meanness or wickedness or foolishness. This is Jesus. He is the ruler in peace.

 

Who is God? All hail the power.... (part 15)

The Christ was not just found in the New Testament. While Jesus said in John 8:12 that He was the light of the world, Isaiah foretold of this. In Isaiah 9:1-9, “Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali and afterward did more grievously afflict her by way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation and not increased their joy; they joy before thee according to the joy in the harvest and as men when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The might Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. The Lord has sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria…” Jesus was to be a light to the world. He was to set free all those who are oppressed and hurt. And He did. While God multiplied the Jews and provided them with the Temple and with pious and righteous men that would keep them in their walk, He knew nothing earthly could save them, nor could someone from the tribe of Levi save Israel from itself. In fact, Israel ceased to be after 700 BC, leaving just Judah. God can do anything He wishes but it is significant this Savior came out of the house of David and near Jerusalem. To humans it was all wrong. Why wasn’t He a high priest from the tribe of Levi? Why didn’t He come with swords blazing in the sun to right all the wrongs? Why didn’t He come sooner?

Who is God? All hail the power... (part 14)

Christ is My Brother, my Savior, and the One Who wants to present me spotless before His Father. At the same time, this is the Father. That Son of God that came down to earth is God incarnate. His Name is Emanuel. (I love that hymn, “O Come O Come Emanuel”) Emanuel means God walks with us. Jesus came so that we could see what it was God wanted us, me, my ancestors, my friends, my associates, those that worship in the pew with me, those that came long long time before, what God wants us to do. Jesus came that we would know His will. What is really interesting about the bible is that God gives us a physical genealogy so that we can actually pinpoint that Jesus did indeed exist, this is His lineage and look indeed He comes from Adam. So He is a man, like us, but because He was placed in the womb of Mary by God He is God. And that is the mystery. He is God, He is the Son of God. And as spoken of in John 10:6, Jesus is the light, the example, the way, the truth and the life.. He first learned obedience as the Hebrews writer says, then He was baptized to further display this obedience to God and as a pledge of good conscience. And also to give us an example of the seed dying and some new being taking its place as well as a death, burial, and resurrection that would come at the cross later. (Romans 5 and 6). Jesus always said, “Yes, God” even though He may ask God to think of something else. It was always His Will. Then Luke in Luke 3:1-38 gives us Christ’s genealogy. God knows that I need, that all human beings need, tangibles, and He gave it to us. Christ is my ancestor, my King, My Lord and God.

Who is God? All hail the power....(part 13)

He came for me and others who came to know what it feels like to make God cry, to hurt Him, and who are truly sorry for what they have done to Him. He came that I might be saved, that all might be saved, that the broken relationships that occur because of our ignorance, our lack of desire to do right, or our selfishness. He came to provide a way to make us whole. It begins with baptism. Baptism is not an end: it is a beginning. Baptism is the result of one’s realization that one is a sinner and will perish without God’s grace, and that Jesus is the way to salvation. Does that mean mere belief? No, it means much more than that. It means acting out the belief that Christ came to bring peace to an otherwise war-torn humanity. The only way to peace is realizing that God is the One and Only God and the true Savior is His Son, Who being a part of God brings us His Word, and is God walking with us. Why? He cares so much for me He wants me in that relationship with Him. Can John the Baptist save me? No, His baptism was for repentance and changing the way of acting, from meanness to kindness, from extortion to fairness and justice. But those people didn’t understand why they were getting baptized, all they knew is that they had to change. The only baptism that will bring peace to my relationship with God is baptism in Christ, participating in His life, living up to the fact that God created me in His image, as He did Adam and Eve. The only way to do that is to humbly follow Christ.

Who is God? All hail the power... (part 12)

The whole basis of the Lord’s Supper, the whole reason for being, is the remembrance of Who Christ was. Not just the sacrifice, although He was the sacrificial Lamb, but also His covenant that according to Galatians 3:15, 17 that was new, a spiritual covenant, the one that would transcend the fleshly bounds. In making this covenant, He knew Judas would betray Him, people would lie against Him, beat Him, deny Him, especially Peter, and then leave Him, especially His own people except for John who stayed with Him until the last. And He knew that God had something for Him, and He never forgot that Father, even though He prayed that it would be taken from Him. The will of the Father was foremost in mind, and that is what Jesus wants me to remember. That the idea behind sharing a meal with Him is the fulfillment of a promise that came down from Genesis 3, all through the time of Moses and David and Solomon and the division of the Kingdom of Israel and the destruction of the first Temple and rebuilding of the Temple until the days of Christ and the fulfillment that Judah itself was going to be destroyed. It is the fulfillment of the promise of the power of God. God’s power, as spoken of in Romans 1:16-17 can overcome the fact that I do mean and malicious things, because God can change me such that I don’t do those things anymore. God’s power can change the way I think, because His power guided by His will raised a man from the dead three days after He was buried. Luke 22:3-31 gives a good account of the Lord’s Supper, as does John chapters 13 through 17. It is a celebration of Christ being resurrected. Jesus Christ is risen today, I remember singing, Halleluiah. Halleluiah, Christ is risen. And so the cross becomes at once sorrowful and yet exciting. I am excited Christ went to the cross for me because it means He loves me so much that He would die for me. I am saddened at His suffering because of my sins, but I am amazed and overjoyed that He would sacrifice all that He had just that I might be with Him as part of His bride, when He is ready to present me to His Father. And I pray that when He is ready to present me, that I am ready. But that is why He came to earth too, isn’t it?

 

Who is God? All Hail the power... (part 11)

And Jesus tells me to follow God, follow and listen to His voice. Every other god is false, just as the hired man in the parable of the shepherd calling his sheep. (John 10: 9-10) No one knows me like God. No one can touch me like God. God knows all, is above all, and is within the church and above it, waiting for me to come to Him as part of Christ’s bride. (Ps 46:1-5). Is this why Jesus came? Didn’t He come to earth to be a warrior, a rider on a white horse to swoop down and save His people? According to Ezekiel 34:23-31, “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them, I the LORD have spoken it. And I will make a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease, out of the land:  and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods; And I will make them and the place round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of heathen any more. Thus they shall know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the LORD God. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the LORD God.” That doesn’t sound like a warrior, but someone who will be peace-loving and kind and nurturing. He came so that there would be no more hatred and there will be no more pain. Jesus showed us the way there. Further in Ezekiel, in chapter 47 verses 11and 12, there is a description of a river that heals and quenches every thirst and takes evil, turning it to dross, so that only good survives. This is mindful of John 4, in which Christ talks to the woman at the well about the fountain that provides water and those that drink of it shall never die. In Him His bride shall never die. This also doesn’t sound like a warrior. No He came in peace. And He came for unity, as Micah 5:2-15. He came so that I and the person sitting next to me at church, or even in the next line at the checkout counter, those that are my neighbors, those I work with, He came for all of us, so that we may focus on God, and doing His will, not what pleases us or uplifts us or puts us on a high. He is powerful in the respect that He can stay the sea, and wither the fig. But He wishes us to be reunited and conjoined to Him in peace and joy and He promises to look after us with that joy and with singing. (Zephaniah 3:9-20)

Who is God? All hail the power... (part 10)

God has anointed Jesus to bring healing and justice and to bring comfort and show all the beauty of the LORD. (Isaiah 61:1-3) In fact, Isaiah is the book of Jesus and the Church and our relationship with him and God the Father, or I should say, our true relationship with God the Father. The whole book describes what God wants of us in a relationship, what Jesus will bring to my relationship with him and with God, the unity that I have with God, Jesus, and His people, and who His people are. So filled with love is Isaiah, it is beyond comprehension. God’s son Jesus cares for me, as a bridegroom cares for His bride. He creates a new creation, just as he did at the beginning of this world, so that all who hear and follow may be saved. (Isaiah 62:1-12) He promises to gather me to Him, that no more will it be desolate, but in a land that is full of promise, hope and is fertile and all this begins on earth when I totally accept Him and His son’s teachings. Does this mean physical and emotional/ It could but it means so much more, in order to bring others and myself peace.

Who is God? All hail the power... (part 9)

Just like Christ was allowed to be bruised for humanity’s iniquities (Isaiah 53:10-12), God doesn’t promise me a rose garden, either. He does promise He will provide me with wisdom (Is 30:20) and that He will lift me up when I am humbled before Him. (Is 44:3-5). At that point, I will have grown in Him and my attitude will be as in Isaiah 59:19-21: “From the west, men will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory. For He will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along. The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declares the LORD.” The humble and penitent heart, that is what Jesus wants, that is what God wants. And Christ and God provide me with a way to come to Him, as He does all peoples. That is via Jerusalem, not a physical one, but one which God set up prior to the first one, the one God rules from in His mercy seat. The Jerusalem that is Heaven. God has chose Jerusalem to be the central holy point, (Jer 3:17) as He did physically so He now does spiritually with the formation of His church on the day of Pentacost. Isn’t God a wonderful God who has my future, my parents’ futures, my friends’ futures all in the palm of His hands, and Who knows what each and everyone of us need to live on? It is hard for me to know what to accept word for word and what to understand as a parable. Does Christ, when he tells Peter that upon this rock he shall build his church mean a literal rock, which would mean the physical seat of the church? Or does he mean upon the rock of faith, the Rock of Salvation that David refers to in Psalms? Is it a spiritual kingdom or one here on earth? Does the writer of Revelation mean Babylon in actual terms or a figurative one? Is Jerusalem figurative in the above case? So many times Christ spoke in real terms, and then at others figurative. And that is where communication comes in. How well do I connect with my Savior so I can understand his meanings? Not that I’ll understand them always, but I will love him and serve him by faith because of what I do know of him and his Father, who is also my Father.

 

Jesus is the final word in prayer, the Amen (Rev 3:14). If I find myself trying to improve God’s Word or worship in a way more suitable to what meets my needs, I am not worshipping God. I am worshipping my image of God. I am not in worship, then, with the sole purpose of bending my knee or bowing in reverence and I am doing something wrong and unnatural.

Who is God? All hail the power... (part 8)

God describes who I am and how I become His, besides in Acts 2:38 and in John 1. In Isaiah, He tells me through His prophet that I am from an oppressed race. The Israelites were from a physically oppressed race, but me? How can that be? Satan does everything he can to bind me into my temptations and make me feel there is no way out as he does with all those in the world. But in Isaiah 18:7, His children come from any oppressed nation that call to Him and plead and beg for His mercy. In Isaiah 19:24,25 He calls to all His children, even those that are in “Egypt” and “Assyria” in bondage. So when I make the conscious decision to sin, He still calls me out of that, and should I be submissive to His will and act as His child, like the Israelites, He will give me His inheritance. Interesting that while there are those who He chooses to bless, only His children are His children. Only those that have come in full obedience to Him, those who bear His seal, those of the promise and covenant.

Who is God? All hail the power.... (part 7)

Not only this, but what happens when I bear something against my brother? There is of course the standard answer by repeating what Jesus said, about laying the gifts at the altar and making it right with my brother before bringing it before God. (Matt 5:23) And of course these are true words to live by, that if I bear something against my brother, I am no different than if I had killed my brother. And this involves being angry with my brother. Anger is a part of my life, as it has always been in the lives of humans. Anger is how world wars start.  Grudges and anger lead to terrorism, division, hurt feelings, separation, because frankly people would rather fight than change and they would fight then have an open mind. I myself would rather show that I am right. I really don’t like being angry. I don’t like the little red-faced person I become. I like things to run smoothly, no waves, and I am resentful if someone disrupts that. My anger doubles. And then I begin to blame God for what is happening to me. Adam did. (Gen 3) Why can’t I? Didn’t Adam blame God for what happened in the garden to Eve and for his own nakedness which he eventually wind up hiding with leaves provided by God? But Adam was fleshly and I am so godly or supposed to be.  So I shouldn’t show or even feel anger, should I? Ah well, wasn’t Adam created in God’s image? If that were the case, wasn’t God a very real part of this man? If that is the case, why should I not think of God as being capable of being angry?  God is a wonderful God, but anger is definitely part of His personality….there are many examples of Him being slow to anger, but also how fearful it is to be in the hands of an angry God. It was that part that Adam hid from, because he knew God would at least be disappointed with him. The part that was angry with Eve and angry with himself for believing Eve and angry with God because had He not gone Eve may not have been tempted. Don’t human beings do that with illness, or what’s called displaced anger? Leaves come in all shapes and sizes, cattiness, gossip, walls against anyone with other ideas, self-righteous smiles. My personal leaf is to build walls. I may try and work it out with the person I am angry with at first, but for the most part I will not talk to the person I am angry with, mostly because I will not be trapped into saying something I shouldn’t, but also because I want to stew, I want to hold it against that person. I build the walls, and rant and rave behind those walls and then it builds up and then --- boom !!!---- look out for whoever is in my wake. But when I admit to God that I am angry, and most of the time it is because of myself, then God can work with that and diffuse the bomb within me. God sees the free will in me, and  He leaves me alone, much like He left Adam and Eve alone to grow to understand that a free will doesn’t mean having everything their way all the time. He teaches me through my anger that my free will, while a wonderful thing, is something that is selfish, self absorbed, and really something that requires the fruits of God’s Spirit for nourishment. Thank God for His image that I put on in Christ when I decide to be submissive to God.