PSALMS 84:10 - I WOULD RATHER BE A DOOR KEEPER IN THE HOUSE OF MY GOD

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

STAND

On the night before last I was unable to sleep. I awoke somewhere around 3:00 am and tossed and turned in my bed until I finally decided to wander out to the couch and turn on the TV. I hoped some droning voice might lull me back to sleep. Instead, I was utterly amazed to hear the sweet voices of Batya and Barry Segal singing, "On the walls of Jerusalem I have set watchmen..."! "Oh, Father, " I prayed, "thank you, this will minister to me and put me back to sleep." But then I bolted straight up on the couch in astonishment. I saw the large ceramic tiles of the four living creatures on the wall where they were standing, and then the familiar buildings, neighborhoods and landscapes beyond the wall. They were standing on the roof of the Jerusalem House of Prayer for All Nations where I had lived for five months!

The camera continued to pan the surrounding area over which I had prayed, sung, danced, wept, and walked every day during those months, and once again my heart began to yearn for Israel with deep longing. In those moments I realized how terribly I miss the watches and the camaraderie of my brothers and sisters from all the nations, and the unspeakable joy of knowing I was HOME. Then another remarkable revelation came to me when the leader of that ministry, Tom Hess, walked out to the microphone and began to preach from the Bible. Despite the hardships I endured there, I looked into his face on that TV screen and felt gentleness. I blessed him. I prayed for him. And the Spirit began to show me what that time was really all about for me personally. He said, "It was to prepare you for persecutions yet to come; to teach you to bless your enemies and pray for them."

This was powerful revelation and this morning I feel strongly led to share it with you, as I know in my spirit that very difficult days are ahead of us. Are we prepared for the storms to come? Our nation as we know it is about to change. Our freedoms as we have known them are about to change. We face enemies that are not flesh and blood, but are "the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Now more than ever before, as Paul tried to warn us, "Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6:12-13).

Have you ever wondered what it means to "stand?" Does that mean stand around and do nothing? Does that mean cling to your silver and gold? Does that mean store up more food? No, the Scripture says, "After you have done everything, STAND." The Greek word used in Ephesians 6:13 is histemi (Strongs #2476) and it is defined as "abide, covenant, establish, hold up." After you have followed Yahweh's instruction and wisdom on how to physically prepare for coming storms, then you have only one thing to do and it is the most important thing you will ever do: Abide (remain hidden) in the Lord Yahshua - stay in Covenant with Him and His Promise - and establish yourself firmly on the Rock! Don't be afraid. Don't get depressed and lose heart. Don't lose your faith. Don't concentrate on the collapsing economy or the strange, devastating weather. Don't be swept away by the spectacular lying signs and wonders that will be performed. Keep your eyes fixed on Yahshua, the Author of your Faith, the Eternal One, the Righteous King, the Great Shepherd, the Rock of Ages! He says, "Blessed are you when you are persecuted for My Name's sake."

Have you cast aside all fear of man and learned to bless your enemies and those who persecute you? And then after you have done everything, beloved, STAND.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Praying for Another Great Miracle to Happen There!

Dear friends in Messiah,

In January of 2002 I took my first trip to Israel. This trip would forever change my life, my understanding of Scripture, and the direction of my spiritual journey. I was on a study tour with ministers from several nations and our teacher and guide was a young man named David Pileggi. David was the person who "removed the veil" from my own eyes. Through his teaching and his passionate love for the Land and the people of Israel, he opened my eyes to my inheritance as a part of Israel, and to the unspeakable joy of embracing and keeping the Torah.

Now, nearly seven years later. David is an ordained Anglican priest and Rector of Christ Church in Jerusalem (the oldest Protestant church in the Old City). This church also has a very special place in my heart. I will quote briefly from my book, Keeping Watch Over Israel:

"Under the sanctuary of Christ Church is an aquaduct discovered by archaeologists. Worship there often led me into meditation on the passages in Ezekiel 47 that describe the River of Life, which will flow from the Temple in the New Jerusalem. Perhaps that old aquaduct is still in place to carry the mayim chaim, the living waters, from the New Temple. On either side of the river will be trees, like the trees growing in the pastoral garden of Christ Church, and their leaves will be healing. How often I sat in that little courtyard of Christ Church, sipping hot tea, enjoying the cheerful symphony of song birds, and the safety and sweet shalom of that place. Surely the leaves at Christ Church already have healing leaves!"

Worship at Christ Church is also a powerful experience of the presence of the Holy Spirit. More than once I heard a chorus of angels in that ancient sanctuary. And this year, as in years past, there will be many busloads of Jewish Israelis who will stop at Christ Church on Christmas Eve to experience the service. Word has gotten around that "something special" happens there. So, David Pileggi has written to me to ask me to fast and pray with him and his staff this coming Monday, Dec. 22. I feel led to pass this prayer request on to all of you. Even as my eyes were opened in Jerusalem to the Covenant I have with Yahweh through the Torah - so now may the veil be removed from hundreds of Jewish eyes this coming week as they hear the glorious Truth of their Messiah! Pray that the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) will soften their hearts, and break through traditions and old mindsets.

I know it seems quite odd and ironic that it might be a Christmas service that would touch the heart of a Jew - but our Lord works mysteriously, and his ways our higher than ours! Below are Rev. David's suggestions for prayer (in his words). Thank you so much for uniting your voices and hearts to those at Christ Church Jerusalem and fasting for a time this Monday, asking Yahweh to again "cause a great miracle to happen" during this week of Hanukkah!

Some suggestions for prayer:
• the joint Hannukah/Christmas celebration for the Hebrew and English congregations on the 21st.
• our witness to our Muslim neighbors.
• during the Open House on the 24th, we will have many hundreds of Israelis coming through Christ Church. Please pray that the Lord will open their hearts to the message of Yahshua the Messiah.
• the Heritage Centre staff and volunteers will be talking to many groups and individuals. Pray that God would give them grace and strength, and that they would have unity and compassion together as a team.
• for good weather on the 24/25th. Otherwise pray for rain, rain, and more rain. We are currently in the midst of a severe drought.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Crossing the Jabok

In our Torah study this week we read again the familiar story of Jacob wrestling with the "man" whom we know to be Yahshua (Jesus). But this time we read through it, something new emerged. This is not unusual, is it? Scripture is, after all, living and active!

In Genesis 32:22 we are told that "Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabok river." Examining the Hebrew, we learned that the word jabok means "to be emptied, or to be poured out." How appropriate! After all, what happens to us when we get into a wrestling match with God? His desired result is that we will be emptied of ourselves, becoming a poured-out drink offering, a living sacrifice to Him.

As we "cross the Jabok" we struggle in the flesh. Our fleshly nature wars against the Spirit because we want to stay in control of our lives, and we want to hold onto whatever form of pride that keeps us comfortable. And if our fleshly nature is unwilling to let go and be emptied, then God touches the socket of our hip - or whatever place in us represents a stronghold of pride and self-aggrandizement - and we are left with a limp.

It reminds me of the time in Israel when, after about 4 months of not being allowed to lead any corporate worship, the Leader finally invited me forward to sing and lead. I was suffering with acute laryngitis and could not utter a word or a note! I went up to the microphone hoping that perhaps Yahshua would heal me on the spot and allow my voice to soar, but nothing came out. Not a sound. I was emptied and poured out. I was left with a limp.

I am grateful for that limp now. I am blessed because of the journey across the Jabok River. I do not seek to lead worship anywhere; but once in a while Yahshua surprises and blesses me with the opportunity, and I am filled with joy that it is never about me, but always about HIM!

The Man Jacob wrestles with is Yahshua, the Son of God Himself, who is always the manifestation of God upon the earth. No other could bless Jacob and change his name, as well as his character. In the light of this revelation, Jacob then names that place Peniel, which means the face of God. In Genesis 32:30 he says, "It is because I saw God face to face and yet my life was spared." It is a fearsome thing to fall into the hands (or the grasp) of the Living God! And if you desire with all your heart to see your Redeemer face-to-face and learn of Him, it is certain that you must first cross the Jabok River to be utterly emptied of yourself, and then wrestle until you limp. If it feels like you lost the match, congratulations. You won!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Looking in the Mirror

I cannot remember a season when I have received so many words of discipline and correction from my Abba Father. This morning when I awoke, I even heard the Holy Spirit say, "This is a season of testing and refining. This season is quiet because you have work to do to get purified in your inner man before you can face the days that lie ahead."

"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." (Hebrews 12:7-13).

How shall we strengthen our arms? By keeping them raised high in praise! How shall we strengthen our weak knees? By staying ON them in prayer! This is a season of being hemmed in with Yeshua, feeding on His Word as our food, and committing it to our hearts. A day is coming when we will not have the printed Word and will need to bring it forth from our hearts, where it has been planted.

A day is coming when the "lame" will be either disabled or healed, depending on how we are prepared to minister to and teach them. The lame, I believe, are those who have not known the Lord. They have no relationship with Him (even if they have sat in church pews for years) and they do not know His Word. Will we be ready to offer healing for their dying spirits?

In this time of discipline, the Holy Spirit is continually showing me why I get irritated with certain people. "You are looking in the mirror," He says. "You don't like their behavior because you don't like that behavior in yourself." I have begun to journal those things the LORD points out to me so that I can consciously pray and work to change those behaviors. It has been painful to see myself in that mirror so often!

"Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect Torah that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does. " (James 1:22-25).

Father, thank you for treating me as your own daughter. Please don't let me turn away from the mirror and forget. Keep my arms lifted high in praise, keep me on my knees, and purify me in this season, so that your discipline and training will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace! Amen.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Pass the Succotash!

The Puritans, pilgrims who settled America, were a people deeply rooted in their Hebraic roots. When they sailed to this land, they likened their journey to the Exodus of the Jews out of bondage and into the Promised Land. Max Dimont, in his book Jews, God and History, writes, "The Puritans, most of whom had Hebrew names, regarded themselves as the spiritual heirs of the Old Testament. In fact, there was even a proposal that Hebrew be made the official language of the Colonies, and John Cotton wanted to adopt the Mosaic code as the basis for the laws of Massachusetts." What a far, far cry we have come from our founders. They must be grieving in heaven today if they know of the laws Massachusetts has passed!

Because of their rich foundation in the Hebrew scriptures, the Puritans were undoubtedly celebrating the feast of Succot (the Feast of Tabernacles) in the autumn, when they invited their new-found native American friends to join them. The Native American tribes were teaching the new settlers how to grow new crops, such as corn and beans. Why else would we have this culinary combination known as SUCCOTash?! Though we don't see these crops listed in Leviticus or Deuteronomy, I think we can be sure that the Puritans were celebrating the agricultural harvest in their new land, and keeping the feast of Succot as commanded by Yahweh to all generations, forever! Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein is quoted as saying, "The American pilgrim fathers were, in all likelihood, inspired by the biblical account of Succot to pattern the holiday of Thanksgiving after."

Americans today do not know about this rich heritage - but joyfully, many of us are discovering our Hebrew roots and have already kept the feast of Succot (which this year was in mid-October). The Hebrew word succot means "to dwell with." It is the celebration of Yahweh dwelling with His people, and was undoubtedly the time when Yahshua (Jesus) was born as the incarnate Son of God. And this feast will be ultimately fulfilled when Yahshua returns to dwell with men forever. There could be nothing more wondrous to look forward to and to celebrate - and nothing for which we could be more thankful!

So as you gather together this Thursday,with family and friends, offer to Yahweh your thanks for all His many blessings; pray for repentance in our nation that has strayed so far from Him; and share this bit of heritage that came to us originally through a people who kept the feasts of the LORD. Then pass the turkey and the succotash!

God bless you. I am thankful for each one of you!
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His Love endures forever! (Psalm 118:1)




Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Living Menorah


Last evening I was e-mailing back and forth with a friend about the understandings of Hebrew words. One of the most beautiful Hebraic "pictographs" is found in the word menorah (the seven "candlestick" lampstand that stood in the Temple). The Hebrew word menorah is made up of three root words: the "men" is a prefix or root of the word melech which means kingdom. The Hebrew word or literally means light. The suffix ah is the shortened form of Yah, or Yahweh (God). Therefore the power-packed little word menorah means: THE LIGHT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Having pondered this anew last evening, I woke up this morning with a verse from Revelation Chapter 1 on my heart, and I got up early to read it and meditate on it. In this verse the apostle John, banished to the island of Patmos, is visited by Yahshua, the Messiah Himself, and this is what he sees:

"I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone 'like a Son of Man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters." (Rev. 1:14-15).

Notice the descriptive words John uses to try, as best he can, to paint for us a picture of our Risen Messiah in all His glory! I highlighted the words that brought to life the picture of the Living King who IS the Light of the Kingdom of Yahweh, who IS the seven golden lampstands (the seven spirits of God - or the fullness of God's Spirit), blazing like fire, glowing like bronze in a furnace!
When John first told us about Yahshua in his account of the Gospel, He told us: "Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:3-5).
This is where our focus must be: on the Living Menorah, the Light of the Kingdom of God, who is in men [in us by the power of the Holy Spirit] and who will not be overcome by the darkness. No matter how fast we may be hurtling toward a New World Order, a global financial system, and a government that completely abandons God, let us be lights that shine in the darkness - knowing and believing that the darkness will not overcome us. May the Light in you bring LIFE today!



Thursday, November 13, 2008

OCCUPY TILL I RETURN

I had a precious (and very long) phone conversation this morning with a dear sister whom I call "Zipporah." We had a lot to discuss and process because we discovered we've both been struggling with the same issue. We both believe that the horrific days described in Matthew 24 and in Revelation 6 and 8 are just ahead of us. The anticipation is hanging over us like thick darkness. And yet it is quiet, oh so quiet.

We confessed to one another that in this strange silence before the storm we are calling out to Yahweh, "How shall we prepare? What should we be doing? Surely there are things we should be doing to get ready for the ravages of great storms, food shortages, possible pandemics, and certain persecution against believers! " I told Zipporah how odd it has been feeling to me that my days are so simple and uneventful. I wake up in the morning, praise Yah for the beauty of another day, get in my car and thank Him for a reliable vehicle and the freedom to go wherever I want to drive - then go to the little chiropractic office where I work and greet the people with love, sometimes being allowed to pray for their healing - and then come home at lunch and throw in a load of laundry. Finally, I finish a workday and sit down to a lamb chop, baked sweet potato and some greens, giving thanks with a deeply grateful heart that I have plenty of food in the house and the warmth of my furnace at night. Then sometimes I teach a Bible lesson to a few old folks at my parents' retirement home. If it is an Erev Shabbat, I gather with my home group and we light two candles, welcoming in the Sabbath and sharing delicious food and robust Torah study.

"But that doesn't seem like I'm doing very much," I moaned to my friend on the phone. "It seems like in these days just before judgments and shaking, we should be doing something to be ready!" That is when the Lord interrupted our conversation and spoke these words: "OCCUPY TILL I RETURN."

Occupy? What does it mean to occupy?! These words are used in the parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:13). The king calls ten of his servants together and gives them each ten minas. Then he instructs them: "Occupy until I return." I looked the word occupy up in the Greek and the word is pragmateuomai. Here were the dictionary definitions:
1) to be occupied in anything
2) to carry on a business
3) to carry on the business of a banker or a trader
Not very exciting is it? Not thrilling or romantic or urgent! Just "to be occupied in anything." In other words, "carry on." And so with my friend still on the line, we asked the Master, "Show us what you mean by this, please, so that our hearts can be at rest." The Spirit spoke to me and said, "Get up in the morning and rejoice in the day that I have made. Go to your place of work and share My love, praying in everything. Wash your clothes - purify yourself - and assemble with My people. Remember the Seventh Day, to keep it holy. Give thanks in all things. Occupy till I return."
So, it is true: the will of God is simply stated for us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." This is our preparation, we concluded. These are the simple things we must all do to prepare our hearts and minds for the days ahead. And then the Spirit continued and gave us one more precious word: "Then those who feared Yahweh talked with each other, and Yahweh listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared Yahweh and honored His name. 'They will be mine,' says El Shaddai, 'in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.'" (Malachi 3:16-17)

That was all we needed to know.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Your Family or His?

A wonderful brother in the faith responded to my blog about The Line in the Sand, and his response has given me 48 hours of deeply pondering something. The Rev. Jim Wilson leads an intercessory team of prayer warriors in California, and this was a part of his response:
"The Lord spoke to me some time back about why Jesus did not heal or teach the crowd, being content to let them throw down their stones and retreat. He said to me that Jesus could only do something with them as they were willing to step across the line and stand with Him and the sinful woman..."

The part of Jim's response that touched me so deeply was the word content. He said, "Jesus was content to let them throw down their stones and retreat." Why? Why did he bend down and draw a literal line across the desert sand? And why was He content to let them reject Him and leave?

On one side of the line we see Yeshua (Jesus) - together with a sinful woman who was repentant and at this point, facing death by stoning, utterly dependent upon the Lord for her life. On the other side we see the self-righteous, vindictive mob of people who were ready to stone her for her sin. The line offers an invitation - the same invitation Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman at the well: "Come to me and I will give you living water." But no one accepts the invitation; no one crosses the line to His side. The angry, probably embarrassed mob drop their stones on the ground and leave, unable to give any response, but also unwilling to stand beside the likes of the adulteress. Did they not recognize their need to repent for their own sin? Or, did they think they were above the need for a Messiah?

Yeshua obviously knew this was their heart condition, for as Jim points out, He did not waste time in teaching or healing there.

This whole illustration just confirms for me that we are in exactly that place right now. A clear separation is being made between those who are so hungry for Yeshua that we will die to self and live for Him - and those who prefer to stay in "Babylon," where they can continue in the pleasures and comforts of the world and keep control of their own lives.

I can relate to Yeshua's experience in this story. I have friends and members of my own family with whom I have shared the glorious redemptive story of Yeshua over and over, only to watch them say "No thanks," throw down their stones, and leave. And when I cried out to the Lord for them, so fearful that I might have to separate myself from them completely one day, He answered me with a heart-stopping question: "Do you want to be in YOUR family or MY family?"

The answer to this question, for all of us who call Him LORD, is found in the Scripture where Yeshua does not go outside to meet with his mother and brothers, but rather points to His disciples and says, "These are my mother and brothers." In other words, those who were giving up their own lives to follow Him were the ones He considered family. He always knew that the Father granted His creation free will to choose. Now it is a hard truth we must learn to embrace in our own day - being content that when we have done all we can, we must align ourselves with the family of Christ, and stand on HIS side of the line.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

A Line in the Sand

On the morning after the U.S. presidential election I awoke and heard the Voice of the Lord say, "There is now a line drawn in the sand." This quickened powerfully in my spirit. The line in the sand is almost palpable in these post-election days, as we feel such a powerful separation occurring between those who have chosen Yahweh's precepts and values over anyone else's. I think it is the separation, the line in the sand, that has made many of us feel sad. We do not like division and separation. For most of us, the division is even affecting our immediate families. At my workplace I have heard stories of families that have now separated to the point of no longer speaking to one another.

Tim Wingate gave an illustration of ancient family division and fighting from the book of Judges:

5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No," 6 then they would say to him, "Say now, 'Shibboleth.'" But he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan . Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim."
Through history, a shibboleth has come to be a kind of linguistic password: A way of speaking or writing that identifies one as a member of a group. Today, it has also come to mean a point of difference and division. A person whose way of speaking or believing, as evidenced by actions, violates a shibboleth and is therefore identified as an outsider and thereby excluded by the group. It is an idiom in the nature of the idiomatic cliché, “to draw a line in the sand.”

Are we headed toward a time when believers will have a "password" such as shibboleth in order to know whom we can trust and join in community? Is the line of sand so entrenched now that Jesus' prophecy that father and son, mother and daughter would betray one another is a reality for us? Perhaps.

But a glimmer of hope remains within me, as I read the story about the wicked city of Nineveh. When Jonah had had enough sea-sickness and time-out in the bowels of the whale, and finally obeyed God and called Nineveh to repent, the entire city fell on their knees, cried out to the God of Israel, and was restored to His heart of blessing, peace, and prosperity by returning to His Torah. Pray for a Jonah in our time, and pray for the restoration of a nation once blessed by its foundation based upon the laws of Yahweh. A mighty wave of His Spirit could wash away a line in the sand.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Getting Vulnerable

The graphic picture of the aborted baby on the TruNews headline was horrific, wasn't it? But perhaps it shocked some of us into grasping the lateness of the hour and the tremendous amount of blood that has been spilled upon this nation.

I spilled some of that blood. Lest anyone think I send out these e-mails in self-righteousness or judgmental finger-pointing, I will get utterly vulnerable and confess my own sin in the matter. When I was seventeen years young, newly married to a man with great career ambitions, I got pregnant. We aborted the baby. I had been a church-goer in my youth, but I never knew the LORD in a relationship, and I certainly did not know His Word. Still, I knew within my heart that I had done a very terrible thing. But my inward guilt and suffering was not enough; Yahshua the Righteous King had plans for my life, and so it was necessary early on for me to learn the law of sowing and reaping.

At age 25 my husband and I greatly wanted a baby and again I got pregnant. I carried this precious little girl to full-term. She was born Oct. 28, 1975, two days after my birthday, weighing three pounds, 1 ounce. Several days later she died.
"After the time of mourning was over, David had Bathsheba brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord. Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have showed utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you is going to die. After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and wept into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. On the seventh day the child died." (from 2 Samuel chapter 12)

We serve a holy and just God who cannot look upon or tolerate sin. In the fullness of time, He sent Yahshua haMashiach, Jesus our Messiah, to shed His own blood on the tree as atonement for our sin, opening up for us the glorious opportunity of living forever with Him. But it is still a law that we will reap what we sow. That is what happened on November 4. Like thousands others, I fasted and prayed and wept for weeks before the election, but the sin of our nation was too great, and the voices crying out to worship a human king were too many. Yahweh allowed Barak Obama to become President, in order that many would, like me, eventually see the wickedness and the spilled blood they have walked in, and truly repent and turn to Him. I rejoice that after the many terrible fires in California, the people went to the polls and banned same-sex marriage! He watches over His Word to accomplish it.

The Lord showed me in a dream one night that the little one I aborted 33 years ago is a boy named John. John must know his sister, Dena, for they are both in perfect eternity with the Father. One day I will be able to see them again, but I wonder, as I fall to my knees, if I will be able to find the words to tell them how grievously sorry I am? Perhaps this is the great storm of passion that fuels my desire to call others into repentance, and into a relationship with the One True Redeemer of their souls, whose blood speaks a better word than Abel's!

Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die." Thank you, Yahshua, that I did not die for taking the life of my son, either. It is only because You died in my place.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Covering our Gopher Wood Bodies


In the Torah portion today we read the old familiar story of Noah, his family, and the building of the ark that would keep safe the various species of mankind and animals Yah had created. Why was this necessary? Because mankind had not only fallen into sin, but the sin had become so rampant, so overwhelming, that Yahweh could no longer tolerate that perverse generation. It used to seem like a children's "Sundy school story" to most of us, but in learning the Hebrew words used in the story, there is a far greater dimension to discover.

The wicked and perverse generation of Noah's day is not very far at all from today's generation. Yahshua warned us that the last days would be "as in the days of Noah." Men are marrying men, babies are being sacrificed in abortion, and our societies and our leaders are mocking God. Where is the ark being built today to deliver the righteous from God's wrath?

Notice that after making the ark, Noah was to coat the wood with pitch inside and out. In the Hebraic understanding, wood is synonymous with man’s mortality. The word pitch in Hebrew is kaphar (Strongs # 3722/3724) from the same root word that refers to the act of protecting - to cover, annul, forgive and pardon. Do you see the beautiful picture? Yahweh was prophesying through Noah and his family of future events that would cover, annul, forgive and pardon past transgressions and iniquities. Noah’s ark was actually a foreshadow of the promise given Eve that through her offspring would come One who would pardon and redeem His people.

In Genesis 6:14 God directs Noah, "Make yourself an ark of gopher wood and cover it inside and out with pitch." The verb and noun for the act of "covering" and the material "pitch" are both of the root word which makes up the Hebrew word kippur (as in Yom Kippur, Day of atonement). Our atonement means a covering of our sin, which was eventually accomplished through the blood of Yahshua, our Messiah.

As Rimona Frank writes, "Thus this ark is to become a shelter, offering a covering for the sins of the age, as it were. The rabbis believe that anyone, among those who had watched it being built through the many years of its construction, could have also found refuge in it. Instead, the spectators chose to scoff and ridicule its builder."

Indeed. Many today are scoffing and ridiculing those who believe in a Messiah whose blood is the pitch that covers our mortal "gopher wood bodies." They will try to tell you there are many other paths to heaven - but there is only one ark I want to board! This ark, like all boats, has a name - and it is the only name under heaven given to men by which we will be kept safe (covered, protected, forgiven, pardoned! Acts 4:12) - YAHSHUA!!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Some of Jesus' most interesting and memorable times of ministry were one-on-one. Most of mine have been too. I praise God for allowing me to minister in huge African conferences of 200,000+ people, and lead thousands in Peru, Ecuador and Russia in worshiping the Lord; but it's times like this week on my friend Patty's horse and alpaca farm that will always stick in my memory.
Like so many other folks Patty and her husband are going through a rough time right now, and that was badly complicated when one of her alpacas caused her to fall, seriously injuring her knee. Their house and farm have been for sale for a long time, with no buyers, and so Patty's husband has moved on to Texas where he found work and income to send back home. I enter this picture when the Lord directs me to come here and care for Patty through her knee surgery, helping her to recover and helping to look after the needs of her seven (!) dogs, one cat, six horses, nine alpacas and one big llama! Not even in Peru did I get to experience alpacas up-close-and-personal as I have here. They are funny and adorable, even if I DID get kicked in the thigh by one. Yesterday a woman came to pick up the alpaca she'd bought and Patty and I went out into the pasture to help her "catch" it. While the herd protector, Dalai Llama, hurled huge chunks of grainy spit on us, Patty held both her crutches out at arm's length to try to coerce Peaches into the pen so we could catch her! It has not been a boring week.

But waiting so long for the farm to sell has been tough for Patty. I've prayed with her over the phone for well over a year now. Being all alone and barely able to walk has been even worse, with all the work there is to do on the farm. But today our gracious Father broke through the silence and the frustration and worked through total strangers to bring Patty encouragement and His blessed assurance that He has not forgotten nor abandoned her. First it was an e-mail from a woman responding to an ad Patty placed in the local paper to sell furniture. The woman wrote, "Can we come look at it? Give me your address and I do have cash available. I hope your surgery went well.. you're in my prayers. God Bless!" Not long after that the phone rang and a man was calling on another ad where Patty was seeking help with feeding the animals. Patty told him her needs were met. The man asked, "How are you doing now?" She said, "OK - I do have help with the animals." But the man persisted, "Yes, but how are YOU doing?" Surprised, Patty said, "I'm doing fine. A friend is here to help me." He said, "That's all that matters. I'm glad you're OK."

Since when do people answering newspaper ads have this kind of compassionate, genuine concern for a total stranger? We both recognized Jesus breaking through the long, difficult silence, offering love and encouragement in the most unexpected ways. The knee is healing. The house has buyers flying in from Michigan to look. God is faithful.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. " (2 Cor. 4:16-17)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

THE REAL BAIL-OUT PLAN

I had another wonderful weekend retreat, teaching the Scriptures to 18 precious women in McCall, Idaho. We again "restored the altar of Yahweh" by taking 12 field stones, writing the names of the 12 tribes of Israel on them, and piling them up to mark the place. Just as in 1 Kings 18, when Elijah did this on Mt. Carmel, we were confronting the modern-day "prophets of Ba'al" - the rulers, principalities and authorities of this dark world - and proclaiming, "Yahweh - He is God! Yahweh - He is God!"

It is good to restore the altar of God, which is in ruins after the killing of millions of unborn babies, the performing of thousands of same-sex marriages, and the greed and lust of corporations and executives that has caused our economic collapse. But now what? As the reality of a recession sinks in and families struggle to make ends meet, where do we turn for help? How do we find some peace, with hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and threats of war surrounding us? How do we keep filling our tanks with gas to get to work, and how do we keep food on the table for our families? Are we really being "rescued" by the Bail-out plans? Well, as the apostle Paul was fond of saying, "By no means!"

There is really only one Bail-out Plan, and this plan will never fail us. The signs that our Messiah Yeshua gave us in Matthew 24 are all here, but the best news is that this means HE IS COMING SOON! As the G7 governments meet to establish a New World Order system of global finance, we can keep our eyes riveted upon the one Bail-Out plan that will overcome ALL plans, all governments, all "roadmaps to peace." Our Prince of Peace, the Sar Shalom, will return for His faithful, those who have overcome by keeping His commands and believing in the atonement of His blood. Of these the following is written in Revelation 7:13-17. Let us pray to be one of these overcomers, not looking to the world for help, but trusting only in the REAL Bail-Out Plan!

Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"
I answered, "Sir, you know."
And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Look Up Tonight!

Shalom, friends in Messiah!
Whatever you are doing tonight, I exhort you to stop and go out to watch as the sun sets in the western sky, and look for the rising of the New Moon. The Jewish people celebrated Yom Teruah and Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets and the Jewish New Year) on Monday evening. Why? Because that's what it said on both the Hebrew and the Roman calendars. But the moon was not sighted on Monday evening. And it was not sighted on Tuesday evening. I believe you will see it tonight. Does this matter? I believe one day it will matter a great deal.

Yom Teruah, the Feast of the Blowing of Trumpets and Shouting, is to be commemorated as a holy meeting with the LORD, by blowing shofars and giving a great shout! So far the reason for this great feast has not been fulfilled - but one year it WILL be fulfilled when our Messiah, Yeshua, appears in glory and returns to establish His Kingdom, ruling and reigning from His Holy City, Jerusalem, for 1000 years! Will you be watching? Are you willing to get on God's schedule, or do you expect Him to get on yours? Are you aware that all the signs around us - of wars, famine, disease, economic collapse - are signs of His soon coming?! Then rejoice! Look up! Our redemption draws near! Are you ready?

If you desire to show God that you are a watchman, looking for HIS seasons and signs, then go outside tonight, watch for the first sliver of the New Moon, recite Psalm 81, and blow your shofar! If you don't have one, then give a great shout! Will your neighbors think you're foolish? Mine certainly do! And I am honored to be a fool for my King. Remember, He did not say, "You will not know the year, you will not know the month, you will not know the season." He said, "No one knows the DAY or the HOUR." That's because no one will know exactly what day/hour the Father decides to place that first sign in the heavens - the New Moon that heralds in Tishrei 1, the first day of the 7th month of HIS calendar! So He is training us now - keep watch!

As Paul reminds us in 2 Thessalonian 5:4, "You brothers [believers in Messiah] are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day! We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be alert..."

As the first sliver of the New Moon appears , we begin the season of true repentance before Yahweh, a season of getting things right with Him, so that when the last (seventh) trumpet is blown on Yom Teruah--the Feast of Trumpets yet to come, we will be ready to receive Messiah as He returns. It is the time of our return to purity and set-apartness, getting ourselves totally in right standing with Him, and with others.

“We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed”. (I Corinthians 15:51-52)

“And the seventh angel sounded [the last of seven trumpets] and there came to be loud voices in the heaven saying, `The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Master and of His Messiah, and He shall reign forever and ever’. And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to give the reward to Your servants the prophets and to the set-apart ones, and to those who fear Your Name, small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:14-18)

Saturday, September 20, 2008

White-Washed Stones

In this week's Torah portion, in the 27th chapter of Deuteronomy, we find an astonishing picture:
"Moses and the elders of Israel cmmanded the people: 'Keep all these commands that I give you today. When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. Write on them all the words of this Torah when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you; a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord the God of your fathers, promised you. And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mt. Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with white plaster." Moses continues in verse 8: "And you shall write very clearly all the words of this Torah on these stones you have set up."

Why Mt. Ebal? Why white plaster? Why would they need to write Torah (God's commandments and instructions) again on these stones and use them to build an altar there?

Back in Deut. 11:29 Moses tells the Israelites: "When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are to possess, you are to proclaim on Mt. Gerazim the blessings, and on Mt. Ebal the curses." So, from this passage we understand that Mt. Ebal represents the mountain of curses (which means proclaiming all the curses that will come upon the Israelites if they disobey their God and turn away from Him).

We too are Israelites. We too lie under the curses of Yahweh for our disobedience. But let's return to today's portion in Deuteronomy 29. There we see the Israelites "white-washing" some stones, writing Torah on them, and using these stones to COVER over the mountain of curses! Beloved, do you see the beautiful, astonishing prophetic picture they are painting? It is a picture of YOU who are in Messiah!

Revelation 2:17: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."

A white stone with a new name written on it! This is a picture of the RENEWED COVENANT - RENEWED IN MESSIAH YESHUA! In Joshua chapter 8 the Israelites fulfill this command (Joshua 8:30): "then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded the Israelites." On top of the "mountain of curses" they placed white-washed stones with a new name written on them. What was this new name? Who wrote the Torah with His finger upon stone and gave it to the children of Israel on Mt. Sinai? Who IS the incarnate Torah, who came to earth in human form and lived it perfectly, teaching us to follow His example? Who IS the only One who covers (literally atones for) our sins, covers over the curses on us, washes us white in His blood, and then writes His Torah and His Name upon our hearts? YESHUA! HalleluYah!

I pray that as we come very close to the Fall Feasts - the day of Yom Teruah (blowing of the shofars), followed closely by Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) that you will stay in God's Word, and meditate upon this awesome picture of your atonement - the Covenant Yahweh made with His people, and then gloriously renewed through Messiah Yeshua. I pray that you will allow Him to do a cleansing work in you during this season of repentance and renewal. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal your sin to you, white-wash you with His cleansing blood, and then write His Torah (your new name!) on your heart! (See Ezekiel 36:26).

You stand as a white-washed stone with a mountain of curses UNDER YOUR FEET! Rejoice!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Martha Correction

Yesterday I finally received the "Martha Correction." I'm sure I've needed it for some time, but yesterday my Papa could not take it any longer, and He intervened to show me what He really meant when He corrected His beloved, busy friend Martha and pulled her out of the kitchen!

It was one of those days that you know is going to remain vividly alive in your memory for years and years to come. It was a day that should have been profoundly sad by the world's standards. It was a day to attend the funeral of one of my dearest friend's son. This 51-year-old man had committed suicide, leaving behind a wife and two teenage sons, and a large, shocked, grieving family. Through the slide show of pictures and the many amazing eulogies I soon discovered this was a Christian man with a big heart, surrounded by hundreds who deeply loved him. He left a note saying "Gambling destroyed my life." The enemy thought he had won.

But what struck me throughout the day was that no one wanted to leave. At the graveside, the pastor twice asked the people to go on and return to the church and enjoy a meal. Some left, but we five women who had come down to support and comfort our sister, just stayed. We stayed to keep our arms around her and her daughters. We stayed to prolong the moment where people fully realize their deep, abiding need for one another. We stayed to enter into that community of believers who do not need words to communicate, but just mingled tears and linked arms. We stayed to show the enemy that not even this could separate us from the love of our Messiah Yeshua, who wept at His own friend's grave, and then raised him to life. Martha was there at that graveside of her brother Lazarus - and as the day progressed, I realized I've become too much like her again!

We returned to the church and enjoyed a good meal and much uplifting conversation, but I kept looking at my watch. At this point all I could think of was my kitchen, left unattended since I cooked dinner for two friends on Thursday night. I had worked all day Friday, and then entered into the Sabbath Rest in the home of good friends. Now it was getting near sundown! The Sabbath would be over, and I desperately needed to get home and clean up a filthy kitchen, so that on Sunday I could record a radio broadcast for Israeli Radio, and finish the teachings and music I'm preparing for two soon-coming women's retreats. I became almost frantic thinking of all I really needed to do in the next 24 hours!

It was then that one of the women in our little group of five asked us all to come over to her home. Quickly I responded, "Oh, I'm sorry, but I must get home to clean my filthy kitchen!" I saw the disappointment cloud her eyes. I saw the trace of tears that inadvertently spilled out; but she graciously said, "Oh, well, that's okay." The four of us that rode down together got into the car. And then I heard His voice: "Martha, Martha! Get out of the kitchen! Come. Mary has chosen the better part." I ran over to Chris' car to tell her we would come to her home. The rest of the story is so precious I can barely find words to explain it. Going through a devastating family crisis, she was greatly in need of comfort and prayer. Now together the five of us went to battle in prayer for her family, and we prayed it through until we felt the victory in the Spirit. Then she served up the most tantalizingly delicious Asian soup we could ever imagine, and we sat in her 14th floor Denver apartment and fellowshipped together, watching the glorious, almost-full moon rise over the city.

I thought about my dirty kitchen and how foolish that had been. I am sitting here right now, writing this blog, thinking about my dirty kitchen, because it is still there! "Oh, Martha, Martha, forget the kitchen. The part Mary has chosen is to be with Me, spend time with Me, fellowship with Me, learn from Me, love on Me." Thank you for the reminder, Lord. We five women loved on You all day by loving on one another. The dirty dishes can wait.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Gustav Followed by Hannah

Like many in our nation, I was very concerned that Gustav would bring much greater devastation. The name Gustav means, literally, "staff of God." In my spirit I felt that the staff of God was surely heading toward our land to bring the staff, or the rod, of correction. While Americans were distracted by all the hoopla of a politician receiving the accolades and worship of his adoring fans in his mock Greek temple (which by the way bore a striking resemblance to the Temple of Pergamum - see Rev. 2:12-16), Condoleeza Rice once again met with Olmert and Abbas in Israel in a secret meeting intended to finally push through the "Roadmap to Hell" that divides the Land (including Jerusalem). None of the media picked up the story of this meeting - but it did not escape the watchful eye of the Holy One of Israel. He who keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!


Every time America pushes the division of the land in Israel, a natural disaster quickly follows upon our own soil. Yet, Gustav did not bring the devastation we expected. And Gustav (staff of God) is followed closely by Hannah. So, what does Hannah mean in the Hebrew? It means "favor of God" or "grace." This is really a wondrous thing when you look at it in the Spirit. The rod of God is always followed by the grace of God isn't it? Gustav, followed by Hannah, is spoken of in Hosea 6:1: "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds." The purpose of God's staff - or rod of correction - is always, always to call us to return to Him. And being in God's favor does not always look to us as we might have expected.


When Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, He was in God's favor. When he was unustly thrown into prison, he was in God's favor. How could this be? Because all these things had to happen in order for Joseph's ultimate destiny in God's plan to be fulfilled. Even in the midst of slavery, sorrow and imprisonment He was being used as an instrument of God's glory, and in the end he was promoted to second command in all of Egypt - a position that allowed him to store grain for the famine and ultimately save all 70 of God's chosen people, the 12 tribes of Israel.


Gustav (God's staff) comes to us in ways we cannot understand, but it is always followed by Hannah (God's grace and favor). Tonight I think of my friend Pat in Minnesota who is battling cancer. The words of her mouth speak God's praise in the midst of her battle and she gives Him glory. I think of my friend Patty in Florida, who is in financial crisis and now rendered immobile by an accident. In our many phone conversations, she tells how she recognizes God's staff in her life, all the while refusing to give up, knowing that His grace is still with her. And I think of Danny, who attends my weekly Bible studies. He has waited a long, long time for a liver transplant, and is still waiting for red tape and bureaucracy to slowly grind away. In the midst of his Gustav, he sees glimpses of his Hannah, and knows that he walks in God's favor despite - and perhaps because of - his suffering. I can still see his bloated, jaundiced body in front of me as we all read together from Romans 8:23: "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."


Groaning in the midst of Gustav, we wait eagerly for our Hannah - the ultimate redemption of our bodies, transformed by God's grace.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Yahweh Jireh

I confess to the tension I've been feeling in my spirit as we approach the Democratic National Convention and the increase of "wars and rumors of wars" all around the globe. It seems we've returned to the "Cold War Era" and distant childhood memories of drills to hide under our desks in case Russia bombed us. But something happened today that not only distracted me from the heaviness of world news, but also returned me to my place of refuge, my shield, and my very great defense: Yahweh Jireh - the LORD our Provider, who cares for the tiniest and most defenseless among us.

I don't know her name - this tiny, defenseless one. She is probably only 3 or 4 weeks old, abandoned, and for some reason choosing my back porch to hide and hope for a meal. She's a tiny grey tabby kitten, obviously lost and terribly frightened. After 48 hours of hearing her pathetic cry, my heart finally broke and I put food and water on my back porch for her. I watched through the back door window as she gobbled the food, slurped the water, and then curled up contentedly in the sun, occasionally glancing up at the window with her huge green eyes offering gratitude.

Then I realized what I had done! I had provided for her, and now she would adopt this as her home! "I can't keep her, Father," I moaned. "My cat would freak out, and besides I travel too much." His answer was a shalom that simply washed over me. I left to teach Bible study at my parents' retirement home. After the study I agreed to stay for dinner in their dining hall. As we stepped off the elevator, a woman I'd not met before motioned for us and asked if we'd please join her for dinner. Somehow in the midst of our dinner conversation I mentioned the tiny abandoned creature on my back porch. Doris' eyes began to glisten and she exclaimed, "A kitten! I have been wanting a kitten so badly! I have combed the papers and cannot find one!"

What were the odds? Why did I stay for dinner tonight? Why did Doris invite us to her table? Are these very small incidents not arranged by the Father? Is His heart not as broken as mine over the little kitten without food and water? Did He not provide a home for the kitten, and some love and joy to Doris?

Will He not do that for us, His children, in the midst of wars and famine and plague?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Give Me Oil in My Lamp!

Matthew 25:6-12
6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

Have you ever read this parable of the Kingdom and pondered the question,"What is this oil that some had in abundance and some ran out of?"

The Holy Spirit has really been speaking to me about this. I believe there is another Scripture passage that refers to this very same "oil." It is found in Matthew 25:29: “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

I believe the "oil" that Yeshua wants us to be filled with is relationship with Him: time spent with Him and in His Word. There was a reason that five virgins had enough oil in their lamps and extra to re-fill them at the midnight hour! They had been walking and talking with the Master for a long time; studying His Word, marking it and inwardly digesting it. His Word had been their food - their oil - for a long time. They had been in communication (prayer) with Him on a daily basis - not just when they needed something! They knew how to sit quietly in His Presence, and listen for His Voice. Their worship was undoubtedly passionate and abandoned, not a one-hour-a-week ritual or obligation.

Those who are filled with this kind of oil cannot possibly "sell it" or provide it to anyone else. You cannot give someone the relationship that you have personally cultivated with your Master! That is why, when the five virgins who ran out of oil begged the others to give them some, they could not. And there was no time left to begin reading the Word and walking with the Lord when He returned. What little they had ran out, and they were not allowed to enter into the Kingdom.

Everyone who has an abundant, living, breathing, active relationship with Messiah Yeshua and His Ruach (Holy Spirit) will receive even more at His return! "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, but then we shall see face-to-face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known!" (1 Cor. 13:12) That explains how those who have will receive more, in abundance. We shall know Him and we shall be known by Him.

The Hebrew word for know in this sense is yadah. The real meaning of the word is used in biblical phrases like, "Adam knew his wife." It is an intimacy as in the relationship of a marriage! When the Bridegroom returns, He seeks those whose lamps are full of oil - those who know Him and are known by Him - and they will receive even more. But for those who do not have this oil, even what they have will be taken away.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Two by Two We Come

I know I have been silent for several days. The truth is that the conference in St. Louis was NOT a conference; it was an encounter with the Living God! It left me speechless, and searching for words to share. I will try now, but it will be hard to adequately describe what we experienced.

In Genesis 48:19 Jacob blesses and prophesies over his grandson Ephraim, saying, "...his descendants will become a group of nations." And so the tribe of Joseph, through his son Ephraim, becomes symbolic, if you will, for the thousands and thousands of descendants of the northern tribes who eventually become scattered throughout all the nations of the world (following the exile). But the Father is even now, in this hour, about a work of restoration, re-gathering all His people, and making them to be one in His hand - grafted together into the one Root of the olive tree (who is Yeshua, the Messiah).

In Ezekiel 37:15-17, 24-25, the LORD speaks to the prophet Ezekiel and says, "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. My servant David will be King over them, and they will all have one Shepherd. They will follow my Torah and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land where your fathers lived. They and their children's children will be there forever and David my servant will be their prince forever." This reference to David, of course, speaks of Yeshua (Jesus) as the King and Shepherd over ALL the people of the Restored Israel -- TWO sticks in the Father's hand, both Judah (the Jewish people who are blood-descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and Ephraim (believers grafted into the tree through the Messiah). In other words, this passage is describing the same thing we see Paul explaining to us in Ephesians 2:14: "For He Himself (Yeshua) is our peace, who has MADE THE TWO ONE, AND HAS DESTROYED THE BARRIER... HIS PURPOSE WAS TO CREATE IN HIMSELF ONE NEW MAN OUT OF THE TWO, THUS MAKING PEACE, AND IN THIS ONE BODY TO RECONCILE BOTH OF THEM TO GOD THROUGH THE CROSS, BY WHICH HE PUT TO DEATH THEIR HOSTILITY."

And so together we marched...from the West to the East...from our hotel through the gateway of the Arch. Both Jews and believers in Yeshua marched side by side, to prophetically show Yahweh, our God, that we want to put aside all past hostilities, join together as brothers of the same Tree, and get ready to return to Israel, the land of our inheritance! One thousand of us formed a line so long that it was not possible to see the end from the beginning! Old men with staffs, young daddies with children on their shoulders, women with small children, grandmothers, men blowing ram's horns and women bearing beautiful banners honoring Yahweh and blessing Israel walked across several downtown St. Louis blocks stopping traffic and eliciting the astonished gazes of those who drove by! It looked as close to the first Exodus as anything I have ever imagined. The only thing missing was the cattle and sheep!
Once we got up to the Arch, the group massed together, and in one accord we moved through that enormous gateway, blowing our shofars, praising God, and singing "Hine Ma Tov" ("Oh how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity" - Psalm 133). I was weeping throughout this journey, and looking up at the clear, sunny sky I was praying and asking Father, "If this is pleasing to you, Lord, I pray that you would cause a cloud to come over us and shower us with your blessing of rain." (My time in Israel taught me that the foremost sign of the Father's blessing is rain). Within a few moments, a dark cloud began to appear, and amazingly it came and settled right over our group. But what was even more astonishing was the raindrops that fell! It was not a sheet of rain; it was not a fine mist of rain. It was very large drops, that plopped one at a time on each person's shoulder. The drops were so large we could literally see them fall one at a time on individual shoulders, and none of us got actually wet - but most all of us were weeping, because we perceived these drops as tears of joy from the Lord's eyes, as He saw us beginning to fulfill the prophecies of His people Israel being restored back together as one!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

His Eye is on the Sparrow

The news today contained a story about a man who was sound asleep on a bus one moment, and then brutally stabbed and decapitated the next. The mind reels. Decapitation? On a bus, in front of people in broad daylight? I cried out to the Lord, "What manner of evil is this?" In the Spirit I heard His Word: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

The two verses that follow are Jesus' description of our Father's total, everlasting care and provision over us. He reminds us that not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from His perfect will and watchful eye. Matthew 10:29-31: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

This revelation came a day after I received a most beautiful and profound meditation from an old friend of mine who lives in Louisiana. Bill and I met when I was pastoring the very small church high up in Pitkin, Colorado; and we spent many an afternoon that summer poring over the Word of God and exploring its deeper meanings. Now, seven years later, Bill wrote me this poignant paragraph, so perfectly in sync with the Scripture Yahweh had just given me, and then he closed it with a question; a question that all of us should be asking ourselves.

"Last night I was unable to sleep. For some reason I began to think of birds and how they
sound different at different times of the day. At dawn their murmerings and chirping seem to
be filled with expectancy. When full daylight comes, and all day after that, they are singing
their hearts out from the sheer joy of life. Then,when dusk approaches, their singing subsides
into what might sound like their dawn sounds, and it is; but instead of being expectant,
there is an air of contentment and peace in the knowledge that tomorrow will come and find
them provided for. I sat, and it struck me. Jesus said He watches over the sparrow. Am I not worth more than the sparrow?

"Then why can't I emulate the birds?"

Saturday, July 26, 2008

An Upside Down Kingdom


In biblical times, birthright and blessing were always connected to the firstborn son. The birthright included a double portion of the father's estate; and the firstborn son took over as head of the family and its possessions. Jim Spillman wrote, "The blessing was more of a spiritual inheritance, passed down from father to son. The blessing dealt more with sacred relationships and the promise of good things to come." It would be rare for the blessing not to be transferred automatically to the firsborn; however, in the Kingdom of God lots of rare things happen!

We have a God of perfect order; but He is also a living and active God who is daily at work, enacting plans beyond the scope of our human, finite understanding. And he is an upside-down King, who does not always do things the way we expect Him to. How else would it be that within the four consecutive generations of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim, we see the blessing of the firstborn being given to a younger son instead? As we study these unusual examples of fathers and grandfathers passing on the blessing of the firstborn to younger children, we cannot find any consistent pattern. In each of these situations it occurred differently. Isaac was not the firstborn of Abraham, but he was the child whom God had promised to Abraham and Sarah, the one who would carry on the Covenant and the blessing to become many nations and inherit the Promised Land. Ishmael was conceived outside of the will and plan of God!

Then we see Isaac with his twin sons Jacob and Esau - and although Esau was born first, he squandered his birthright and sold it for a bowl of beans! And if that were not enough, Jacob also tricked his blind father into giving him the blessing upon his death bed. Was this deception outside of God's plan? Apparently not - for in Genesis 25 we hear that when Rebekah inquired of the Lord about the babies in her womb, He answered, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will SERVE the younger" (Genesis 25:23). Things were progressing according to God's sovereign plan in His "upside-down kingdom!"

Then Jacob produces 12 sons, who will become the 12 tribes of Israel, but we do not see Jacob's blessing of the firstborn going to Reuben, do we? No, it is apparent from the beginning of the story that Jacob's heart and blessing will belong to Joseph and flow on to his second-born grandson, Ephraim. Jacob, by then known as Israel, blesses his grandsons by crossing his arms and putting his right hand (the hand for blessing the first-born) on the head of Ephraim, the second-born. Their daddy Joseph is sure the old man is making a grave mistake and cries out, "No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head." But his father knew what he was doing. He refused and said, "I know my son, I know. He [Manassah] too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother [Ephraim] will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations." So he put Ephraim ahead of Manassah." (Genesis 48:17-20).

What does all this mean to us? I meditated upon that all day today, and finally heard the still, small Voice of the Spirit say, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Humble yourself in the sight of the LORD and HE shall lift you up."

In His upside-down Kingdom those who are exalting themselves and building their own kingdoms, seeking fame, wealth, and prosperity from their kingdoms will one day find themselves crying out, "No, my Father, I am a firstborn! Put your hand on MY head!" But the Father may just cross His arms and place His hand of blessing on the head of a younger one - one who acted justly, loved mercy, and walked humbly in His sight (Micah 6:8), one whose name no one in this world ever knew.
He is, after all, King of an Upside-Down Kingdom.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

WARNING!!

A month or so ago I wrote a blog that contained a warning about the Lakeland, Florida "Revival" starring Todd Bentley. I felt strongly convicted to try to get the word out to many who could be led astray by this false revival, and I shared with you my own experiences with Todd's ministry back in 2003 because I felt I could speak from personal experience about the things that had concerned me even back then. Perhaps many of you have not even yet heard of this "revival." Perhaps others of you have heard and not paid any attention because you're not in the least interested. But this time I write to beg you to GET interested, because soon someone is going to approach you about this and perhaps even persuade you to believe in it or to go there. I get telephone calls every day asking me about it, and SO many people saying they are excited to go. After you have read the prophetic word at the bottom of this e-mail, I believe you will begin to understand the grave importance and severity of this deception. It is not just another "Pentecostal thing" as some may shrug it off. It is not a manifestation of the Spirit of God. It is a perversion of the Gospel - preaching a different Jesus - and a tactic of Satan to deceive the very elect. WILL YOU PLEASE READ ON TO THE END? I am crying out with a passion about this. NOW it has gone WAY past a concern or a conviction for me. Now, thanks to nightly live broadcasting on GOD TV, and live streaming on the internet, the news of this "revival" has circled the globe and created such a stir that hundreds of thousands are flying into Florida from all over the world to "get some." Yes, those are Todd's words when he urges people to come to Florida: "Come and get some!!" And so, in search of healing miracles, signs and wonders, some come with a pure heart to seek the Holy Spirit and some thrill-seekers come to experience the signs and wonders and "get some." If you have watched any of these live broadcasts I do not know how you could possibly think that what is going on there in this carnival-like atmosphere is of the Holy One of Israel. Todd says, "Miracles are popping like popcorn!" I have never thought of Yahweh's miracles as popcorn, have you?

NOW I am on my face weeping, and crying out to El Shaddai to put a stop to this crafty, wicked deception. We have been WARNED that it is coming in the last days, brothers and sisters! Over and over Yeshua and His apostles warn us: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" We have been WARNED that a wicked and perverse generation will seek after signs and wonders (Matthew 24:38-39): "Some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law came to Yeshua. They said, 'Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.' He answered, 'Evil and unfaithful people ask for a miraculous sign! But none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah.'" What IS the sign of Jonah? It is REPENTANCE. In Matthew 24:23-24, Yeshua warns us, “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." In the original Hebrew manuscript (yes, Matthew WAS originally written in Hebrew!), the word Christ was a mistranslation. It was actually the Hebrew word for anointing or anointed one: "Look, here is the anointing" or "there!" do not believe it. Does that not cast a new light on this Scripture? Very, very few Christians are following after the wackos who say they are Jesus Christ; but how many are running here and there after someone they believe has "the anointing" or is an anointed one?

All the above is sound, important caution based on the Word of God. But I have not read anything that would so accurately describe and explain the false prophets who would try to seduce us - from Toronto to Brownsville to Lakeland - than this word I'm printing below. This is a very small excerpt from a prophetic word given by a man named Stanley Frodisham in Chicago in 1965. Apparently Mr. Frodisham was a friend of Smith Wigglesworth, and he issued this proclamation five years before his death. How could he so accurately have known forty years ago what this end-times deception of the Church would look like? Only by the Spirit. Please read it and pray about it. I believe it will clarify for you HOW IT COULD BE POSSIBLE THAT BELIEVERS BECOME SO DECEIVED THAT THERE IS A GREAT FALLING AWAY. Remember, "The coming of the lawless (Torah-less) one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders" (2nd Thess. 2:9).

The Ways of Deceivers
"I warn you to search the Scriptures diligently concerning these last days. For the things that are written shall indeed be made manifest. There shall come deceivers among My people in increasing numbers, who shall speak forth the truth and shall gain the favour of the people. For the people shall examine the Scriptures and say, 'What these men say is true'. Then when they have gained the hearts of the people, then and then only shall they bring out their wrong doctrines. Therefore I say that you should not give your hearts to men, nor hold people's persons in admiration or adulation. For by these very persons Satan shall gain entry into My people. Watch for seducers! Do you think a seducer will brandish a heresy and flaunt it before the people? He will speak words of righteousness and truth and will appear as a minister of light, declaring the Word. The people's hearts shall be won. Then when the hearts are won, they will bring out their doctrines and the people shall be deceived. The people shall say 'Did he not speak thus and thus'? 'And did we not examine it from the Word'? 'Therefore he is a minister of righteousness. This that he has now spoken we do not see in the Word but it must be right, for the other things he spoke were true'. Be not deceived. For the deceiver will first work to gain the hearts of many, and then shall bring forth his insidious doctrines. You can not discern those who are of Me and those who are not of Me when they start to preach. But seek Me constantly, and when these doctrines are brought out you shall have a witness in your heart that these are not of Me. Fear not, for I have warned you. It is possible that the very elect may be deceived. But it is not possible if you walk in holiness and uprightness before the Lord, for then your eyes shall be open and the Lord will protect you. If you will constantly look unto the Lord you will know when the doctrine changes, and will not be brought into it. If your heart is right I will keep you, if you will look constantly to Me, I will uphold you."
Stanley Frodisham, 1965

Friday, July 18, 2008

Plugging Into the Power

I am presently in Omaha at an annual summit of a writer's team of which I am a part. We all brought our lap-tops and set them up around the table, looking more like the Executive Board of a Fortune 500 company than a bunch of common folk who write for the Lord! Yet, when I searched through my brief case, the power cord for my laptop was nowhere to be found. I searched my luggage: nothing. It was then I had a vague memory of wrapping the power cord in my hand, then laying it down to rush upstairs and answer my telephone. The cord never got packed. But Steve, the kind husband of one of the local writers said he would gladly go out shopping to try to find me a replacement cord.

He called after searching several stores and said the cord would cost me around $79. I was amazed at this high cost and said, "Never mind. I'll do without it!" But this caring man was on a mission to help. He went home and searched his house for anything that might work. Later in the day he showed up where we were working and had an old Gateway power source cord in his hand. Even though I own an Acer laptop, the old cord worked and suddenly I had "power" again!

The next day the leader of the group put on a dinner for our group of writers and also the intercessors who regularly pray for our work. We went around the table answering the question "What was the highlight of these past two days?" When it came to Steve, he very quietly and humbly anwered, "For me, the highlight was being able to find that cord for Kelly. That really made me happy!" My spirit rejoiced. It was such a small thing, and yet it had brought Steve great joy to do this for me. It was in that moment that I thought about the greater Power that had been given. Alone I had not been able to plug into the power and complete my work. But with the willing help and kindness of a stranger, I got plugged in!

I don't think any of us ever really get fully plugged into the power of the Holy Spirit alone. We need one another. In this week's Torah readings, we see a depressed Elijah, who thinks he is absolutely the only one left who believes in the God of Israel, and he loses his power, sits under a tree and asks God to take his life. But what is God's response? "All at once an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat.' He looked around and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.' So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.'" (1 Kings 19:5-8)

It's not that my lack of a power cord for my laptop had thrown me into suicidal depression! It's the simple message that as part of the Body of Messiah we never have to feel that we are alone - and we should never assume that we can accomplish something alone, or under our own power.
Through Steve's simple caring and kindness, I got a cord to plug me back into the power - both physically and spiritually. Two are better than one, and A THREE-FOLD CORD CAN NEVER BE BROKEN!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Not One Veil, but Two

In my last post I discussed how the veil over the eyes of the Jewish people is increasingly being lifted, that they might recognize their Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus). Last week international news articles were filled with the discovery of an ancient stone tablet, which pre-dates Yeshua's birth and is causing quite a stir among not only the Jews, but also the Christians. That's because there are TWO veils that must be lifted, not just one! The eyes of Christians in the Church have also been veiled since 325 A.D. and the Council of Nicea. As Jonathan Bernis writes, "Church history is replete with with great names of prominent theologians and writers who unequivocally divorce Yeshua from His roots. The Redeemer of Israel has spent the past two thousand years disguised in His richly-adorned Byzantine robes, with fair, European complexion, hair flowing over the shoulders most uncharacteristically, eating fluffy leavened bread from the Passover table. Through the centuries perhaps the grossest distortion of Yeshua's identity has been His characterization as one who is anti-Torah, having overthrown the authority of the God of Abraham, and founding a new relgion triumphant over the Jews and 'their laws.'"
It's so true: not only has the European/Roman Catholic image of a "Greek Jesus" disguised the Jewish Messiah so that He could not be recognized by His own Jewish people, but it has also robbed the Church of the precious inheritance of our Jewish roots, and the joy of keeping the Torah and Feasts of the Lord in the Holy Spirit! There have been two veils, you see, not just one. The ancient stone tablet that was just discovered may well help to lift both veils.

Israeli Professor Israel Knohl of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem is studying the newly-discovered stone tablet and he reports the following: "The first part describes an eschatological war," Knohl explains. "The nations of the world besiege Jerusalem, and the residents are expelled from the city in groups. This description is followed by a passage in which God sends "my servant David" to ask...the Messiah Son of Joseph to deliver a 'sign.' From the context, it appears that this sign heralds the coming redemption.The second part of the Gabriel Revelation focuses on death and resurrection - and the blood of the slain. The last paragraph cites the words of the Archangel Gabriel who commands a person to return to life after three days: 'By three days, live.' "This is truly significant." What Knohl finds most significant is "the fact that [the writings on the stone tablet] strongly suggested that a savior who died and rose after three days was an established concept at the time of Jesus. He notes that in the Gospels, Jesus makes numerous predictions of his suffering and New Testament scholars say such predictions must have been written in by later followers because there was no such idea present in his day. But there was, he said, and 'Gabriel's Revelation' shows it." "His mission is that he has to be put to death by the Romans to suffer so his blood will be the sign for redemption to come," Mr. Knohl said. "This is the sign of the son of Joseph. This is the conscious view of Jesus himself....To shed blood...to bring redemption to Israel."

Two veils, not just one, are being lifted! The Jews are astonished to find from the writings on this ancient stone that there was a Jewish concept of a Messiah who would die and then be resurrected in three days! Christians are finally understanding that their Messiah, a Torah-observant Jew, intended that we should keep the commands and decrees of Yahweh forever - unto a thousand generations (see Deut. 7:9 and Matthew 5:17) and that we should put off the holidays of the pagans and keep the feasts of the LORD, just as He did. How will the Jews ever accept or be drawn to a Messiah who eats pork, celebrates the Greco/Roman holidays of Christmas and Easter with pagan traditions, and does not keep the Sabbath set apart and holy?

But thanks be to God! He is even now returning riches long lost to Christianity, while returning to Israel a Messiah she can recognize and be jealous for!

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