As Moses and the children of Israel are wandering in the wilderness, following the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, the LORD speaks to Moses and says, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (Exodus 33:14). And what is Moses' reply to this reassurance? In verse 15 he says to the LORD, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
These are profound questions. We need to examine them deeper.
Moses had a more intimate relationship with the LORD than any of us could ever really imagine. He met with Him face-to-face. He spent 40 days with Him on top of Mt. Sinai, ensconced in the glory-cloud. He and the 70 elders dined with Him in the heavenly places. The LORD called Moses "friend!" And so there is one thing of which Moses is absolutely convinced: "If Your Presence does not go with us, we don't want to go."
Once you have tasted the Presence of the Living God, why would you ever want to be without Him? Why would you ever want to be involved in anything that He is not a part of?
Psalm 62 says, "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He is my fortress and I will never be shaken. My hope comes from Him. My salvation and my honor depend on my God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard; that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are love."
Moses is saying, "If you do not go up with us, LORD, we go without rest; we go without hope; we go without honor and defense; we go without salvation; we go without love."
I'm with you, Moses! If the LORD does not go with me, I don't want to go. I just don't! No good thing could come of anything apart from Him!
And, as Moses further ponders, "What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" Moses recognizes that having the Presence of the LORD with him will cause him to be set-apart from all others. In fact, after he talks with the LORD his face glows with such powerful radiance that he has to cover it with a veil before he can be among the people!
Are you distinguishable from others because of the Presence of God? Do others wonder what makes you different? Do you seek His Presence in all the various facets of your day? Do you speak with God about all the small details of your life, sharing with Him as with a friend?
If the LORD does not go with me, I don't want to go. I just don't.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Yet Will I Praise the Lord
I've just returned home from a trip to Colorado's western slope. I drove over in anticipation of the lunar eclipse - excited to view it with a "spiritual sister," so we could blow the shofar, recite some psalms together and pray over Jerusalem as the blood-red moon appeared in the sky. It never once occurred to me to check the weather for the evening of Feb. 20th before I drove over 300 miles to do this!
Because it was cloudy all day in Grand Junction, we checked the weather channel map to see WHERE we might drive for a clear view. The map showed a heavy cloud cover from California all the way across the nation to Nebraska! It was strange. There is never a cloud cover that far-reaching! But we were not deterred. We got our Bibles and her shofar, and we drove west toward Moab, Utah. My friend drove and I read the psalms. We said aloud to the Lord, "We believe we will see your sign in the sky, Father! We drive, expecting. We drive, believing. You parted the Red Sea for the Israelites! You can part the clouds with the touch of Your Right Hand!"
After driving about fifty miles, it was time for the moon to begin its eclipse. We found a high place off the interstate and parked the car. Like two teenagers at the drive-in movie, we sat in the front seat staring out the windshield, our eyes fixed on the eastern sky. I blew the shofar. We watched. I sang to Yahweh. We watched. The clouds never parted. We never saw a thing.
As we began the drive back home, I could have sworn I heard a chuckle in the Spirit. I imagined the Father saying, "Look at My two little handmaidens down there watching and waiting and believing in what they cannot see! It makes Me happy!"
Perhaps it was a faith test. We couldn't see it, but we knew it was there. We can't see the Lord either, but we know He is there. And for us, it was a peculiar act of faith and worship. We could have stayed home disappointed and turned on the TV. But we chose instead to go out, expecting! I believe that is what David meant when he said, "YET will I praise the Lord!"
Just because I could not see it did not mean it didn't happen. And as I expected, Abbas (of the P.A.) and Olmert (of Israel) WERE engaged in talks that day, specifically about the division of Jerusalem.
The photo above was taken in Jerusalem on Feb. 20. God did put His sign in the heavens, speaking to the children of Israel. And two of His small servants blew a shofar over Jerusalem from across the world, by faith, knowing that He is God and He will watch over His Word to accomplish it. If it WAS a faith test - I think we passed - even though we must have looked awfully silly on that remote hillside in Utah.
We didn't see that blood-red moon; YET will I praise the Lord!
Because it was cloudy all day in Grand Junction, we checked the weather channel map to see WHERE we might drive for a clear view. The map showed a heavy cloud cover from California all the way across the nation to Nebraska! It was strange. There is never a cloud cover that far-reaching! But we were not deterred. We got our Bibles and her shofar, and we drove west toward Moab, Utah. My friend drove and I read the psalms. We said aloud to the Lord, "We believe we will see your sign in the sky, Father! We drive, expecting. We drive, believing. You parted the Red Sea for the Israelites! You can part the clouds with the touch of Your Right Hand!"
After driving about fifty miles, it was time for the moon to begin its eclipse. We found a high place off the interstate and parked the car. Like two teenagers at the drive-in movie, we sat in the front seat staring out the windshield, our eyes fixed on the eastern sky. I blew the shofar. We watched. I sang to Yahweh. We watched. The clouds never parted. We never saw a thing.
As we began the drive back home, I could have sworn I heard a chuckle in the Spirit. I imagined the Father saying, "Look at My two little handmaidens down there watching and waiting and believing in what they cannot see! It makes Me happy!"
Perhaps it was a faith test. We couldn't see it, but we knew it was there. We can't see the Lord either, but we know He is there. And for us, it was a peculiar act of faith and worship. We could have stayed home disappointed and turned on the TV. But we chose instead to go out, expecting! I believe that is what David meant when he said, "YET will I praise the Lord!"
Just because I could not see it did not mean it didn't happen. And as I expected, Abbas (of the P.A.) and Olmert (of Israel) WERE engaged in talks that day, specifically about the division of Jerusalem.
The photo above was taken in Jerusalem on Feb. 20. God did put His sign in the heavens, speaking to the children of Israel. And two of His small servants blew a shofar over Jerusalem from across the world, by faith, knowing that He is God and He will watch over His Word to accomplish it. If it WAS a faith test - I think we passed - even though we must have looked awfully silly on that remote hillside in Utah.
We didn't see that blood-red moon; YET will I praise the Lord!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Trusting in God Alone
In a former post about finding our purpose, I spoke about the blind man in John Chapter 9. The Lord is still speaking to me about that blind man! Not only was blindness used for his purpose on this earth, to give God the glory, but I believe his blindness was also used to teach him to trust in God. He had to learn to depend on Him totally.
Have you ever experienced a season of "blindness" when you can't "see" anything in the spiritual realm, and you simply have to submit and be led around? That is not a bad place to be -- it is a time of learning to trust.
Trusting in God a lot means you're telling everybody what you're going through. Trusting in God ALONE means He is leading you, and in silence you are learning and following.
John 9:6: "...He spit on the ground and made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 'Go,' He told him, 'wash in the pool of Siloam' (this word means sent). So the man went and washed and came home seeing."
The man is sent to the Pool of Sent. How far did he have to go? What "mission" was Jesus sending him on? It was a mission of trust. Why? Because however far he had to walk, he was still blind!! And just because somebody put some mud on his eyes, why would he think he was really going to be healed when he finally got to this pool of "sent"? What a picture of a faith walk! Jesus was not just sending the blind man to the pool, He was leading him on a journey of faith, holding fast to him, teaching him what it means to blindly follow in silence, and trust.
Have you ever experienced a season of "blindness" when you can't "see" anything in the spiritual realm, and you simply have to submit and be led around? That is not a bad place to be -- it is a time of learning to trust.
Trusting in God a lot means you're telling everybody what you're going through. Trusting in God ALONE means He is leading you, and in silence you are learning and following.
John 9:6: "...He spit on the ground and made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 'Go,' He told him, 'wash in the pool of Siloam' (this word means sent). So the man went and washed and came home seeing."
The man is sent to the Pool of Sent. How far did he have to go? What "mission" was Jesus sending him on? It was a mission of trust. Why? Because however far he had to walk, he was still blind!! And just because somebody put some mud on his eyes, why would he think he was really going to be healed when he finally got to this pool of "sent"? What a picture of a faith walk! Jesus was not just sending the blind man to the pool, He was leading him on a journey of faith, holding fast to him, teaching him what it means to blindly follow in silence, and trust.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Like a Thief in the Night
Joel 2:30-32
"I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved: for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls."
I know that when I send this kind of message most people don't want to hear it. I know because it's always utterly silent after I send it, with no responses! Yet, I also know that a gravely urgent part of my own calling is to "blow the trumpet in Zion" and "sound the alarm" to awaken the slumbering.
Yesterday I read a front-page article from the Jerusalem Post that was titled "Coalition crisis looms after 'Post' reveals secret Jerusalem talks." The article revealed that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been in secret negotiations with Palestinian officials to divide up the city of Jerusalem. The Shas party of the Israeli government is now fully threatening to "quit the government" over the issue of dividing Jerusalem. If/when they do, Olmert's government will collapse. A senior PA official stated, "Jerusalem was, of course, on the table," and added that "there is almost full understanding with Israel regarding the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
But the piece of this article that caused my heart to stop was this quote from United Torah Judaism MK Avraham Ravitz. He criticized the negotiations, saying that "if the story is true, then Jerusalem's fate is being divided like a thief in the night."
Doesn't that phrase take your breath away? This is not a believer in Jesus who made this statement! Be assured he is not quoting out of 1st Thessalonians or Revelation! And that makes it all the more telling and significant to me. "Like a thief in the night" these things are happening - while the rest of the world is "eating, and drinking, buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage."
Secondly, friends sent me this news article today regarding small earthquakes occurring in Israel, and geologists' prediction for the very near future:
'Major earthquake in Israel - a matter of time'
GII picks up two small earthquakes in Jordan rift valley area over past few days. Rami Hofstetter, head of the Geophysical Institute of Israel told Ynet that "our instruments picked up two small quakes in the area over the last few days - the first one registering at 2.9 and the second of a 2.5 magnitude."
Tremors
2 earthquakes felt in Israel / Ynet
Small to moderate tremors felt from Negev Desert to central Israel; no injuries, damage reported. 'I just lied in bed and felt the room move,' Tel Aviv resident recounts.
Shmuel Marko of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Geophysics in Tel Aviv University and Oded Katz of the GII, have recently published a new study, saying a major earthquake is heading Israel's way.
On Thursday, February 21 we are scheduled for another "blood-red moon." The blood-red moon that occurred in August of 2000 was on the very day Clinton, Arafat and Barak met at Camp David. On that day Prime Minister Barak of Israel made previously unthinkable concessions on Jerusalem, agreeing that Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem would become the capital of the new Palestinian state. Later, Arafat rejected this proposal, wanting "all or nothing."
In August of 2007 during the total lunar eclipse/blood-red moon that rose over North America, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinians sovereignty over the Temple Mount. It happened on the very same day the offer was extended.
Total-eclipse blood-red moons are rare. Having another total eclipse this close to a previous one is extremely rare. What will be taking place regarding the Temple Mount on February 21st?
"The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, the earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for His people; a stronghold for the people of Israel!" (Joel 3:15-16)
Please pray this week and remind Yahweh of His promises!
"I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved: for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls."
I know that when I send this kind of message most people don't want to hear it. I know because it's always utterly silent after I send it, with no responses! Yet, I also know that a gravely urgent part of my own calling is to "blow the trumpet in Zion" and "sound the alarm" to awaken the slumbering.
Yesterday I read a front-page article from the Jerusalem Post that was titled "Coalition crisis looms after 'Post' reveals secret Jerusalem talks." The article revealed that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been in secret negotiations with Palestinian officials to divide up the city of Jerusalem. The Shas party of the Israeli government is now fully threatening to "quit the government" over the issue of dividing Jerusalem. If/when they do, Olmert's government will collapse. A senior PA official stated, "Jerusalem was, of course, on the table," and added that "there is almost full understanding with Israel regarding the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
But the piece of this article that caused my heart to stop was this quote from United Torah Judaism MK Avraham Ravitz. He criticized the negotiations, saying that "if the story is true, then Jerusalem's fate is being divided like a thief in the night."
Doesn't that phrase take your breath away? This is not a believer in Jesus who made this statement! Be assured he is not quoting out of 1st Thessalonians or Revelation! And that makes it all the more telling and significant to me. "Like a thief in the night" these things are happening - while the rest of the world is "eating, and drinking, buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage."
Secondly, friends sent me this news article today regarding small earthquakes occurring in Israel, and geologists' prediction for the very near future:
'Major earthquake in Israel - a matter of time'
GII picks up two small earthquakes in Jordan rift valley area over past few days. Rami Hofstetter, head of the Geophysical Institute of Israel told Ynet that "our instruments picked up two small quakes in the area over the last few days - the first one registering at 2.9 and the second of a 2.5 magnitude."
Tremors
2 earthquakes felt in Israel / Ynet
Small to moderate tremors felt from Negev Desert to central Israel; no injuries, damage reported. 'I just lied in bed and felt the room move,' Tel Aviv resident recounts.
Shmuel Marko of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Geophysics in Tel Aviv University and Oded Katz of the GII, have recently published a new study, saying a major earthquake is heading Israel's way.
On Thursday, February 21 we are scheduled for another "blood-red moon." The blood-red moon that occurred in August of 2000 was on the very day Clinton, Arafat and Barak met at Camp David. On that day Prime Minister Barak of Israel made previously unthinkable concessions on Jerusalem, agreeing that Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem would become the capital of the new Palestinian state. Later, Arafat rejected this proposal, wanting "all or nothing."
In August of 2007 during the total lunar eclipse/blood-red moon that rose over North America, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinians sovereignty over the Temple Mount. It happened on the very same day the offer was extended.
Total-eclipse blood-red moons are rare. Having another total eclipse this close to a previous one is extremely rare. What will be taking place regarding the Temple Mount on February 21st?
"The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, the earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for His people; a stronghold for the people of Israel!" (Joel 3:15-16)
Please pray this week and remind Yahweh of His promises!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
What Is My Purpose?
That is probably the question I hear most often as I am out and about in ministry. People want to know why they are here on this earth. If they are believers, they are struggling to figure out what unique purpose God has for them to fulfill. They say to me, "You know your calling. You know you're called to go out and teach the Word and lead people in worship and evangelize. But I don't do those things. What am I supposed to do? What is my gift? What is my purpose?"
It isn't as hard to discern as one might think.
Isaiah 43:6-7 says, "Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth - everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made."
Ephasians 1:12 says, "In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory."
So, clearly we can conclude that our whole purpose for being here is to bring glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But that usually begs the question, "How? How do I bring Him glory? I can't sing! I can't speak! I don't have time to go to Africa!"
What a mistake it is for us to compare ourselves against others in the kingdom. Our callings are not the same, and no calling or gifting is greater than another. Consider the blind man in John chapter 9. What was his purpose? How did he give God glory? John 9:1-3: "As [Jesus] went along He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'"
So, what was this blind man's purpose? I think his purpose was his blindness. The Lord used his blindness for a healing that would cause a great uproar with the Pharisees, and eventually lead many to a whole new understanding of the Torah: that God does not desire those who keep man's traditions with a religious spirit, but those who are in relationship with the Living God, and love to serve Him.
Maybe your purpose was the abuse you suffered as a child, which in turn has caused you to work with abused children, giving compassion and love. Maybe your purpose was your cancer, putting you in touch with many other cancer victims to whom you could witness your faith. Maybe your whole life seemed rather pointless until you grew very old and ended up in a retirement home full of sad and lonely people. You make them laugh and bring them joy, which gives God glory.
It isn't as hard to discern as one might think. That's because it is simpler than we normally think. Jesus' purpose was His suffering. Very often ours is also. It is our suffering that leads us to Him, and it is often the result of our suffering that leads others to Him. The apostle Peter wrote, "Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:13).
Next time you want to know what your purpose is, ask yourself if Jesus might be saying this about you: "This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his(her) life."
It isn't as hard to discern as one might think.
Isaiah 43:6-7 says, "Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth - everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made."
Ephasians 1:12 says, "In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory."
So, clearly we can conclude that our whole purpose for being here is to bring glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But that usually begs the question, "How? How do I bring Him glory? I can't sing! I can't speak! I don't have time to go to Africa!"
What a mistake it is for us to compare ourselves against others in the kingdom. Our callings are not the same, and no calling or gifting is greater than another. Consider the blind man in John chapter 9. What was his purpose? How did he give God glory? John 9:1-3: "As [Jesus] went along He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'"
So, what was this blind man's purpose? I think his purpose was his blindness. The Lord used his blindness for a healing that would cause a great uproar with the Pharisees, and eventually lead many to a whole new understanding of the Torah: that God does not desire those who keep man's traditions with a religious spirit, but those who are in relationship with the Living God, and love to serve Him.
Maybe your purpose was the abuse you suffered as a child, which in turn has caused you to work with abused children, giving compassion and love. Maybe your purpose was your cancer, putting you in touch with many other cancer victims to whom you could witness your faith. Maybe your whole life seemed rather pointless until you grew very old and ended up in a retirement home full of sad and lonely people. You make them laugh and bring them joy, which gives God glory.
It isn't as hard to discern as one might think. That's because it is simpler than we normally think. Jesus' purpose was His suffering. Very often ours is also. It is our suffering that leads us to Him, and it is often the result of our suffering that leads others to Him. The apostle Peter wrote, "Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:13).
Next time you want to know what your purpose is, ask yourself if Jesus might be saying this about you: "This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his(her) life."
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
They Saw God - and They Ate and Drank
It is not possible to read this week's Torah portion and not be completely overwhelmed with joy! The Eternal God of Israel sweeps across these passages in Exodus 24 and once again we go "back to the future!"
In Exodus 24:7 Moses takes the book of the Covenant (the Torah, or the "ketuvah, which means marriage covenant) and reads it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said. We will obey." Then in verse 8, he takes blood from the sacrifices and sprinkles it on the people. He says, "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words." The Israelites had to be covered with blood before they could enter into covenantal relationship with God. How beautifully prophetic this scene is of Yeshua our Messiah, whose own sacrificial blood is now covering those of us who choose to be in marriage covenant with the God of Israel!
Yeshua, our Bridegroom, is coming soon to gather up His pure Bride and bring her to the Wedding Supper. But it won't be the first wedding supper of the Lamb! Exodus 24:9-11 says, "Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise His hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank."
Does that not take your breath away? And does it not cause you to wonder who it was that they saw that day? After all, Yahweh makes it very clear that no one can look upon His face and live. And in John 6:46 Yeshua Himself tells us, "No one has seen the Father except the One who came from the Father." So who did they see? With whom did they share food and drink?
I believe they were with the Anointed One, Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah - the very same One who was called Melchizedek and brought bread and wine to Abraham. He is the manfestation of Yahweh to His people. He shared this wedding banquet with the 70 elders of Israel in an awesome prophetic picture of His final redemptive wedding supper in the Millennial Kingdom.
Mary and Joseph were not the first to behold the Messiah. Simeon was not the first to prophesy of His glorious future! He was in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. He was the Living Bread who gave manna to eat, and the Rock that gave the people water in the wilderness. He is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" (Col. 1:15-17).
John the Revelator gives a description of the heavenly places that sounds a great deal like the place where Moses and the 70 elders dined with the Lord: "At once I was in the Spirit and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the One who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow resembling an emerald encircled the throne. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal." (Rev. 4:2-3,6)
Hallelujah! My spirit is alive with anticipation!! What He did before He will do again. And as we go through the increasingly difficult days ahead, we must keep this joy and anticipation burning within us. We must recall the glorious experience of the 70 elders of Israel eating and drinking with the King of the Universe, and marvel that we too will behold His face and dine with Him over a sea of crystal and sapphire - if we respond to His Torah with the words the Israelites spoke that day: "We will do everything the Lord has said. We will obey" (Exodus 24:7).
In Exodus 24:7 Moses takes the book of the Covenant (the Torah, or the "ketuvah, which means marriage covenant) and reads it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said. We will obey." Then in verse 8, he takes blood from the sacrifices and sprinkles it on the people. He says, "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words." The Israelites had to be covered with blood before they could enter into covenantal relationship with God. How beautifully prophetic this scene is of Yeshua our Messiah, whose own sacrificial blood is now covering those of us who choose to be in marriage covenant with the God of Israel!
Yeshua, our Bridegroom, is coming soon to gather up His pure Bride and bring her to the Wedding Supper. But it won't be the first wedding supper of the Lamb! Exodus 24:9-11 says, "Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise His hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank."
Does that not take your breath away? And does it not cause you to wonder who it was that they saw that day? After all, Yahweh makes it very clear that no one can look upon His face and live. And in John 6:46 Yeshua Himself tells us, "No one has seen the Father except the One who came from the Father." So who did they see? With whom did they share food and drink?
I believe they were with the Anointed One, Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah - the very same One who was called Melchizedek and brought bread and wine to Abraham. He is the manfestation of Yahweh to His people. He shared this wedding banquet with the 70 elders of Israel in an awesome prophetic picture of His final redemptive wedding supper in the Millennial Kingdom.
Mary and Joseph were not the first to behold the Messiah. Simeon was not the first to prophesy of His glorious future! He was in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. He was the Living Bread who gave manna to eat, and the Rock that gave the people water in the wilderness. He is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" (Col. 1:15-17).
John the Revelator gives a description of the heavenly places that sounds a great deal like the place where Moses and the 70 elders dined with the Lord: "At once I was in the Spirit and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the One who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow resembling an emerald encircled the throne. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal." (Rev. 4:2-3,6)
Hallelujah! My spirit is alive with anticipation!! What He did before He will do again. And as we go through the increasingly difficult days ahead, we must keep this joy and anticipation burning within us. We must recall the glorious experience of the 70 elders of Israel eating and drinking with the King of the Universe, and marvel that we too will behold His face and dine with Him over a sea of crystal and sapphire - if we respond to His Torah with the words the Israelites spoke that day: "We will do everything the Lord has said. We will obey" (Exodus 24:7).
Saturday, February 2, 2008
PINPOINT OBEDIENCE
Pinpoint obedience: this is a phrase I have been hearing often from my Father recently. When He tells me to do something, He says, "Pinpoint obedience." I have asked Him to help me understand what this means.
The area of a pin point is tiny. If I mark some place on my map I am marking it with absolute accuracy. No room to the right or the left. Exactly that spot. It seems to be this is how the Lord used the tornado in Jerusalem, Arkansas - with pinpoint accuracy. This was a very small town and Mt. Zion was a very small church within the very small town. Nothing outside of the very small town was affected. It was a "pinpoint message."
Yahweh is a God of perfect order and accuracy. He is teaching this kind of obedience to us. He is showing me that when I cry to Him for help or mercy, often His answer is to direct my steps so that they are in pinpoint obedience, in line with His teaching and commands: "Whether you turn to the right or to the lft, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'
Just out of curiosity I googled the phrase "pinpoint obedience" this morning. Interestingly the search produced an article on dog-training! Not that we are "dogs" to the Lord - but the analogy from this article can certainly be applied: "I love to let my dogs run free in the woods but I need my dogs to be absolutely perfect in terms of responding to my commands - their lives might depend on it."
So it is with us. The Lord may not call us dogs in Scripture, but He DOES refer to us as His sheep! "...His sheep follow Him and they know His voice" (John 10:4). It is essential in this hour that we learn to know the Voice of the Shepherd who seeks pinpoint obedience from us. He expects us to respond to His commands, as our lives might depend on it.
"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in HIS ways, and to keep HIS commands and decrees; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess" (Deut. 30:15-16).
As it was before, so it is again. We are getting ready to enter a Land promised us by the God of Israel - and as it was before, the journey will not be an easy one. But IF we listen for His Voice and keep His commands and decrees - in pinpoint obedience - we shall be like Joshua and Caleb, and we shall surely take it!
If He says "Write the check" I am learning He does not mean next week. He means now. If He says, "Don't go there" I am learning He means "Don't go there, it is unsafe for you." If He says, "Call this person" I am learning He means now, this minute...not tomorrow.
Pinpoint obedience!
The area of a pin point is tiny. If I mark some place on my map I am marking it with absolute accuracy. No room to the right or the left. Exactly that spot. It seems to be this is how the Lord used the tornado in Jerusalem, Arkansas - with pinpoint accuracy. This was a very small town and Mt. Zion was a very small church within the very small town. Nothing outside of the very small town was affected. It was a "pinpoint message."
Yahweh is a God of perfect order and accuracy. He is teaching this kind of obedience to us. He is showing me that when I cry to Him for help or mercy, often His answer is to direct my steps so that they are in pinpoint obedience, in line with His teaching and commands: "Whether you turn to the right or to the lft, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'
Just out of curiosity I googled the phrase "pinpoint obedience" this morning. Interestingly the search produced an article on dog-training! Not that we are "dogs" to the Lord - but the analogy from this article can certainly be applied: "I love to let my dogs run free in the woods but I need my dogs to be absolutely perfect in terms of responding to my commands - their lives might depend on it."
So it is with us. The Lord may not call us dogs in Scripture, but He DOES refer to us as His sheep! "...His sheep follow Him and they know His voice" (John 10:4). It is essential in this hour that we learn to know the Voice of the Shepherd who seeks pinpoint obedience from us. He expects us to respond to His commands, as our lives might depend on it.
"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in HIS ways, and to keep HIS commands and decrees; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess" (Deut. 30:15-16).
As it was before, so it is again. We are getting ready to enter a Land promised us by the God of Israel - and as it was before, the journey will not be an easy one. But IF we listen for His Voice and keep His commands and decrees - in pinpoint obedience - we shall be like Joshua and Caleb, and we shall surely take it!
If He says "Write the check" I am learning He does not mean next week. He means now. If He says, "Don't go there" I am learning He means "Don't go there, it is unsafe for you." If He says, "Call this person" I am learning He means now, this minute...not tomorrow.
Pinpoint obedience!
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