Soul Kitchen

The King of Love My SHEPHERD Is ...

2012-01-19T02:23:00.000-08:00

The King Of Love My Shepherd Is

Quiet Time, January 17, 2012…

Psalm 23

My QT took me through the words of the popular hymn (MHB 76), and God gave me a fresh perspective of Psalm 23. Whenever I have looked at the psalm, I have thought of the provision and protection of the Good Shepherd. This time around, I realized that Psalm 23 paints a beautiful picture of how calm, restful and peaceful my life as a Christian is supposed to be. The lesson this is that, if my life is hurried, stressed and hassled, then I should know that I’m living outside of His will and ideal relationship. In contrast to my previous notions of a pasture with bleating sheep, or a shepherd and one bleating sheep etc, I see two friends taking a nice, cool walk in nature’s corridors. It is quite interesting to compare the various versions of the text, and I gained new insight, drawing on the NKJV, the NLT and the GNB.

The Lord is MY Shepherd …

- This means that I share Him with no one else. He devotes His time, love, full attention etc. to me, and we belong to each other. I am His, and He is mine. There’s a bond there that is not shared with anyone else. There’s a calm knowing and assurance that we have a friendship, a relationship, and it’s a special one.

I shall not want/ I have everything or all that I need …

- It’s a positive confession/declaration where I am saying what is, and what will be. In the present, I have everything I need, and in the future, I shall not want. If I’m to trust in these words, then I should not stress over anything or let my need overwhelm me at all. He is my sufficiency. Note that it doesn’t say ‘He will give me everything I need’ – he is not now about to take an action to give me anything – by virtue of being in a relationship with Him alone, I have everything I need and I lack nothing. If He has it, then I also have it – He created the universe (Ps. 24), and so everything He created is mine, and He gives me direct access to all His riches in glory (Phil 4:19).

He makes me to lie down in green pastures/ He lets me lie down in green pastures …

- He knows and values the importance of rest, and so He gives me rest, and where I refuse it, He “makes” me lie down in green pastures. Here, He is teaching me to slow down, rest, enjoy the calmness of a walk with Him. Jesus was never harried and constantly on the move – He had restful moments – in fact, rest was so important to Him that even in the midst of the storm, He found time to rest! Where I need rest, if I don’t take the initiative to rest, He may bring circumstances that will compel and force me to rest. If my life is one big whirlwind, then I must know that it is not the way the Good Shepherd designed it to be.

He leads me beside the still waters/ He leads me to quiet pools of water …

- I’m picturing the sheep and Shepherd taking a leisurely stroll by some pools of crystal-clear water, and the water gently lapping along the edge of the pools … a very calm and serene setting. Here, I can spend quality time with Him without any distractions. There is no noise, and we can chat with him as we stroll along, occasionally stopping to look at our reflection in the water. All this stands in contrast to taking a stroll along the beach with noisy waves, shifting sand, etc…

He restores my soul/He gives me new strength/He renews my strength…

- He knows the stress and potential frustrations in my life, and knows that by all means, I will fret and wear myself out with life and its issues, so He provides the inner strength that I need; the renews the strength and energy that I use up in stressing and running around chasing my own tail. To be able to access this new strength and restoration, I need to be close to Him – I need to be walking with Him and spending time with Him. The condition of my soul is most important to Him, and He makes sure that my soul, like a tender plant is constantly watered.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness/He guides me along the right path, as He has , bringing honor to His name …

- He shows me what righteousness is, and He orders my steps according to it. He shows me what is right so that I have no excuse to say that I didn’t know – the Bible is the manual that gives me everything I’m supposed to know. When to the right or left I stray, His voice I may hear behind me saying ‘this is the way, walk in it’ (Is 30:21). The purpose of this is not just to equip me, but to keep me from being a disgrace to Him … He leads me, and if I follow Him, then my obedience will yield good fruit that will bring honor to His name. If my light shines before men, then they will see me distinguishing myself through righteousness, and will glorify my Father in heaven (Matt 5:16). Amen.

Yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, or the darkest and deepest valley…

- No matter how dark and dreary things get, no matter how bad life seems to be, and if I find myself in a dark place where I don’t see anything, I must remember who my Shepherd is. Perhaps I don’t have a sense of direction, or like Christ, I feel abandoned, and I want to cry out and say … My God, my God, why have You forsaken me (Ps 22:1), I will remember that He is indeed beside me, and so I will not, and have no reason to be afraid. He may be next to me and just be silent. His silence does not mean He isn’t there. It’s a test of my faith in Him, and to see whether I will grope around in the dark, trying to find my solutions from the plethora of solutions that the world offers, or whether in the darkness, I will try to find only His hand beside me and hold on to it for support and for dear life. My survival in the darkest valley depends on who and where my Shepherd is. He is right near me, and says I should call to Him (Jer 33:3), and He will open my eyes to see amazing truths.

His rod and staff protect and comfort me…

- With His rod, He disciplines me when I am being foolish, and he shoos away anything that will be a distraction to me, helping me to stay focused. He uses the staff to guide me … to keep me within the safe boundaries as we walk along the path. He steers me away from trouble. My curiosity may lead me too close to the edge, and He will have to remind me that even though the field is wide ad open, as is life, I must be circumspect where I choose to walk.

He prepares a feast/banquet for me in the presence of my enemies/where my enemies can see me…

- He puts my enemies to shame, and doesn’t go chasing after them, but instead, He lets things work out for my good, and then shows them how I will survive because He is with me. He sets the stage for a banquet that honors even a sheep and servant like me, and uses that as evidence to show the enemies the futility of their plans. In the midst of opposition He shows them that I still enjoy victory because I serve the Living God. He puts them to shame, and shows them their plans didn’t and can’t work. Notice that His focus is on me, and not the enemy … if we were all to focus less on what the devil and some enemies have done, or are doing, and rather focus on building a relationship with the Shepherd and walking in the Spirit (Gal 5:16), then we can surely overcome all things that come our way – enemies within and enemies without.

He anoints my head with oil/ He welcomes me as an honored guest …

- Just as Samuel did for David to show God’s acceptance of him (1 Sam 16:23), the Shepherd anoints me to show that I am selected and consecrated unto God – it shows the enemies that I belong to Him – He himself anoints my head, and it’s also to show that I am blessed and highly favored. It does not just equip me to do His will, but it also shows that I have His seal of approval and serves as a message to any Goliath that wants to harm me, who my Keeper and Shield is.

My cup runs over/my cup overflows with blessings/He fills my cup to the brim…

- No good thing will He withhold from the upright (Ps 84:11). He gives me not just access to His wealth, but He provides me with everything that I need, and I don’t have to worry about anything. My life is full of many blessings – not just the big, recognizable ones, but even the little things that may put a silent smile on my face … when He brings a taxi juuust in the nick of time, or when He prompts me to use a different route in traffic, and I discover my initial choice was jam-packed with traffic, or when the message to me is the same, regardless of with radio station I tune it to … He’s always finding new ways to bless and surprise me with goodness!

Surely/I know that goodness and mercy/Your goodness and unfailing love shall follow/pursue me/shall be with me…

- His goodness and unfailing love will ‘pursue’ me all the days of my life – He won’t wait for me to come to Him. Instead, His goodness will chase after me. In other words, He will never give up on me – He will constantly follow me and keep His eye on me, and His love will never let me fall (Gen 28:15). The stubborn sheep that I am, there are times when I will wander off on my own, oblivious to the dangers around me, but surely, He will pursue and preserve me … His goodness will cause me to find favor in unexpected places, and even when He doesn’t seem to be present in certain situations, His goodness would have pursued and overtaken me, to prepare the way for me.

I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever/Your house shall be my home as long as I live …

- I will enjoy His presence forever – both here on earth and also in heaven… I will forever be in His presence, provided that I seek after Him (Matt 6:33). I will walk with Him here on earth because that is the surest way to make it in this world that is not meant to be a home, but a transient space.

O for a closer walk with God, a calm and heavenly frame (MHB 461)… the serenity of Psalm 23 is just hitting home - the picture of what my life should be like, and how living as a hurricane is not His plan for me. It’s a sweet, calm and rewarding love relationship that He wants, and if I’m in that ‘space’ with the Shepherd, then I truly have all things, and can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). Amen!

The Parable of the Sower & the Four Soils

2011-10-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

Parable

Parables are not unique to the NT – they were used in the OT, called Mashalim; an example is the "parable of the ewe-lamb" told by Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:1-9.

1. It’s so straightforward that the ‘wise’ of the world are confounded by it (1 Corinthians 1:27)

2. It provides a setting

3. It describes an action

4. It requires a decision

5. It shows end results

6. There’s always a lesson

SOWING

· Sowing inevitably raises the idea of reaping. (Galatians 6:7)

· When a seed falls to the ground, we expect it to go through a death and rebirth, and then we expect to get it back in a new form – as a fruit (John 12:24)

· In this parable, the problem is not with the seed, but with the soil.

· Biology 101: moisture/water, sunlight, air (Holy Spirit) and good soil (heart) with nutrients.

THE SOWER/FARMER

· You must go to the Master to get the seed … you cannot create it yourself. To be a sower, you must be in tune with the owner of the seed.

· The Sower went OUT … he had to leave his comfort zone and go to scatter seeds. (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15).

· The sower had a PURPOSE and an EXPECTATION … Isaiah 55:10-11.

· He scattered the seed liberally everywhere, and as we have received liberally from Christ, so should we give and serve liberally. (Eccl. 11:1-6)

· If he knew where the best soil was to be found, perhaps he might limit himself.

· …sometimes we look at people before we share the Word with them. We target the people who are most likely to be receptive. Christ was liberal in showing compassion, sharing the Truth, with men, women, children, prostitutes, tax collectors etc etc…

· “.. he is not responsible for the harvest, he is only accountable for the care and industry with which he does his work” (Spurgeon)

The soil/heart is “prepared by the plough of conviction; but not knowing men's hearts, it is his business to preach the gospel to every creature—to throw a handful on the hardened heart, and another on the mind which is overgrown with the cares and pleasures of the world. “ (Spurgeon)

The Condition of your heart determines your spiritual journey

The heart is the hub of our being – we’re to guard it diligently

God looks at the heart (1 Sam 16:7)

PATH/WAYSIDE/FOOTPATH/ROADSIDE/WAY

1. They hear the word (perhaps in passing … on the radio, in a song, in a conversation, an encounter with an evangelist, a sermon etc…)

2. They hear, and then the devil takes it away … the last thing he wants to see is a soul making it to heaven. He is proactive and introduces distractions, doubts, ridicule etc… he takes it away from the hearts immediately and PREVENTS them for believing and becoming saved.

3. Taking away … (he comes to steal, kill and destroy: John 10:10) … he does all he can to keep us from believing, doubts, forgetfulness, sin and guilt, doctrinal confusion, prejudice, distractions etc…. anything to prevent salvation and growth.

4. Be alert! The devil prowls around looking for prey! (1 Peter 5:8).

“…the soil of your heart is so hard beaten by continual traffic, that there is no hope of the seed finding a living root-hold. Satan is constantly passing over your heart with his company of blasphemies, lusts, lies, and vanities. The chariots of pride roll along it, …You have no time, you say, to think of religion. your soul is an exchange, across which continually hurry the busy feet of those who make merchandise of the souls of men. You have no time, you say, to think of religion. No, the road of your heart is such a crowded thoroughfare, that there is no room for the wheat to spring up.” (Spurgeon).

ROCKS/STONY GROUND/SHALLOW SOIL/UNDERLYING ROCK

1. They receive the word with joy, and are excited momentarily – they spring up quickly, but lack deep roots.

“Their heart is as iron; the minister might as well speak to a heap of stones as preach to them.

Do these people come to our assemblies because it is respectable to attend a place of worship? Or is it that their coming helps to make them comfortable in their sins? If they stopped away conscience would prick them; but they come hither that they may flatter themselves with the notion that they are religious.” (Spurgeon).

2. They seeds actually begin to grow – there is topsoil, but hidden underneath is a rock.

3. It lacked moisture, and it sprang up quickly BECAUSE it had no depth or soil, it was shallow. The form of Christianity is seen, but there is no substance. There is barrenness and a hypocritical profession of faith.

4. They believe for a while, but do nothing to find cracks in the rock so they may deepen their roots. On the outside, people see your excitement, but you lack depth.

5. It started to grow, BUT it did not take the necessary steps to continue … Bible Study, Prayer, Fellowshipping with others, sharing faith etc…

6. Offenses come … people upset you in the church, and then you stop going to church, you quit the ministry, forgetting that it is God’s work, not man’s work (Col. 3:23-24).

7. It withered when difficulties came … it got too busy fighting on its own strength and lost faith… the devil from the wayside succeeded in frustrating this seed within the church.

8. Jesus said in Matthew 5:11 that blessed are we, when we are persecuted for righteousness sake … not when we bring the persecution upon ourselves, but when it is undeserved. He blesses and preserves us if we will listen and hold on to our faith.

THORNS/THORN BUSHES

1. The seed grew

2. The weeds also grew/sprang up. This is good soil, for it grows thorns.

“… See how happy he is when in a month or two he visits the spot. The seed has sprung up. True, there's a suspicious little plant down there of about the same size as the wheat. "Oh!" he thinks, "that's not much, the corn will out-grow that. When it is stronger it will choke these few thistles that have unfortunately mixed with it." Ay, Mr. Husbandman, you do not understand the force of evil, or you would not thus dream! He comes again, and the seed has grown, there is even the corn in the ear; but the thistles, the thorns, and the briars have become intertwisted with one another, and the poor wheat can hardly get a ray of sunshine. It is so choked with thorns every way, that it looks quite yellow: the plant is starved. Still it perseveres in growing, and it does seem as if it would bring forth a little fruit.” (Spurgeon)

3. This permissive Christianity – an environment where anything and everything is allowed to grow. A clear sign of spiritual immaturity where there is no discernment and one foot is in the world and the other in the kingdom of God. God spews the lukewarm out of His mouth – you must be hot or cold, not in-between (non-committed,, following the form and lacking the substance).

4. Catch the little foxes! (Songs 2:15).

5. The distractions may not necessarily be bad, but we become fixated on them, and they steal us away from God. Busyness about mundane things, chasing after riches, comfort etc… 1 John 2:15-17 – the lust of the eyes and flesh, pride of life.

6. These things take away the necessary conditions that the plant needs, so the plant is starved to death – starved of sunshine, water/moisture, air and nutrients. Kwashiorkor, anemic and emaciated Christians.

7. These seeds do not mature, do not bear ripe fruit… they do not last all through the journey, and they get choked. The strongman wins. Our leftover time is what we give to God.

8. Persecution may come BECAUSE of the Word: but we must still press on. Push through!

GOOD SOIL/FERTILE SOIL/ GOOD GROUND/GOOD EARTH

1. Hear the word … hearers >>> keepers >>> doer >>> pleasers

2. Retain/keep it

3. Persevere, make the effort to become more like Christ

4. Bear fruit with patience, endurance, continuance – the earlier external elements are all present – the birds, people’s feet, the scorching sun, weeds etc…

5. Presume there is a combo of all the above conditions … the devil and birds, dry seasons in our lives etc…

“In some cases it produced fervency of love, largeness of heart, devotedness of purpose of a noble kind, like seed which produces a hundredfold. … it fell on another, whose abilities and talents were but small; he could not be a star, but he would be a glow-worm; he could not do as the greatest, but he was content to do something, however humble. The seed had brought forth in him tenfold, perhaps twentyfold. How many are there of this sort here? Is there one who prays within himself, "God be merciful to me a sinner"? The seed has fallen in the right spot.” (Spurgeon)

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER ...

1. All the types of soil have potential … (ever seen mimosa and other plants growing in cracks?)

2. The ground is described as "good": not that it was good by nature, but it had been made good by grace. God had ploughed it; he had stirred it up with the plough of conviction (Spurgeon)

3. Like the seed that fell among thorns, sometimes we may not even realize it, but we may be in the middle of a subtle and slow death … you don’t see it coming … you gradually pull away from the things that grow you as a Christian, and like the frog in the kettle, you die an ‘invisible death’. We must guard against this with all our hearts.

4. There is always the promise of a harvest. God has made the provisions … even in the natural sense, He gives sunlight, rain and air. We have to cultivate the soil. Cultivate habits that draw you closer to Him and transform you to be more and more like Him – BS, prayer etc.

5. Salvation is ONLY the beginning point. Nurturing is a must. You cannot expect the seed to mature and bear fruit with no intervention … spiritual growth and maturity are not automatic… we’re to work at it with fear and trembling.

6. Even though there were different yields, Jesus focused on the fact that they bore fruit.

7. We must allow the Spirit of God to fertilize our hearts.

FRUIT = THE FULL CHARACTER & VOCATION OF CHRIST (Gal 3:27)

· Salvation is NOT an end in itself, but the beginning of growth and transformation, becoming more like Christ, bearing fruit and enjoying eternal life with God in heaven … that is the end. (Eccl. 12:13).

· Spiritual disciplines … Richard Foster – the mystery of growth – we cannot see or conjure it … that transformation ONLY comes from God Himself. Spiritual disciplines grow us – it puts us in the place where God can do His work.

· The miracle of growth – it is not in the hands of man, but ONLY God can bring about that transformation …. From seed to plant, from fetus to newborn baby. (John 3:8)

... Easter Message... Woman, behold thy son < > son, behold they mother... (John 19:26-27)

2011-04-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

“woman, this is/behold your son; son, behold/this is your mother”

We meet three types of people at the cross in these verses:

The loving mother and relatives
The compassionate Christ
The faithful and obedient friend

At the cross, we see Mary, Jesus’s mother, her sister (Jesus’s aunt), Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.

COURAGE, LOVE AND COMPASSION of the women at the cross – the 3 other gospels place women at a distance from the cross, but John says in his writings, that the women stood by the cross. While the disciples and secret followers including Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were following from a distance, these devoted women were close by.

Imagine the anguish, the pain they felt, and the suffering that they witnessed. They loved Him so much that they could not abandon Him – there was nothing they could do, but they were there – their presence was just enough to show their love. Sometimes all a person in pain needs is your presence and nothing more. Knowing that you care is enough and often worth more than you can imagine. The women showed their love by being there. They openly stood by Him, making their love for Him clear enough. They did not leave Him to die alone - they were there; they went with Him all the way to the cross.

How far will you go with Christ? How openly will you declare your faith in Him?

How often are you there for other people to console and comfort them?

FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Jesus did not call her “mother”, but rather, “woman.” … he was symbolically detaching Himself from her, and was perhaps ‘freeing’ her to be a mother to another. He knew the word ‘mother’ would cut her and remind her of what she was losing – a Son.

Jesus did not ASK Mary whether she would take John as her son, or John whether he would take Mary as His mother. He simply declared a new relationship between them. His life, death and resurrection publicly declared new relationships between all of us - in our familial relationships, in our spiritual relationship with Him, etc etc...

Parenthood and sonship or daughtership is a relay – biological parents start the process, and along the way, other people step in to play roles of father or mother.

Have you been a mother, or parent to someone else who is not your biological child?

Have you been a child (son/daughter) to a non-biological mother?

There is a very special blessing in adopting mothers – remember Ruth and Naomi. Ruth did not see Naomi as a 'mother-in-law', but instead as a 'mother'. (See blog on Ruth, Naomi & Boaz). The blessing was inbuilt in this 'adopted' relationship, and John was bound to be the beneficiary. Jesus could not leave His mother 'sonless', and no better person than John, to play the role of a son to Mary. Remember that Mary was A catalyst of Jesus’ ministry, if you look at her role at the wedding of Cana, you see that she was influential in her Son's ministry. Mother and Son shared a special bond, and she was indeed precious to Him. Jesus cherished his mother, and so He had to entrust her into the care of a FAITHFUL AND TRUSTWORTHY FRIEND. He didn’t leave her with just anybody…

We see Jesus here as an excellent delegator. Knowing how aware Peter was, of Him as the Messiah, He said He would build the church upon Peter, the Rock. Peter's deep understanding of the Christ and of God's holiness in contrast to our unholiness made him the perfect messenger for the message of salvation. When Jesus looked at John, he saw something different. For John’s steadfastness and solid friendship, He entrusted family affairs to him. He needed a faithful friend to handle matters that were close to His heart. Note the response of John. He was OBEDIENT to Jesus’ command.

Can Jesus trust you with His most prized possession of souls, as He trusted John to take care of Mary?

Can He trust you to send that message to others?

... reflect on these things.

My resolution to blog away ...

2011-04-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

I have resolved to start blogging periodically, rather than waiting till I have the 'time' to do so. If I wait for the perfect time, full content etc etc., I will never share some of the wonderful thingsthat God keeps blessing me with. ... so! ... this will be my sharing space from now on.

Even if it's 2 lines, I'll keep this space open and active!

Tsooboi!!!

The Holy God - LIC Word (May 9, 2010)

2010-11-13T05:35:00.000-08:00

Last week’s lesson – communicable and non-communicable attributes of God.

1. The meaning of holy or holiness

2. God’s holy nature

3. Man’s unholy and potentially holy nature

4. Reconciliation of the holy and unholy

The most common understanding/usage of the word is that something is morally pure or without sin … this makes holiness incommunicable, since we are not sinless. However, God says BE HOLY, for I the Lord AM HOLY, so there is an aspect of holiness that is communicable, yet can we describe ourselves as holy?

God’s very high expectations of His people stem from His own nature, and the fact that we are created in His image (Gen 1:26-28). He shares that attribute with us. Exodus 19:6 and Leviticus 19.

To be holy/holiness exists in 2 fused dimensions

1. Moral purity (without sin or blemish)

2. Set apart/consecration unto a holy purpose

Hebrew word is Qadosh, and means that which is cut off, separated/set apart from other things, because of its uniqueness.

Qadosh is closely related to kabod, which refers to God’s glory and splendor. Uniting these 2 words, God’s holiness then refers to His being unique in all ways and so being set apart in glory and splendor. The combination of Holiness and splendor means we approach Him in awe of His purity, and this causes us to fear and tremble.

Greek word Hagios, also means set apart, or distinguished from other things. It means sacred, pure, blameless, consecrated, separated, properly revered, worthy of veneration, Godlikeness, set apart for God and His service.

GOD’S HOLY NATURE

God is holy, and unique in His holiness – I Sam 2:2

- Hannah in adoration says “there is none HOLY as the LORD…”

- Jesus in teaching us to pray starts by acknowledging God’s holiness – He says HALLOWED be Thy name…

God is holy, and God is holiness itself, His name is holy, His dwelling place is Holy, His Word is holy, His thoughts are holy, His actions are holy, His creation can be holy…

A.W. Tozer says “to be holy, He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.”

Because of His holiness, we cannot contain His presence, or stand in His holy presence. We will not live. God told His own friend Moses, that he could not see God and live (Exodus 33), so God had to protect Moses from seeing Him (God)

Imagine …

1. Your dog strays away from you

2. Chapel decked in white, you decked in white at a very important ceremony

3. Dog goes and wallows around in the cesspools of the Korle Lagoon – fur is all matted, dirty, has fleas and ticks, is foul-smelling etc etc.

4. You call out to dog – you want reconciliation

5. Dog comes towards LIC … and gets shooed away

6. Dog tries to come in and is eager to come and play with you etc, BUT…

7. He must first pass through a cleansing – a purification process (salvation)

8. And it has to commit to stay away from the cesspools and stay close to you

- From creation till now, God has been giving us tokens of His holy presence – the Ark etc… because we cannot handle His holy presence

Isaiah 55:8&9, Leviticus 23:19, 1 Samuel 16:7 etc. all remind us that God is NOT like man. He is different, set apart in ALL His ways, and He is pure, unlike us. Because of His moral purity, He is intolerant of evil, or sin. He cannot dwell in the same place as sin. God’s nature cannot, and will not allow Him to dwell with sinful men without an intervention.

Consider the experiences of …

- Isaiah @ the throne room

- Moses @ the burning bush

- Jacob @ Bethel

- Peter, James & John @ the mount of transfiguration

Isaiah 6:1-8

- Isaiah saw the Lord from outside the temple

- There were living creatures all around Him

- Smoke (symbolic of God’s presence) filled the temple (2 Chronicles)

- Isaiah (who must have been a Fante) saw his own vileness and cried out – woe is me! (the Fante version of “mewoe”)

- Holy, holy, holy – symbolic 3 times

- Father, Son and Holy Spirit

- In Hebrew, repetition (x3) elevates the attribute to the superlative degree – Holy, holy, holy

- Isaiah’s lips were touched with the coal to cleanse him.

- Significance of the hot coal. Taken from a fire, possibly from an altar – a sacrifice is necessary for us to be welcomed into His holy presence.

- Fire refines, purifies

- The coal did not, and cannot come from man. It had to come from God Himself – Christ.

MAN’S UNHOLY NATURE

The moment the fruit touched the lips of Eve and Adam, humanity lost its intrinsic holiness. That likeness to God was disrupted, and they could no longer even dwell in His presence, and had to cover themselves up and hide…

The nature of man is unholy – not morally pure as God is, and we are not naturally set apart from the world or from sin – we are part of it.

- Galatians 5:16-17 tells of the disparity between our nature and God’s nature

- Jeremiah 17:9 – natural wickedness

- Isaiah, describes it best in Isaiah 64:6 – that our righteousness are as filthy rags in God’s presence – dirty, smelly, worthless…

- The men of Beth-Shemesh -1 Samuel 6:20 – who shall stand before this Holy God?

- No matter how GOOD you are, your holiness can never match up to God’s

- And YET, God says we should be holy! That means it is possible to be holy

- Be morally pure

- Be set apart for God

- Be different.

RECONCILIATION OF THE HOLY AND UNHOLY

Our entire existence revolves around God’s holiness and His desire for fellowship with us.

We were CREATED for INTIMACY WITH GOD

1. God created man for fellowship

2. Man sinned and fell, and was necessarily cut off from God

3. God instituted ways of restoring us back to Himself

OLD MODEL – holiness/purity through rituals, sacrifices, etc… to purify the people and make them able to receive God’s presence

- The book of Leviticus is full of messages about holiness, and – how to set creation apart for God’s purposes

What God set apart for His purposes:

- People (Levites) (Ex 29:9), Elisha, Nazarites

- Items – oil, vessels, garments, altar… (Zech 14:20,21)

- Days/times - the Sabbath (Ex 20 20:8)

- Space – the holy of holies (Ex 26:33)

- Events – ceremonies, rituals, festivals etc…

2 Samuel 6:1-11

- The ark symbolized the holy presence of God – a mobile sanctuary – wherever it was, was consecrated/holy ground – a token of God's presence (Something serving as an indication, proof, or expression of something else; a sign …)

- As Christians, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, wherever we go, we must be tokens or symbols of God’s holy presence

Note: the Philistines sent the Covenant Box unguided, trusting that the Israelites’ God would lead the oxen to His preferred location. However, God’s own people got human beings to guide it.

- A “new” cart; old or new, it was not what God had appointed! (Saul…)

- The oxen stumbled, and Uzzah did what any innocent person would have done – he tried to keep the ark from falling

God was angry – why?

1. The Ark was to be carried by priests – Levites - Kohathites (Num 4:5-15)

2. The ark was NOT supposed to be carried by a cart. David followed the example of the Philistines (he righted his wrongs in the final transfer (1Chron 15)

3. It was to be carried on the shoulders, and no one was to touch the Ark itself!

4. Perhaps Uzzah was presumptuous (Heb 10:31)

5. Familiarity >> breeds contempt and forgetfulness that we are dealing with Holy God, just like Ananias and Saphira forgot that they were dealing with a holy God!

How do we show REVERENCE to God and godly things? Through our thoughts, Decisions, Relationships, Words and Actions

- Godly days (Sundays etc…)

- God’s symbolic dwelling place and items of worship – the chapel, the Bible, the communion cups, the altar, etc…

- Godly people (pastors, everyone, etc)

- God’s creation – the environment, God’s people

NEW MODEL – holiness through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Through a more precious channel

- His Son - His Death

- His Blood - which speaks better things than the blood of Abel!

- His Resurrection (Col 2:15)

- His Constant Intercession (Heb 7:25)

Another way of looking at salvation is that Jesus died primarily because of the holiness of God – to restore unholy people to a holy God! (Heb 12:14)

Remember Isaiah - an encounter with the holy God must lead to some change –

1. We see God in His holiness – His purity and ‘otherness’

2. We see ourselves in our sinfulness and our unworthiness

3. We are transformed!

Hagiosune – the principle that separates the believer from the world. Hagiosune implies consecration to God – in soul and in body.

For us, holiness can be achieved in 2 ways:

1. It means separation from anything that defiles (Lev 10:10)

2. It means dedication to what is pure and holy (same principle behind James 4:7 – (1) resist the devil .. and (2) draw near to God. you can’t do one and not the other…

SUMMARY

- God is holy, and His holiness cannot tolerate or welcome anything unholy … and so what? And so Lev 11:45, 19:2, 1 Peter 1:15 & 16 – be holy, for I am holy. Amen!

- God’s nature – His holiness and His desire to be with us made Jesus’ sacrifice absolutely necessary

- God is holy, and only those who are holy can see Him (Heb 12:14). Holy God-Holy family, Holy God-Holy Church. Holy God-Holy people. Holy God-Holy Nation. Amen!

- Isaiah had to undergo transformation before he could stand in God’s presence. He ACKNOWLEDGED his unholiness and nothingness before Holy God.

- We cannot be holy outside of Christ. He is the coal that cleanses us. He makes us righteous, so that we can have a relationship with God. After imputing righteousness, the Holy Spirit sets us apart and keeps us apart, if we will allow Him to. He keeps us holy – consecrated and set apart unto God

- Observing, acknowledging and honoring God’s holiness means not treating His presence lightly – sitting in church and chatting, chewing gum, coming with unconfessed sin etc etc., are all things that show disregard for God’s holiness. Forgive!!!

Closing prayer

o John 17:17 – that God should use His Word to sanctify us and set us apart unto Himself

o That He should show us how to treat His holiness, and forgive us for past disrespect

o That the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see holy ground – Jacob@Bethel, Moses@burning bush

MHB 544 (Thomas Binney, 1826)

Eternal Light! Eternal Light!
How pure that soul must be,
When, placed within thy searching sight,
It shrinks not, but with calm delight
Can live, and look on thee.

The spirits that surround thy throne
May bear the burning bliss;
But surely that is theirs alone
Who, undefiled, have never known
A fallen world like this.

O how shall I, whose native sphere
Is dark, whose mind is dim,
Before the Ineffable appear,
And on my naked spirit bear
The uncreated beam?

There is a way for man to rise
To that sublime abode:
An offering and a sacrifice,
A Holy Spirit's energies,
An Advocate with God:

These, these prepare us for the sight
Of holiness above:
The sons of ignorance and night
May dwell in the eternal Light,
Through the eternal Love!

Jeremiah 32. God is good!

2008-04-16T04:15:00.000-07:00

4/16/08

Just want to share something the Lord showed me this morning during my quiet time -- He says in I Samuel 2:35 - "And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever." I don't want to say too much. ... in summary, God wants us to do what's in HIS heart and mind. To find out what's in and on God's heart, we have 2 direct routes to Him - the written Word and His Holy Spirit who ministers directly to our spirits. if and when we do this, He will establish us in His house forever! amen!!!!

Then as I prayed about some needs of mine, He led me to Jeremiah 32. Note the significance of the number 7 (completion, fullness, wholeness), and notice the following verses ...

Vs 7: He gave a specific word/instruction to Jeremiah - Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. Jeremiah was nervous about buying the field in this literally God-forsaken place, so he prayed and found faith - he trusted in Almighty God...

Vs. 17: Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: God heard Him and responded ...

Vs. 27: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? and then God confirmed/affirmed His promise of restoration - the promise which formed the basis of His instruction to Jeremiah in vs. 7, bringing the chapter full circle ...

Vs. 37: Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

I tell you, we love and live for an amazing God!!!

This is what has been keeping me going lately ...

2008-03-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Methodist Hymn Book 526

O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me, my Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle if Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway if Thou wilt be my Guide.

O let me feel Thee near me! The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear;
My foes are ever near me, around me and within;
But Jesus, draw Thou nearer, and shield my soul from sin.

O let me hear Thee speaking in accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion, the murmurs of self will.
O speak to reassure me, to hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen, Thou Guardian of my soul.

O Jesus, Thou hast promised to all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory there shall Thy servant be.
And Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow, my Master and my Friend.

O let me see Thy footprints, and in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly is in Thy strength alone.
O guide me, call me, draw me, uphold me to the end;
And then in Heaven receive me, my Savior and my Friend.

Amen!

Happy Easter! ... on Symbolic Seasons & days

2008-03-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is a piece i shared sometime ago, and it's very relevant for today. enjoy, and be blessed!
esi

Symbolic Days/Seasons

(Originally written in April ’07)

A few days ago, I started my morning devotion based on Acts 12:5, but kinda ended up on a journey through an entirely different territory kraa. Herod was on a harassment spree and killed James by the sword, planning to add Peter. However, there was a feast – Days of Unleavened Bread, and there were many Jews in town for the feast, so he decided the best time to ‘deal’ with Peter would be right after the feast. The focus of the message was on prayer – the earnest and continual prayer of the believers in the house of Mary. They prayed constantly for Peter, and even when the angel delivered him and brought him home, they found it difficult to believe their eyes. God hears and answers prayer, Amen!

It was during this feast that God delivered Peter. God used an existing ‘holiday’ to deliver. Days set aside by man, even if for spiritual or secular purposes can be days of deliverance for the children of God too. A lot of significant things in the Bible took place during spiritual/religious festivals. In the same way, Easter and Christmas etc shouldn’t just come and go and be another day in the life of a Christian. This feast mentioned in Acts 12 was part of the Passover celebration, and became a period of preservation for Peter. Likewise, Jesus’ conviction and sentencing by Pilate and co. ‘coincided’ with the feast of the Passover (John 18:39). Coincidence? No way. At Passover, as a symbol of God’s mercy on the Israelites, a prisoner was released, and this time around, Barrabas was the chosen prisoner to receive mercy.

At Passover, judgment crushed and killed the Son of God, and in that judgment, we found the ultimate measure of mercy through the same death on the cross. Isn’t that truth simply amazing? Learning such truths, no one can convince me that human beings invented what we know as Christianity and that it’s not real, and the Bible is a book of fables. No human being(s) could consistently unveil such mysteries in the Word. It is divinely inspired, as stated in 2 Tim 3:16. It was at a feast that Herod asked his daughter to name her heart’s desire, and she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter (Matt 14:12). It was at a feast that Jonathan and David inquired and saw the heart of Saul and his plans to kill David (1 Samuel 20:5). It was at the yearly visit to Shiloh where Hannah asked for Sammy and went back to dedicate him to the Lord. I bet you there are many more examples in the Bible when God moved in a special way on symbolic days.

Significant things can, and do happen on days set aside by man/God as feasts or holidays. I realize that I must start seeing such days as symbolic times during which the Lord will move His hand in my life, and specifically ask Him to do special things in my life. Sunday is a day that’s symbolic of the Sabbath, and it’s an opportunity to gain special favor and to seek special moves of God in my life. Christmas, Easter etc. should no longer be regular/meaningless days to me. Peter’s deliverance came on such a day.

For me, personally, I keep saying that I don’t ‘celebrate’ Christmas and Easter, and really … I don’t do anything special besides the spiritual – i.e. waiting on God, going to church etc. The significance of these days has been so secularized, and now Christmas is all about Santa and his elves, Rudolph’s red nose and a Christmas tree, while Easter is about an Easter Bunny and Easter eggs in a basket. Through this study, the Lord opened my eyes to the fact that even though the world has secularized such days, He continues to move in special ways during such days - for those who believe.

Something else comes to mind – going for Communion at church used to be more of a routine/ritual that I participated in at church, until one day, my pastor shared something. This was back in 1993/4 thereabout, and since then, Communion has taken on new meaning in my life. He shared how he had a stomach problem – ulcer, if I remember correctly, and one day, at Communion, the Lord opened his eyes to the truth that if he was coming to remember the Lord and eat of the body and drink of the blood, then whatever the body and blood stand for are his, so the Lord prompted him to come to the table with a specific request, and that day, he asked for and received healing from the stomach problem. I tell you – this was a revelation paa to me oh. I took that word in faith, and each time I go for Communion, I go with a specific request – I try to limit it to a max 2, with faith in the fact that God will look down and honor the faith I place in Him to move during symbolic seasons. As for the prayer topics, there are many, but I believe in focusing on specific ones at specific times, and as our faith reaches up to God, He sees and honors that faith – and Abraham believed the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6).

Personally, I’m asking the Lord to help me in my own individual way, to have faith in Him – that He is able to do special things on special days. There is value in keeping some of the symbolic days on the Judeo-Christian calendar, and keeping some of the rituals that were common in the Christian church of old – the orthodox churches, and the celebration of days – Lent, Advent etc… In it’s proper place, practices like kneeling when one enters a sanctuary, kneeling in prayer, the burning of incense on the altar etc. can move beyond being routine rituals, to becoming symbolic acts during which we have faith that God will honor those acts and minister to us in a special way.

I’m also thinking of the flip side – even the secular holidays – that Thanksgiving for instance, can become a time of God’s special move in my life if I place my faith on the altar and ask Him to move in my life. Even Halloween can become a time when we engage in spiritual warfare against the darkness that Halloween celebrates, and ask God for specific breakthroughs in warfare. Independence Day, can be a day when we pray specifically for our nation and ask for mercy and favor, and that Ps 33:12 will be fulfilled in our nations. President’s Day can become a day to pray for special blessings for the president and other leaders – for wisdom and grace. Valentine ’s Day can become a day when we pray for vulnerable people who hardly receive or experience love – orphans, the homeless. We can use it to pray for the lonely – widows/widowers and people who’ve lost other loved ones. There are the World Aids/Earth/Water and many different ‘world’ days – we should use these opportunities as Christians to pray. In Jer 29:7>>, we’re told to pray for the city of our captivity, for in her welfare, will we find our welfare – in her peace will we find peace. If I’m to pray for the city of my captivity, then how much more the nation of my birth?

I mustn’t take it for granted that a nation like Ghana is where it is today just because we’re naturally peace-loving and violence-averse, and we’re so enlightened and all … No! It’s just grace and grace alone. No man or thing can take credit for the stability we enjoy. The ‘craziness’ we exhibit – corruption etc is of our own doing, and yet still … yet still, the Lord preserves us. So … I should take advantage of even the secularly-designed symbolic days and let them become spiritually fruitful days – this is part of what it means to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world – to pray for the nation and continent and world.

As a Christian, the church is not the only place I dwell in and must pray for – I must pray for city, nation, causes, social problems etc… My home church (LIC-Legon) does this consistently, and has taught me the importance of doing this – praying about war in distant lands, conflicts at home, social problems etc, and it’s a blessing. I believe it also brings a divine covering over the land, and over the intercessory church. Because of Christians, the world can be, and should be a better place. Because of Joseph’s godly integrity and faithfulness to the Lord, the land of Goshen was blessed even to the point of incurring Pharaoh’s wrath. Lot was blessed and preserved because of his believing uncle. Moses prayed and interceded for the Israelites several times. Lesson is simple – the world – my family, workplace, city, organizations I join, nation and world at large should be a better place because I’m in it. Salt of the Earth. Light of the World. To this end, I should take advantage of symbolic days and seasons to stand in the gap and find other creative ways of being a blessing.

I remember how people made fun of and ridiculed Christians who gathered at Akosombo to pray over the dam, and honestly, I also found it funny. Well, right before our very eyes, the water level came up. It was amazing. As a Christian, it affirmed the fact that God is interested in these things if only we’ll let Him in. Of course it’s no excuse for us to mismanage what He’s given us. It’s an opportunity for us to remember that being a Christian does not, or should not start and end inside the church. I’m a Christian on the streets, in my workplace, in my school, in my city, my market, my nation, my continent, my world and universe, and so I should pray for the various contexts in which I live.

As I thought through all these, I realized that God was telling me something – take advantage of symbolic seasons and use them as opportunities to draw closer to Him and watch Him do amazing things in my life. Extend this blessing beyond myself, and seek the welfare of the different nations, social problems, families etc I pray about. I pray that this has blessed you. Personally, I’m asking Him to renew my understanding and commitment to keeping symbolic seasons/days/times. … that Sundays won’t be just another day of service to Him, but that they will become days when I can take His Word back to Him – honor the Sabbath, and ask Him to move in my life as I keep the Sabbath by sitting at His feet and do special things in my life – give me special insight, open my eyes to some truth, bring deliverance etc etc.

I pray that this Easter will have a new meaning for us all – remembering the Passover, the sacrifice, and the resurrection, by which our faith finds wings to soar. Calling myself a “Christian” means I believe in and identify with the death of Jesus Christ, and His resurrection, and this Easter is another opportunity to affirm my faith in Him and recommit to Him.

God can take symbolic seasons/days/times and give them special meaning to us as we place our faith in Him to move in those seasons. Amen!

Esi, 0413/07(orig. date)

03/21/08

What do YOU believe?

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth.

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.

who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit

born of the Virgin Mary.

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

On the third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand

of God the Father Almighty.

From thence He shall come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy universal Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Axis HRD Group - http://www.axishrd.com
Ogyakrom - http://www.ogyakrom.org
Blog - http://ogyakrom.blogspot.com/.
Blog - http://ogyakrom-soulkitchen.blogspot.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One soul in the whole creation you do know: and it is the only one whose fate is placed in your hands. If there is a God, you are, in a sense, alone with Him. You cannot put Him off … give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. … Keep back nothing … look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in. Amen! (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity; p217, 227)

A Deposed Queen

2008-02-15T12:43:00.001-08:00

Esther – A Deposed Queen

Yesterday (Thursday, 02/14/08) I really enjoyed the message at church, and I was very blessed by it. So! I’ve dug around a little bit more on what Lady Pastor shared, and I’m adding new lessons I’m learning from it. Enjoy, and stay blessed!

The book of Esther begins with an account of how powerful and wealthy Xerxes was. As we read through this portion yesterday, I remembered a movie I saw not too long ago – 300. The movie displayed the god-wanna-be, power-hungry Xerxes extending his influence and empire all over the place. He was clad in all sorts of jewels and impressive regalia. Anyway, remembering the movie helped me visualize the account written in Esther Chapter 1. Xerxes, the king, ruled from India to Ethiopia – 127 provinces in all, and had the seat of his government in Susa, which is described as a citadel. Can you imagine this guy’s power? Wow. Read Esther 1 for the account of his wealth – using drinking vessels made of gold, each one different, the fine linens etc etc… Anyway … he had a 180-day banquet, to which everyone was invited – literally everyone (feasting for 6 whole months) came to enjoy the king’s wealth. He then had a 7-day special for those in Susa.

During this feast, Vashti, the queen also had a banquet for the women – the ‘girlfriends’ decided to hang out in her palace and have some fun. I’m sure she was there showing off to the other probably jealous women and enjoying the attention and all. Her palace, of course was given to her by the king, and she was accustomed to enjoying the greatness of the king.

Well, during this feast, he asked his eunuchs (7 of them) to ask his queen – Vashti to appear before him so that he could show her off to his guests, for she was very beautiful to behold. Here’s the picture that comes to mind – Vashti is busy showing off to the women and telling them of how she has everything she wants and how na ‘im’ be oga, and then the message comes from a king whose heart is merry with wine (in other words, drunk), to come and parade her beauty before his guests. “Na he paa! What does he mean?” she must have thought and said. While she was busy building her image as a powerful and wealthy woman, how could he seek to bring her low – make her a showpiece for his pleasure and the pleasure of his guests – all men who were probably just as drunk. He was setting her up to lose face before these women. No way! She flatly refused to go.

When the message of her refusal got to the king, he was furious. Here he was, doing what she was also doing – showing off, and she wanted him to lose face in front of all his guests? You lie bad! No way! First lesson here – pride goeth before a fall. As human as we are, and as the king and queen were, we seek to impress so much – we want everyone so see us in a particular way, and place us high up on a pedestal (whether we deserve it or not). However, in God’s kingdom, there’s no room for pride. The Ultimate King of all Himself humbled Himself to become not just human, but a condemned, beaten, cursed, disgraced human. That’s humility. Living a simple life, focusing on just obeying the will of the Father and fulfilling the purpose for which He came – that was His mission, and He fulfilled it. Compare that to the pride exhibited by King Xerxes and Queen Vashti.

One of the things Lady Pastor shared was that the queen refused to go because she did not know who she was. Think about it … if she was cognizant of who she was and welcomed and accepted her role in the kingdom, she would perhaps have responded differently. Don’t forget that this man had made her who she was – given her a palace, influence, etc etc, and much as many-a-millennium woman would balk at the slightest idea of being at somebody’s beck and call, she owed her existence as queen to him – King Xerxes. Regardless of his motives for calling her, she was still HIS queen. Given that it was not common to gain access to the king, he had indeed shown Vashti favor, but she did not recognize it. Very often, we don’t see the value of grace and favor that God pours out unto us, and we lose our position of grace and favor. If I am saved by grace, then I am called by God.

Note that before anyone could come into the king’s presence, they had to be summoned. No one could just saunter along into the king’s presence without paying for it with their lives – it was illegal (Esther 5:16). Here was Vashti, who had been called – she didn’t even have to go and beg for audience with the king. She was called, just as we are – called. While Vashti refused to go, Esther took the risk to go (5:16). This reminds me of a friend’s saying – “get-get no want, want-want no get.” Esther desired the presence of the king, while Vashti shunned it. Esther proactively sought after the presence of the king. Her very life sustenance and that of her people depended on it. This is the kind of attitude I must have towards the presence of God – desire it, seek after it, enjoy it, love it, share it … … Here, Vashti symbolizes the Jews, who rejected the Christ as the expected Messiah, and Esther symbolizes the gentiles who embraced Him. He was, and is there for all, nonetheless.

Similarly, the Ultimate King, the Creator of the Universe calls us – He wants to spend time with us, and regardless of His reasons for calling us, He IS the Ultimate King, and yet – we either flatly refuse to go; promise to go and then fail to keep the promise; go sluggishly; postpone going, etc etc. you get the picture. When God calls us, we must respond – much like Samuel hearing the Lord’s voice. Moses was called and sent, and he gave excuses aah (Gen 6:1-13). Eventually, God sent him alright, but He added Aaron to the mission, and I bet you never noticed that it was NOT Moses’ rod that turned into a snake that performed all the wonders in Egypt and possibly was what Moses used to part the Red Sea etc. Check it out – It was Aaron’s staff!!! (Gen 7: 8,15,19,20; Gen 8:5,6,16, etc ).

God calls us to spend time with Him every morning, to do godly things, to fellowship with other believers to serve Him, to love Him, and we don’t respond with the same passion with which He calls us. You know, my Q.T. this morning (01/15/08) was from Deut 7:7, which says God SET His heart on the Israelites and chose them. This means He purposed in His heart; He resolved; He covenanted; He vowed; He promised to love them, not because they were numerous and wonderful, but because He had a promise to fulfill to their ancestors. He’d called them His own, and said He would love them, so right from the Garden of Eden, He resolved to do just that. In the same way, I must RESOLVE and SET my heart to respond to His call.

To Vashti, this call to appear before the king may have seemed trivial and bothersome, but what she did not realize was that her very ‘queenship’ depended on it. Likewise, we should not despise what seem like small invitations. Someone may ask you to do something very small for them – don’t reject the opportunity – it may just be the open door to greater opportunities and possibilities. Position yourself to serve, as Christ did, and the humble service you offer in some little corner, will be the beginning of your journey to greater things. He says if we’re faithful in the little things, He’ll give us the opportunity to be faithful in much (Luke 16:10).

Vashti did not recognize the king as a source of authority over her. If we don’t respect authority, we won’t be elevated into positions of authority. Authority – whether it is our choice or not, carries a certain covering that comes from the Lord, and if we submit to that authority, we come under the covering, and the blessings He has in that covering become ours. Some of our leaders may even miss out on the blessings of the covering because they are misbehaving in their positions, but the covering is still there for us, and if we submit to the authority figures in our lives (father, mother, boss, husband, spiritual authority – pastor, national authority, other leaders at whatever level – family etc,) here’s a certain release of blessings into our lives. Blessings that are attached to that covering over that authority become ours, especially if that authority is a godly one. One of the Bible stories that has really reinforced this lesson for me is that of the relationship between Lot and Abraham. Lot was blessed because of the covering over Abraham. The Bible says the Lord blessed Lot because of Abraham (Gen 14, 19:29). Likewise, the house of Potiphar’s household was blessed because of Joseph. Having godly influence cover you means you have blessings released into your life. One may ask – what if the authority is corrupt? Must I submit to the tyrant Hitlers and Amins of this world? Give unto God first, what is His, and give unto Caesar what is his so long as you’re not trading your soul. That’s the safest response to give – quoting Christ.

Vashti tumbled from the throne. Her refusal infuriated the king, and after seeking counsel with his trusted wise men, they all decided that Vashti had to be dethroned. The reason was that she was supposed to set an example for the women, and they were concerned that if other women heard of her disobedience they would imitate her, and so she had to face punishment. Likewise, we’re called to be beacons, lights and salt unto the earth – to set a good and godly example wherever we find ourselves – whether at work, at home, at school etc, we must set good examples. People do watch us – so-called Christians whose language is full of curse words that are common in the world around us, whose attitudes, actions etc are all but Christ-like. We are called to be different – to dare to be different. The way we live – our relationships, what we think of, commit to, say, do, teach etc etc must be godly, and it will set us apart, but we must be willing to be different and not just go with the flow.

If we don’t or won’t respond to the call, the work of God will still go on without us. If we refuse to place Him where He belongs - the highest place in our hearts, minds, lives etc, He will find and raise up those who will please and serve Him. If we won’t praise Him, He’ll raise stones and little babies to do that. Nobody is indispensable in God’s ultimate plan and purposes. If God wants to save a nation, and you’re not willing to lay down your life for it, He’ll still use you in other ways, but He’ll find somebody who is willing to lay his life down, and that person will receive the consequent blessings that will result.

Especially if God puts us in positions of authority, where we are accountable for others (James 3:1), if we misbehave, in due time, He will remove us. Saul was replaced, just as Vashti was replaced. This reminds me of a lesson I learnt about 12 years ago (I actually just came across the notes of that lesson yesterday. It’s a blessing to keep notes from church etc – you never know when the lesson God needs to teach you will be readily available with all the ‘apor’ you need). Anyway … in Jeremiah 18, the prophet was sent to a potter’s house to observe something. Read up about it.

The lesson here is that God has the Ultimate plan He calls us all to. When we become like the clay that is not malleable in His hands, then we get the Alternative plan instead. He wants to make a cup and you’re not yielding, He might make a spoon instead (and He knew this would happen even before He created you, but He still gives you the opportunity). The cup was the ultimate plan, and the spoon was the alternative. God will still use you, and will still accomplish His purpose in and through your life, but as a spoon, not as a cup, which may have come with greater grace, favor, blessings etc.

Remember Esau – God still preserved him and gave him material blessings etc, but he lost his birthright and access to better things through his impatience and undervaluing of spiritual things. There are times when I don’t do what I know I’m being called to do, and even though the purpose He has for me does get accomplished, it happens with great struggle that I could have avoided. It’s like a wheel that is moving from point A to point B. if it is obedient, the obedience gets it some oil, and it is able to move from point A to B easily. If it’s disobedient, then it gets no oil, and squeaking and screaming, it will have to toil to get to point B. it’ll get there alright, but after more of a hustle. Eli’s sons were called – that was the ultimate plan for their lives, but they settled for the alternative because they were not obedient in following the ultimate plan (1 Sam 4). Miriam’s criticism of the Lord’s anointed (Moses) moved her from the realm of the Ultimate into the Alternative. Same with Samson, for whom the Ultimate life was that of a Nazarite glorifying God through his commitment, but through his falling to deception, he got the Alternative. He may have gone out with a bang (literally), but it didn’t have to be so, had he walked in the Ultimate plan (Judges 13).

Remember Michal - David's wife – she was in the ultimate, but became critical of the Lord’s anointed and would up with the alternative. Remember Lot – his looking out for himself/selfishness gave him the alternative, but he missed out on the ultimate and wound up in Sodom and Gomorrah. The opposite is true. We can move from the alternate purpose to the ultimate through obedience and godly living. Remember Joseph – what was the alternative, translated him into the ultimate because of his obedience of the Lord and his integrity. Okay, so there are soo many lessons to learn, and if I continue, this will never end, so lemme recap the key lessons from this story …

Set your heart to respond to the Lord’s call. Don’t be like Vashti.
Beware of pride
Don’t despise seemingly small invitations and assignments
Seek God’s presence with the passion, aggression and resolve of Esther
Obedience to the call plunges you into God’s ultimate plan.
Beware of being dethroned and replaced in what God calls you to do

I pray that this message blesses you as much as it blessed me!

Called to be a Watchman

2007-11-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

Called to be a Watchman November 9, 2007

In Isaiah 59:16, God looked, but couldn’t find any intercessors for the people. Nobody stood in the gap for them. He was ready to hear and answer prayers according to His Word (Jer. 33:3), but no prayers were being offered. There are 2 qualities that must characterize intercessors – love for the people being prayed for – i.e., a heart that is wiling to stand in the gap. Standing in the gap also means that we’re taking risks for others. It’s an investment in the lives of others – a priceless investment, worth more than anything you could give to the other person.

Faith is essential. Without faith, how can you put your own needs aside and pray for others’ needs? You have to believe God for/on behalf of the people you pray for. Sometimes the Lord calls you to get on your knees for others, and each time you try adding your own topics, He steers you right back to the needs others.

When we intercede, we are filling/plugging the breach in the wall (Ezek 22:30). A breach in any wall means a covering or protection has been broken – outsiders can see what’s going on within the confines of the wall. When we pray, we place ourselves in that breach - we become part of the wall or covering for the people we intercede for. Being part of the wall has implications – it means serving as a covering. When Moses and Abraham interceded, they stood in the gap and served as a covering for Lot and for the Israelites. That covering shielded them from God’s judgment, and the blessings that God poured into Moses and Abraham’s lives became theirs too. Lot lived/walked under the covering of his uncle. Minus that covering, who knows what would have become of him?

Being part of the wall also means being positioned to receive attacks. You’re like part of the wall of Jericho – attacks will come from outside, so you have to be prepared for those attacks. One image that comes to mind is the ancient castles where the top was open, designed with gaps in the wall for soldiers to hide in and look out from there, or launch arrows from there. Being part of the wall is an advantage – you not only protect, but you can launch attacks from there.

Intercession is a high and sacred honor – you are getting in sync with the resurrected Christ and the Holy Spirit – joining them in their prayer ministry. Rom 8:26 tells us that the Spirit intercedes on our behalf in groans that words cannot express. Heb 7:25 also says that Christ lives forever to plead for us. God rules through the prayers that rise like incense to Him and cause Him to move on behalf of men. Jesus’ work as a priest covers the past, present and future. He lives on forever to intercede – that’s His purpose forever – to intercede for those who come to Him and are called by His name.

Christ’s intercession is deeply personal. He interceded for Peter before the betrayal. His intercession is what caused Peter to indeed become the rock on which the church was built. He knew Peter’s weaknesses well enough o say a personal prayer for him. The best person to pray for me is Christ Himself because He tailors His pleadings to cover my weaknesses, and since He sees into the future and knows all things, His prayers will cover my past, present and future.

Isaiah 62 talks about watchmen who are called to pray – as sentries set on the wall. Intercessors are not only gap/breach fillers, but they also serve as sentries. What does a sentry or watchman do? A watchman protects – he goes on the offensive when threats come near. It’s the watchman who will first spot the danger that is approaching.

1. The watchman must have spiritual eyes first of all, so that he can see the enemy approaching. My life as a watchman means that I must be spiritually alert/sensitive so that I will be able to see and identify threats. This will make the work easier – prevention is easier and better than cure. The more I see, the better I can strategize and counterattack. Ever heard of a blind watchman? How will he ‘watch’ if he can’t see? Without spiritual eyes, it is impossible to be an effective watchman. You could rely on other senses – hearing, smell etc., but you’ll be severely handicapped in carrying out your work.

2. A watchman must be armed. If there’s no ammunition, then what’s the point of facing the enemy? If you can see your enemy approach and you’re not equipped to fight back, then you’ll surely be defeated or will have to run and hide. Defense alone will not bring victory. When you see the enemy approach, you must be able to launch an attack too. As a spiritual watchman, your weapon is the Sword/Word of the Lord. I must have the Word in me and be prepared in and out of season to fight with it as Jesus did in the wilderness when the devil faced Him. It means that I must make a very conscious effort to study and know the Word. What use is it to have a weapon in hand, but not know how to use it? I’ll probably hurt myself with it if I’m not careful. I must not just have the ammunition, but must know how to use it. When the enemy comes in like a flood, I can raise the Word against him.

3. Every good watchman must be trained to protect. As an intercessor, I must also go through practical training – training where I myself have learnt to pray on my own as an individual, so that I know what it takes – it takes earnestness, faith, love, etc …. I’m supposed to know about keeping watch because God has taken me through personal watches, and through this training, I will be able to recognize the enemy, know which weapons to use etc… Training instills discipline – I must grow to the point where I pray whether I feel like it or not, whether I have personal needs or not; whether somebody asked me or not etc … it all takes a lot of discipline.

4. Watchmen wear uniforms. My uniform as an intercessor is described in Ephesians 6. I must be covered from head to toe in order to be fully protected from the darts of the enemy. The uniform not only protects, but it also identifies me in the intercessory role. A spiritual watchman, like the soldier who is out there fighting a battle specific to time and place etc., must be ready at all times. A soldier may be trained and sent to war – for a specific purpose. Those who serve as sentries may not have specific/targeted times of warfare/battle, because the thief can strike at any time, so the watchman must be prepared in and out of season. If we’re protecting self and others from the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy, then we must be ready for sudden attacks.

5. A watchman sounds the alarm – Ezek 33. If I’m a watchman who sees the threat and cannot relay the message, then I’m of no use. I must be able to tell those involved. If and when the Lord reveals something, I must send the message on, or else the blood of those I am supposed to warn will be on my hands. The blood of Abel spoke, and if I don’t warn as I’m told, the blood of people will speak against me.

6. The watchman is most needed at night. In the daytime, many people can see, and so many take care of themselves or each other. At night, most people are fast asleep, so the watchman cannot afford to sleep. If there’s a time the watchman is needed the most, it is nighttime. In an age where the body of Christ seems to be asleep, dulled by the elements of this world, and surrounded by spiritual darkness, watchmen must rise up. The subtle, unscriptural influences such as the New Age viewpoint have infiltrated our camp, and this prompts alertness on our part. The work of the intercessor is most crucial at night, but it’s a 24/7 job that must continue even in the daytime.

7. The watchman serves as a liaison between God and man. God expects the intercessor to give Him no rest – be persistent in prayer and not give Him any rest UNTIL He answers. We’re given the permission to harass Him – keep reminding Him of His promises until He moves. Like the watchman who sees attackers coming, I must summon help from a higher source – like calling 911 or the security company for help. If my co-intercessors are the Risen and Living Christ and the Holy Spirit, then there’s nothing the Sword of the Lord and my sword cannot accomplish (Judges 7:20)!

James 4:10 - Humble THYSELF ... ...

2007-08-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

August 21, 2007

Rhema! It’s been quite a while since I shared my quiet time. The silence on my part does not mean God has stopped speaking. God has been soooo good to me, and I can’t tell you how much He’s been blessing me and taking care of me, in spite of all my ‘ahomtsewness’/ (troublesomeness if you can’t read fantsenglish). He’s opening my eyes to see some hidden truths in His Word. I’m back from Ghana, and rather than go on and on and on passionately about how much my heart desires to move back and the hope I see for that nation even amidst our craziness and issues, lemme share my quiet time this morning. As for Ghana, we’ll tackle that another day – God preserved me immensely with traveling mercies – He delivered me from a car accident … long and short is that while crossing a side-road at Gomoa Budumburam, I was looking down in order to avoid a gutter, and all I heard were screeching brakes! By the time the driver stopped, I had my hand on the hood/bonnet. God is good allllll the time. This was just a small peek into how He preserves me oh – I can’t imagine the number of accidents, people and situations He delivered me from, where He didn’t even show me what was going on in the spiritual realms oh. Hmm. You know, if He were to open our eyes to see the wars that rage in the heavenlies … we’d die of awe and fright, I tell you. Hmm. God is good!

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up

This is a verse I know, and have filed away somewhere in my mental cabinets. This morning, the Lord retrieved it and gave it life and light (Ps. 119:130). As I read the verse over again, I got the message – I’m not supposed to sit and let other people, life’s circumstances or anything else humble me before the Lord – I’m supposed to humble myself; raise the sword of Esi and of the Lord to get this accomplished (Judges 7:20).

In the presence of the Lord, there can be only ONE person who is rightfully exalted, and that is the Trinity – Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit. Only the divine Trinity is supposed to take all the glory and honor, so there’s no space or place left for me or any other thing to take glory. If I don’t or can’t humble myself in His presence, then I’m doomed! If I can humble myself in the sight of men and when I’m around authority figures and influential people I’m able to humble myself, then HOW MUCH MORE JEHOVAH GOD?!!! Ei! If I will take a lower seat than a human being because he or she is in a position above me, or will salute another, call them by all sorts of titles and make them feel their power and authority, then HOW MUCH MORE JEHOVAH ELOHIM Himself? Before the creator of the universe, I can’t but show reverence and humble myself before Him. I have no excuse or reason to do otherwise.

God is everywhere, so if the verse says I should humble myself in His sight, or ’before Him’, then I must humble myself at all times in all places etc, with my eye and mindset on the presence of God. Since the Lord cannot be seen physically, then it means that I must be very aware and cognizant of His presence in, with and about me all the time and stay humbled by His awesome presence. If He is around and within me all the time, then I must do right all the time, for in His presence, there can/should be no darkness. Being humble means that I first of all recognize who God really is, and who I really am, and that discrepancy should make and keep me humble. This realization should make me exalt Him at all times and put Him in His rightful place of supreme honor. Then, I have to do some real, hard work – humble myself.

Human nature is prideful on its own – it needs absolutely no help to lift itself up. We naturally want the spotlight, or want some praise even if it’s covert, and want to outshine others etc etc… that all natural. However, I’m not to walk in the flesh or be carnal even though I am a natural being (Gal 5:16). I’m to operate at a higher, supernatural level – meaning that my human nature cannot co-exist with the nature of God, so my nature must give way and succumb to that of God. I must not be controlled by my carnal mind or desires, but I must be controlled by the Spirit of the living God (Gal 5: 24&25). It’s going to take a huge effort from me because my spirit does not bear the nature of God’s Spirit unless He imbues me with His nature. He sanctifies me by His Word (John 17:17), and gives me the righteousness of Christ (Phil 3:9). However, after/beyond salvation, I’m to grow in my relationship with Him – work out, iron out, stretch out, build on my salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). Paul says that he beats his body into submission, just as an athlete does (1 Cor 9:27), but even more importantly, we must bring our whole being into submission – my mind, my body, my heart, my spirit, my soul, my desires, my will etc etc must all be subject to His authority. I must humble myself, yes. However, I must realize that I cannot do it based on sheer ability. If I try to humble myself using my own strength (forgetting that there is none ‘good’ – that I have no natural goodness in me to accomplish this feat), I will surely, most surely fail and even generate an anti-humble and prideful nature because I will be leaning on my own arm. On the other hand, if I sit back and ask God to do it alone for me, I become a spiritually lazy liability and I either suffer from stunted growth or death. Instead, the battle cry God gave to Gideon must become my battle cry too – the Sword of the Lord, and of Esi!!! It’ll take these 2 swords to experience any kind of victory.

All that said, my very first step toward humbling myself is by desiring it. Unless I desire to be humble before Him because I realize who HE is and who I am, I will not be diligent in any effort to humble myself. Once again, I am to humble myself before Him - not that other people or circumstances should do that for me. It rests on my shoulders, and once I realize that the burden is too heavy for me, I carry it and give it to the one who created me and who can help me with the burden. *** This desire is the Sword of Esi – I must have the desire to be humble before Him, and I must recognize that desiring humility because of my human nature will not come naturally, so I must necessarily depend on the Lord even for that desire.*** The Sword of the Lord – His sword/His part in this battle is His planting of that needed desire in my heart. He gives it because I don’t have it and can’t conjure it up in any way, so His part is to deposit that desire in me (Matt 5:6).

The second step in humbling myself is to live it out in practical terms. This is equally difficult because human nature is like bofrot in oil (if you don’t know what bofrot is, just think of a ball in water). Bofrot in hot oil will rise to the surface no matter what, just as a beach ball cannot be kept under water – it will find a way to rise to the top. This is my human nature, and so I must make the effort to keep it down. How will I do this? Judges 7:20. The sword of the Lord and of Esi!!!

***The sword of Esi gets to work when I see or find myself in situations where pride, rather than humility surfaces. When I’m in situations where I have done well in comparison to others, or where I am at fault and do not want to accept it, in situations where people are giving me accolades etc, or in situations where in my head, with nobody knowing, I think I’m the best thing that ever happened and have all the answers … in all these instances, I must (1), recognize pride. I must remember Christ and His humility, and ask myself how Jesus would be, and what Jesus would do in my shoes. God is everywhere, so I must ask myself if I’m fulfilling James 4:10 before Him. Secondly, I must ask God to remove pride and keep me humble – this means that prayer and talking to God must be intimate and constant. This is the sword of the Lord – were He steps in, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, He empowers me to stay humble because He sees the desire for humility in my heart (Ps 37:4, Matt 5:3, 5, 6).

Personally, I have learnt to whisper to God “hide me Lord”, whenever I’m in a situation where I see myself wanting the spotlight, or where I’m being given the spotlight. I have to go to Him and ask Him to hide me in Him so that when people look, they will see Him, not me. Hiding in the hollow of His hand so that He gets the glory, and I get the grace that’s given to the humble.

Once I humble myself, … let me rather say – once We humble me, then, and only then will He lift me up. You see, when we think of the latter part of this verse, we think of material or physical promotion, but we must remember what God says in Matt 6:33 and Luke 9:25, and realize that there is a higher level of promotion or of being lifted up, and it’s spiritual. When I humble myself with the help of the Holy Spirit, God will grow me spiritually and cause me to increase. He will move me to another level, as He promises in James 4:10. In my life, and from God’s perspective, the spiritual always comes before the physical, mental, material etc etc…. The Lord promises to elevate me spiritually and grow me in the stature and likeness of Christ (2 Peter 3:18, Eph 4:11) – He’ll make me stronger and more like Himself (Matt 5:48), and that is the elevation and the promotion and being lifted up that I should look forward to as a reward. He may choose to lift me up in the natural or physical sense – giving me favour in the eyes of mortals, giving me a larger territory and authority, influence etc etc… The important thing is to stay focused on Him and on what He’s doing in my life spiritually so much so that I don’t even pay attention to or notice what He’s doing in the natural realm, and by the time I realize, I’ll be soaring at levels I never dreamt of because I have kept my eye on Him and have humbled myself before Him. Amen!!!

Ruth, Naomi and Boaz - new lessons from an old trio

2007-07-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

October 2006

I just finished having my morning devotion on the book of Ruth, and maan! I have learnt so much. Whenever we read the book of Ruth, we focus so much on Ruth and her devotion to Naomi etc. etc, but today, God drew my attention to Naomi and Boaz as well, giving me insights to their personalities and characters as well. Through the book, themes of devotion, integrity etc. are rampant, and it’s not just about Ruth alone, but also about Naomi and Boaz.

How we serve others also determines how others serve us – Naomi followed her husband to another land when the famine came. She humbled herself and followed the head of the family to the land of Moab – her following him also was a way of honoring her husband – submitting to the head. She followed in humility, and this is the same thing that Ruth did in return – as Naomi followed in devotion, Ruth also followed in devotion. The seeds of humility that Naomi sowed, she reaped in Ruth’s humility and the eventual favor and restoration they both experienced from God. We often elevate the beauty of Ruth’s character above everyone else’s, but Ruth was actually a reflection of Naomi, and so the beauty of character should be seen in both of them. Ruth was a gentile, but that did not stop her from faithfully following and serving God, and that did not stop God from loving and accepting her either.

Naomi actually set out back to her home country with the two women, and then she figured that she had to give them the option to return to their own families. This must have been tough for her to do – she didn’t belong in Moab, and she did not know what she’d find when she got back home, so her source of companionship and the people she’d come to know were Ruth and Orpah. Taking the risk of asking them to turn back and then continuing her journey home all alone and being lonely must have been a tough move to make. When you marry, you marry a family, not just the individual, and in societies like ours, where the extended family is part of the package, that’s what happens – you take them all (the good, the bad and the ugly ;-).

Anyway, the difference between Ruth and Orpah is this – Orpah took Naomi as a mother-in-law, and the connection between them was the son. When the son fell out of the picture, there was no direct tie, so it was easier for her to walk away. In the case of Ruth, she took Naomi not just as a mother-in-law, but as a mother, so that even when the son fell out of the picture, she still had a direct connection to the mother. This made it easier to follow – she was following not her mother-in-law, but her mother. If you’re a married woman with a mother-in-law, begin to see her as your own mother. Even if she’s tough to deal with, remember that your own mother also has issues, but you still accept her and deal with her. If you start seeing your in-law as a mother, then no matter how tough it is to deal with her, you deal with her as you would deal with your own mother. Since I’m not married, perhaps it’s easier for me to say, without knowing how tough that can be. All I can say is God grant me the grace so that when my time comes, I’ll be able to practice what I preach. If you’re in the in-law situation already, pray for grace to see things through Ruth’s eyes – take your in-law as your own mother, and relate with her as you would relate to your mother. Remember though that since the tie between you is not natural/biological like it is with your real mother, then you have to work at it – put in the effort to make it work.

Conversely, if you’re somebody’s mother-in-law, or you’ll be one in the future, be like Naomi – love and accept her not as a daughter-in-law, but as a daughter. The character of Naomi is really downplayed whenever the story is discussed, but as I read, I thought … … wow! For Ruth to love this woman and be willing to detach herself from her own family and follow her into a foreign land, Naomi must have been a great and exemplary role model! She must have been a woman of faith, one who through her own life showed what it meant to be a good wife, good mother and mother-in-law as well. Ruth was ready to follow Naomi’s God – meaning Naomi’s faith was not hidden – she was a living testimony of God’s power and presence. She wore her faith on her sleeves, and probably lived it out, so she was attractive to others including Ruth – when they looked at her, they saw her faith and her God. This is how our lives should also be – living testimonies that God is real! Naomi was bitter against God, but she stays committed to her faith throughout the story. Even in her bitterness, she was still a living testimony.

Ruth was an initiative taker! She took the initiative to follow Naomi, and when they got there, her hardworking self could not sit idle, so she took the initiative to ask Naomi if she could go and glean after the reapers. Her hard work paid off, and it brought her to the attention of Boaz. She didn’t go out there to impress anyone or seduce anyone – she was just moving on with her life and going about her business when God revealed her to Boaz. In humility, she bowed at his feet, wondering how she’d caught his attention. The seeds of interest were being sown.

Lemme move off Ruth’s case and look at Boaz. He was a remarkable man, though in many studies of this story, he’s kinda neglected. Boaz recognized Ruth’s character, and honored her verbally – he was aware that she’d left her own and had committed herself to a new family, land, people etc.. Most importantly, he recognizes the greater and more important aspect of her devotion – she had left her people to seek refuge under God’s wings (Ruth 2:12). A good man of faith recognizes the deeper spiritual purpose of mundane, physical things. Listening to how he talks to his reapers, and how he shows favor to Ruth, I see his generosity, and how he shows respect for his workers. They all sit down to eat together, he instructs them to show favor to Ruth as well. Now that’s a man with character.

Ruth’s devotion to Naomi wasn’t show only in the fact that she followed her home – when she was invited to eat with Boaz and his workers, she thought of her mother – she ate, and then took some ‘take-away’ for Naomi as well. It’s a minor detail, but it gives consistency to Ruth’s character. Their love and concern for each other was mutual. In chapter 3, we see that she considered Naomi trustworthy enough that even though she gave her weird directions to follow – go and lie at Boaz’s feet etc, she followed the directions without question. Once again, her humble nature is revealed. The plan was not for her to go and seduce Boaz – Naomi was taking the initiative to deliberately draw Boaz’s attention to Ruth in a proper way (see how both she and Ruth are initiative takers? Like mother like daughter). Ruth’s character was seen by people around her – in chapter 4 when she gets pregnant, all the women rejoice with her, acknowledging that she’s worth more than 7 sons, and this is something they also tell Naomi – that she may take comfort in the fact that though she lost 3 men, God has replaced them with 1 woman who was worth every bit of it. Wow!

To uncover a master’s feet and lie there was something servants did to show humility. Boaz, being a good man, recognized a good woman when he saw one. According to my Bible commentary, it was also a way of her asking him to ‘redeem’ or ‘claim’ her or find someone else to do that (will explain later). He appreciated the initiative, and was honored by her humility. In turn, he honored her verbally (this is one thing I like about Boaz – affirming what he saw and honoring Ruth verbally – he spoke good things into her life). He expressed his appreciation for the fact that after losing a young husband, she could have gone showing interest in a young, rich man, but instead, she had followed Naomi’s counsel and had looked beyond age to look at character. Naomi (and consequently, Ruth) looked beyond the transient things, and was focused on character, and this is what made Boaz worth considering. Naomi wasn’t merely hooking Ruth up with Boaz – in her wisdom, she was capitalizing on the interest Boaz had already shown in Ruth – she was not blind to the fact that his show of favor was a sign that he was interested.

Boaz was a good man – a man of integrity like Joseph (the husband of the virgin Mary, mother of Jesus) – he wanted to do what was right by Ruth. He recognized her as a woman of virtue, and like Joseph, who didn’t want to disgrace Mary, he sought to honor her. Ruth was a living beacon, and her light shone before all men according to Matt. 5:16 – wow, what a testimony! Boaz saw this, and wanted to do right by her. In a relationship, it’s important to honor each other – verbally, physically, etc… it’s important that the husband and wife honor each other – do things for the other, and let their actions say “ I love you, I value you, I recognize the good things in you, I love what I see, you make me proud, and I honor you’. After lying at his feet, Naomi counseled her that they should stay put and let the final move come from the man. (even though you may see him and make some moves to ‘help’ him, you must preserve his ego by letting him make the final move and letting him feel that his own arm brought him victory. Hehehe. Massage his ego small, and be happy that this way, you’re bringing him honor).

Chapter 4 was more difficult to understand, but thank God for grace and understanding. Lemme tackle it in a non-confusing way … first of all, since Naomi was a widow with no sons, she and her husband’s estate had to be redeemed/claimed by the closest kinsman – her husband’s closest relative. Apparently, Elimelech had an estate/property that was being offered for sale or had already been sold ‘cos he had no heirs. Now that his family (Naomi) had shown up, a close relative had to take over the estate and family as well (according to some Bible commentaries); a close relative was needed to claim it. Boaz saw this opportunity and wanted to take advantage of it. He was interested in redeeming this estate because along with it, he would get Naomi and Ruth. Since Naomi was too old to bear children to take over the estate, Ruth would be the one to produce heirs instead.

Boaz being the man of honor and integrity that he was, wanted to go about things the properly and do right by her, and so he called a meeting and called the man who was the closest relative to Elimelech to come and declare his intentions – whether he wanted to redeem the estate or not, since he was the legitimate ‘redeemer’ of the estate. Boaz applied wisdom in his dealings – first, he made sure he had witnesses; he also took a risk, applying wisdom to the risk. He was asking this close relative to take the estate if he wanted it, which would include both Naomi and Ruth, and it was going to be a loss if the relative took it, and that’s a risk he was willing to take – Ruth was worth it to him, and if he was going to marry her, he was going to do it the right way, and much as I’d say it was a risk he took, it was also a step of faith, and God honored the risk/step of faith. Well, unfortunately for him, guess what, the relative decided to take the estate! I bet his heart and countenance fell, but he came up with a last plan – he needed to get the woman who was worth all the trouble, so he came up with a response to the relative – he reminded him that whoever was going to take over the estate would have to take on Naomi and Ruth as well. This made the relative pull the breaks and say that he couldn’t take this package – the financial burden of the estate and the two women would be too much for him to bear, so he decided to let that cup of responsibility pass over him. This made Boaz the next legitimate relative in line to take over the estate and the women. Although this seems as though the women were being treated as property passed on from one to the other, the purpose as custom demanded, was to ensure that they were taken care of, and there was also the possibility of having heirs to Elimelech – that his lineage would continue.

In this risk/step of faith, God could have let Ruth slip away into another man’s hands, but His reward for her faithfulness and devotion; his restoration of joy and hope to Naomi and His answer to her bitterness; and lastly, His reward to Boaz for his integrity were all wrapped up in the Boaz-Ruth union, and he wouldn’t let that pass away. What He had purposed was bigger than any of them could imagine. In Naomi’s mind, God had shown her favor again, giving her a grandchild to lavish her attention on – a sort of restoration of all the men she had lost (husband and 2 sons); in Boaz’s mind, he had found a good woman that he would honor, and to Ruth, she had found a real family at last, and had been blessed with a child. In God’s mind, and according to His plan, He had found the root that would yield Obed, Jesse, David, and after that, the Messiah! Wow! What God has in mind, you may never know, but it is for greater and grander things – much more than we can ever imagine!!!

Forgiveness? Yes

2007-07-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Matthew 18:21-35 May 18, 2006

I really enjoyed my time with God this morning – yesterday, I was about to read this passage, and I felt Him say I should leave it alone, and that He'd scheduled it for today, so I left it and used it this morning, and boy did He teach me sooo many things through it! I have some serious soul-searching to do, so-help-me-God. This has been a blessing to me, and I pray that it blesses you too. (this piece is a little long, but God can use it to bless you, so print it out for later if you don't have the time to read it now, and you'll be blessed).

Peter asked Jesus a question – how often shall I forgive? We often measure our "goodness" by how often we have forgiven others. We measure the sins against us, and count how many times we have forgiven `undeserving' people, and then we feel proud because we've been `gracious' enough to others, and good enough to forgive people who have wronged us, who don't deserve it. (evidence of the pride of life, 1 John 2:16). This is the mindset we work with, and this in itself is evidence of a hard heart – a heart that does not let go, a heart that forgets that we ourselves are sinners before God, and our forgiving of others is NOT what makes us good in His sight – our `righteousness' is as filthy rags before Him (Is 64:6). It's only the blood of Christ that makes us able to come before Him and be "accepted in the beloved" (Eph 1:6).

Jesus issued a challenge to Peter – He didn't literally mean Peter should count all 70x7 (490) times he forgave, but meant that forgiveness should be unlimited. 70 is very symbolic because in Ps. 90:10, we see 70 coming up as the number of years given to man, for him to be considered as having lived a full life – if 70 symbolizes a full life, then God is telling us to forgive ALL the days of our lives. Not some days, but all of them. The number 7 is also very symbolic of perfection, completion, fullness – not only are we to forgive as long as we live, but we're to do it fully – do it so that 6, 15, 35, 50 years from now, we won't still have remnants of unforgiveness in us. As God completed creation and then rested on the 7^th day, so are we also expected to forgive fully – to completion, and then at the end of our lives we can also look back and see that it was all "good". This is how God intends it to be – total forgiveness will complete us – give us fullness.

Verse 23 – a certain king WANTED to settle accounts with his servants (note the plural) – the king took the initiative – He had the desire to fix the accounts of those who owed him. God's initiative is evident through the Bible – He took the initiative and sewed clothes for the first 2 humans on their way out of Eden. In the same way, He reached down to Saul/Paul on the way to Damascus, and in many ways, God takes the initiative and opens our eyes – He takes the initiative to draw us closer to Himself.

Verse 24 – As the king settled the accounts, one servant was brought to Him … Some people serve God primarily in this role – as the "accusers" who are constantly bringing the sins of others to light and `reporting' them to the King. They live to expose others. As the King settled accounts, these people got to `work' – perhaps they had already been forgiven, or they anticipated their forgiveness coming later. Rather than stand in line and wait for their turn, or go away and sin no more, perhaps they busied themselves with other people's business.

On the other hand, perhaps the servant who was brought may have been hiding. Sometimes out of fear, faulty assumptions about God etc., we anticipate judgment and then hide. It's only those who line up to ask for forgiveness who receive it. (Matt 7:7 – ask, seek, knock…). Trust that the king has sat down to settle/cancel debts, and what He says He'll do is what He'll do (if you come to Me, I'll forgive; if you acknowledge and confess your sin, I'll forgive etc…)

Verse 25 – As the servant was NOT ABLE to pay, so are we unable to redeem ourselves, period. Good works won't do it, and no blood can speak like that of Jesus. The servant was unable to pay, even if he had the desire to do so, he wouldn't have the capacity/ability to. The judgment was tough – the master commanded that he and his entire family would be sold – he would have to pay the ultimate price – pay with his LIFE. It would take the sinner/servant his very life – life is the ultimate payment for sins, and that is why Jesus had to pay with His life, so that nothing more could be required. The sanctity of life, the violation of what God has put together (created in His image), the destruction of the image and likeness of God makes life the ultimate sacrifice one has to give up.

Verse 27 – The master was MOVED WITH COMPASSION – he forgave, not for any other reason; not because of the goodness of the servant, but because he was moved to forgive. He knew the servant would not be able to pay, if he demanded full payment, so he chose to forgive, and He forgave ALL, not some, but all of the man's debt, and then the servant was released. This indicates that his non-payment of debts had him bound up until the master released him. This is our situation – our sin binds us up and separates us from God, and it's only when we are forgiven that we are freed – released and able to move on. In the same way, when we don't forgive others, or others don't forgive us, we are bound up until forgiveness frees us.

Verse 28 – Then that servant went out and FOUND another servant who owed him – you only find things because you're looking for them. This other servant was not brought to him, or did not come to him, but he probably looked for him and found him. He then laid hands on him and demanded payment of his debt. His newfound freedom from his own debt had `empowered' him – he thought and acted as though he had obtained his debt forgiveness by his own strength or merit – as if he had something to do with it, but no – it was all because the master had compassion. The only part he played was to ask, and perhaps he asked only because he was brought to the master. That's how we sometimes behave – as if we were sinless, and as if it's by our own goodness that we're making it in life – that all rests on our own measure of righteousness. We must always remember that forgiveness comes to us so that God's name may be glorified – it's all for His name's sake (1 John 2:12).

Verse 31 – His fellow servants saw him and reported him – as we saw earlier in v. 24, there are some people who will always do `lapour' and tell on others. When we do stuff and think no one has paid attention to us, there are always others judging, who are taking us to the Master. The difference between the people who brought the servant in at first v. 24, and those who brought him in the second time (v.31) is that this second time, they were grieved – they took it personal. May I not grieve and offend others and cause them to go and report me to God, and may their accusations/charges against me not be true – this is something we need to bear in mind. God listens – just as He listened when Adam reported Eve; when the blood of Abel reported Cain etc – He listens. When I trample on others as this guy did, and I'm forgiven, may I not go and step on other people's toes lest they report me and this binds me up all over again, if the people I've wronged choose not to forgive me. May I also not hold people in chains by not forgiving them.

Verse 32 – As the master did, God says He will fulfill 1 John 1:9 – He will listen to the pleas of the sinner and then forgive him/her according to His promise – what He says in 1 John 1:9 is for real – all we have to do is to repent and ASK Him for forgiveness. This is one absolutely inviolable principle of the kingdom – so long as you ask for forgiveness with an honest heart, God will forgive – He will fulfill His promise to meet us at the point of our asking. He expected the servant to go and do the same – to go and (1), take the initiative and want to forgive others, and then (2), to show mercy. However, this servant hadn't done that. In this case, the principle to follow is "do unto others as God has done unto you."

Verse 34 – It is a terrible thing to fall in the hands of the living God – (Heb 10:31) and this is what happened to the first servant. As the master was angry, so do we make God angry sometimes, and the master brought his judgment down on the servant – he had initially tempered judgment with mercy, but this time, he punished, after the mercy he'd shown was abused, disregarded, and also forgotten.

Verse 35 – So will it be done to us if we don't FORGIVE FROM THE HEART. The Father forgives from the heart, and this is what we're supposed to do as well. We must seek forgiveness from the heart – genuine repentance and also offer forgiveness from the heart. Unforgiveness separates us from God and binds us up and hinders our progress. Through many passages in the Bible, God tells us to forgive others before we can dare to come before Him and ask Him for forgiveness as well – (Matthew 6:12-16, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:36-38, Acts 10:42-44).

***Note that at the end of the story, the bound servant is still in jail. Kingdom principles – even though the first servant had been reported and punished, the second one was still bound up. Only the blood of Jesus can free us from other people's `bindings' on us, even the ones we do not know of. Unforgiveness keeps us bound (John 20:22-24). Forgiveness starts with us – forgive yourself and then you can welcome and accept the Lord's forgiveness. Sometimes, we also have to "forgive" God – the times we've blamed Him explicitly or implicitly for troubles (the why-me syndrome). We have to believe and acknowledge that He seeks our best interest, and does not seek to do us any harm. He wants to see us do well, and has plans to achieve that end. Then forgive others – the people closest to you and those far removed as well. Ultimately, forgiveness must go in two directions – north-south/vertical (56) and east-west/horizontal (34). As God forgives us, and we `forgive' Him, we are drawn closer to Him (Is 59:1-3). The horizontal one is between us and others here on earth – as we forgive and are forgiven, we live out the will of God, and we become more like Him. Unforgiveness blocks God's work in our lives – clogs the pathway of kingdom power, and prevents us from being effective in His work. In ministry, you sow a seed that God can water and cause to grow in the lives of the people you lead, but your unforgiveness is like poison that destroys that seed and makes its growth impossible because people see that your walk is different from your talk, and your self-righteousness and pride contradict what God says in His Word. If you're a leader and you haven't forgiven, or you have, but you keep referring to it and how gracious you've been to forgive someone else etc, you are basically uprooting whatever seeds you're sowing into people's lives.

Being bound up means that we're restricted – we can't achieve or accomplish anything, no matter how much we may even desire progress. As we struggle to get free, we wear ourselves out; we must realize that it's not by our own strength or might. If, and when we are forgiven by others, or we think of ourselves as `gracious' enough to forgive others, we must be careful not to think that peace and other blessings etc. will come from our own efforts to restore our `goodness'. It all depends on the compassion of the Master. In our ministry, we must remember that in spite of all our `busyness' about God's business, we are struggling against the tide unless we have a heart that is pure and free from unforgiveness – a heart that has sought and received forgiveness and has in turn forgiven others. Amen!!!

The truest evidence of forgiveness – the ultimate evidence of forgiveness is being able to genuinely pray for those who have wronged us – to desire that they do well, and not otherwise, and let it go. Let the forgiveness be full (70x7). The best evidence of this was Jesus' words on the cross – praying for our forgiveness, yearning that we'll learn from our mistakes and not act in ignorance as the people who crucified Him did (Luke 23:34).

Knowing God's will

2007-07-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

KNOWING THE WILL OF GOD

In seeking direction from the Lord, and hearing from others that they are also seeking His direction, I find myself being led to write this. As I write, I’m writing for myself as well.

Many times we may complain that we don’t know the will of God, or we’re seeking for direction from Him and waiting for Him to show us which way to go. That’s something I can identify with. This morning, God just reminded me of a few things about knowing His will. He says as for His will, it’s already revealed in the Word. Doing whatever the Bible says is doing the will of God and following His direction. Well, there are specific situations we may find ourselves in, and we need specific direction in these areas. The answer is still the same.

The best strategy if you’re seeking direction is to start by reading John 10. That entire chapter ministers the Truth about God’s will for us. In it, He tells us that His sheep know His voice. If you’re not hearing His voice, then perhaps you’re wandering somewhere about in the sheep pen, and you’re not staying close enough to the Good Shepherd.

In John 10, Jesus’ identity is established. He’s the True Shepherd. If you want to be under the guidance of someone who cares genuinely about you and your situation, then you have to make sure that you’ve submitted yourself to the authority of the Good Shepherd – He’s the one who’ll take care of you, whereas the counterfeit shepherd will only be fattening you up for the slaughter. Vs 2 - He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but forces His way in, is a thief and robber. He who enters by the door is the shepherd. Many times we wonder why God saw us making certain mistakes and didn’t stop us since He knew the outcome; sometimes we wonder why God doesn’t take over and do things He knows we need in our lives. The answer is right here – He’s the Good Shepherd – He doesn’t force His way into our lives – instead, He stands at the door and knocks (Rev. 3:20), and it’s those who accept His authority, His rule, His leadership, His lordship etc… who will have Him enter, so He can perform His responsibilities of a Shepherd in their lives. In other words, if I’m seeking God’s direction in my life, and I’m not allowing Him to reign in my life – rather than submit to His authority, I’m taking counsel from human beings, trusting in my job, money, people etc… if I’ve not submitted my will to that of the Shepherd and opened the door for Him to enter in, I’m wasting my time – He will not force His way in. So the first requirement if I’m seeking God’s will and direction is to make sure that I’ve committed myself and my situation into His hands – submitted myself to His authority and sincerely asked Him to take over the situation. This is when He’ll move in.

The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. He leads them, and they follow Him. There’s clearly a relationship between the sheep and the Shepherd. If you don’t know the Good Shepherd, if you’re not close to Him, you won’t know His voice, and when He calls you, or gives you counsel, you will not be able to know it and decipher it from the other voices that speak into your life. Vs. 5 says the sheep will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him. Sadly, God may not be able to say this of us all the time. Sometimes, maybe - because so many times, we follow after different things, people etc, seeking direction. If you’re a Christian, and you look through the horoscopes, and look for signs and wonders by chasing after the latest miracle working pastor in town, the most ‘powerful’ preacher somebody recommended etc, then you’ve lost focus and are not listening to the Good Shepherd – you are listening to strangers and following strangers. The verse says the sheep do not know the voice of strangers, but for some of us, we know the voices of strangers more than the voice of God, of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

If you want to know the will of God and receive direction, you MUST be close to Him. You can’t be playing around in another field when the Shepherd is not there. You must be walking with Him – sit at His feet Luke 10:38-42) and then you’ll be able to hear His voice. Ps. 91 says he who dwells in the shadow of the Most High …. If you dwell in someone’s shadow, then you must be riiiighhht next to them – you must be right behind him, so that as he walks and there’s a shadow, you’re covered by that shadow – you’re separated from that person by less than an arm’s stretch.

Once He enters into our lives as the Good Shepherd, then He serves as the door to the Father. If we enter by Him, we will be saved – saved from destroying our own lives through faulty decisions; saved from the lies that come to us from hell; saved from the sins that so easily beset us/pull us backwards; saved from people who seek our downfall; saved from anything and anyone and any situation that works against our interest. V. 10 says the thief comes for one reason only – to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, period. The devil may be feeding you, and you may think it’s all good – the horoscopes haven’t lied to you yet; the lotto hasn’t failed you yet; the miracle working pastors haven’t failed you yet; that item you carry around for good luck hasn’t failed you yet; that connection man/woman who’s been able to hook many people up hasn’t failed anyone yet … … the devil is just fattening you up for the slaughter – he only comes to steal, kill and destroy! Jesus says He’s come so that we’ll have not just life – abundant life. That we’ll be able to live free from the theft, murder and destruction that the devil brings.

He says the hireling will run away and leave the sheep when evil comes, but He will lay down His life for the sheep. In other words, if He’s died for you, what else can’t He do? If the man has laid His life down for you, then that problem you’re facing is ‘small childrens’ kraa. The decision to take the job or not, to marry that person or not, to go and speak your mind to that person who’s harassing you or not, to go back to school or not … these may be decisions that gnaw at you, but if He’s willing to lay His life down, which He’s already done, then what more can’t He do? If it’s just His direction and will you’re looking for, that’s peanuts – He’s done greater things kraa, so dare to ask for more ‘cos what you’re asking for is like a tiny mustard seed in His eyes. You only have to trust that He has your best interests at heart, and will guide you into green pastures. And even if He doesn’t, yours is to stay faithful!

Jesus the Good Shepherd Himself said the Father knows Him. We’re supposed to know the Father as well. This is the surest way of receiving direction and counsel for our lives. He’s ready to give it (Ps 32:8), but we must be in a position where we can receive it when He dishes it out. How did Jesus know the Father – besides the fact that He has a part in the Father? While on earth, He lived as a mortal – He knew the Father and stayed close to Him by talking to Him. PRAYER. Jesus rose early and spent time with the Father (Mark 1:35). If Jesus, had to go to the Father, how much more me? Ei, I can’t neglect that area of my life oh. If even Jesus prayed, then we have no reason to slack in prayer – that is where we stay close to Him and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty – dwell close enough so that we know His will when He reveals it. When the devil came to tempt Jesus, how did Jesus respond? With the Word. BIBLE study is crucial if you want to know the will of God. He says faith comes as we hear the Word (Rom 10:17).

God’s will is nothing mysterious. Very often we look for miraculous signs and wonders, look for thunder and lightning from heaven, for people with the gifts of the Spirit (Word of knowledge, Word of wisdom, prophecy, dreams and visions etc. (1 Cor. 12) to approach us and drop the will of God into our lives. Ha! Funny. God may sometimes use these means, but we must be busy seeking His will directly through the Word, ‘cos that’s how He’s chosen to speak to us, and then later, perhaps He will confirm what He tells us in His Word through people’s ministries. The Word is the Will – 2 Tim 3:16, Heb 4:12, Is 55:11, Ps 119, Ps 19:7-11) if you SOAK in the Word, you’ll receive direction because just as it is when you’re getting to know someone, you’ll start getting to know Him more. The more you study the Word, the more you know of God’s likes and dislikes, what makes Him happy, what grieves Him, how He communicates to us, etc etc etc…. I’ll challenge anyone who is seeking the will of God to start soaking in the Word – soak in the Word and see if He won’t meet you where you are with an answer. You can’t say you’re seeking God’s specific direction if you’re not following the Word so you can even know His general will. Soaking in the Word means studying it daily, before you start your day, studying it whenever you get the opportunity and setting aside time specifically to delve into His Word. We all have so many demands on our time etc, but the extent to which we prioritize the things of God is what makes it possible to get into the Word. If it means so much to us, then we’ll make sure that by hook or by crook, we’ll find time to study the Word and not feel inconvenienced.

Practically, how can you surround yourself with the Word? Create an environment where you’re always hearing the Word, and as you soak in it, like a sponge, you have no choice … whether you like it or ‘yes’, it’ll start affecting you for good. Of course hearing is only the first step – the blessing is in the doing, not just the hearing. The more you hear, the more the Word is reinforced, and the easier it is for what you hear to infiltrate, permeate, penetrate and enter your life so that after a while, you realize that you do less of certain things that don’t glorify God, because whether you realize it or not, He’s honored your commitment to study the Word, and He’s changing you from within – the things that used to come easily – lies on your time sheet at work, being rude to others, being selfish etc… all those things, like dry skin, will begin to peel off and make way for the new you. As you soak, you hear Him better. Some practical ways to always be in tune with the Word –

Ø Daily morning devotions

Ø Scheduled Bible study

Ø Spontaneous Bible study

Ø Listening to sermons at church, on TV, on the internet, on tapes/CDs as you drive, through Christian literature, Christian music etc… be creative!

We have to find creative ways of staying in tune with Him. If it’s important to us, then we must prioritize it and make sure that we are making the effort to hear the Word all the time, and without realizing it, in certain things we seek direction for, His will and way will become so lucidly revealed.

It is easy to seek direction and answers that are clear and supernatural – easy to identify as God’s voice. In all things, we have to remember that those are all secondary ways through which God speaks to us. The primary way is through the Word and through prayer, as His Spirit bears witness to ours – Rom 8:14-17, and as we identify with Christ, He ministers to us. For some people it’s the peace that passes all understanding that the Lord gives, and this is key to confirming – not just initially showing, but confirming His Word. When God sends confirmation, He is reinforcing what He’s already revealed through His Word – don’t seek the confirmation without seeking the primary/first revelation from the Word.

Sometimes when we go back, we can tell where God has been leading us. We can identify the major moves God has been making in our lives as we look back at the journey we’ve been making. To wrap up, Go speaks through some key ways

Primary means: Initial Revelation – remember the basics (read your Bible, pray everyday … (remember that Sunday School song?)

The written Word of God (Ps19, 119)
Prayer – the inner witness (Rom 8:14-17), peace that passes all understanding (Phil 4:7)

Secondary means: Confirmation

Dreams and visions (Joel 2:28-29, Dan 2:27-28, Matt 1:18-25)
Godly counsel (Ex 18, 2 Sam 12, Col 3:16, Prov. 12:15).
Circumstances (Rom 8:28, Gen 50:25)
Godly wisdom and common sense (Prov 16:9, James 1:5, 1 Kings 2 & 5, 2 Tim 1:7)
Natural desire and inclination (Ps 37:4, Phil 2:13, 1 Kings 7:13-14)
Outside of the box – God may chose some unique way of ministering to you, so don’t limit Him or His answers to what you expect. He created the universe! Through your observations of life around you, He may speak, and through many different means also … just open your heart and your eyes. Don’t go chasing after and searching behind every event etc for direction, but keep your eyes open so that when He brings it, you will see it.

When we’re seeking His direction, our first stop is the Word, backed by times spent with God, times spent in prayer, the counsel of godly people, the direction of circumstances in our lives, messages through godly people – prophecies and words of knowledge etc. God always confirms His Word and direction – He speaks more than once, and we must tune our senses to hear Him through these multiple means and see the larger picture He’s drawing. If you’re the paintbrush of the artist, only the artist knows what the picture is like, and you don’t, because at any point in time, your position is on one spot, and you have a limited view, if any, of the larger picture. so stay in the hand of the painter, and let Him paint your picture for you, and I assure you – it will be beautiful! God bless and reveal Himself to you. Amen!

Looking for a prayerful person to stand in the gap - Ezek 22:30

2007-07-06T08:37:00.001-07:00

Quiet Time – Ezek 22:30 03/19/06

These days I really enjoy my QT, and here’s my conversation with God this morning. I spent so much time writing stuff down that I was almost late for church – not good at all, but it was worth it. Before I started reading, He reminded me about His special people – the widow, the fatherless, the poor and the stranger. He reminded me of one of the verses that really brought comfort when my dad passed away – Ex 22:22-24 – that God would visit His wrath upon anyone who touched the widow and the fatherless, and it’s a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. In addition, this morning, He gave me Ezek 22:7, Jer 5:28 and Jer 7:6. And … I just realized He’s made this a ‘theme’ for me today - on my way home from church, I had my hymn book and one song that I enjoyed singing was MHB 428. I just realized that it is linked to His words to me this morning – lemme share the words …

I'll praise my Maker while I’ve breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.

Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
Vain is the help of flesh and blood:
Their breath departs, their pomp, and power,
And thoughts, all vanish in an hour,
Nor can they make their promise good.

Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel’s God: He made the sky,
And earth, and seas, with all their train:
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th’oppressed, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain.

The Lord has eyes to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
He sends the labr’ing conscience peace;
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow, and the fatherless,
And grants the pris’ner sweet release.

He loves His saints, He knows them well,
But turns the wicked down to hell;
Thy God, O Zion! ever reigns:
Let every tongue, let every age,
In this exalted work engage;
Praise Him in everlasting strains.

I’ll praise Him while He lends me breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.

My QT this past week has been on prayer, and I’m learning so much about prayer. Two people whose prayers, (or better put, conversations with God) intrigue me are Abraham and Moses, … Especially in the cases of Abe and Mo, they challenged God – they challenged Him to move if He didn’t want His enemies to gloat over His children and claim victory. They took what they knew of God, and spoke it back to Him, affirming their faith in His attributes – His faithfulness etc. In Gen 18:17-33 for example, Abe’s prayer was marked by three things: first, He affirmed God’s nature and used that as the foundation for His prayer. Secondly, he acknowledged his own nothingness before God – he put things in perspective. Lastly, he did not hold back, but was sincere and honest, and dared to question God ‘cos he knew God and had faith in God’s nature. God honored his sincerity by responding to a mere mortal who was trying to negotiate mercy on behalf of a fallen nation. Only problem was this … there were no righteous people/intercessors to attract God’s mercy!

Okay, now on to my QT. Prior to v. 30 of Ezekiel chapter 22, God was listing His charges against the people – their leaders had lead them astray, there was social injustice and irresponsibility and many vices – oppression etc, and unbelievers and believers alike (false prophets) profaned His name, and being the God that He is, He sought an intercessor. What blew my mind was that – not that it was the human beings who sought an intercessor, but God Himself sought an intercessor. They were just going about business as usual, and God, knowing that He’s a God of justice, could not let them go unpunished. However, in His divine order, or according to His divine principles, prayer - intercession could stay His hand of judgment and so He sought intercessors so He could show mercy.

He sought a man from among them – likewise, in any group or community/among any people, there must be a few righteous ones who know what God seeks after – people who are still alive spiritually – this is what could have saved Sodom and Gomorrah, but they were nowhere to be found. God sought intercessors, and He was going to give them work to do on the wall of Jerusalem. I can’t help but remember Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall. These intercessors had 2 tasks…

First, they had to make/build a wall. God calls intercessors to create protection, a covering over others. When someone is going through battles, the intercessor’s prayer casts a wall (note, not a fence, but a wall) around the weak one. As the physical defenses of Jerusalem had to be built, so did they (prophets) have to build up their moral and spiritual defenses. In intercession, we must be on the defense – build up a wall of preservation – these are the kinds of prayers that ask God for protection – “deliver us from evil, and lead us not into temptation…” Since I may not know what is plaguing people I intercede for, or the extent of their battles, my first stop on the journey of prayer, is to ask God to surround them and hem them in – shield them from the eye of the enemy – to fortify them and keep them from harm. Referring to Ezek 13:5, the Lord accused the prophets of not going up to build a wall so that Israel could stand in the day of battle.

Second, they had to stand in the gap – where there was any gap or breach in the wall. Gaps/breaches are inevitable, and they need to be repaired – Is. 58:12, Amos 9:11, Is 59:16. There is a gap between God and man – a spiritual separation that we’re to repair. Sin comes between God and man, and once these gaps appear, the intercessor is to rise and stand in that gap. Our human nature invites sin (gaps), by default, and these gaps separate us from God. In the context of a vineyard, someone had to stand guard as a watchman until the gap in the wall was repaired.

Sin gives the devil legal ground in our lives – breaches/gaps, and where there’s this ‘legal’ ground, we must take it away by intercession. Following the loss of our Adamic dominion, the devil gained access to us, to harass us, and when we sin, we activate his access in our lives, drawing us farther away from God. Standing in the gap means keeping watch – being on guard. A gap is a breach that removes protection or compromises it – it invites trouble, and for this reason, the intercessor is to stand ready in the gap and look out for signs of trouble and be summon help from heaven in the time of need.

In some Bible versions, mention is made of repairing the gap/breaches in the wall. A repair may leave scars or just like a sore may leave a scar or filling up potholes leave visual/physical evidence of what happened – likewise, sins/gaps/breaches in our lives may lead to consequences and even though there’s repair, there may be scar/consequences (Num 14:34 says “… you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you …” If I am disobedient and I go and fight with my neighbor, although God will forgive my disobedience of His voice not to fight, and He’ll deliver me, that does not mean I will walk out scarless – I may walk out with a few reminders of that situation.

The most important truth to remember from all this is that restoration to God comes through humans – evangelism is the key to restoring the relationship. The lack of intercessors to build up and stand in the gaps leaves God no choice but to deliver judgment/justice, and it is the role of the evangelist, the intercessor, that stays God’s hand of judgment In instances where the wall cannot be built, there must be repair going on, restoring the relationship between God and man. Prayer repairs breaches!

Verse 31 tells the sad ending of the situation when God finds no intercessors – He goes ahead and metes out justice – He visits deserved wrath on people, where this could have been avoided if there had been an intercessor! My prayer is that God keeps me interceding – I don’t have to analyze or understand any situation, all I need to do is to build walls through spiritual strategies such as prayer, and in the share God’s message of restoration in the physical, and prepare the way for God to move! Amen!

Lessons from a fig tree

2007-07-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

Mark 11:22-24 – August 1, 2006

It’s been sooo long since I shared anything. Well, today, before I had my devotion, I asked God to give me a special Eureka message, ‘cos recently, they’ve been kinda sparse. Eureka! I enjoyed this devotion, as He opened my eyes to His divine lessons, so here you go …

The disciples expressed surprise at the withered fig tree. They had passed there the day before, and Jesus had cursed it not to bear fruit again. Well, as we all do, they moved on with their lives, and the following day on their way back, they were surprised to see that indeed, Jesus’ Words to the tree had had an effect. As I read this I realized how much like these disciples I sometimes am. Sometimes this is our response when we see God’s Word or promise being fulfilled – we’re surprised because we didn’t expect it – we didn’t even believe in the first place that His Word would be turned into reality. He proceeded to tell them that all they needed was faith, and their word would also be turned into reality. With faith, they could speak the non-existent into being – command a mountain to move, not because they were super spiritual or possessed any powers, but because they had faith in a God who would move on their behalf, and could do all things.

When I look at the story of Elijah and Baal’s prophets, I learn that it’s all about a heart to heart connection. Let me explain … Elijah’s heart was in tune with God’s – he had the kind of relationship that had his heart in the right place – one that loved the Lord and lived in total submission to the Lord’s will. Then also because of his relationship with God, he knew God’s heart – the closer you are to God, the more you learn about Him, the better you get to know Him, and the more you see into His heart. Elijah and Shadrach and co. were not trying to show off. Deep within, they believed what they professed, and the magnitude of their faith stretches so far as to have them say even if …, even if God did not deliver them as they wanted, their faith would not be shaken, for they knew Whom they had believed, and knew that He would be able to keep that which they had entrusted to Him (2 Tim 1:12). Job’s faith had him say though He slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15). This is the true faith that says I believe in the God I have come to know so much that nothing, absolutely nothing can make me doubt Him. Let me die, let me burn, let me never see my prayers answered, let anything happen, and one thing I know for sure is that God is real, He is who He says He is, He does what He says He will etc… that’s where you know your heart is beating in step with the Father’s – so you speak His will into being. Wow!

If there’s no doubt in our hearts, if we have this kind of unshakeable faith that can sing Job 13:15 & Habakkuk 3:17-19 and sincerely mean it, then we have the kind of faith that can move mountains. Not faith to show off – Elijah’s plan was not to show off and prove them wrong, but his heart was in tune with God’s and he knew what God would do – he was walking directly in the will of God, and that’s what made the difference. God’s ways and thoughts are nowhere within our reach, but our hearts – the part of us that lives, can beat right in tune with His, and once God’s heartbeat becomes ours, we will not miraculously all of a sudden share His thoughts and ways, but we can definitely share His desire – His desire to be glorified in all the earth, His desire to have all His children gathered within Him, His desire to have us do well in our lives etc etc etc…

Okay, … back to the fig tree … Mark records this incident after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and it happened while He was heading to Bethany with His disciples. First of all, He was hungry, so He basically decided to look closer to see what He’d find on the tree. His hunger is an illustration of His human nature – like us, He also got hungry, and like us, He was irritated with the tree (a hungry man is an angry man, right? J). Then when He speaks to the tree, and His spoken Word comes to life, we see His divine nature. Isn’t that a mystery? Fully man, and yet fully God. Wow! Here, as at other times, we see His dual nature side by side. Think of this … when He was tired and asleep on the boat in the middle of the storm, we saw His human nature, and then He woke up and spoke to the storm, showing His divine nature. Once again, we see His human nature, and see Him subjected to human conditions, until bam! He speaks, and then His divine and glorious nature shows up, reminding us that it’s God we’re dealing with!

Anyway let me continue … seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He approached the tree. He saw the tree from afar, and being God, He knew it was barren, but for the sake of the lesson, He still walked all the way up to it, seeking fruit from it. In the same way, God sees our barrenness from far away – He also sees that our hearts are hard, and our unwillingness to submit to Him is ever before Him, but He still takes the time to approach us – unworthy as we are, He still draws near to us. The spoken curse sounds like a private conversation between Jesus and the tree. He saw the tree from afar, and He went up to it, checked it out and cursed it. It sounds as though He approached the tree alone … perhaps His disciples thought He was crazy. Only a crazy man would be upset that a tree was barren, especially when it was not its season to bear fruit, and would be so irritated that He’d curse it. Perhaps, they even may have laughed at Him. Yet still, for the sake of the lesson He needed to teach, He went up to it etc… This is a reflection of what the Word says about the last days – at judgment, people who may have appeared fruitful in the eyes of men, who seemed so spiritual and so ‘correct’, may be found barren. Yes, they were leafy trees, giving the appearance of something they were not, and yes, like strong trees, they may have been standing upright and all, but yet still, they were fruitless. These are the ones who may say Lord, in Your name I cast out devils and healed the sick etc etc, but the Master shall still say … depart from me, for I know you not. He only knows those who bear fruit, because they are the ones who like seeds, allowed Christ into their lives and allowed Him to nurture them into bearing fruit, through His Spirit. The barren did not allow themselves to be nurtured, did not have His Spirit, and so bore no fruit, and these are the ones He cannot abide with in heaven. Perhaps in the eyes of men, all was nice and peachy, but upon the Lord’s personal scrutiny, the true barren nature of the tree was evident. Though I may seem fruitful in the eyes of man, what does Jesus see when He looks into my life? When He takes a closer look, will I be all leaves, or will I actually have fruit to show? Scary huh?

I wondered why the fig tree is the one mentioned here, so I set off to find out the mention of the fig tree in the Bible. Check this out, the very first time we ever hear of the fig – fig leaves, was in the garden of Eden, when God came upon Adam and his madam (Madam is short form of Mrs. Adam J), and they saw they were naked. … what did they cover themselves with? Fig leaves. The leaves gave Adam and madam covering – it served a purpose – it hid their ‘barrenness’ before their Creator. The leaves that Jesus saw were a sham – the tree had no fruit, but had leaves that gave the appearance or suggestion that it was fruitful, and it hid the barrenness of the tree. This is where I learn a great lesson. … I must be careful not to be like a fig tree – hiding behind a lovely exterior, like the whitewashed tombs Jesus mentions – beautiful on the outside, and yet rotten within. Also, looking at pictures of the fig tree, you notice that its leaves are not necessarily large, but they are abundant, and this is what gives the appearance of abundance, or fruitfulness, when it may not even be so.

Anyway, I also wondered … well, why did Jesus expect fruits on it, given that it was not the fig season? Mark says “for it was not the season for figs.” Interesting, right? Well, the first thing that came to mind as I thought about this was 2 Tim 4:2 – that we’re to be ready in and out of season. You see, we can have all sorts of excuses why we are not growing spiritually, winning souls etc, etc, but God’s expectations haven’t changed. When Jesus came, He taught that it was no longer a sin to actually sleep with someone to have that considered adultery; instead, merely lusting after him/her was equal to adultery. He came not to relax the standards, but to raise them – to let us know that even though grace abounds, the expectations and standards are still high. Anyway … just like Jesus knew it wasn’t fig season, God knows there are times we go through dry seasons, times when we may be looking fruitful on the outside, mainly because like the fig tree, we’re thriving on sap or nutrition from past seasons, and it’s old prayers and anointings and grace that keeps us standing, but in the present, we may be dead. He sees this, and remembers that we are dust (Ps 103:14), but all the same, He expects us to be alive to, and in Him, from within, all the time, not some of the time. If we serve the Living God, who can equip us with all things that pertain to righteousness, then we really shouldn’t be in spiritual need ‘cos we’re tied to the source. We must be like the tree described in Psalm 1, whose leaves do not wither. HE KNEW the situation – that it was not fig season, but STILL, He expected to see fruit, because the God who equips and sustains us unto righteousness does not sustain us on a seasonal basis. So long as we go to Him for sustenance, we’ll find it, regardless of what season we find ourselves in – He is not limited in what He can give, how much He can give, how He can give, etc… He tells us in many ways – be prepared for any and everything – be prepared to provide fruit to the hungry, be prepared to welcome the lost under your shade; in essence, be prepared to bring people to Christ, to nurture others, to grow, to defend your faith, etc etc., just be prepared, period. (Joel 3:9,10).

Then Jesus proceeded to His lesson on seed faith. Faith is like a seed – once sown, it will bear fruit. He tells us that if we have NO doubt in our hearts, we can speak things into being, even when they seem impossible. He didn’t mention doubt in our minds oh, He said doubt in their hearts. Perhaps because He knows that our minds are battlegrounds where we rationalize through things and think through things, and it’s okay to use our minds as such, but that makes our minds naturally prone to eliciting doubt. Instead, we’re to focus on that part of us that has the inner connection with God – the part that responds to the love He shows and falls in love with Him. He told them that they had to fulfill certain requirements. (1), have no doubt in your heart. (2), believe that what you say will be done – there’s a huge difference between believing that God will do something, and hoping that God will do something. Very often, we hope that He will do it, because we do not know His will, and what He will or will not do. In contrast, if we know His will, and are walking with Him, and our hearts are beating in step with His, then we will know His will and walk in it, so that we don’t just hope that He’ll do it, but we believe that He’ll do it. This is our confidence, that when we speak to obstacles with no doubt, we are expressing our sincere belief that God who is greater than all and created all things will do what we ask, not for our sakes, but for His name sake – that His name may be glorified in all the earth. When we pray, we’re to believe that He will answer according to His will, and how do we know His will? Studying the Word. Believe and receive it spiritually, and then receive it physically.

Faith and doubt are opposites. For us to receive from God, it must be all faith – faith in Him – that He is God. Faith that He is real. Faith that He hears my prayer. Faith that He’ll answer. Faith that He seeks my best interest. Most importantly, faith that He knows all things, so that whatever response I get from Him is fine – whether He says “no my child”, “never”, “hold on a while longer”, “not yet”, “sure thing”, or “right away” – any response should be fine with be, because I want His will alone to be done, and to please Him alone. I must pray for faith to be able to sing Hab 3:17-19 as the conclusion to my prayer – no matter what His answer is, that my faith will not be shaken, and His Word is perfect and final. Amen!!!!