I woke this morning with my spirit understanding a work of Satan. I had to search my mind for a word that described it and I saw a picture of a baby with a pacifier. I knew that was the description I needed. Jesus described it in Matthew 25 as being asleep. It is a condition common in this water-realm in which we live. We are constantly being lulled into passivity and drawn away from intensity. We reason that this is normal and that we cannot live with continual intense emotion or focus. The Life in eternity--the spirit realm--is vibrant and reality. The Holy Spirit seeks to lead us to a connection with this Life and we know it in flashes of revelation, joy, peace and love that are far above our normal knowledge or response. John saw the intensity of color, sound and perception when he was in the spirit described in the first chapter of The Revelation. He had never seen Jesus as he saw Him then, not even as the resurrected Jesus appearing to them before His ascension. Revelation 1:17-18 (NASB) 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
If we are aware, we see warnings of this passivity in many places. Doctors repeatedly say, "Exercise," teachers repeatedly emphasize study, churches stress prayer and Bible reading, signs warn drivers of road conditions, curves and schools to alert them, and in the Bible prophets give warnings of future events. But history shows that mankind loses out to the passivity that robs them of the grasp of what they once had. The nation Israel lost the glory of connection to God that obedience to His Law gave them. The Church has lost the power that connection by the Holy Spirit to the Head of the Church gave her. The United States has a Constitution that was forged by men who had known bondage and fought for freedom and knew the danger of losing that freedom. It was not given to regulate the citizens' behavior but the government that could enslave them. It is for freedom that Jesus has set us free from sin and it is our passivity toward that freedom that can enslave us to sin again.
How does a pacifier work? By satisfying a normal need in us by a deceptive substitute. How was Israel wooed away from God to idol worship. God put in man the need to worship. We have the choice of what we worship. Satan makes the false attractive by putting it "in our face". If we see something that is "valued" by the "successful", it becomes attractive. Seeing it constantly praised, we begin to evaluate it and soon we begin to "need" it. Babies are born with the instinct to suck. If hungry, they begin to make a sucking motion. A pacifier will cause a temporary contentment. Our spirit has a hunger. Natural food can be a pacifier, a game, a book, an activity or any distraction can be a pacifier to that spiritual hunger. If denied long enough, the spirit becomes lukewarm toward God and content with the pacifier.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
God's Way to Triumph
Revelation 1:8-10 (NIV) 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” 9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
To know what God has entrusted to us, we have to contemplate what Jesus earned for us in His obedience, and His connection to the Father in total trust. We celebrate His birth and rejoice in His coming to us. But we pass over the complete vulnerability to which He subjected Himself for our sake. He not only took on our likeness, He took on our vulnerability. We are born in weakness, totally in need of someone else to care for us. God provides this in the marriage covenant and He honors the covenant response we give to Him when we love, care and guide the ones He entrusts to our care. He put Joseph and Mary in that place for Jesus. Joseph responded by quickly obeying each prompting of God. Even after Jesus, at the age of twelve, began obeying His Father, He submitted to the care and instruction of His earthly father and mother.
There is a patient endurance that is required that we reach into Jesus to be overcomers. The Way to the triumph of God is revealed in Jesus. Because of the enemy of God, Satan, we are vulnerable in this realm to the hatred he has for the followers of Jesus. Persecution has not yet been as open and as deadly in America as in other countries, but the door is opening for that. Jesus is the model of 'man in God's image' that we follow. John 15:18-21(NASB) 18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
We are not only vulnerable to the hatred of Satan, but to our own adamic nature. We are enhanced in bondage to it by our focus. If this age, with all of its 'gadgets' and 'modern thinking', is our desire, we will be looking and desiring what is offered. The closer we draw to the Lord, the more the world fades in its fascination. The 'things' that do not satisfy are no contest when "we taste and see that the Lord is good".
Another vulnerability is our idea of success. Jesus faced these vulnerabilities when Satan tempted Him in His wilderness experience. If we take our concept of success from the world, we will be in bondage to that. In I Corinthians 4:2, Paul gives us the requirement for success in our Christian progress. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Our opinions and ideals must be a part of our surrender when we yield our will to see His accomplished. Our small kingdom must be swallowed in His Kingdom. It is the way of life revealed in the "Lord's prayer" that we recite.
The Revelation reveals the glory and dominion of His Kingdom. We see the glory of the majestic, victorious King Who walked out the Way to this triumph. We follow Him.
To know what God has entrusted to us, we have to contemplate what Jesus earned for us in His obedience, and His connection to the Father in total trust. We celebrate His birth and rejoice in His coming to us. But we pass over the complete vulnerability to which He subjected Himself for our sake. He not only took on our likeness, He took on our vulnerability. We are born in weakness, totally in need of someone else to care for us. God provides this in the marriage covenant and He honors the covenant response we give to Him when we love, care and guide the ones He entrusts to our care. He put Joseph and Mary in that place for Jesus. Joseph responded by quickly obeying each prompting of God. Even after Jesus, at the age of twelve, began obeying His Father, He submitted to the care and instruction of His earthly father and mother.
There is a patient endurance that is required that we reach into Jesus to be overcomers. The Way to the triumph of God is revealed in Jesus. Because of the enemy of God, Satan, we are vulnerable in this realm to the hatred he has for the followers of Jesus. Persecution has not yet been as open and as deadly in America as in other countries, but the door is opening for that. Jesus is the model of 'man in God's image' that we follow. John 15:18-21(NASB) 18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
We are not only vulnerable to the hatred of Satan, but to our own adamic nature. We are enhanced in bondage to it by our focus. If this age, with all of its 'gadgets' and 'modern thinking', is our desire, we will be looking and desiring what is offered. The closer we draw to the Lord, the more the world fades in its fascination. The 'things' that do not satisfy are no contest when "we taste and see that the Lord is good".
Another vulnerability is our idea of success. Jesus faced these vulnerabilities when Satan tempted Him in His wilderness experience. If we take our concept of success from the world, we will be in bondage to that. In I Corinthians 4:2, Paul gives us the requirement for success in our Christian progress. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Our opinions and ideals must be a part of our surrender when we yield our will to see His accomplished. Our small kingdom must be swallowed in His Kingdom. It is the way of life revealed in the "Lord's prayer" that we recite.
The Revelation reveals the glory and dominion of His Kingdom. We see the glory of the majestic, victorious King Who walked out the Way to this triumph. We follow Him.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Covenant Response
For so many years I have 'just read' the last book, The Revelation, and found the blessing God gives in reading it. I have never tried to 'understand', but, just read it. Amazingly, two things began to become clear. God, moving steadily toward the goal of covenant with man, reaches His goal. Satan, in opposition to God, moves man toward his goal. Man, determinedly or unknowingly giving a covenant response, moves in the direction he faces. In the wisdom of God, covenant is the means by which God governs this realm and how He will achieve His purpose of making "man in Our image". (Genesis 1:26) We have the privilege of responding to God in covenant. All through history God has given a covenant under which mankind could live and respond. Until the Abrahamic covenant, all mankind was under the covenant of marriage given to Adam. God established the order by the authority given to the man establishing his family and building his city. God responded to mankind under the covenant response to the head of the family. It was how cities were built and teaching, learning and order were established. Satan's opposition to this was homosexuality, rebellion, murder, and chaos. Noah was still living and teaching, fulfilling his role as a patriarch under God's blessing, when Abraham was born in Seth's line. Abraham knew and understood the pattern of life that pleased God and worshipped Him. To him, God committed the responsibility of establishing God's covenant for a nation. Abraham believed God and was faithful to the covenant God gave him. Jesus was not only born under this covenant, but His genealogy is traced to Adam. All mankind is under the covenant Jesus made with God for us. All mankind is under covenant. To ignore or refuse God's covenants is separation from God. Satan knows this. As the thief he is, he has robbed people of the understanding of covenant and, in so doing, has robbed the earth of knowing and moving in the glory of giving a covenant response. But, God has given to His church the gift of the Holy Spirit to teach and guide her into the glory He has ordained to be her portion.
In The Revelation, we see God at work in those who look to Him and give that covenant response of love, obedience and trust. We see the 'knee-jerk' response of the nations to Satan's hatred of God. We see the end result of both Satan's and God's purpose. Through the entire book, it is revealed to us, the privilege we have of giving to God the response of our nature yielding to His nature, and with patience and trust, moving with Him to His triumph.
In The Revelation, we see God at work in those who look to Him and give that covenant response of love, obedience and trust. We see the 'knee-jerk' response of the nations to Satan's hatred of God. We see the end result of both Satan's and God's purpose. Through the entire book, it is revealed to us, the privilege we have of giving to God the response of our nature yielding to His nature, and with patience and trust, moving with Him to His triumph.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Identity - Jesus
Revelation 1:1-6 (NASB) 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood
John saw his beloved Messiah in a new way. Exalted and majestic in His eternal Kingdom, yet connected by His right to rule the kingdoms of the earth, for He is the faithful witness. It is important that we know to that which He was the faithful witness. The kingdoms of this earth do not know, and it is to them that we are to be witnesses. Jesus was the faithful witness of His Father while walking on this earth in our likeness. He witnessed to His nature. Hebrews 1:1-4 (PHILLIPS) 1-4 God, who gave our forefathers many different glimpses of the truth in the words of the prophets, has now, at the end of the present age, given us the truth in the Son. Through the Son God made the whole universe, and to the Son he has ordained that all creation shall ultimately belong. This Son, radiance of the glory of God, flawless expression of the nature of God, himself the upholding principle of all that is, effected in person the reconciliation between God and man and then took his seat at the right hand of the majesty on high—thus proving himself, by the more glorious name that he has won, far greater than all the angels of God. He was filled with the fullness of God. He revealed the purpose of God to make man in God's image. His command to "Follow Me!" was more than a walking where He led. It is to know Him, become one with His nature, His purpose, and His Life. It is to emulate His obedience and His connection with the Father. We can only do this by the gift God has given us in the Holy Spirit's ministry into us. By the Holy Spirit's control, we can be emptied of our human nature and take on His Nature. We can love with His Love, forgive, be merciful, compassionate, kind and obedient to Him. We can be an extension of Him, doing His will and carrying out His work. I John 4:16-18 (Phillips) 16b-18 God is love, and the man whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in him. So our love for him grows more and more, filling us with complete confidence for the day when he shall judge all men—for we realise that our life in this world is actually his life lived in us. Love contains no fear—indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected.
We give up our "rights to our own will" and become bondslaves of our Lord. It is the beginning of walking where He leads and becoming the witness to this world of God's Love and purpose.
John saw his beloved Messiah in a new way. Exalted and majestic in His eternal Kingdom, yet connected by His right to rule the kingdoms of the earth, for He is the faithful witness. It is important that we know to that which He was the faithful witness. The kingdoms of this earth do not know, and it is to them that we are to be witnesses. Jesus was the faithful witness of His Father while walking on this earth in our likeness. He witnessed to His nature. Hebrews 1:1-4 (PHILLIPS) 1-4 God, who gave our forefathers many different glimpses of the truth in the words of the prophets, has now, at the end of the present age, given us the truth in the Son. Through the Son God made the whole universe, and to the Son he has ordained that all creation shall ultimately belong. This Son, radiance of the glory of God, flawless expression of the nature of God, himself the upholding principle of all that is, effected in person the reconciliation between God and man and then took his seat at the right hand of the majesty on high—thus proving himself, by the more glorious name that he has won, far greater than all the angels of God. He was filled with the fullness of God. He revealed the purpose of God to make man in God's image. His command to "Follow Me!" was more than a walking where He led. It is to know Him, become one with His nature, His purpose, and His Life. It is to emulate His obedience and His connection with the Father. We can only do this by the gift God has given us in the Holy Spirit's ministry into us. By the Holy Spirit's control, we can be emptied of our human nature and take on His Nature. We can love with His Love, forgive, be merciful, compassionate, kind and obedient to Him. We can be an extension of Him, doing His will and carrying out His work. I John 4:16-18 (Phillips) 16b-18 God is love, and the man whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in him. So our love for him grows more and more, filling us with complete confidence for the day when he shall judge all men—for we realise that our life in this world is actually his life lived in us. Love contains no fear—indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected.
We give up our "rights to our own will" and become bondslaves of our Lord. It is the beginning of walking where He leads and becoming the witness to this world of God's Love and purpose.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Identity
I have found that questions are better for me than answers. The wrong answer can lead me astray but a question will keep me searching. Recently, I have seen a question, printed or verbal, repeated several times. The asking may be intended to demean, but the question is not new. "Who is Jesus?" The first verse in The Revelation also raises another question in my mind, "Who am I?" Revelation 1:1 (NIV) The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, (NASB) The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, and (HCSB) The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John,
I give you three translations because of two words. 'Servant, bondservant, or slave?' Most translations say servant. A few use bondservant. I believe the Holman use of slave is to try to reveal that there is a deeper meaning than servant. Each of these has a very different meaning. A servant serves for a wage. A slave must serve for he is not his own. A bondslave or bondservant has made a choice to give his life to his master. He relinquishes all rights to his own control and surrenders it to his master. Deuteronomy 15:12-17 (NIV) 12 If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. 13 And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14 Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today. 16 But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant. John saw himself as a bondservant of Jesus, His Lord and Master.
The second word is 'take place soon, or quickly take place.' I believe it is 'quickly take place.' The happenings follow quickly once judgment has been reached. Much of the happenings are warnings of judgment to come, for God in His mercy, gives warnings so that people have the opportunity to repent. These warnings do not follow as quickly as actual judgment, for God's judgment is swift and final. The reign of our King over the nations will reveal and teach righteousness. That does not mean that all will respond, but the final judgment will end all unrighteousness.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, is a key phrase to us, for it reveals those to whom the revelation is given. This does not necessarily mean the understanding of the events is given, but the revelation of Jesus Christ in that which happens will be given to those who have chosen to willingly give their lives and the control over to the Lord of their lives. The blessing is on those who read, and does not require understanding. You will receive insight to the holiness, awesome Presence and power of Almighty God as you read this book so many ignore. The Revelation is not so much a map for the endtime but to reveal the realm of Spirit and our response to God. There is more revealed in the Old Testament concerning this time. John received a glimpse of the Ascended Christ. He had known Him in the flesh, in His crucifixion, and in His resurrected body. Now he caught a glimpse of the glorified Jesus Who rules and reigns.
I give you three translations because of two words. 'Servant, bondservant, or slave?' Most translations say servant. A few use bondservant. I believe the Holman use of slave is to try to reveal that there is a deeper meaning than servant. Each of these has a very different meaning. A servant serves for a wage. A slave must serve for he is not his own. A bondslave or bondservant has made a choice to give his life to his master. He relinquishes all rights to his own control and surrenders it to his master. Deuteronomy 15:12-17 (NIV) 12 If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. 13 And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14 Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today. 16 But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant. John saw himself as a bondservant of Jesus, His Lord and Master.
The second word is 'take place soon, or quickly take place.' I believe it is 'quickly take place.' The happenings follow quickly once judgment has been reached. Much of the happenings are warnings of judgment to come, for God in His mercy, gives warnings so that people have the opportunity to repent. These warnings do not follow as quickly as actual judgment, for God's judgment is swift and final. The reign of our King over the nations will reveal and teach righteousness. That does not mean that all will respond, but the final judgment will end all unrighteousness.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, is a key phrase to us, for it reveals those to whom the revelation is given. This does not necessarily mean the understanding of the events is given, but the revelation of Jesus Christ in that which happens will be given to those who have chosen to willingly give their lives and the control over to the Lord of their lives. The blessing is on those who read, and does not require understanding. You will receive insight to the holiness, awesome Presence and power of Almighty God as you read this book so many ignore. The Revelation is not so much a map for the endtime but to reveal the realm of Spirit and our response to God. There is more revealed in the Old Testament concerning this time. John received a glimpse of the Ascended Christ. He had known Him in the flesh, in His crucifixion, and in His resurrected body. Now he caught a glimpse of the glorified Jesus Who rules and reigns.
Monday, December 3, 2012
The Power of Yielding, Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:13-19 (NLT) 13 Then the Lord spoke to me again and asked, “What do you see now?”
And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, spilling from the north.” 14 “Yes,” the Lord said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land. 15 Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken! “They will set their thrones at the gates of the city. They will attack its walls and all the other towns of Judah. 16 I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil—for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands! 17 “Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them. 18 For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land—the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah. 19 They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
In a former blog I spoke of Joshua, who saw the judgment of God against Israel for not believing His Word and desiring to return to their bondage. He stood in a place where he had to be courageous to follow in obedience the Word of the Lord. In this passage we see Jeremiah receiving a Word that demands him to be courageous to be obedient. Recently, I was with my husband as he and a group of veterans were being questioned about their service in WWII. The question was asked by a young lady, "Were you afraid?" They all said they were on the night before they were to go into battle, but after the battle started they did not have time to be afraid. They just had to press on. I thought of our Christian experience. We have not been tested in persecution like some countries or as the early Christians. But we are undoubtedly going to see God's judgment on our land for its many sins. In studying Paul's admonition to the Ephesians concerning the need to stand strong and put on the full armor of God to fight the assignment of Satan to destroy the work of God, I realize this is a timely message for American Christians. We are seeing a swift move away from God in this country. But we are also seeing an awakening that has never been before. More courage to speak out and to stand firm will be exhibited than we have ever seen. But the basic nature of armor, while to protect you, is of an offensive nature rather than defensive. We do not see armor mounted unless there is an understanding that to stand firm, we must engage the enemy. But we are not fighting flesh and blood. Man as such is not our enemy. It is Satan who has the assignment to destroy. He will use others as his instruments but we have to be able to discern the enemy in this battle.
What will win this battle? We look to Jesus for our example. In His life in this realm, He did the will of the Father and won many followers as well as enemies who wanted to kill Him. He lived revealing the Father. He lived a perfect life, fulfilling the Law and the prophets, not retaliating nor defending but speaking what the Father said and doing what the Father did. He will return to a perfect church without spot or wrinkle or any blemish, a Bride made ready for her Beloved. This is how we will win the Victory. By putting aside our natural desires and responses and allowing the Holy Spirit to work the nature of Jesus in us. By having the courage to stand against all opposition and let the Holy Spirit give us the words to say, to reveal the nature of God in all His love, mercy, forgiveness and grace, we will be moving into Satan's territory to reveal his nature and assignment
In a former blog I spoke of Joshua, who saw the judgment of God against Israel for not believing His Word and desiring to return to their bondage. He stood in a place where he had to be courageous to follow in obedience the Word of the Lord. In this passage we see Jeremiah receiving a Word that demands him to be courageous to be obedient. Recently, I was with my husband as he and a group of veterans were being questioned about their service in WWII. The question was asked by a young lady, "Were you afraid?" They all said they were on the night before they were to go into battle, but after the battle started they did not have time to be afraid. They just had to press on. I thought of our Christian experience. We have not been tested in persecution like some countries or as the early Christians. But we are undoubtedly going to see God's judgment on our land for its many sins. In studying Paul's admonition to the Ephesians concerning the need to stand strong and put on the full armor of God to fight the assignment of Satan to destroy the work of God, I realize this is a timely message for American Christians. We are seeing a swift move away from God in this country. But we are also seeing an awakening that has never been before. More courage to speak out and to stand firm will be exhibited than we have ever seen. But the basic nature of armor, while to protect you, is of an offensive nature rather than defensive. We do not see armor mounted unless there is an understanding that to stand firm, we must engage the enemy. But we are not fighting flesh and blood. Man as such is not our enemy. It is Satan who has the assignment to destroy. He will use others as his instruments but we have to be able to discern the enemy in this battle.
What will win this battle? We look to Jesus for our example. In His life in this realm, He did the will of the Father and won many followers as well as enemies who wanted to kill Him. He lived revealing the Father. He lived a perfect life, fulfilling the Law and the prophets, not retaliating nor defending but speaking what the Father said and doing what the Father did. He will return to a perfect church without spot or wrinkle or any blemish, a Bride made ready for her Beloved. This is how we will win the Victory. By putting aside our natural desires and responses and allowing the Holy Spirit to work the nature of Jesus in us. By having the courage to stand against all opposition and let the Holy Spirit give us the words to say, to reveal the nature of God in all His love, mercy, forgiveness and grace, we will be moving into Satan's territory to reveal his nature and assignment
Saturday, December 1, 2012
The Power of Separation
II Corinthians 6:17 (ESV) 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” (These 3 references are from Leviticus 26:12, Jeremiah 32:38, and Ezekiel 37:27)
It was the Abrahamic Covenant that Abraham's descendants would be enslaved in Egypt and that God would bring them out. Man can enslave, but God brings them out! Human nature can enslave us, but God has provided the way to set us free. The crucifixion of Jesus, the shedding of His Blood, has set us free. The application of the Blood is the force that brings us to separation. Recently, in speaking of death, we identified the death God pronounced if Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as the separation from God. Man lives in death. Jesus set us free by providing the way. When God was preparing the Israelites to leave Egypt, He told them to kill a lamb for a household and apply the blood on the doorposts of their house. The death Angel would pass over that house. The lamb provided the way but the man had to apply the blood for deliverance. My husband brought it closer to us when he said, 'The only way we can die to self is to be separated from it.' It is easier to be separated from a country than from our Adamic nature. The Israelites came out of Egypt but not their enslaved mentality. It took a wilderness journey to prepare Israel to enter God's promise. How much wandering in desolation will it take for us to be separated from our desire for this realm's promise to appropriate God's promise? Many have made heaven just a glorified improvement of this realm. In reality, if we have not been separated from the desires of this realm, our soul will go into eternity with those same desires. If you have a habit that you must satisfy, that craving will not die when you are separated from your body. It will be a torment to you in eternity. We have this "wilderness journey" to give us the opportunity to desire to be closer to His Presence, trust Him, and follow His leading. Joshua, as a young man, chose to stay close to the Tent of Meeting. He and Caleb entered into God's Promise.
What is God's desire for us? That we be in the image of God. Jesus came in the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His Being. The Holy Spirit is at work in us to shape us into the image of Jesus, changing our nature to be as His. II Corinthians 10:5-6 (NKJV) 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. We are the ones responsible for yielding to the Holy Spirit, to obey God's Word and to stay close to His Presence. He has promised He will never leave us, and He stands ready to set us free.
It was the Abrahamic Covenant that Abraham's descendants would be enslaved in Egypt and that God would bring them out. Man can enslave, but God brings them out! Human nature can enslave us, but God has provided the way to set us free. The crucifixion of Jesus, the shedding of His Blood, has set us free. The application of the Blood is the force that brings us to separation. Recently, in speaking of death, we identified the death God pronounced if Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as the separation from God. Man lives in death. Jesus set us free by providing the way. When God was preparing the Israelites to leave Egypt, He told them to kill a lamb for a household and apply the blood on the doorposts of their house. The death Angel would pass over that house. The lamb provided the way but the man had to apply the blood for deliverance. My husband brought it closer to us when he said, 'The only way we can die to self is to be separated from it.' It is easier to be separated from a country than from our Adamic nature. The Israelites came out of Egypt but not their enslaved mentality. It took a wilderness journey to prepare Israel to enter God's promise. How much wandering in desolation will it take for us to be separated from our desire for this realm's promise to appropriate God's promise? Many have made heaven just a glorified improvement of this realm. In reality, if we have not been separated from the desires of this realm, our soul will go into eternity with those same desires. If you have a habit that you must satisfy, that craving will not die when you are separated from your body. It will be a torment to you in eternity. We have this "wilderness journey" to give us the opportunity to desire to be closer to His Presence, trust Him, and follow His leading. Joshua, as a young man, chose to stay close to the Tent of Meeting. He and Caleb entered into God's Promise.
What is God's desire for us? That we be in the image of God. Jesus came in the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His Being. The Holy Spirit is at work in us to shape us into the image of Jesus, changing our nature to be as His. II Corinthians 10:5-6 (NKJV) 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. We are the ones responsible for yielding to the Holy Spirit, to obey God's Word and to stay close to His Presence. He has promised He will never leave us, and He stands ready to set us free.
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