Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Lena's Journalin' to 1 Corinthians 11 Be Judged now - willingly, lest ye stand before The Judge of All later on, lacking!

This passage of scripture is mind boggling to a naturally minded man who does not have an understanding of A Covenant God and the Hebrew culture. But we can get understanding, if we are wiling to.
This passage is all about spiritual protection and protocol. This passage is all about authority with God and the God servant angels and the devil and the evil demonic angels.
It is all about how humans stand in the ranks as spirit beings ruling on the earth.
God ordained marriage as a model of His Diving Hierarchy and order. God, is a God of order, and all works well inside of set up order. Outside of the order of God is chaos. Period. There are no excuses to not be in order and there are no excuses to the chaos. Chaos always comes outside of order, always.
We are all ultimately accountable to God. Those who understand the Hierarchy will go ahead and begin to account to God now. Those who give account now will begin to see the blessings of His order unfold for them as a red carpet.
Paul says, “watch me, live in a God ordered rank, following Christ as a human man, then follow my example”…then he begins to write about this. They seem unrelated to the human mind, but they are the same.
God holds men accountable to protect their families. They stand before God now and later on, to do that spiritually and naturally speaking. If they understand that and stand openly and unashamed in the fear of God, they will be men of authority, rank, and power over kingdoms of darkness. The position they have under Christ is one of trust and reliance. They must stand in faith to be able to stay in that place, in close proximity to many spiritual forces of darkness. Their stance there shows they trust God in faith and believe in the power of order and the seriousness of accountability now and later on. God protects them, because they trust and rely on Him, rather than relying on their own abilities to overcome.
Listen intently here, for we are NOT speaking about physical hair. We are speaking about protective covering from an unseen warfare of the world we live in.
It would be sad for a woman to be exposed to enemy powers and cut off from the protection available to her as she stands behind a man, who was set up by God to stand between her and her enemies! To come out from that place and try to defend herself will show humiliation, for GOD did not set it up for a woman to cover herself spiritually. (Think - in warfare how a buddy in a battalion, says, “cover me” while I go attack!) God set it up that the man would “cover” the woman as Christ “covers” the man.
The man is authorized to stand under Christ’s commands and the woman is authorized to stand under the commands of the man given him by Christ. If anyone is out of place those will give an account to God for being out of place. If any are lost, or unprotected they stand before God for being out of place. In all positions we stand covered by God, protected by God and the angels. All of the angels have and know ranks of authority. The angles know who is in rank and who is rebellious desiring to protect themselves by their own strength and will power. All of the angels know who is a prime and uncovered target. When the haughty, “I’ll do it by myself”, person moves out of rank, they stand under their own authority and have no spiritual power at all, they are subject to fiery darts penetrating their beings and possible death.
There is no reason at all to butt heads, and every reason in the spiritual and natural world to stand in our God ordained positions!
We’re NOT speaking of preference. God does not prefer one sex above the other. He has set an order of authorization and empowerment. Once we get this we will assemble ourselves willingly in ranks and become that great army of God! The point is we’re Not alone, neither were we created to be independent of God or of one another!
When a woman prays, she should desire to give an account to God by way of checking in with men (plural, spiritual overseers), being accountable. If we are willing to check in for things now, we’ll not have as much to clear up with God later on.
So we, say we are gonna go and commune with the body of Christ, but our interest is in self and getting ahead, and being first. Wow!
Communion is all about unity, oneness, wholeness, and intimacy, giving a willing account to God now of our positions of submission in trust and reliance on Him. Are we intimate with an enemy, that we’d actually give him any place in the midst of the potential assembling of the armies of the Most High God? What we allow or disallow by way of being in or out of rank or position is allowed or disallowed in the spirit realm. Chaos or wholeness and peace?
How can one criticize those who they are serving in this army with, those who will fight with and for their very lives? It would behoove us to change our minds and actions and begin to love with a great amount of forgiveness, esteeming one another worthy of honor in Him. The honor is unto Him. It is NOT based on a deserving people. He gave His life for those of us who did not deserve it at all. We reciprocate by giving our lives to those who do not deserve His or our love. That is Holy communion. A life for a Life, on purpose; reciprocation of the awesome love of God Himself. It is our time to in demonstration remember that. If we truly remember Him, we’ll not grovel with one another. The memory is the end of all groveling.
This is a serious time to check in, get right with God through forgiveness of others, examine in a way that scrutinizes every part of your own being, not allowing anything that’d hold you back form His love to be hidden from your and His sight. Let these be exposed as darkness, have a great light shine upon them, become uprooted and cleared out!
People are always concerned that someone might be judging us.
Dear Lord, go ahead and let people judge you now, seriously, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, or you’ll be terrifiably humiliated later on. Better wrongly judged now, than righteously judged later on.
This is VERY serious, do you partake of it lightly or seriously? I’ve heard many say, “Well I now see I am unworthy and so I won’t partake if it is that serious”. Man, this is your opportunity to check in with God now! Get things right, make attitude adjustments, forgive and eat-drink LIFE. The Life comes with the changes you’ll make as you honestly check in now with God and with His body of living believers on earth

1 Corinthians 11 Today's Daily Bread Reading

Message Version
To Honor God
1-2It pleases me that you continue to remember and honor me by keeping up the traditions of the faith I taught you. All actual authority stems from Christ. 3-9In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God. Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their "heads" to the Head: God.
10-12Don't, by the way, read too much into the differences here between men and women. Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority. Man was created first, as a beautiful shining reflection of God—that is true. But the head on a woman's body clearly outshines in beauty the head of her "head," her husband. The first woman came from man, true—but ever since then, every man comes from a woman! And since virtually everything comes from God anyway, let's quit going through these "who's first" routines.

13-16Don't you agree there is something naturally powerful in the symbolism—a woman, her beautiful hair reminiscent of angels, praying in adoration; a man, his head bared in reverence, praying in submission? I hope you're not going to be argumentative about this. All God's churches see it this way; I don't want you standing out as an exception.

17-19Regarding this next item, I'm not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I'm reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.

20-22And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord's Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can't believe it! Don't you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God's church? Why would you actually shame God's poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I'm not going to stand by and say nothing.

23-26Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord's Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,

This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.

27-28Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of "remembrance" you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.

29-32If you give no thought (or worse, don't care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you're running the risk of serious consequences. That's why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won't have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.

33-34So, my friends, when you come together to the Lord's Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you're so hungry that you can't wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal—a love feast.

The other things you asked about, I'll respond to in person when I make my next visit.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Lena's Journalin' Today to 1 Corinthians 10 Who are We Offering Worship to?

Why would the pleasure of the Lord matter so much?
Well, He is God and we are not. He is King of His kingdom. He is all powerful and we are His creation and subjects of His kingdom to do His will and work, if we so choose to participate in it.
To not participate, means to be separated out. To be separated out means death and cursing. No one likes that. It would behoove each of us to choose to be kingdom citizens and follow after His ways, and walk in His truths, doing His good pleasure.
So, if we were created to worship Him His way, according to His good pleasure, and we are here to please Him, how does one do that? He is God and we are mere humans, yes objects of His love, but mere in size and in comparison to Him. How does a human who is weak and frail, please a Master such as God Almighty Most High, Creator of Heaven and earth?
Faith
Yep, that’s what pleases God, faith. Faith in Him, in His words, in His love and in His Grace. Faith in His Son, Jesus who came to earth to set things right. Faith enough to continue to loose bands of undue burdens and set captives free, that they may also set other’s free. Faith to participate in the assignment given Jesus by God His Father as though it is our very own assignment from our very own Father God, for we are One with Him.
What keeps a person walking in holiness? Faith and Hope and Love.
What causes a person to want to obey God as #1? Faith Hope & Love.
A belief in One who is Love. That belief moves us towards actions of faith. It’s not because I have to. It’s because I want to! Love draws me to a response of a life of love and holiness! Holiness closes in the gap of fellowship between me and God. I get closer to Him and am able to see Him clearer. I want that, I need that, I live for that.
Pride is what keeps me from engaging in holiness and purity. I am deceived when I think I am ok to stay as I am, I must be changed into His image, so the whole earth will begin to be filled with His glory. Not my glory, for I have some, but His glory. The response and reciprocation of who He is, alive in humans like me.
When tempted to live for your own desires, look for the way out. Seek God’s direction, showing Him how much you want to follow Him, showing Him your desire is truly seeking to match His. Lose your desire for other things, put your body and soul on a fast of other things.
What is an idol? A statue? Nope! The way God sees it is an object of worship, other than Him. That means anything and everything that takes up your time and you give your attention to more than you spend time or money or attend to Him! Flee from idol worship!
How can we just arrive at a church service go in and partake of the most intimate communion on earth. Communion with God Himself, as a religious act with no relationship involved? If we spend our life on other things and God is really at the mid to bottom on our lists of priorities, how does that make Him feel? That is lie, mockery. God is not interested in our played out, scorekeeping, religious acts!
He is a relational God and is seeking relationship with human beings. He wants to be # 1, not by default (because He is and, in the end He will be), but because someone like me choose to make Him that way, in My own life! He is looking for me to move other things less important, out of my way to make room for who is really important to me, and He is hoping I’ll choose Him to be in that place!
He’d rather I eat and drink with Him everyday, than to go to church just to eat and drink as a religious act. Don’t get me wrong here, he wants us to go to church, more than that, He wants to move in with me and live in my House everday! When I go to church I am a part of the whole making the body complete as I assemble together as one with others in Him.
Sharing in the blood? THIS is SO huge, so key…What does this mean?
This is the part of our salvation that has to do with ever being a part of anything God has provided for us. Christ died for all mankind, yet not all mankind accepts Him. But He did die for all, whether they accept Him or not. Those who do accept Him change, for they are changed by submission to His Spirit. They believe in what He did and who He is. Their belief in Him changes who they are. They respond in faith to Him. The response is a reciprocation of who He is and what He did! He laid down His will and His self life! If we are partakers of His “blood”, we in response give our lives back to His work, His desire, his plan for the earth. That is Holy communion. Not the drinking of wine or juice in a cup, but the laying down of self life, willingly. That is what the symbolism of drinking “blood” is. His life enters in and becomes my life, because I will for it to. I make a covenant exchange with God. He gave His life up for me, now I respond and I give up whatever I thought I was alive for here, for what He has planned. I find out how I can make His dreams come true and I live for those things!
“Is it not the body also, we partake of?” What does that mean? It means I join my life willingly with others who, like me, are aiming to find out how to make God our Father’s dream become a reality in our present world. I am not alone and I refuse to isolate my life and live it for me. I live it for others in demonstration of Him. I submit to imperfect people, who will help lead me into further truth and guide and direct me into more holiness, love and righteousness. I unite with others, even if I don’t feel like it. Without my life involved actively in the body I know there is a missing part. I’m convicted by the Lord to commit my life wherever I live, this way.
When we give our lives over to other things and the service of other temporary things, we are serving God’s enemy. I do not want God’s enemy served!
So I must willingly disassociate the things of my life that serve others other than God. THEN I will truly be in holy communion with the LORD and His body. Then I erase the mockery of religion, that says I can stay as I am and still have communion with God. Not so!
“Don’t be so concerned about yourself, be concerned for the good of others!” Sure you could do whatever you want to do, but using your liberty to liberate yourself, is sin; because you are not looking out to be a good godly example to someone else. In everything we do, and everywhere we go, what we watch and listen to, are all examples for or against Him.
I don’t live for me. I live for Him, and I demonstrate it is real by living for others.

Today's Daily Bread 1 Corinthians 10

1 Corinthians 10
Lessons from Israel’s Idolatry
1 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters,[a] about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. 2 In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. 3 All of them ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, 7 or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.”[b] 8 And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.

9 Nor should we put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

14 So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. 15 You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true. 16 When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? 17 And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body. 18 Think about the people of Israel. Weren’t they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar?

19 What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods? 20 No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. 21 You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. 22 What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is?

23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”[d]—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. 24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

25 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”[e]

27 If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. 28 (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. 29 It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? 30 If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?

31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles[f] or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.

Footnotes:

1 Corinthians 10:1 Greek brothers.
1 Corinthians 10:7 Exod 32:6.
1 Corinthians 10:9 Some manuscripts read the Lord.
1 Corinthians 10:23 Greek All things are lawful; also in 10:23b.
1 Corinthians 10:26 Ps 24:1.
1 Corinthians 10:32 Greek or Greeks.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Lena's Journalin to John 6 We Live What We Believe...

Be aware, the words of the Lord are always loaded, and there’s way more than what one can see on the surface!
Jesus constantly spoke in parables, so as students of the word of God, we must train ourselves to think as He thought and taught, in parables. Jesus always laid out a “story” to see if He had any around Him who were truly hungry and thirsty for righteousness. Notice every time He spoke He did not say all there was to be said? He would ask leading questions to see if there was enough hunger for the disciple to inquire further.
He would say something to the multitude, another to the crowd, another to the 70, and then there were the 12 and the 3 and then the 1. Each group or individual who drew closer were the hungry ones. They were not satisfied with the surfacy words of Jesus. The 12 who were closer than the crowds, asked Him questions back. After they’d minister and be a part of serving the crowds they’d sit with Him and ask Him to go over what He’d taught in greater detail. They laid down any pride and humbly told Him they did not get whatever it was he’d said in parable form. When they did that He knew they really wanted to see and he unlocked their understanding at that time. The crowds were after what they could get from Him, while the disciples were interested in becoming like Him.
There is a huge difference.
Disciples get closer, ask questions, not for debate, but to learn how to be changed into His image and likeness.
Who took the leftovers home? Those who served with the Lord, and those who did as He asked them to, and those who stayed to the end. The more we press in to the Lord the more we get (understanding). The more we serve others, the more we’re given. With God it is give/receive, not give and take, not pay and owe, not buy and sell, no trade off’s. Give, give, give, give, not expecting anything in return as the motive of giving, just do it; and the principle is, you will reap of what you’ve sown. It may not come from the same source you sowed it to, but if sown unto God, then God will see to the return no mater the avenue.
What are we after? The miracles, the signs, or the bread? The gift or the Giver?
Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me (Jesus) the seal of his approval… The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…. give us that bread every day (the disciples said)… I am the bread of life!... this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh… Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him… Does this offend you?
What we eat and drink is what gives us life, it is what we spend our lives on, it is who we are, what we become. If we do not become Him, we are not His. He and the Father were made to be One, because Jesus chose to give His life over to the will of His Father. That caused He and His Father to became One.
What we give ourselves to and for is what and who we are One with. We can say we are One with Jesus, but someday it will be made very clear to us who and what we were truly One with. It is not based on what we say, but what we’ve done. Our faith is known only by our works. If we pursued a career and did not take time for our families and to go after God’s words in order to become them, it will be shown and known who we were really One with.
Eating His flesh and drinking His blood, is us doing His will instead of our own.
His meat and drink were to do the will of His Father. What is our meat and drink?
Are we eating from His words daily? If not, why not? What are we doing daily then that is eternal and so important to us? That will be shown/known.
We do whatever it is we feel is important. We are living right now what we believe right now! We cannot say we believe the word is important and do nothing to show that. What we do is what is really and actually what is important to us. If we don’t take time to read or study the word, it is not important to us, no excuse, that’s just how it is.
Don’t be deceived and excuse your soul, as it screams out in a tantrum as a child does when it doesn’t get its way. There is something we can do to make the word important.
It’s up to us. If we want to, we will.
We make other things in life work, if we want them. We’ll do whatever it takes to get that new car or do stuff with our house, or go on a vacation. We even make plans way ahead of time and save money, or work harder and then take time off of work to go to or be a part of whatever we desire to do or wherever we want to go. We’ll set the TVO and make time to watch a TV show, even if we can’t do it right now. We’ll get up early and lose sleep to go somewhere or meet someone that we want to, we live this way for our own wills, what about His?
We’re living right now, what we believe right now.
Maybe time to make an adjustment, somewhere somehow. God will honor you as you honor Him, if you believe it.

Today's Daily Bread Reading John 6

John 6
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
1 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money[a] to feed them!”

8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

14 When the people saw him[b] do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”[c] 15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.

Jesus Walks on Water
16 That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. 18 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They had rowed three or four miles[d] when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here![e]” 21 Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!
Jesus, the Bread of Life
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man[f] can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[g]”

32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

41 Then the people[h] began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures,[i] ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)

47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”
61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.[j]”

70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.

Footnotes:

John 6:7 Greek Two hundred denarii would not be enough. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
John 6:14 Some manuscripts read Jesus.
John 6:14 See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
John 6:19 Greek 25 or 30 stadia [4.6 or 5.5 kilometers].
John 6:20 Or The ‘I Am’ is here; Greek reads I am. See Exod 3:14.
John 6:27 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
John 6:31 Exod 16:4; Ps 78:24.
John 6:41 Greek Jewish people; also in 6:52.
John 6:45 Greek in the prophets. Isa 54:13.
John 6:69 Other manuscripts read you are the Christ, the Holy One of God; still others read you are the Christ, the Son of God; and still others read you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Lena's Journalin' to Revelation 22 Today To Him who overcomes!

The word “river” here means “refreshing, to drink, as in to intoxicate, being filled up, swept away like a flood”.
The River that flows from the throne is The Spirit of Christ and of God. On the Throne are the Father and the Son, but there are 3 persons of the Godhead, Father, Son And Spirit. We are likened unto the very image and nature of God in 3 personages, for we were created Body, Soul and Spirit.
We as created beings are incomplete without one of these parts. If the Body does not function, we leave the earth.
Our Christian walk is incomplete without the 3 persons of God – The Father, Son & Spirit. Many have believed in the Father through the embrace of the Son, yet have denied the Spirit. We must drink of and swim in the river of God!
To truly drink means to be altered, changed, as a drunk comes under the influence of the spirits he partakes of. To swim takes a great deal of trust based on the security of love. If not drinking or swimming, one is incomplete and are we really living the Christian life or just saying we do?
How is the curse reversed? Only through obediently walking in His ways. His ways are the ways of the Spirit. They who worship Him, must worship in Spirit and in truth.
The cross was the place of the ability to reverse the curse. He died, was laid out as a living sacrifice unto God for man’s sin. The deal does not stop there, for that is the place where it was able to start for whosoever will.
Man won’t have the curse reversed because Jesus died for it to be reversed. Man must reciprocate the deal, become a participator in it, by laying down the resistant power of his own will to live out his days for himself. He died, now I must offer my will up as a sacrifice daily. That means He tells me what to do and I do it, because I trust Him, I swim, in deep waters, by the belief in the power of His Spirit. I no longer depend upon my own abilities to do what is good and right. I just do whatever it is He says to, obediently. I discipline myself life, if I have to, to become conformed to His plans of use for my life inside of His big picture.
It is much easier to change if I am drinking and swimming. If I am trying to change without the empowerment of surrender to His Spirit I’m struggling.
Do I believe in His abilities, or mine?
Blessed is he who obeys My words of Spirit and Life. The Truth makes men free, when they get to know Him intimately.
TIME is running out. Really and truly it is. Man has always been tempted to believe he has time, and is fine left as he is. There will be a time in our lives where there is no more time and change will be impossible. I guarantee that each of us who were waiting for God to move or who resisted change or were weak in faith, unable to believe in the God of impossibilities, will be regretful. Those who are wise sons hear words like this and make the changes now, before that day. Blessed are the sons who make changes everytime they hear the words of life. Adjustments and changes.
God knows you, your weaknesses, your frailty, your unwillingness, stubbornness, self-centeredness, rebellion, unbelief and fear. He does not understand why when His Son came to make every change possible for us that we’d refuse Him, not believe Him, and stay as we are, believing that His love for us was good enough to leave us as we are, unchanged.
Beware there is a huge deception out there, it says: You can stay as you are and be blessed. God will love you, but your life is NOT blessed. He even loves those who do not know Him at all. His love is forever drawing men to meet and respond obediently to His Son. The greatest love – that a man lay down His self life….
Obedience is THE true expression of reciprocated love.
I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds
I wonder if we take this scripture seriously. If not, we need to change our minds. The enemy has wooed us to sleep, that we’d miss the whole purpose for life on earth. Time to wake up and arise oh living Body of Christ! Time to obey God’s words of Spirit and Life.
Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.
What does this mean? I wash myself. God does not wash me for me. He provided the blood of His Son. I can be washed or I can stay as I am. Yes, He’ll love me as I am, and if I do not respond, He’ll leave me that way. He does not move to make me change. I change willingly, if I want to. When I move to change, because I died to my own will, His grace comes in like a flood to bring me to the fruition of the decision of my will. Every change takes a decision of the will. I agree with God.
Have I been listening to a lie? The answer is yes. The religious order of the church has told a lie to those who say they want to serve Christ. They have told us He did it all and therefore we do not have to respond, and take response-ability!
I must respond to God visibly. I must follow Him because I choose to obediently. I’m the one who turns my back on the world and its ways. I’m the one who separates myself daily, and makes changes to show I am His. The changes are not made for free. I may have pain as I change, or persecution, but He died a violent death for me. What else is appropriate to do? Dying to myself is the very least I can do to properly respond to God, and His Son by the belief in the empowerment and ability of His Spirit in me!
It’s only for those who want to. You DO NOT HAVE to! People are choosing to live for self, or go to hell, and God is letting them. He says, come and drink from the living water of Life. BUT, YOU DON’T HAVE to!
People say, do I really have to come tonight? I have a lot to do. I’ve been so busy, I’m tired or not feeling well, do you mind if I just skip tonight? (it is about church meetings/Bible Studies)
My answer is, “No, you don’t have to!” You never have to. Come when you want to, ok? Do whatever you prefer. God is not looking for a bride who loves Him because she has to, or one who is overcome with whatever the temporary world has laid out in the pathways of offers. He’s looking for a Bride to reciprocate His love because she wants to, lays down her life because she decided to, loves others because she is one with Him and He does, decides to be with Him through it all forever, because she made a covenant to and that’s the end of all dispute! She made a covenant to love Him and all who He loves forever! She overcomes circumstances and situations through His power and inside of that she can respond to Him. It’s not about her, or is it?
Grace is always there - when change is pursued.

Revelation 22 Today's Daily Bread Reading

Revelation 22
1 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,[a] with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

6 Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets,[b] has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon.[c]”

Jesus Is Coming
7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.[d]”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw all these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 9 But he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!”

10 Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”

12 “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne.[e] I am the bright morning star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. 18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.[f]

Footnotes:

Revelation 22:2 Or twelve kinds of fruit.
Revelation 22:6 Or The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets.
Revelation 22:6 Or suddenly, or quickly; also in 22:7, 12, 20.
Revelation 22:7 Or scroll; also in 22:9, 10, 18, 19.
Revelation 22:16 Greek I am the root and offspring of David.
Revelation 22:21 Other manuscripts read be with all; still others read be with all of God’s holy people. Some manuscripts add Amen.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Lena's Journalin' to Revelation 2 It's NOT All About me, it IS ALL about HIm who Overcomes!

Who is the church? Is it an invisible edifice, or some figment and an ideal we hope for, but don’t believe it will ever really appear to us? Or is it a building we go to with stained glass windows and fancy altars covered with brass or other ornate and holy objects?
Nope, notta. The church is the Bride espoused to the Lordship of Christ. It is the called ones who have answered their bridegroom’s invitation and will follow Him to the end of the earth, doing His will as an exact representative of His Father, God?
You and I are the church, if we believe, receive, and obey His words. We as individuals compacted and working together, make up the definition of that word. I’m not the church alone. That is on purpose. I must come together with other members to be who I am, in Him.
Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God
Listen.
Jesus said, if you have an ear to hear.
“Hearing” in Hebrew meant, “only when I see you do, do I know you listened or “heard”.”
The action validated the listening. Without the action there was no hearing. “Hear” and “obey” are synonyms in God’s book. This is the reason Jesus could say, “Have you heard Me?” If there was no action, He was bringing to their attention they had not heard. One who purposes to obey, must know what to do, so he goes listening as one who must study to do what is heard specifically in order to carry out the obedience’s.
We must understand, so that we can do the Word of God!
To Him who is victorious…Can’t be victorious just listening and not doing what you’ve heard.
Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

Victorious? Why? You listen and obey. You live what you believe. If not, you are not, victorious. If God says something like “Please stop listening to music that does not glorify Me”, and we talk our way out of it and into God’s “graces”, or we say, well maybe that wasn’t really God, it was just me, or we excuse ourselves, then simply and bluntly put we’ve not obeyed Him, so through our actions we’ve said He’s not truly our Lord, we are our own.
Now, we are not victorious. Why could we not overcome? We chose not to. We did not rely on His strength. Is He strong enough to help us step out with faith and only listen to worship music? Of course He is, but are we willing and do we believe in His voice, in holiness, etc.?
So we have struggles, pain, sorrow, hard times. Why? We are living under the curses activated by disobediences to the still small voice of God. Yes, we can do whatever we want and God loves us, but He won’t bless us!
The worst part of this is, we are fine with it, fine living this way. We compromise with God and feel His grace to allow us to do whatever we want to do.
We are so selfish, because what we won’t deal with, we’ll leave behind so our children will have to! That is Not victory.
We say things like, “I would die for my children”, but you are unwilling to lay down a bad habit, trusting God all the way, and live for them now, breaking every curse revealed to you in His light, then willingly walking in that light to further expose other habits, attitudes, and curses to annihilate all of the enemies you can see before you die so your children can live free?
That’s the true “death” the death of me. I live, but not to satisfy or pacify my own needs and desires. I let hard things go to bring purposeful blessings on my children and grandchildren’s lives later on, down the line of generations.
We want God to feed us (manna from heaven in our wilderness), manna came to the disobedient! Let’s obey God in the smallest areas and watch the blessings flow. It is selfish to stop up the blessing flow for someone ahead of you!
To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots. They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star! “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
…To the end.
God has been forever waiting for a people who will believe Him to the extent that they get over their own issues so they can do something bigger for Him, like overcome powers of darkness in the heavenlies!
There’s a war He’d like to win! Here on earth He needs us to help Him win it. He needs spiritual rulers, who are wiling to be healed and made right, so they can fully engage, recruited.
If we are not healed, or delivered, or are ailing we must press in and seek Him, and let the things that bind us go. Is our God not big enough to heal and deliver us, or are we choosing to stay that way?
It is very every subtle, but there is a root issue with people having continual diseases in every area. The root causes have to do with attention and focus, wrong focus on self.
My life, my injury, my pain, my problems, my hurts, my feelings, me, me, me. The over comer, overcomes through believing and refocusing on Him. I know that is not pretty, but it is truth and truth sets people free.
Be freed out of the prison of self today. No really.
God came to serve us for a short time, so we’d get healed to serve Him.
We will be so sad later on if we did not believe Him enough to get healed and do all we could have for HIM!
Overcome today!

Revelation 2 Today's Daily Bread Reading

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Revelation 2
The Message to the Church in Ephesus
“Write this letter to the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first![b] 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

The Message to the Church in Smyrna
8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:
9 “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.
11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

The Message to the Church in Pergamum
12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:
13 “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.
14 “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

The Message to the Church in Thyatira
18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:
19 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.
20 “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.
22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering,[c] and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
24 “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you 25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. 26 To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end,

To them I will give authority over all the nations.
27 They will rule the nations with an iron rod
and smash them like clay pots.[d]

28 They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!
29 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Footnotes:

Revelation 2:1 Or the messenger; also in 2:8, 12, 18.
Revelation 2:4 Greek You have lost your first love.
Revelation 2:22 Greek a bed.
Revelation 2:27 Ps 2:8-9 (Greek Version).

Friday, February 23, 2007

Lena's Journalin' To Hebrews 7 Today

King, THE KING, Capital “K”. The One and Only, judge of righteousness and Truth. The King of true eternal everlasting Peace that sees no end, ever. King of Justice. In whom all compare to in righteousness. The Maker/Creator of Heaven and earth. No beginning, No End, eternally God.
Who could this have been in OT times? Could it have been Jesus? Could it have been any other than He?
John 8 :56 says, Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad."
WHO said this? Jesus did. How is it that Abraham “saw” Jesus? He saw Him ahead of time. The LORD Appeared, Father appeared, Son appeared & Spirit appeared to Abraham. (Smoking oven, burning torch…interesting descriptions of what one sees, but may not have a clear understanding of yet!)
Abraham responded in faith with corresponding actions.
He gave of all he’d been given, a tithe. That is some response from a human man to an invisible God.
It is awesome that God who is so “invisible” can be so clearly seen all around us. Grass, trees, flowers, stars, moon, time, order, weather, people, circumstances beyond our control…
The earth is responding to its creation and Creator, and is waiting for humans to respond just as Abraham did, in faith with follow up action, to demonstrate the faith.
Abraham was quite rich, in all areas of his life. Why would he need to believe in an invisible God? He saw way beyond anything that money could buy. He had a Divine revelation of God Most High, and realized all we are allotted here is only a portion of who He is and of the potential he has inside of His plan for each one of us.
Abraham should not have been one we remember as a one and only of his kind. We are his seed and heirs to the promises of God presented him. Remember each promise is an offer to us to believe, receive and embrace by actions, His kingdom, which He desires to establish on earth using us.
Have you ever thought of yourself as an Abraham? If you are the first one Born Again in your household and extended family, that is who you are. God has called you out of darkness and desires you to stand on His promises for the salvation of your whole family, forever. As many as would fill the earth both before you and after you, like sand fills a sea shore!
God is looking for people who will have faith that remains until every last one is saved. Yes, there are some who are hardhearted and won’t believe or will judge or persecute us.
Let me ask you, when was the last time you sincerely interceded and prayed for these “enemies” in your household or extended family units? Or do you just stand in irritation and agreement with their enemies that they’ll never change or that they are bums, or critics or whatever? Who do you think you are, for them? God called you to break powers of darkness over them, the very enemies of their lives that keep them bound up in their sins. He wants us to uncover blindness that keeps them from seeing Him. This happens only through insistent prayers and intercession, mostly done in the secret place. Then we don’t pull up what we planted in faith by speaking contrary to what we prayed in secret, when we are with them or have just left them.
We read a few days back how Abraham rescued Lot. This is an example of what it takes. Spiritual warfare, is what it takes, not natural arguments or complaints or saying what you see. When we say what we see, we are not living and walking by faith. God does not move at all for murmurers and complainers. No, I don’t mean your relative, I mean you!
Do you care at all about the salvation of the souls of your family? Really? You have been co-missioned by God to bring His promises to fruition in them. You are the one who gets to see their worst. Maybe that’s so you can know what to come against for them in prayer!
Have you ever thought that when you give tithe by faith you sanctify all who are called by the same family name as you? If it is given to God in faith, you do. Don’t ever give grudgingly. Give in faith and for a lot more than just a monetary return.
Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
Now, let’s be brave enough and humble enough to ask, “What are we living for?” It should be the very same thing He lived for. He came to please the Father. He knew of the hard cases when He died on the cross. His sacrifice through faith perfectly pleased the Father. He laid His life down for the hard cases, even those who would not ever choose to believe.
Is anything impossible to him who believeth? No, nothing, if He truly believes and does not faint or waiver, till the promise is seen in action.
How many believe that way for hard cases, so much that they are not moved by what they see or hear and they stand in faith stronger as it gets harder? How many will not give up on a person, ever, till that person dies on earth? How many? That’s the kind God is searching from in the earth. That very kind. Like kind, for that is what Jesus did and is still doing for us!

Hebrews 7 Today's Daily Bread Reading

Hebrews 7
Melchizedek Is Greater Than Abraham
1 This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. 2 Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” 3 There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.
4 Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle. 5 Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel,[a] who are also descendants of Abraham. 6 But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God. 7 And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.

8 The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on. 9 In addition, we might even say that these Levites—the ones who collect the tithe—paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him. 10 For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.

11 So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?[b]

12 And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it. 13 For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests. 14 What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.

Jesus Is like Melchizedek
15 This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. 16 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17 And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied,
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[c]

18 Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. 19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

20 This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, 21 but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him,

“The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow:
‘You are a priest forever.’”[d]

22 Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.

23 There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save[e] those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.[f] 27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. 28 The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.

Footnotes:

Hebrews 7:5 Greek from their brothers.
Hebrews 7:11 Greek the order of Aaron?
Hebrews 7:17 Ps 110:4.
Hebrews 7:21 Ps 110:4.
Hebrews 7:25 Or is able to save completely.
Hebrews 7:26 Or has been exalted higher than the heavens.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Lena's Journalin' to Malachi 3 Watch out - It's red HOT

Ya, know what? You don’t HAVE to read this today. If you’re too busy I totally understand. Have a great day anyway. I love you, Lena (just a messenger of God).

Who is the sent messenger of God in your life? Be careful, it could be so obvious that you just might miss it. Messengers are those that God uses in our lives to prepare us for a final judgment day. That could be anyone from a preacher to an in-law!
Seriously. The less regard we give to the voice of God in any form He deems, the less we will have the grace to truly hear His voice. Our prayer should be, “However You deem best to speak to me about anything, Lord, do it Your way , in any way You will to.”
We look for Him to come in a visible form, we look for Him to “appear” to us personally. All the while He has shown up in many a form even up until this time, yet we may not have esteemed or recognized Him!
This is serious, because if we cannot recognize Him speaking to us in our in-law or boss or spouse, etc. we may not know Him when He does come and appear, and because we chose not to listen in the form He chose to speak, He may have to say to us, “I did not know you, for you never listened to Me when I sent messengers to prepare the way for Me to really come to You. See I could not come to you in a visible form until you believed in Me invisibly, for I am truly known as I Am by faith, only by faith. Faith brings out of the invisible realm that which appears. Light be and light was!”
Who will be able to endure or stand or face Him, when He comes? Those who believe in Him, those who follow His voice faithfully, those who are becoming as He is, those who see and live eternally. Their treasures are not of the earth, they go after what and who He treasures, that is what they live for. Fire will come and purify or test all that has been done, only the eternal and lasting works, deeds, truths, and lives will be kept in the “end”.
At that time every person and every deed done will come into the burning of His great light. Better to be exposed and tried severely now than face an eternal judgment then. Every person sent to us here as a messenger is of the grace of God, especially if they are hard taskmasters, for they prepare us for that day if our spirits are open to receive their correction and in humility give of our lives for their souls.
Those who step on others for their own gain or popularity or exaltation, causing others to serve them, will be severely judged. The bottom line is they did not fear Him enough to serve and love Him His way. They had other gods before Him, the god of self was the biggest one.
Rather than condemning those who treat us wrongly now, we ought to be praying for their souls to be saved, for we will not be able to bear it when we see what they get, if we did not pray to God for mercy on them.
Scorning decrees and failing to obey God has a very heavy sentence. We all feel so much grace, that we excuse ourselves into the exercise of our free wills as we desire to be directed. The deal is, God will allow us to choose our own ways. Do you understand what that means? That means I can choose to be eternally separated from God and He’ll go ahead and allow me to make that choice! I can walk away from His presence now, disobey His will, any and everyday and He will allow me to! The only way to be made right again, is to turn from the ways I feel are right, to turn my will around, and re-follow His, His way. That’s the only way home.
The biggest deception is that I think I’m ok living my own way. I still feel loved by and drawn by God, so I excuse death invitations as options.
Have I given my whole life to God and His work in the earth?
Really, how often do I join in with the activities of a church body in order to become equipped to do ministry in my home, church and community? Of the meetings I attend or assemble in, how much of what I hear taught do I take home for further study, so that I make sure I understood what was presented in order to make a plan to do what was taught as soon as possible? When was the last time I asked the ones teaching me what they meant or to explain it further so I could really apply it to my home life, my life on the job, and in all of my earthly relationships?
Do I debate the words given me through others by God? Do I always question what is served me on the spiritual platters at church services?
When was the last time I asked anyone at church what I could become a part of there, and how I can serve the house in the vision God has given them to carry out into our community? Or do I just decide on my own what ministry I’d like to do and go out and do it alone without any initiation from the body? What practical help do I give at my church? Like housework kind of stuff? When asked to do something, do I stay till the end and do the best I can above my own abilities? Or do I let other do it and stay to make sure it’s done, I mean It IS their job, right? I have other things I have to do.
Remember God will let me be excused, he won’t make me stay, neither will the messenger who asked me to help. I can do whatever I want and give as much as I can, or decide to.
Do I go serve in soup kitchens, but won’t serve in the nursery? Or do I serve in the nursery, but make my family serve me at home?
We’re talking about giving up of our whole lives to God here. Not a part, but a whole.
When was the last time I told anyone in my family or church where I am planning to go, or what I am planning to do and why? Being open to and ready to hear correction and maybe even alter or change my plans?
Do I just make plans and check in with people about it, to let them know, or am I willing to let them speak into my life of a better way to do something? Do my leaders find out where I am after I’ve gone there, or when I come back? Do they hear of my plans second hand? If they do you have no relationship, no communion with them at all. You are your own person an entity entirely to yourself. When I live that way, I’m living for myself, I am my own master, and I have no fear of God. This is the bottom line. Hard as it may be to hear, it will save your soul, if you are wiling to change.
WHAT does this have to do with tithes and offerings? Aren’t we talking about money here?
WHAT are we offering money for? Why money anyway, and why does God seem to want to get in to my pocketbook, isn’t that my stash? I mean I work hard for it and I’ve spent my life and time to get it, and it is the reward for the hard labor I do and time I am away from my family….
Aha, Yes, there we go, we’re THERE now.
Where?
Right where we can really talk about the tithe and offerings!
If God cannot talk to you about money, what can He talk to you about? Money is all about life and how we choose to spend it. If God touching your money offends you, maybe you have not given your life over to Him yet.
Salvation does not happen by just saying some magical prayers. Nope it is evidenced by the confessed actions of our new lifestyle. We make huge changes which speak of a new citizenship, a new governor, surrender to God. Salvation comes through surrender to God, in all areas of life! He gave His life, so I give mine in return, as a visible proof of my faith. I respond to the work I believe was done on the cross for me. If I do not change I do not believe!
It is definitely a test of your true faith in Him. Be made aware, this IS a test! A test to see if you put your money in the same place you put the confession of your faith. We say, “Jesus, You are Lord”, do we show it by giving of the very core of our life’s work, by offering God only a mere requested portion of what already belongs to Him?
The tithe is given by faith. It never adds up, ever, never has, never will. Don’t try to add it up, just give it. How much is it? 10 %. That’s it. The tithe is 10%, given to your local church. Anything else is an offering. You give to United Way or send money to missions, those are not a part of the 10%. They are above and beyond that, and are called - offerings.
When we give a tithe we are telling God and our community, that we trust who we do not see with what we do not see. We fear God enough to honor Him and obey Him and give Him what represents a hard earned life’s reward. What we could keep to ourselves, we choose to give over to His management, however He deems it to be used. Once we give it, it is gone, we do not need to know even how it is used, for it is not a bargaining tool, it is a gift of life, it is an action of faith in Him, not in the men here who received it.
Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. Luke 17:33
Whenever we do not, or will not tithe, we say we cannot trust God. We will find that we cannot make ends meet, and what we do make gets poured into pockets with holes. Nothing ever adds up then either. In fact it is all consuming, being consumed, for we are consumers by nature, and we’ve not given our lives to God.
We are Not trying God on for size, to see if His ways will workout for us. Man, we are following after His ways forever. Once we are joined to Him, it is for life here and life eternally. Thank God. I wouldn’t want to spend eternity with anyone else.
Those who feared the Lord act this way, live this way, whether things are working well for them or not, they give their life to and for Him, even if pain or temporary suffering enter in. remember the enemy hates those who look like God!
He’s not going down without a fight. His goal is to steal your souls right out of God’s heart. If he can keep you trying God out for size, and them deceive you about God’s character or love or power or whatever, he may have you where he wants you, but if you give your whole life over to God by faith, no matter what the earthly outcome, he can’t touch your soul. There is one who can touch the body but CANNOT have the soul! If the souls really and truly decides.
God does not need to perform for me at all, ever, but He does. Isn’t THAT amazing? The principles of His word activated by me and made alive and becoming one with me, enact blessing, automatically.
Yes He IS!

Malachi 3 Today's Daily Bread Reading

The Coming Day of Judgment
“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 “But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. 3 He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. 4 Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.

5 “At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

A Call to Repentance
6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’

8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!

“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’

“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.[a] Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

13 “You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord.

“But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’

14 “You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins? 15 From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”

The Lord’s Promise of Mercy
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.
17 “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. 18 Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

Footnotes:

Malachi 3:11 Hebrew from the devourer.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Lena's Journalin' to Genesis 28 More of Him, Less of Jacob (me)

Caanan actually means “lowlands”. I’ve recently listened to a CD series by John Bevere called “Affabel”. (A must listen to audio series – Stems from the Book “Driven By Eternity”. The audio series is a Great gift idea!) In Affabel, the “lowlands” are the place where worldliness prevailed, and where judgment would come. Apply that concept as you read Gen 28 and you’ll read the context differently.
So a Christian parent may say to their child of promise, “Do not marry a worldly person”, meaning don’t join your life on earth with a person who’s main interests are about being in the world and of the world, a person who is materialistic, seeking after the temporary things that will bind them to a wrong eternal focus, a person who has allegiances with satan and not God, a person who may never change their ideas to conform to God’s and therefore may even pull you into their culture that is of the ungodly sort, which will lead you to an eternal doom.
God has a promise awaiting fulfillment in each one of us. The ability for the promise to be had by us was given us freely with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Now it is our responsibility to take a hold of the promises God has set out for us and apply their benefits to our own lives by a series of right choices. Adam and Eve had a choice, and so do we, each and everyday!
The freewill of man is the free part of all of the gifts of God, we can choose right, if we want to. We are also free to choose what is wrong. How do we know what to choose? We study for it, as though it is a test for life. We go from one obedience in God, to another. If He says something like, honor your parent, we obey that. If our parent shows us a way of obedience and teaches it to us, then we should follow them. If they are wrong, they stand before God for leading us wrongly or mistakedly. God is great enough to help steer and correct them. If we obeyed, we are blessed, even if we went a wrong way. God is great enough to correct us, redeem us out of the consequences of mistaken pathways. We obeyed God in honoring our parents and we are not “in trouble” over it. If we disobey the basic word of God, that is when we’ll find we are held responsible.
Jacob obeyed his father, Esau did not. One would be blessed, the other cursed. We each have a Jacob and an Esau inside of us. The choices laid before us each day are ours. Blessing or cursing, obedience or rebellion. They are both our freewill choices. Today.
Obedience is blessed and multiplication from God comes to those who choose obedient actions.
Looking up the words and names in the context of scriptures brings out a whole world of understandings. Go here and click on some of the numbers by the words inside of the verses and see what happens! A whole new world of understanding will come to you as you become a student of God’s word each day. http://www.studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=gen+28§ion=2&translation=str&oq=%2520hearing&new=1
Jacob’s father Isaac sent him into a field (think - off to pursue a career “field”). It was time for Jacob to grow from being a boy inside of his fatehr’s house to becoming a man of God. This journey would take Jacob to places of choices with the intent to slay Jacob. No, not to kill him, but yes, to change him, and grow him up.
Bethuel means, “God destroys” or “man’s end”! WHAT does THAT mean? More of Him, and less of me and my opinions about everything. His father sent him to a place where he’d have an opportunity to become a man of God, from a boy. He’d become a husband and a father. Notice how long it took for him.
How long it takes is all up to us, and is in direct proportion to the stubbornness or yielding tendency and discipline of the freewill. We can take the 11 day journey or the 40 year one, it is up to us. BUT know in this day, God needs us to obey now and we cannot afford 40 years of wanderings!
God has a dream for each and every one of us. He offers it to us in the form of a promise. Each promise is an offer to us from God. He shows us what could happen with us if we are willing to follow Him thus and so. When a parent follows God, they get a hold of that same dream and pass it along to their kids. It is the blessing of God for the child who is becoming a son or daughter to begin to see that dream also. That is generational blessing/vision passed on.
Jacob had a dream. His dream was a heavenly vision. God had a dream, Isaac had a dream, now Jacob was dreaming! That’s the will of God. (when I say “dream” I mean seeing a vision of what we are doing here that is both for and with God to further His kingdom on the earth).
The Lord wants to bring the ways of heaven to earth using our lives to do it. We are the living breathing stairway to bringing heaven on earth. That will take the willingness of a people who will obey Him, do His will and be who He is here, now. That does not just happen, people must make it happen.
This is usually where the journey of the elimination of self life comes about. We see God’s dream and we decide if we can see ourselves in it. Then we decide what part of it we can or cannot do. About that time, we take a fork in the road and begin to take the long way around, for in the dream God showed us what He can do. He wasn’t looking at our limitations. He was showing us His abilities and asking us if we believe He is able even to work in us His good pleasure. The question was, “Will YOU, allow Me to use you to do this thing? Will YOU want and do what I want to do? Will you trust and believe me to give You the ability to do My will? Will you?”
The question is, “Are you willing to change and be changed to fit into My dream?” says the Lord! “Are you willing to go My way and be as Me? Please, I beg of you, don’t turn back on the road of self sufficiency, even in serving Me. Take my highway, I’ll be with you there. Yeah there will be obstacles, but nothing at all is impossible with Me, I can remove any rock I so deem, or I’ll at least throw you a rope!”
The initial acceptance of and then the walking out of obedience’s to God’s words and visions and dreams takes courage, faith and obedience every step of the way. It is not enough to see it; one must do something very actively to bring heaven’s visions into manifest form in the earth.
Self-centeredness will never take us where we need to go. Humility will raise us up to see and be where we need to be. I yield my own ways to His ways.
When Jacob rose from seeing the vision of God, he was not yet changed. He wasn’t quite ready for the change yet, or not yet ready to make the changes yet. Maybe he wasn’t quite ready for the necessary change that’d have to be made to put him inside of the dream. Is that where we are at with God?
Jacob responded. Wow that was a nice Encounter with the Lord, ewwy gooey feely wow, but he kept his identity and began to declare what God would do for him! God was asking Jacob to become someone different for the kingdom. Jacob gave God a tithe, almost hoping that’d satisfy God a bit for now, until he decided he was ready to go all the way.
God knows when we are ready. We do not have the luxury to say yeah or nay. Our answers have to be yes Lord, all else, is sin for if we hesitate and reason we do not believe Him.
The tithe God wanted was 1-0 % 1 = ALL of God and 0 = none of Jacob. It was a tithe of His life, his self life laid down. The money can be a symbol of that, or it can be another religious exercise. It should be given and is required to be given, but what is given represents what is truly given, a life, all of it!
God said, “thank you Jacob for your money, but where are you going, what are you doing (about bringing My kingdom to earth) today?”
By the way, “Jacob” means “deceived”, in the book of James in the NT (“James” is the same name as “Jacob”) it says,
James 1:22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
God wanted and wants to change “Jacob’s” name!

Genesis 28 Today's Daily Bread

1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. 2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. 3 May God Almighty[a] bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants[b] the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
6 Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. 9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son.
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
13 At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, “I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although the name of the nearby village was Luz.
20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the LORD will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”
Footnotes:
a. Genesis 28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai.
b. Genesis 28:4 Hebrew seed; also in 28:13, 14.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Lena's Journalin' for Today to Genesis 14 Who possess you?

Know that every word of God is Divinely inspired, every word has meaning. I’m going to use Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon to retell this story using the meanings of the names given…
War broke out in a time of darkness, a time of worldliness. People were self serving, had set up their own kingdoms and were not serving The King of the Universe. (Sound familiar?) They could’ve gone one of two ways, the Way of The King (Jesus) or the way of man (Babylon), it was up to them. Either way would be somewhat hard, one from living out consequences, the other had a price to pay, it was a road laden with obstacles. One would have to be willing to go through it (more warfare) to get there, for they had gone so far from it, it would take a decisive action to take the righteous way again.
One Way, is The Way of eternal life. It is THE WAY of the Lord. Those who would choose it with their free wills, those who would extend themselves to it, who would spend their inheritances on it, would be rewarded now and later on. To be on this road and stay on this road would take discipline, they’d come under the leading of God’s Spirit, His chastening would be their guide.
Those who would choose this narrow way, need to know who and what they will come against along The Way. In knowing and still being willing the price would be paid, the ticket bought.
They would come up against The son of evil, iniquity, burning (eternal consummation), mistreatments, manipulations and merchandising. They’ll incur change, a change of name (from natural Adam to Spiritual Jesus) because of lack of familiarity they’ll feel very unsure of it regularly, for its call to change takes one into unfamiliar territory. Yet going this Way will beautify them, though they won’t see that right away. When they do begin to see it, pride will offer itself to them, asking them to gloat in the newfound beauty, as though they created and authored it. To choose to give the glory of this beauty to others, to another will seem so insignificant, at least here and now. One will wonder why they ever choose to go this way, they may feel confused by what they do not see.
They took this journey for about 12 years, they tried its course for a pretty good amount of time, yet were tired, weary of working for the master of Harvest. They were tired of bringing in His sheaves for Him, His way. Some rebelled, would rather go they way they thought best on their own right.
Those who stayed with Him up to this point began to slay giants. In slaying giants, they began to be healed from all sorts of ailments and diseases. For those who endure to the end, will overcome. Too bad the others waited this long to turn away, when the promises were only one giant away.
Those who stayed this distance were again at a “crossroads”, they still had choices, go on, stay, or turn back! Some saw something beyond them, they saw God moving in the spirit realm, they had to go on. Those who did not see, would not see, would not go on.
In this new place, this new level of faith, there would be opportunity to be terrorized by fear of the unknown and of the known. If they could go there by faith, they’d become one with Him, whom they served and loved enough to come this far. The following had to be by faith in the unseen God, who had unseen enemies destined to be fought by those who would become His army.
Only those in agreement with Him, who had become one with Him, would be able to go up as victors in this place.
There would be a lot more than personal giants to conquer. There would be demons to bring down out of places of power, to expose to His light. Self sacrifices would need to be made in order to conquer here, for there is no authority given to the self seeking lot, ever.
In the very same place would be the offer to serve a Holy God or a lying god. In the same place would be offers to worship Him who sits on the throne of my heart and of he who wants that place. In the very same place could be holiness and righteousness and truth, but also sin, unrighteous works and deception. Only when one is tested and proven here will there be found a real and a true faith in whomever faith is in.
Division will define allegiances.
What is this battle about? It is the battle of the seed, the holy seed. The Holy seed is the word of God alive in people. The kings want to steal the seed and all of the potential of it being able to be planted or grow in any of the people we influence. Every seed that grows can bring forth fruit and in that fruit is more seed. One person has the potential of being a nation. If they can take one, they can have the many.
So they took a family member, a member of a family of a believer. How can that be left alone? The righteous will arise and go after the treasure, the life, the soul.
This was a battle of heaven and of earth, of the ability of heaven to be brought and wrought in earth. There were those engrossed in sin, in iniquity, in darkness, who would attempt to pull others into their allegiance, and those who sought to save.
They come after people many times in the form of taking their possessions, all they live for, all that identifies them. In this way they seek for their soul. The division here would be of what is of utmost importance. When the rubber meats the road, what means the most- people, or things?
Can the enemy have you by way of your things? Can he grab a hold of you and in your fight to not let the things go, can he have you and the seed in you? Can he take your family members by causing you to attend more to the obtaining of things for the family, all the while he is stealing them out from under your nose? What is really important to us is shown in how we live. Don’t go off to work harder and harder for your family and lose them to the appetites of the world (Babylonian kingdoms, Babylonian kings).
When the believer, a true father of faith, one who is truly after the souls of men, heard that even one of his household may be taken, he pursued him towards the judgment (meaning he prayed and fought for his soul as an example and a witness until the day he’d die naturally). With all he had ability-wise, with all His strength and might, with what he’d gained for himself, he went after this soul.
Souls are THE most important thing to our Father, and so should also be the most important possession for us. Abram was a man who knew the Father and His Son, by the Spirit.
He risked all to pursue this soul, even to the laying down of his own life. He would not allow hidden works to destroy this soul, this potential kingdom family member. He would give His life for this one, even if it were only one (remembering inside of one is many). He’d pursue them, even if it meant lay down his own life, like to being nailed on a tree. He’d have to make a trade, a life for a life. Sacrifice would be the only way for a return to be made. There’d have to be an exchange.
He’d have to stand before God. He’d have to stand before the judge of men, the accuser of brethren (thus Lot Abram’s brother) for Lot’s soul. He’d have to stand before the heavenly and the earthly kings and be tried as true.
Abram (father of many nations of peoples) had taken back what was his, and had to account for it before heaven and before hell, as we all do for everything we are given or take back.
He choose, with His freewill, to give portions to God. He chose to give honor, glory and praise to God Most High, in the presence of His enemies, he choose to give God what was due God.
He would not give up what was his to account for, to have more money, or for more possessions. Greed was a giant he’d already eaten. His success was not about what, but who, he had.
How is it Abram already gave to God, lifting his hand up to The Most High before this day? He always had. It was proven by His life and in His heart was found no deceit. His desire was the Lord’s desire, all the way. This is/was proven in the giving of the tithe and the choice of who to eat and drink for and with.
The enemy uses money and the accumulation of stuff to try to entice people, but he is really interested in the people’s souls. So is God! Who the money enslaves is who’s the souls belong to. Be careful, one cannot serve God and mammon. In serving mammon, we serve cannot serve The Most High God. We can have mammon, but mammon cannot have us. People must be the most important possession a in visible demonstration, in our daily lives.