I finished Yancey’s book, Prayer: Does it make any difference? what a blessing!

P 303 ” God is looking for a beachhead of presence in the world–a body, we might say, and indeed that is the very image Paul seizes upon in his letters. We the “body of Christ,” have formed a partnership to dispense God’s love and grace to others. As we experience that grace, inevitably we want to share it with others….This way of viewing the world changes how I pray for others. Crudely put, I once envisioned intercession as bringing requests to God that God may not have thought of, then talking God into granting them. Now I see intercession as an increase in my own awareness. When I pray for another person, I am praying for God to open my eyes so that I can see that person as God does, and then enter into the stream of love that God already directs toward that person.”

P 326-327 “I pray in astonished belief that God desires an ongoing relationship. I pray in trust that the act of prayer is God’s designated way of closing the vast gulf between infinity and me. I pray in order to put myself in the stream of God’s healing work on earth. I pray as I breathe because I can’t help it. Prayer is hardly a perfect form of communication, for I, an imperfect material being who lives on an imperfect, material planet am reaching out for a perfect, spiritual Being.”

Now I am reading Henri Nouwen, The Genesee Diary

I can so relate to some of Nouwen’s issues that he faced when he decided to join a Trappist Monastery for a period of time. Funny how being alone with one’s self can pull out so many issues that we think are solved. I have been reading this alongside Yancey’s book because Yancey’s book is not one that you can rapidly read. Neither is Nouwen’s book, but it is nice to have a break from one to the other.

Today I was reading his commentary on love – how the love of the fellow monks brought up so many insecurities and issues about love. Love still does scare me a bit, although I am learning more of the love of God as I continue to read and study His Word.

This paragraph stopped me in my tracks today.

P. 88 “Still, I am deeply convinced that when I allow God to enter into my loneliness, when I allow him to let me know that I am loved far more deeply than I can imagine, only then can I give and receive real friendship and write letters free from seductive motivations. When I can say with Paul, “not I live, but Christ lives in me,” then I no longer need to depend on the attention of others to have a sense of self. Because then I realize that my most important identity is the identity I have received as a grace of God and which has made me a participant in the divine life of God himself.”

Sigh, I still operate a lot by what others think and feel about me, and take my focus off of God. There is still a lot of insecurity based on my past. I grew up trying to be a wallflower, to blend in with what others wanted and lost myself in the process. God has been showing me His love, and that is helping. Right now though, other’s thoughts and ideas can still cause me to hurt. I have to learn to trust God more, and rest in His love.

Hoping you have a blessed day.

Heather

Tony Williams, one of our members taught Wednesday’s Bible study. It was a wonderfully edifying study, and all walked out with their faith strengthened. As I mentioned before, we begin our Bible study with prayer requests that have come into the church during the week, and any requests from members attending the study. Before praying, Tony asked us all to come up with healing scriptures like, “By his stripes we are healed,” so that we were fully in faith to pray for healings.

He pointed out that when a person dies they usually leave a will. The Bible is God’s will and testament, and Jesus actually rose from the dead and is making sure that all parts of His Will are being kept. When we read the Bible we are reading what our heavenly Father has left us. Left with a blood covenant. These words are not MAYBE, PERHAPS, but Words that we KNOW are true and can be trusted.

We know that healing is the children’s bread, so we ask Jesus, to pass the bread.

Salvation is the will of God. Faith begins when the will of God is known. God wanted that none should perish. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Before we come to God, satan tries to condemn us, but God helps us to come to Him. When we come to Him, and then sin, we know. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we repent and come to Him for forgiveness, we are forgiven. He will not remember our sins.

1 John 5:14-15 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

2 Peter 1:5-11 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When we confess our sins we are not telling God something He doesn’t already know. He knows our sins, but we need to confess them so that we are aware of them. Jesus will purge us from all unrighteousness, through His shed blood. Our sins are overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the blood of the Testimony. The devil’s fate is sealed. The blood speaks for me. Guilty feelings, once we have confessed our sins and are forgiven, are lying symptoms. We are not redeemed by corruptible, but by the precious blood of Jesus. He separates us from our sins as far as the East is from the West. God forgives and forgets. Only He can supernaturally forget.

Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One Jesus Christ.

 Who is the one man’s offense? – Adam’s disobedience.

Because God makes us righteous, we do not have to be afraid of the devil.

Smith Wigglesworth once woke up in the middle of the night and felt a presence on the stairs, when he went to investigate he saw that it was satan on the stairs. He looked and said, “Oh, it’s you.” Then he turned around and went back to bed and sleep. He did not give satan the time of day or any concern.

What is most important is who you are in Christ Jesus, not Holy Ghost do-dads. God is no respecter of persons. The gifts he gives, all have available to use. The gifts of the Spirit are not relegated to supernatural stars of faith, we can all apply the gifts of the Spirit.

It is because of Adam’s sin of disobedience that death entered the world – for sin is death.

There are three different kinds of death.

There is physical death – when our soul and spirit leaves our body.
There is spiritual death – when we are eternally separated from God.
There is the lake of fire death – the final death after the Last Judgment.

Jesus told people that their father was the devil, that the satanic nature and unrepented sin reigned in the people. Jesus came to give us Zoe, the God kind of life.

Before Jesus, sin reigned as king. Sin brings sickness, sorrow, pain, agony, depression. In Deuteronomy God tells the people that he sets before them, life and death, then tells them the right answer: choose life.

The people chose to disobey God, created idols, and did not do what God commanded, so they chose death. Jesus came to bring life and life more abundantly.

How many unsaved people tell us that they want to do what they want to do, and look at what they are doing, saying, “This is my life, I can do what I want to do.” What they call life is really death.

Others tell us that, “This is the hand I was dealt.” in reference to their life. It is not necessarily the hand that they have to play. I have never played poker, but Tony told us that if, in poker, you are dealt a bad hand you can put the cards on the table and ask for a new hand. Jesus is willing to deal us a new hand, and all his cards are life and love.

We are the blessing of God. Jesus was made a curse, and died on the cross for us, so that we could be saved. When He rose, he conquered sin and death. We now have satan under our feet as a defeated foe.

We then looked at Isaiah52:13-14 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.  When Jesus was scourged the 39 lashes tore at his skin so that there was so much damage that He could not be recognized. Then we read Isaiah 53:1-9 which is entirely about Jesus, and was predicted long before Jesus’ birth.  Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we are like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent. So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked–but with the rich at His death. Because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Jesus bore all of our sins, yet He did not sin while He was on earth.

We also need to remember that we too have the blessings of Abraham, for we were grafted into the vine of Israel because of Jesus. If you can, read Deuteronomy 28 which details all the blessings of God that we can have if we obey Him, and all the curses if we disobey. The first words God spoke to Adam concerned the blessing and abundance of the earth that Adam had dominion over, but once Adam disobeyed God’s simple commandment, Adam lost dominion over the earth, giving it over to satan.

Proverbs 10:27  The fear of the LORD prolongs days; but the years of the wicked will be shortened.

Galatians 3: 7-10 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

When God talked to Abraham and His seed, He also talked to those who are in Christ. Abraham was bold. He conquered two kings’ armies with 318 servants. When the King of Sodom wanted to give Abraham rewards, Abraham refused them, wanting no earthly king to say, “I made Abraham rich.” Abraham met and communed with Melchizedek (Jesus will be called a priest of the order of Melchizedek). God cut a covenant with Abraham. Abraham was put into a deep sleep when God cut the covenant, so that only God is the one to keep the covenant. God knew that we could not keep covenant, so God, cut covenant and swore to keep it. We know that God keeps His covenants perfectly.

David acted on this covenant, and defeated the Philistines.

Those of us who have no knowledge of the covenant, have no hope, as Ephesians 2:3 “among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

But because of Jesus, we are brought back into the covenant relationship with God. And God keeps His covenants. If God did not keep His covenants Heaven and Earth would pass away. He puts His Word above Himself.

Abraham believed God and it was accounted for righteousness.  God’s covenant settles all arguments, we come before God, take communion, and are anchored in Him.

When we believe God, accept Jesus’ sacrifice we receive an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness.

Wasn’t this Bible study a blessing? We all left with smiles on our faces, refreshed in remembering the goodness of God.

Have a blessed day,
Heather

Tonight I was watching Fox News and they had a story on that made me want to cry. An atheist has set up a video site (blaspheme challenge) where teenagers, who are “programmed and beaten down by their Christian parents” can go and blaspheme God. He even offers prizes for this action on the kids parts. His theory is that being forced into Christian environments is oppressive to kids and this is a way to fight against the oppression. But this atheist doesn’t see that he too is doing the same kind of programming with his agenda. But these are kids who do not realize what they are doing when they make these statements against God. Bill O’Reilly said he was sickened by the site, and that the kids were spewing out hatred and frightening thoughts. He pointed out, to this atheist, that Christians do a great many good things and what would the atheist replace the Christian values with. The atheist countered that atheists also do good things. I hope that this site gets shut down by powers that be, because this serves no good purpose, but only rouses hate.

But what atheists do not do is offer anything beyond this limited lifespan on earth. Someone once said they saw an atheist’s gravestone with the words, “All dressed up and no place to go.” It seems to be a game with these people, how to completely oppress Christians, claiming that it is in the interests of free speech and tolerance. Yet the very things they say they are fighting for, they are denying Christians – namely free speech and tolerance of Christian values and beliefs. I can think of far worse things that kids are indoctrinated in today than the ten commandments and beatitudes. Every day I see signs of the times, showing me that lawlessness is abounding, and the end times are near.

Pray for our kids that they do not get drawn into such nonsense, that they hold onto their values, that they seek God, and find safety in His arms in the midst of all the craziness they are surrounded with.

Praying your Sunday is blessed. I will try to type out Bible study stuff, but right now my oldest is filling out financial aid forms on the internet, and I am very restricted in my time here on Xanga.

Heather.

Please pray traveling mercies on us. Today we are driving to Philadelphia so my oldest can get a look at Wharton School of Economics. We are going to make a one day round trip, so prayers are welcome.

Last night I gave Julie all the comments you made on her poems and she was blessed to see them. We had one of our members teach a very encouraging Bible study which I will try to write up later today, but that usually takes a few hours to type, proof, and look up the verses.

So before I go today, I thought I would encourage you with a few more quotes from Philip Yancey’s, Prayer, Does it Make any Difference? Let me tell you, this book is one that will stay on my shelves and be pulled down time and again.

P. 137 We humans are confined to a space-time universe that began at a moment of time, but God is not. Experiments on relativity have proved that, strange as it seems, time itself is no constant.”

P. 139 “We tend to place God’s activity in a different category from natural or human activity; the Bible tends to draws them together. Somehow God works in all of creation, all of history, to bring about ultimate goals.”

P. 141, Jim (in an insert) says, “I treasure the time I spend with God more than the requests I want him to fulfill.”

P. 142 “In a few other places the New Testament gives hints of God choosing us “before the creation of the world.” God’s grace, claims Paul, “was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,” with Jesus “chosen before the creation of the world but revealed in these last times for your sake.” Our eternal life was promised “before the beginning of time.” Thus the essentials of hope—God’s love, heaven, grace, resurrection–the Bible specifically grounds outside of time and creation. Long before Einstein’s theory of the relativity of time and space, long before any notion of a Big Bang origin of the universe, the New Testament writers established these truths as, quite literally, timeless.”

P. 144 “By using prayer rather than other, more direct means, God once again chooses the most freedom-enhancing style of acting in the world. God waits to be asked, in some inscrutable way making God’s activity on earth contingent on us. Does the kingdom, or “God’s will,” advance more slowly because of that choice? Yes, in the same way parents slow their pace when the youngest child is learning to walk. Their goal is to equip someone else, not themselves.”

P. 149 an insert by Susan ”I used to worry about falling asleep during prayer. Now, as a parent, I understand. What parent wouldn’t want her child to fall asleep in her arms?”

P. 166 “When I pray, it may seem that I am narrowing my world, retreating from the real world into a prayer closet in Jesus’ metaphor. Actually I am entering another world, just as real but invisible, a world that has power to change both me and the world I seem to be retreating from. Regular prayer helps me to protect inner space, to prevent the outer world from taking over. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God,” Jesus said. When I think of how long a single image crafted by Hollywood lust-masters can live on in my mind, I understand his saying. So often I fill my mind with images that crowd out all room for God. Prayer involves a “renewing of the mind,” a two-stage process of purging out what displeases God and damages me (the same, it turns out) and allowing God to fill my mind with what matters far more.”

Hope you enjoy,

Heather

Because of testing this week, my teenagers are on a varied schedule, so today I am taking my daughter, a friend of hers, and one son skiing. Shucks, no vacuum cleaner, just a chance to sit and drink coffee and study my Bible. I don’t ski.

So today I thought I would share a funny interaction between my husband and his sister. Both are Christian. I read this last night and laughed so hard. By the way, it is a good site to explore, especially if you have kids doing math homework.

My sister-in-law wrote:

Very cool site:

http://www.onlineconversion.com/

My husband responded:

As it so often happens, Friday’s Bible study started with a question. The question was about how we can prepare ourselves for the end times. Pastor Don took us to Revelation 13.

Pastor Don pointed out that the antichrist cannot be everywhere all at once, so things will not happen simultaneously. The antichrist will operate according to the limitations of space and time. Patriotism is good, but we cannot confuse patriotism overshadowing Spiritual things. God established Britain to open the world to the Gospel. When they fell down on God’s principles, and the pilgrims came to the United States, they established a nation under God. Now we, in America, are beginning to fail in obeying God’s word.

A bit of background and comments by Pastor Don before we get to Revelation 13:

America is not seeing itself in a global context. In God’s kingdom, Jews and Gentiles will be one nation, grafted into one vine, Jesus. Islam sees itself in a global context, and the only piece missing is a powerful Islamic figure to bring the factions of Islam together as one, under a common cause. This cause will center around Israel which is considered the little satan, and America the great satan. For Islam to have world dominance they will seek to destroy Israel first, then America.

Many people speak about moderate Muslims, but we haven’t really seen any sign of them. Where are the moderate Muslims that are speaking out against the Islamic violence and terrorism? They don’t speak out because those with the courage to speak out against the violence are often killed. Sadat was killed, for his attempts to bring about a peace agreement.

We think of America as one nation under God, but America is not as powerful as it once was. We are neglecting to think globally.

Right now the world is dealing with the Mystery Babylon – and Mystery Babylon hides in any religion that will bring opposition to Christianity. So it hides in Islam, it hides in the new age, the occult, the cults. Mystery Babylon hides in any radical form of religion that will bring people to doubt Christ.

We are seeing a movement toward tolerance, toward all religions pulling together under one banner. We are all one, and all gods are one god. It is written in the Koran that Muslims are permitted to agree with anything, until they become more in numbers than the surrounding people, and then they will rise up and force people into their religion or they will be slaves or killed as nonbelievers in Allah.

Someone mentioned a Christian Radio program where a former Muslim talked about the Muslim cells in our country, and the terrorist agenda that is happening on our shores. One thing that shocked the radio speaker was how children in public schools in California were being taught Muslim prayers, and spent a week saying the prayers that Muslims speak daily. The danger in that is by avowing Allah as lord, that they have now said the prayers that can cause them to be killed as infidels if they profess any other belief from the Muslim religion.

The plan of the one universal religion and world government is the vehicle which the antichrist will use to gain control. The people professing a universal religion will lure people with lies until they are accepted as authority figures for the world, then they will lower the boom. All false religions do this same thing,  they don’t tell you the whole truth until you are committed, then they trap you.

What is interesting is that the Koran does not mention Jerusalem, but the Bible mentions it hundreds of times.

Then we looked at Revelation 13:1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

The sea is a symbol of peoples and nations, and the beast has 10 horns. The European Union had divided up the world into 10 sectors, ten regions. The heads are the main parts of the government of these sectors.

Revelation 13:2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

If you look at the description you get an idea of the characteristics of the antichrist. A leopard is stealthy, hunts at night, sneaking up on its prey which gives it a big advantage. The large paws of the bear, with its claws which can kill and destroy, and the roaring lion makes a lot of noise, is considered the king of the jungle. The male lion is not the boss, the females make him dominate. And we know that the dragon is satan. Remember satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth if Jesus would worship him, satan did have the authority to offer this to Jesus.

We need to break the idea that the sanctity of the United States will be preserved. When we give power over to the antichrist or this one world government, we will no longer be a power player. In fact there is already a problem. The Federal Reserve, is not run by the United States, and it sets the value of our money and loans – we are no longer on a gold standard. And our country is rapidly going into debt. In fact Clinton was not popular with the Federal Reserve because he started getting our country out of debt, so when Bush entered the picture it made the Federal Reserve happy. At some point, the people who run the Federal Reserve, the globally rich, will call back the loans and we will then be a debtor nation at the mercy of other countries or the European Union. All it takes is just one phone call.

Eisenhower said that we needed to stop the federal reserve and the military regime when the war ended or they will stay in power and our country will become a debtor nation. His prophesy was true.

Revelation13:3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.

Only the church will recognize this when it happens. For the wound will either be a mortal wound or the appearance of a mortal wound, perhaps an assassination attempt. The world will believe that a miracle has occurred and that will put the antichrist into a more powerful position.

Revelation 13:4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

This figure will seem to be politically invincible.

Revelation 13:5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty two months.

Pastor Don had us do the math, 42 months equals 3 1/2 years. And it is the beginning of the great tribulation (seven year duration).  Right now we are in the tribulation period, with wars and rumors of wars, etc. but when the antichrist is revealed, that will be the start of the Great Tribulation. Things will grow far worse then.

 Revelation 13:6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 

There still is not a temple in Jerusalem, so no one has yet blasphemed the tabernacle. While blasphemies are being spoken today about God, and His name, the tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven haven’t been blasphemed yet – so the whole kit and caboodle has not occurred.

 Revelation 13:7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

We know here that the rapture has occurred. Pastor Don asked us how do we know? And the answer was Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Therefore the church cannot be on earth, for while it is on earth satan cannot rule and reign, the antichrist is held in abeyance. But once the church is removed, then the antichrist has free reign on earth – and the saints that are talked about here are saved after the rapture. The Church has the ability to open the gates of hell either to cast in or to let out. We have the individual promises such as Isaiah 54:17 ”No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the LORD.

The sovereignty of God will protect the church if it doesn’t speak, but the church must speak We need to point out when a plan is not godly. We also need to guard the church from those who will come in trying to sow ungodly seeds. That is why Pastor Don always encourages us to listen to teachers with discernment, and if we are not certain about a teaching we have the responsibility and right to ask for chapter and verse, even from Pastor Don. And not only chapter and verse in one part of the Bible but several chapters and verses to support the one verse. If it is not in the word, we are not required to accept it as doctrine – it might be a feel-good teaching, but it is not to be accepted as Biblical truth.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

We cannot set aside the word for anybody. We also have to be careful of anyone who says that they are the only ones who have truth, and everyone else is wrong – for those are deceivers.

God reveals what He is going to do to His Prophets, there is safety in the council of His Word. As God develops the next step, we will start hearing the same teachings from many sources. For what God is doing begins in the spiritual realm and is perceived by others.

I asked a question about Revelation, for from my studies with Kay Arthur materials I thought Revelation was presented in chronological order, Chapter 1 events coming before Chapter 5 events, etc. Pastor Don pointed out that John was in various places during the vision he saw in Revelation – in heaven, on earth, etc. And often what happens in Heaven manifests at a different time on earth, it is not simultaneous all the time.

Then Pastor Don asked how many realities there are when you are in a movie theater – there is the reality of what is happening on the screen and the reality of what is happening in your life. You cannot get confused and decide that you are in the events of the movie, or that the movie is living your life.

When you read Revelation you have to figure out who is speaking and what:

Is it literal physical, or figurative physical.
Is it literal spiritual, or figurative spiritual.

Who is talking, who is telling what to whom, and what are they talking about.

Chapter 5 of Revelation is happening in Heaven. Revelation 13 is on earth.

You can’t take what is heard on a movie screen and say it is happening to the one sitting in the seat watching the movie.

Some of us are living prophesies that were spoken over us when we were three years old. When we were three, although the prophesies were spoken they did not manifest until years later. Were the prophesies true, yes. Had they manifested then, no. Yet they did manifest.

We can never take a movie literally until it manifests off the screen.

(Heather’s note, I am thinking on this, I can see a case for both Revelation being linear, and also for what Pastor Don is saying, so I have to pray and think about this some more).

Pastor Don says that sometimes a false prophet or teacher will come to you with a Bible verse or vision that does not seem Biblical. When asked to defend it, they say, “I was given this vision from God, so I understand it. Obviously you are not as advanced as I for God has not given you this same understanding.” Then when asked to point to it in scripture, they take a verse out of context or a verse that doesn’t seem to be saying what they are saying, and when questioned. They say, well God gave me the vision, and I understand the pure words of God.  You didn’t get the vision so obviously you can’t see it.

This is circular reasoning, and so many of the false prophets use that kind of reasoning to defend their case. If you get a check in your spirit about a teaching, pay attention.

The Holy Spirit reveals what he is saying by quoting what He said. An example is Matthew 2:15 …and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him. And out of Egypt I called My son.”

The Holy Spirit gave a different meaning for the prophesy that was not seen at the time it was first spoken. Hosea was talking about the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt during Exodus, but in Matthew, the prophesy was also applied to Jesus, who was brought to Egypt when Herod was killing infants, and then brought back to Israel after Herod’s death.

We know the truth of this by the Spirit of God, and it conforms with the Word of God. Can we permit someone who is not quoting scripture to use scripture to confirm what he says the spirit is saying to him?

The beast will try to convince the elect if possible to believe the lies. We have to question what we are being taught, what we see on TV, what we hear on the radio, what we hear from the pulpit. We have to make sure it lines up with the truth of God.

Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

This will be a global deception (all who dwell on the earth). All who dwell on the earth will worship him. Those who are saved, written in the Book of Life of the Lamb will not be worshipping him.

Pastor Don pointed out that when the church began after Jesus, it was called “the Way” and the church met in people’s homes. Today we meet in churches and that is right – for it is an outreach to the world and there are programs in place. The movement today to house churches is unscriptural, but in the days of the antichrist, persecution will force the church underground, and we will go back to homes. Right now churches provide unity, social, financial and theological support.

Right now in China, in the next 5-10 years there will be more people who are Christians than there are those in the Communist Party, and then the Communist Party will not be able to stop the church.

Pastor Don pointed out that things happen in God’s timing. Sometimes what is in the mind of God is not carried out immediately. God waits for many pieces to be in place, then He acts. The will of God is sovereign, but man’s will is not. When we are willful and do not do what we are told to do by God, we can cause a delay in the process. God will still do what He wants to do, but may use another.

Right now the antichrist, Pastor Don believes, is on the earth, but he is a sleeper. But we are seeing the first signs of his rising in power, lawlessness. We are redefining a lot of terms, such as tolerance, and creating words to affirm unbiblical positions.

And terms are being redefined by the popular culture, such as Michael Jackson singing, “I’m bad.” And in this case the word “bad” does not mean bad, but rather good.

We need to not buy into the lie, to not divide the people. As long as a revelation tries to supersede the literal word or adopt it for a different purpose, we do not believe the revelation. What God has ordained will happen with our without our faith, but we have a promise from God, a blessed hope, and we need Him.

Then we read Psalm 97.

One of our members asked Pastor Don about a sermon by Malcolm Smith that mentioned the 5th column. The Fifth Column was a name given to a German division that would go into a country and infiltrate the country, taking it from the inside.

I was asked to look up information about this, and cannot find the reference to the sermon by Malcolm Smith – does anyone have that reference?

Hoping you have a blessed day,

Heather

My friend, Julie Evans takes notes during Bible study too. She takes her notes and transforms them into poems. I asked her if I could share a few with you and she gave me her permission. I thought you would be blessed by a few powerful poems by Julie Evans.

Covenant Defined

Don’t confuse this with something it isn’t.

A covenant is not a contract.  It is not something

you can sign and walk away from.  It is not something

one enters into without some idea of it’s power and meaning.

A covenant is an agreement between two parties.

It is a league, a team, a mutual and transparent love pact.

It is usually a stronger party agreeing to combine with a weaker party

in order to accomplish a thing greater than either party can do alone.

We have a convenant with God.  Each of us.

The more we understand the contents of that covenant,

the more fully we can occupy all it’s grace and it’s many benefits.

We have God’s Word that He will defend us, provide for us, uphold us,

direct us, guide us, listen to us, talk to us, overshadow us, heal us, hope for us and

give us the desires of our hearts.

No one has ever promised me so much.

No one has ever kept all their promises.

No one has ever forgiven me so completely.

No one has ever said I could, should, and would have it all.

I’ve never believed everything someone said.

I’ve never not been disappointed.

I’ve never put so much into a relationship before

just because it felt so good and so right to do so.

God’s covenant with me

brings out the very best about me.

The more I abide in His statutes and commandments

the more freedom I have and the more freedom I have

the more I abide in His statutes and commandments.

You Alone

You alone made heaven and earth

You alone

You alone watch over us

You alone

You alone know us,

care for us,

hold us up,

and send us forth.

You alone.

You alone strike fear in hearts

of Your enemies,

You alone judge the nations

You alone hold the hand

of the brokenhearted.

You alone comfort the ones

who have been called to stand

in the gap,

in the line of fire,

in the fiery furnace, and

in the pulpit.  You alone.

You alone shall we call

Wonderful

Counselor

Mighty God.

1/18/07 during praise and worship

And This I Ask Of You My Lord

And this

and this

and this

and this I ask of You Lord

that You would set a guard

over mouth,

to keep watch over the door

of my lips.

And this

that You would keep my hand

from evil

that You would keep my eye

from any iniquity

that You would be a Light

onto my path

that You would be the narrow gate

that I must go through.

And this

I ask that You be the first and

the final Word

I ask that You surround me oh Lord

with the sound of Your voice

Fill me with the absolute truth

of Your Word

And this

and this

and this I will give unto You

my life and it’s influence.

If you haven’t read Pastor Don’s Bible study from Wednesday, I highly recommend it. Friday’s Bible study was from a question. I will type up the notes on that another day, but today I want to share a few quotes from Phillip Yancey’s book, Prayer: Does it make a difference? They impacted me so much that I thought you would be blessed as well.

P.21-22 “Prayer helps correct myopia, calling to mind a perspective I daily forget. I keep reversing roles, thinking of ways in which God should serve me, rather than vice versa. As God fiercely reminded Job, the Lord of the universe has many things to manage, and in the midst of my self-pity I would do well to contemplate for a moment God’s own point of view.”

P. 26 “Prayer allows me to admit my failures, weaknesses, and limitations to One who responds to human vulnerability with infinite mercy.”

P. 30 “Sometimes I wonder if the words I use are the least important part of prayer. Who am I? And who is God? If I can answer those two questions, the words I pray recede. Prayer invites me to lower defenses and present the self that no other person fully knows to a God who already knows.”

P. 40 “I challenge skeptics to find a single argument used against God by the great agnostics –Voltaire, David Hume, Bertrand Russell—that is not already included in such biblical books as Habakkuk, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and, yes, Job. ….Most important, these accusations contained in the Bible itself are framed as prayers. Prayer allows a place for me to bring my doubts and complaints–in sum, my ignorance–and subject them to the blinding light of reality I cannot comprehend but can haltingly learn to trust. Prayer is personal, and my doubts take on a different cast as I get to know the Person to whom I bring them.”

P. 51 “Prayer is a subversive act performed in a world that constantly calls faith into question.”

P. 51 “I have learned to see prayer not as my way of establishing God’s presence, rather as my way of responding to God’s presence that is a fact whether or not I can detect it.”

P. 62 “The psalms express all levels of friendship with God.”

P. 80 “Jesus clung to prayer as to a lifeline, for it gave him both the guidance and the energy to know and do the Father’s will.

P. 85 “Words fail to capture the enormity of descent when a sovereign God takes up residence in a person and says, in effect, “Don’t hurt me. Don’t push me away.”

P. 86 “For most of us prayer serves as a resource to help in time of testing or conflict. For Jesus, it was the battle itself.”

P. 97 “Like Abraham, I approach God at first in fear and trembling, only to learn that God wants me to stop groveling and start arguing.. I dare not meekly accept the state of the world, with all its injustice and unfairness. I must call God to account for God’s own promises, God’s own character.”

P. 101 “Yet virtually everyone God picked to lead a new venture–Adam, Abraham, Moses, David—proved disappointing in part. Apparently God committed to work with human partners no matter how inept.”

P. 130 “The message is clear,” comments Walter Wink about that scene, “history belongs to the intercessors, who believe the future into being.” The pray-ers are essential agents in the final victory over evil, suffering, and death.

This book is a blessing! It is not one you can speed read, but it is full of gems.

Hoping you have a blessed Sunday.

Heather

Pastor Don asked us if we wanted the TRUTH. You probably guessed our response, a resounding, “Yes.” What will happen in the end days, how we can be victorious in the end days? Or will we have failures and live by our emotions in the end days?

2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.

It is not possible to escape perilous times. It is not Heaven on earth, the perilous times are a sign of the last days. Whether we picked to be alive in the last days or God chose to put us here in the last days, we are here on the last days, and the times will be perilous. We need to stop expecting that everything in our life will be smooth and easy, we are not in a cartoon. All we have to do is look at the news to see that it is perilous times, and count our blessings that we are not in Uganda, Sudan, Bosnia, etc. It is dangerous and difficult times in these end days.

2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy

Another term for “lovers of themselves” is selfish, people only care about themselves, money, and they boast. Listen to the lyrics of the rap music and you will hear these topics. Blasphemous is taking what is holy and calling it unholy. And notice that the passage does not blame the parents for the disobedience. This is not an indictment against parents, but a sign of the times. Today the “village” raises the children, and the people in the village are selfish, so they teach the children the selfish values. Parents may teach values in the home, but the children are bombarded in the world with values that are contrary to the parent’s home values. The educational system teaches things the parents do not value. And it isn’t just the school, but the media, books, what they hear in the headphones through their music. Remember Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. What we listen to also affects our behavior.

2 Timothy 3:3  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,

In another translation of this passage, instead of “unforgiving” the words “truce breakers” is used. Pastor Don spent some time talking about children in the legal system, and said that a child cannot form a covenant with the legal system. The self is more important even for the workers in the legal system, and there is the saying, “there is no honor among thieves.” How come when our kids are in the legal system that they don’t learn from the punishment or keep the conditions of the contract of parole? It is because the role models are wrong and the decision to keep the covenant is lost. They are appealing to the wrong sensibilities.  Children will only keep a contract when they arrive at the point where they realize that the contract truly is to their best advantage.

Today there is a focus on abstinence rings – Pastor Don says that that promise will only work as long as the kids see it is to their best advantage. But one day that handsome dude, that beautiful girl will come who has a nice car and then the kids may switch what they think is to their best advantage.  “Right now he NEEEEEEDS my love.

They are without self control.

2 Timothy 3:4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Traitors, self absorbed.

2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Paul’s prophesies sure look like what 2000+ is like. The world view is, “Do what you want, but don’t get caught.” Our value system has been changed. The village has changed the world view. The world view is “Don’t get caught,” and the reason has nothing to do with the shame of being caught doing wrong, shaming the family, it has to do with losing what you were trying to get away with. The value of love and wanting to do well because of love received from God does not enter the picture of the world view.

So, with the world view there is an increase in crime and problems. What does the world do in this case? They devise programs to try and reach the kids, to reduce recidivism, delinquency, etc. The adults decide that we have to do something, so they come up with programs that they think will work. They call meetings with people in power, big wigs, the police, governor, mayor, etc. They put articles in newspapers, throw money at the problem, SAVE THE YOUTH, with slogans, banners, t-shirts, clubs, etc.

LBJ had a program called the Great Society. He created Upward Bound, threw billions of dollars into the ghetto, the slogan “a mind is a terrible thing to waste” was used for the Negro College fund. NAACP came into existence. After all that effort the ghetto was still there, there were still thugs, drunks, single moms and out of work people. Why did all of these efforts fail? It was because the village was still raising the children with the values of the world.

Pastor Don, who used to be a social worker, said that once a family got on social services they usually remained on it for three generations.

So, what is God’s Plan for Social reform?

Malachi 4:1-3 For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the LORD of hosts.

This is in the future, at the end times.

Malachi 4:4-5 “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

GOD’S PLAN TO SAVE THE YOUTH

Malachi 4:6  And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

The only way the children will be saved is when the hearts of the fathers are turned toward the children and the hearts of the children are turned toward the fathers.

Social programs where the villages raise the children will not work, the world view does not give them a way to be saved.

Pastor Lafayette Scales once spoke about how there was a reservation project in Africa to protect the elephants. In doing this, the bull elephants were taken away, leaving the mothers and kid elephants isolated. Within a few months the young teenage elephants were going wild, picking fights, destroying the park, uprooting trees for the fun of it, and the park turned into fighting and chaos. Testosterone out of wack. The game wardens decided to reintroduce the bull elephants into the park, and order was restored seemingly overnight.

Now we set up artificial systems where our youth are isolated, the welfare system does not encourage families to stay together – the fathers often leave so that there are welfare payments. Marriages are at risk, single parent families, and the gay agenda that seeks to deny the roles of father and mother are both necessary to raise children, all work to keep the fathers from the kids. And we are seeing the result of this. Our kids have gotten out of control. It really is the norm today to have single parent families. Even the prison system does not encourage mentors for the youth, the youth are moved around the system every couple of years, and rather than the jailers providing the moral mentoring, the youth seek mentors among the prison population, and do not come out changed for the better.

Pastor Don said that he did not want to leave us without hope, so we need to look at some promises from God.

Jeremiah 30:16  Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; and all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall become plunder, and all who prey upon you I will make a prey.

Don’t forget that we are grafted into the vine of Israel, so these promises are also for us.

Jeremiah 30:19  Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

Pastor Don pointed out that here there will be THANKSGIVING, one of the things Paul pointed out would be missing in the end days.

Jeremiah 30:20-22 “Their children shall also be as before, and their congregation shall be established before Me; and I will punish all who oppress them. Their nobles shall be from among them, and their governor shall come from their midst; then I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach Me. For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?” says the LORD.” ‘You shall be My people, and I will be your God.’

Jeremiah 31:12-14 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the LORD–for wheat and new wine and oil, for the young of the flock and the herd; their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together; for I will turn their mourning to joy, will comfort them, and make them rejoice rather than sorrow. I will satiate the souls of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.

What joy. The youth in our church love to dance and worship. We saw that on New Year’s Eve when they had so much fun at our church gathering.

Then Pastor Don said, let’s hit the nail on the head.

Jeremiah 31:29-30 In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Our generation was brought up with TV, the 50′s-80′s are the parents who ate the sour grapes. We, the baby boomers, were the most blessed generation, greatest technological increases, gifts, scientific breakthroughs, riches, job possibilities, and per capita income. And what did we do with all of this, sex, drugs, rock and roll, our music with values like, “let it all hang out”, “doing it my way,” “do what you want”. We have all eaten of the sour grapes of debauchery, and have forgotten to be thankful to God. There were protestors, who are now the teachers of our children. We protested for peace. Did you know that the peace sign is an upside down form of a devil’s sign – the crows foot, a broken cross? Our generation ate a lie, and now our children, who are in their 20′s and 30′s  are the product of this lie, and their teeth are set on edge.

Mothers of the 60′s and 70′s were into drugs, getting high, and free love lifestyle. And many from this generation are still so self-absorbed that they are not pouring out their hearts and love to their kids. We still live in a world of idols, just look at TV, American Idol, 15 minutes of fame not caring what you do to achieve that fame, Fear Factor, reality shows, Jerry Springer.

Jeremiah 31:30-34 But everyone shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah–not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33) But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days says the LORD, I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. 34) No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” For they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Pastor Don gave great emphasis to verse 33, which we all read together is what God will do for Israel and in the last days. We have failed a whole generation, we didn’t mean to. Now we are playing catch-up. Our kids are raised without the Word of God, and the village is raising the children and feeding them lies, it was an experiment that failed. But in the last days, the generation will see the truth, become aware of the lies that affected the whole world, radio and TV, our kids are treated just like cattle.

We need to remember that we, as believers, are in a battle with unseen forces. And the evil is not reality, but God’s truth is what is real. Our social programs will not work. Nothing will work but God’s plan, that the heart of the fathers turns towards the kids and the heart of the kids turns toward the fathers.  That is the ingredient that is missing in the social programs.

There is a move to make the father relationship null and void. There is a move afoot to imply that children do not need both a father and a mother to grow up healthy.

The sad thing is that we have a generation that is broken, and one that is still so self-serving that they do not want to turn their hearts to their kids. The world view still tells this generation to take care of itself, do it’s own thing. But that is not God’s best for man.

What is needed now is mentors, good father figures in the church, on the street, in the community that will touch the lives and hearts of the kids. We need to get out in the street and reach those kids. Show them that there are alternatives that are far better than what is offered by the village. Our men have to reach out to these kids, show them good people who are cool, and love God too. We have to do this now before another generation goes into the world system. Give the kids examples that will help them to figure out that their best interest is in God and Jesus, not in the world system.

We need to get the message across with power and authority, and consistency. How do we handle this? We have to set our minds and hearts into the mode to get down to the nitty-gritty. We need to pray that those God entrusted to us are not lost. If we have failed with our own sons and daughters, it still is not to late to reach out to our spiritual sons and daughters.

We have to be ready to be picked as a mentor – we do not pick who mentors us, but the mentoree picks us. We have to live out loud God’s truth. We need to reconcile how to find a way to live in a world with different value systems that are set to destroy us. It will get more difficult.

Romans 7:13-14 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

We need to come to a sense of realization of sin in our lives, to look at ourselves in the mirror and see that this is true. Sin blinds us to truth. In our carnality, when given a choice between right and wrong, we often pick the wrong and justify it. They pick according to the flesh and what feels good, and then they feel good about it. But when they look at their lives through spiritual eyes, they see the carnality, and instead of just acting to please themselves, they then make a different choice, to please God. We spend a lot of time in lies and deceiving ourselves.

Romans 7:15-16 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

The key word in the above verses that we often look is I WILL to do. The problem with using OUR will is that we do not see clearly what is in our best interests. We pick what is easy, what feels right, and often then fall prey to carnality. We give immature excuses such as, “ I have no will power to apply myself to something.”  We need to will to yield ourselves to what God has told us is good and true, and this is not usually the easy path. Jesus told us that narrow is the way.

Romans 7:17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

We are no longer in the power of sin when we realize what Paul realized, the scam that the world feeds us. Spiritual Maturity is recognizing the scam and creating a different plan. We will be choosing to do God’s will over that of the world all the way to our graves. Some people will spend their whole lives growing up. Just because a person looks like an adult, or looks old, does not mean that they are spiritually mature. Some old people are arrested adolescents.

We are up against people, in these last days, who are in positions of power and authority but are still arrested adolescents, with a warped world view from the 60′s and 70′s..

Romans 7:21-22 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

Until we choose to follow the inward man (spirit and truth) we will stay arrested adolescents. We need to WILL to do the response of the inward man.

Romans 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

There is a mental battle going on inside of us between the world view and the Truth of God. If we know the Law of God, we can make right Choices.

Then we read verses 24 & 25 out loud together.

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

God wants us to listen to His truth in our hearts. Where we lose the battle is in our minds. We need to focus on God and the truth. And avoid the appearance of evil, if it looks like something that is wrong, don’t do it. Do what is right and good, true and holy.

Hoping you have a blessed day.

Heather

My son, Christopher, just earned his Eagle Scout Award last night!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moses’s and Aaron’s sister, Miriam the prophetess, also sang a song with the women. Notice, she is a prophetess.

Exodus 15:20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances.

Dancing is in the Bible – as is musical instruments. So both are acceptable forms of worship. If in doubt check it out in another portion of the Bible such as Psalm 150:3-6 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Miriam will mirror Moses’ song, there was much joy in the tribe of Israel. How could there not be? Pharaoh’s army was defeated grandly by God, and God deserves thanksgiving and praise.

Exodus 15:21 And Miriam answered them: “Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!”

I love the next part for it is another picture of Jesus and His salvation for us. It also shows how fickle human thanksgiving, praise and trust in God is.

Exodus 15:22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

SHUR means wall. How many times have we been given our freedom and then feel like we run up against a wall? Or feel that we are wandering in a wilderness, with no water? Sometimes after a spiritual high there is a spiritual depression. The same God that freed us is with us in this spiritual depression, but we don’t recognize Him. It is sometimes in these wilderness experiences that we build our faith even stronger – and the secret is water (water is the symbol of the Word of God). When we do not spend our time in the Word of God (the Bible), we feel we are in a period of drought, in a desert, alone and bereft. Sometimes God leads us into the wilderness to build our faith (like the Holy Spirit led Jesus after His baptism), sometimes we bring ourselves there by failing to keep close contact with God. Notice that they were three days into the wilderness. Jesus was in the tomb three days – and what a dry and barren time that was for his disciples and the world. And yet, once He appeared to the disciples at His resurrection, great joy emerged.

Exodus 15:23  Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

MARAH means bitterness.

We, in our walk through life come to our own places of Marah, relationships, job, people, past, memories become bitter, and we become disappointed. There can be a root of bitterness in us that needs to be uprooted. Bitterness is as terrible as dandelions and crabgrass, the roots run deep and we cause them to run deeper mulling over them. If you pull up dandelions and crabgrass and leave just a tiny piece of root in the ground, they grow back. Same way with our bitterness, it can come back unless it is completely rooted out – that is what Jesus does when He prunes our lives and makes us aware of the bitterness that is hidden behind our smiles. Only through God, through Jesus, through forgiveness, and letting go can we remove the bitterness. It is not done in our own power, but through the help of the Holy Spirit, who convicts us of our roots of bitterness.

When there is bitterness it leads to grumbling and complaining, we tend to focus on the festering sore, rather than the whole picture. We see this in the nation Israel too, for God had miraculously delivered them, and now there is a trial, a hardship, and rather than focusing on what God has done and his praises, the people focus on their lack – on their difficulty. That narrows the vision and makes it hard for God to come through in a big way. When we are in difficulty instead of focusing on the difficulty, focus on God. I am saying this as a reminder to myself because in the past few days the difficulties have drawn my attention away from God, and I ended up at the mercy of the difficulties, rather than on the rock solid foundation of God.

Exodus 15:24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

Oh, I know it is easy for me to say, they should have figured God would provide, but they didn’t, they complained. They could easily have turned the complaint into a praise – God, you protected us from Pharaoh, freed us, gave us many riches, we know you are a provider. How are you going to provide water for us? We know that you will keep us safe for this journey because you have promised we will go to the Promised Land. Surely you will not keep us in this wilderness without water.” But instead they complained.

Granted, they did speak to Moses, their spiritual leader. When we are in dry and barren places we do have choices. We can try and fill our needs with whatever is at hand. And leave us in places that we don’t want to be. We can go directly to God and ask Him what we should do (something I think God greatly desires), but if we cannot go directly to God or are hurting so much that we are not hearing from Him clearly, it is good to go to the Spiritual Leader. Moses will intercede for his people, and help them to find out what to drink. But we must not forget that it is God that is the source of the living water, not our leaders or mentors. A good leader will remind people that it is God who is the one who is the provider.

Exodus 15:25-26 So he cried out to the LORD and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give hear  to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

What a picture! So filled with Jesus! First of all a few parallels – waters are often mentioned as nations and peoples. The tree – Jesus was crucified on a tree (the cross). So when God showed Moses the tree (cross) and he cast it into the waters (people) the waters were made sweet. Isn’t that what happens to us when we accept His salvation – we become sweet, our lives change for the better, and we are able to drink from the water (the Bible) and see so much more than we could before our eyes were opened to the truth?

What is also interesting is that God provides a test for the people – the test to see if they will heed God’s voice, and obey Him, doing what is right in His sight, he will protect them from the diseases and plagues that the Egyptians had. God is a healer – and we learn this about God in this passage. Jehovah Rapha – The Lord who Heals.

Remember, God reveals Himself by degrees to the People, they have now experienced God as deliverer and healer. The test that God is giving, He knows what the result will be – the people will fail. God is not giving them the test and wondering if they will pass or fail. We will learn later in the Bible that the commandments and laws were given as a schoolmaster, so that we realize that we need a savior. The Israelites will be lead to a place where they will promise to totally obey God, and then they will fail – building idols, turning to other gods, disobeying God’s laws and moving far away from Him. These laws and ordinances were in place to show the people that they, in their own power, cannot keep them, that they need a savior – Jesus. And unfortunately, as Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” and so the diseases that the Egyptians received because of their disobedience to God will end up being put on the Israelites when they disobeyed. Sin causes sickness and death. Only Jesus can provide life and life more abundantly. And sometimes we are slow learners, wanting to learn by experience – to do things our own way – to obey what we want to obey and ignore the rest. So when we are beset with problems and sickness, it is a heads up that we need to change something in our life – and the change ultimately is turning to God. Only He can provide the liberty from sickness, disease and death. Only He can help us to keep His commands. Only He….

Exodus 15:27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

Elim means Mighty Ones. It was a place of abundance, an oasis of refreshment. There were 12 wells (could that be a reference to the 12 apostles, the 12 tribes?) They went from no water to an abundance of Water. God is waiting to pour out his blessings on the people when they come to Him.

So, God first brought the people to Succoth (tent town), then they went to the edge of the wilderness Etham (with them), and then God lead them to the rock and the hard place to camp between Pi Hahiroth, Migdol and the Red Sea, then God delivered the people allowing them to cross over to the Red Sea, the wilderness of Shur (the wall), and finally to Marah (where bitterness was healed). Then the people were at Elim (mighty one) where God mightily provided for the people.

One thing to remember is that when we talk about the Israelites it is somewhere between 1 – 2 million people. For God to provide food and water for this amount of people for 40 years is mindboggling. We do serve an awesome God.

Hoping your day is blessed!

Heather