Our Future Depends On Our Understanding Of Covenant With God

 I believe that more and more Christians recognize that we are very near the Last Days, if we have not already entered them. Yet, I also perceive that many American Christians, are choosing to place their hope in what they understand to be a special covenant with God at the founding of our nation. This is largely based on the declaration of Reverend Robert Hunt, Chaplain of the expedition that founded Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The expedition dedicated our country to the glory of God by planting a wooden cross in the sand, and praying: "We do hereby dedicate this Land, and ourselves, to the People within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to raise up Godly generations after us, and with these generations, to take the Kingdom of God to all the earth. May this Covenant of Dedication remain to all generations, as long as this earth remains, and may this Land, [along with England], be Evangelist to the World. May all who see this cross remember what we have done here, and may those who come here to inhabit join us in this Covenant and in this most noble work that the Holy Scriptures may be fulfilled".

A most noble and God-honoring dedication it was, and like the covenant God made with Abraham, these first founders of our nation hoped for the same promises of a Land, descendants, and blessings. But I think it is important to understand that God's covenants are unilateral, not bilateral. In other words, covenants with God are not made between two equal parties, consisting of God and man. It is God who initiates a covenant, determines its elements [or components], and confirms His covenant with humanity. We are recipients of any covenant God might choose to make with us; we are not contributors or partners of the covenant. 

Man cannot simply declare a "Covenant of Dedication" with God and assume that God has established it. On the other hand, I do not doubt that God was pleased with such a Dedication and that as long as this nation remained faithful to such a declaration, that we might expect to retain the Land and receive His blessings. In that sense, we [the United States of America] must ask ourselves these questions regarding our self-proclaimed Covenant with God ... Does God ever abandon His covenants in the Bible? Does God provide for both blessings and curses within His covenants? And finally, is the current state of our nation because WE have abandoned our founding covenant? 

It is important to understand how the Bible presents covenant with God. In the Old Testament men "enter into" (Deuteronomy 29:12) or "join" (Jeremiah 50:5) God's covenant. They are to obey and "carefully observe" all the commandments of the covenant, and above all else "love the Lord thy God with all their heart, and with all their soul, and all their might". God's covenants were always a relationship of love and loyalty between the Lord and people He chose to represent Him. It is man's response to God's covenant grace and promises that contributes to the fulfillment of those covenants. We must understand that God not only makes/establishes and keeps the covenant, but man has responsibilities under that covenant.

So, what happens if we don't fulfill or carry out those responsibilities? If we don't follow His commands and principles; or if we follow after other gods; or we don't give Him all our love and loyalty? Does He simply forgive us and maintain the covenant? I maintain that this nation has failed Him on all those fronts. I am not condemning the faithful servants of the Lord who have remained in personal covenant with Him, but we must remember that the rain falls on the just and the unjust, and what God has to say about the sin of a nation affects us all. 

In that vein, there are a couple of Old Testament Scriptures that we should keep in mind. We know that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments as precepts of blessing His covenant with the nation of Israel. But it didn't take long for them to break their vow to be obedient, which resulted in the curse of the covenant: And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you” (Exodus 32:9-10). Again, in Deuteronomy 28:58-64, God gives this stern warning: “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it".

I know this is the God of the Old Testament, but it is the same God of the New Testament and I believe He views disloyalty and sin the same today as He always has. In Jeremiah 31, God announces that He will make a New Covenant “with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” Remember, it is important to recognize that this covenant is created directly with the people of Israel, not with people of all nations. Contrasted with the Mosaic covenant, this New Covenant will be “within them,” and God will write it “on their heart.” Therefore it is very significant for God's chosen people, Israel. Under this unconditional new covenant with Israel, there will not be a need to teach the Law, because each man will have the opportunity to know the Lord when he calls upon His Name, and He will forgive their sin.  

There are blessings and curses associated within the boundaries of His covenants. And we are "heirs" of the covenants God made with Abraham, Moses and David. We are partakers of this new covenant, with the opportunity to receive the blessings if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Messiah -- or we can expect judgment if we reject the conditions of the Covenant and the ways of the Lord. 

He hasn't changed how He views covenant, and whether we receive blessings or curses for being in covenant with Him, is dependent on us, not God. He is ALWAYS faithful to fulfill the promises of His covenant IF we remain in obedience. He never abandons the covenant, and we are only cursed if we abandon Him. It's been the same since the beginning of time and the Creation. He is a faithful God, but He is also a God of Judgment. He is willing to restore His covenant with us, if we are willing to repent and return to Him. Whether this nation remains under His protection and blessing depends on our renouncement of our sinful ways and a desire to return to the ways of the Lord. 

God has a plan for these Last Days. The plan has never changed. It is just as He stated in Jeremiah 29:11 ... He knows the plan He has for us -- all who have faith in His Son -- and it's a plan to see us in a state of peace and well-being -- and not in disaster. It's a plan to give us a future and hope. It's the covenant [agreement, contract, commitment, pledge, promise] He initiated when He created mankind. It's His desire to restore us to that dedication to glorify Him that was made on our shores 415 years ago. That's a very short time in the history of the world. I pray that we do not abandon the resolution of our ancestors to dedicate this Land to the Kingdom of God, for as long as the earth remains. Father, restore us to that solemn promise!

Psalm 105:8    He remembers His covenant forever, the word that He commanded, for a thousand generations

Jesus: Our Living Hope! Happy Resurrection Day!

I was saddened, but not surprised, to wake up this morning to the New York Times headline, "In This Time of War, I Propose We Give Up God". Of all mornings -- Resurrection Sunday -- this newspaper chooses to publish an op ed article disparaging the One who has never given up on us. 

Using the backdrop of the current war in Eastern Europe, the author [who self-identifies as a Jew] wants to blame the One True God of the Universe, and brand Him as hateful and brutal; even suggesting He should be labeled "a war criminal" for His part in allowing the suffering and oppression that is on display across the globe. The author states that we should stop trying to be like Him, and even goes so far as to suggest that we stop teaching our children about Him... they should "be as unlike him as possible". And then the article ends with this disgraceful statement, "Killing gods is an idea I can get behind".

First of all, I will pray for this person because I recognize the hopelessness that is in their heart, and the disillusionment they have experienced in their Jewish faith. I refuse to disparage anyone's faith -- unless it is rooted in Satan and his wickedness. But it grieves me when I see people express the emptiness they feel when they look upon Jesus. This day, of all days, speaks of the pain and agony He endured for our sake. It is a story of His horrific sacrificial death and His miraculous restoration to life, that He might sit at the right hand of Almighty God on His heavenly throne, interceding for us! And it is a gift to all who believe in Him; that we have the hope of eternal life with Him and the Father!

I am sorry that the writer and the paper chose today to publish this sad article. Today is so much more than a day spent in the midst of brightly colored eggs in foil-wrapped baskets, filled with chocolate bunny rabbits and stuffed animals. In fact, it is the one day that the entire foundation of our Christian faith rests upon. I would love to have a conversation with the disillusioned NYT writer. I would explain to Him that God has not "allowed" this war we are witnessing; or any other war in history. He does not use war to punish people, and this day does not honor Him as a warmonger. I would like to explain to the writer that humankind has an enemy that is not God. He name is Satan and it is he that comes to kill, steal, and destroy.  I want the writer to know and understand that it is Satan's actions that he [the writer] is attributing to God, who is the Most High among all the "little g" gods of the earth.

I would like the writer to know that, from the beginning of the Old Testament, the Godhead planned for Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. It was stated, "And I will put enmity (open hostility) between you and the woman, and between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, and you shall [only] bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15). I would instruct the writer that the word enmity means hostility, bad blood, hatred, malice, and is the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something... in other words, it describes WAR. 

Genesis 3:15 is the first prophecy about the Messiah (Christ), who through His death on the cross, and His resurrection, would ultimately defeat Satan, the power behind all that the writer hates in the brutality, oppression, brutality, and war that he wants to lay at the feet of God. So, I would like to invite him [or her] to do some research on the true oppressor of this conflict/war. For I will find my hope in my God; the One True God who chose to come to earth to save me from those who follow the Enemy. 

This won't be the last article calling for the death of the worship of God. Our Holy Book tells us so. And we, who celebrate the Resurrection of Yeshua Ha Mashiach today, know that hatred for Him will grow upon the earth. But we will endure and overcome as we weep over the wickedness in the world; struggle with our adversaries; minister to those who need hope in Him; and continue to find joy in the face of evil --- knowing that our Lord goes before us as we fulfill our assignments. Today is a day of eternal hope. No newspaper article will ever convince me to give up God. I pray that this writer has a supernatural encounter with Jesus which will find him writing an article of praise, reverence, and retraction. Let him see Your Truth, Lord! Happy Resurrection Day!

Romans 8:34   Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the One who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

The Importance Of Understanding Passover and Easter

 

As most of the Christian world prepares to celebrate Easter this weekend, I am excited to see more and more Christians in the Western Church acknowledge the Lord's Feast of Passover. According to the Messianic Sabbath website, the Feast of Passover begins at sundown this evening, April 14th. I would like to share with you why this Passover Festival should be important to you, as a Christian, and the significance the associated Feasts have with the crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord. Additionally, I want you to understand what YHWH says about these Feasts, and just how the Enemy has worked to corrupt the celebration by introducing pagan elements into the Christian religion.

We often hear the Spring Feasts of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits described as the "Feasts of the Jews". But these are not only Jewish Holy Days, but apply to all followers of YHWH. In fact, Leviticus 23 says, "These are My appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies... they shall be a permanent statute, throughout your generations, wherever you shall be."  They are the Lord's Feasts! And they are to be celebrated for everyone who is the seed of Abraham. And if you are doubting that we are the seed of Abraham, then let me present Galatians 3:29 ... And if you belong to Christ [if you are in Him], then you are Abraham’s descendants, and [spiritual] heirs according to [God’s] promise.

So, that is a very simple, but accurate, introduction to why Passover and the Lord's Spring Feasts have significance to Christians. Now, I'd like to quickly explain the meaning and sense of each of these Spring Feasts. and how they correspond with the Western Church's celebration of Easter.  

First of all, we need to comprehend how the dates of these feasts are determined. God calls the first day into existence in Genesis 1:5 ... And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day. So, on the Hebrew/Biblical calendar a day begins and ends at dusk. And God, instituted the new moon as appointed times to worship and make sacrifice for Him ... Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day (Psalm 81:3). So the Hebrew calendar is lunar-based and the dates for the Feasts are determined according to Leviticus 23, with the start of the Hebrew month on the new moon as it would be seen from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This year that date is at dusk on April 14th.

The eight days that make up the Festival of Passover are actually recorded in Exodus, Chapter 12. Here we find three separate Feasts, all under the umbrella of "the Feast of Passover". The first day of the Festival, and the first of the Feasts, is called Pesach, which means "spare" or "exempt" in Hebrew, and which our English Bibles translate as "pass over".  Therefore, it has become known as the Feast of Passover in our time. It is the foundation of all three Feasts, and commemorates the Lord's direction to the Israelites to sacrifice an unblemished and spotless lamb, applying it's blood to the side doorposts and top lentil of each home. [It is important to note, that this application made the motion of the Cross]. The Lord promised to pass over homes where the blood of the lamb had been applied.  The lambs were the substitutes for the people, sparing them [and saving them] from death and judgment by the Lord.

For us Christians, who are Abraham's seed of the New Covenant, the Feast of Passover is a call to remember the Redemption we have received through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.  He is our Passover who takes away the sin of the world.  We are redeemed with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. Just as the first Passover proved to be the Power of God to release the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, Jesus is the Power of God to release us from the penalty of our sin into Repentance, His love, Life, Freedom, Liberty, AND into the Kingdom of God as Kingdom citizens. Jesus IS the manifestation of the Passover Lamb, and He was crucified on the Feast of Passover. 

The second feast of the Passover Festival is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasts seven days, from the evening of April 15th until the evening of April 22nd.  Historically, it is a call to remember the quick exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites were instructed to make bread without leaven (yeast) because they didn't have time to wait for it to rise. In addition, yeast, or leaven, in the Bible always referred to any corrupting influence (sin) in the nation of Israel.  In this instance, God was telling them to leave behind the unholy influences of Egypt -- the worship of false Egyptian gods, and the rituals and traditions that had corrupted Israel's relationship with their God during their 430 years of captivity.  

For today's Christian, this time is a Call to Purity, to an "Unleavened" life.  Jesus knew no sin, nor was any deceit found in Him.  He was unblemished and spotless.  He was made sin for us so that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him.  As we reflect on how Jesus has delivered us from sin, we can ask His help in removing any leaven from our life that is separating us from Him and ask Him to reconnect us back to our original relationship with God!

The third feast of this Holy Festival is the Feast of Firstfruits.  This feast occurs during the week of Unleavened Bread on the Sabbath after Passover.  In the Old Covenant, it acknowledged the Lord as the giver of the harvest, and commemorated Adam's son, Abel, bringing the first of his flock as an offering to the Lord. This Feast speaks volumes of Christ as the first of God's Harvest of souls and is a shadow of what Christ has done and the promises He has yet to do. And here is why it is important to Christians -- Jesus's resurrection occurred on the very day of the celebration of the Feast of First Fruits!  He is the offering presented to the Heavenly Father as the first fruit of the harvest of souls.  But just as important, He is the guarantee that more resurrections will follow.  In His first fruits offering, we see the blessing and the setting apart [or sanctifying] of the entire harvest to the Father, and a preview of what the resurrection will be like for every Believer.  Because He overcame death and lives today, every born-again follower of Christ is connected to Him and His power!

And now, I come to what may be the most difficult part of this post for you to understand... God did not appoint a celebration of a Holy Day called Easter! I know this will offend many religious Christians, but the only version of the Bible where I could find the word "Easter" mentioned is in Acts 12:1-5 of the King James Bible. Here is an important truth that the modern Church needs to understand ... the word Easter is never biblically associated with the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Read Matthew 26-28 and the account of the betrayal of Jesus, His death and resurrection, and you will find the references to the Passover week. He is crucified, buried, and raised from the dead during those Holy Feast days, and the Feasts are mentioned ... not Easter! 

So, how did the Western Church come to associate this unbiblical holiday with our Lord's death and resurrection?  Enter Roman Emperor Constantine, who sought to strengthen his empire by professing a conversion to Christianity. At the time, his empire was divided between Pagans and Believers. Before his supposed conversion, Emperor Constantine -- like many pagans -- celebrated various pagan gods.  These pagan religions often centered around moon goddesses and sun gods.  "Ishtar", which is another pagan name for  "Easter", was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz", who was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god.    

In 325 A.D., Emperor Constantine, at the Nicean Council, ordered all Churches to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, named for the Goddess of Spring [and moon] and his pagan Sun god. The early Church had celebrated the Resurrection during the Passover, beginning on the 14th day of the Hebrew month called Nisan, which could fall on any day of the week.  But the Churches near Rome had abandoned the practice because they hated the Jews, blaming them for the death of Jesus, so they fixed the date to the first Sunday after the first full moon of Spring, which coincided with the ancient Roman celebration called ‘Easter’, after the pagan goddess of Spring, Eostre, who was also known as Ishtar, Astarte, Ashtaroth, the Queen of Heaven, and Mother Nature. Constantine saw how his newfound faith could be united with his old pagan ways to unite his Empire. He couldn’t force pagans to believe in his new faith, but he could entice them by incorporating some familiar pagan themes, such as the goddess, Eostre/Easter, herself, seen as a goddess of fertility. [This is where we get Easter eggs from and the symbol of the Easter bunny, which is also a symbol of fertility].  He could replace the Feasts of the Lord, which were practiced by the Hebrew Believers, with familiar "sunrise" services and worship centered around the Spring Equinox.

As I said earlier, during the first couple hundred years of the Early Church, believers followed the Jewish traditions of the Lord's Feasts.  But Constantine's Satan-induced hatred of the Jews caused the Jewish influence (in the form of the Feasts) to be erased from the Church.  Here is a direct quote from Constantine himself:   “And truly, in the first place, it seems to everyone a most unworthy thing that we should follow the customs of the Jews in the celebration of this most holy solemnity, who, polluted wretches! having stained their hands with a nefarious crime, are justly blinded in their minds. It is fit, therefore, that rejecting the practice of this people, we should perpetuate to all future ages the celebration of this rite, in a more legitimate order, which we have kept from the first day of our "Lord's" passion even to the present times. Let us then have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews.” (Council of Nicea, pg. 52.)

 The consequences of this hostility towards the Jews has meant that nearly 2000 years after its establishment, the Church has lost the truth about God's commandments as to how we are to celebrate His Son's resurrection.  But, thankfully, in this dawning of the Last Days, we have received Divine revelation, and are returning to the roots of our faith; celebrating the First Coming of our Lord, by observing His Feasts according to His calendar; the same calendar He gave to Moses.

Nearly 1400 years after the Exodus, the Roman government crucified Jesus, or Yeshua, on God's commanded Feast of Passover, and He became our sacrificial Passover Lamb.  By His blood, that covers us, we are saved from Death.  For over a thousand years, families had selected Passover lambs on the 10th day of Nisan, and observed them for 4 days before Passover.  On Nisan 10, the day they selected their lambs, Yeshua entered Jerusalem to the shouts of the multitudes, as they cried, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9).  They saw Him as their conquering King of Israel; not as the Sacrificial Lamb. 

On the Morning of Nisan 14, which is Passover Preparation Day, Jews rushed their lambs to Jerusalem.  That same morning, the High Priest Caiaphas rushed to condemn Yeshua.  He was a Sadducee who denied the resurrection, and hated Jesus for teaching it.  He led other Sadducees in the Sanhedrin to convict Yeshua to death.  Yeshua was nailed to the cross at 9 a.m., at the time of the morning sacrifice and prayers at the Temple.

That afternoon, shortly before Yeshua died, priests blew the shofar, which signaled the opening of the Temple gates when men flooded into the courtyards to slaughter their Passover lambs.  As they hung their lambs on hooks with forearms spread for skinning and cleaning, Yeshua was hanging on the Cross in the same pose.  He died at 3 p.m., the time of the evening sacrifice and prayers.  

The blood of slaughtered lambs covered doorposts in ancient Egypt.  That was a picture of the Messiah ... He was a lamb led to slaughter ... He was the Lamb of God ... He was a Lamb without blemish (free of sin) ... He is the slain Lamb on the Throne ... He is the Lamb whose blood overcomes Satan and He died for the sins of the world. 

So, as you can see, through His commandments to observe His Feast Days, God gave us an exact picture of His plan to redeem mankind.  The Feast Days of Passover week point us to the First Coming of Christ in a very specific way that a holiday named Easter -- with its pagan roots -- can never do. And if you are saying to yourself, "But, that's not what Easter means to me ... I recognize the sacrifice that Jesus made for me". But what does it mean to God when He knows the origins and symbols of Easter?  I invite you to consider what the Lord says in Amos 5:21: I hate, I despise and reject your (sacred) feasts, and I do not take delight in your solemn assemblies.

 Just as the blood of Passover lambs in ancient Egypt covered the doorposts, the blood of the Messiah, our Passover Lamb, covers our hearts.  The Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt on these very days, just as we are delivered from slavery to sin! And Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected on these specific days.  That's why, beginning tonight at sundown, and for the next 8 days, I will be celebrating my freedom from sin's hold on me -- my victory in Yeshua -- and celebrating the hope that is my resurrection. 

1 Corinthians 5:7    Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

 

How Are We To Understand Biblical Revival?

I have written on the subject of "revival in the land" many times, and I will admit it is always a struggle. It is a struggle because I want to pray for it and receive it from God's perspective and not man's. And therefore lies the challenge in my spirit. Because Revival often has the appearance of being one of the "buzzwords" among this generation of Christians, -- Kingdom and Ekklesia being others -- my spirit is unsettled as whether the proclamations of today's prophets that "revival is here" is true or not.

How, as Christians, do we define "revival"? If we say our self-proclaimed revival is real, does it meet God's standards, and is it Biblically verifiable? Please understand -- these are very real questions that I have. I am not coming from a "religious" spirit or mindset. I am highly sensitive to how man has corrupted the teachings of the Bible, and history has proven that we Christians can supplant [supersede and replace] God's meaning with our own self-serving interpretation. I want nothing more than to see the world revived and restored to their first love for Christ; to see a spiritual reawakening and evidence of the fruit of righteousness and God's ways in the lives of believers. But my questions include these ... Who is the Source for revival -- God or man? How does the Bible portray true revival?

I want to begin by saying I don't have the definitive answer; I just know that I am seeking God's perspective on revival, and in light of our modern Christian decrees for such, I am experiencing a conflict in my spirit that I have yet to resolve. You see, if I understand it correctly, what I hear today's most vocal and recognized pastors and "prophets" saying is this: Revival happens when "the Church" awakens from a spiritual dormancy to a new and revived love of God and His Word; we are convicted of our sin and come before the Lord in repentance and with a zeal to spread the Gospel of Salvation to the world. We become active in declaring our victory over the Enemy by our faith in the Blood and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We preach and proclaim our hope in Eternal Life and our inheritance in Heaven, which will witness to the spiritually blind and deaf, creating a hunger for the joy and peace that are evidenced in our lives. The world will awaken to the truth of our testimony and Revival will sweep the land. Please forgive me if what I have described varies from your understanding, but this is what my spirit hears when Christian Revival is spoken about.

But what of Biblical Revival? Is it different? How does God define Revival? I want to be clear... much of what I describe above is also evidence of what the Bible shows as "revival" in the lives of God's people. The clearest example for me of Biblical restoration and revival is found in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Bible. Both men -- Nehemiah, as Governor of the exiles returning from Babylon, and Ezra, the scribe of Moses's Law from God -- confessed the unfaithfulness of the leaders and people of Judah, and the breaking of their covenant with YHWH. They confessed the sins of the nation and repented of their rebellion and wickedness. They recognized God's patience and forbearing, and His many warnings until He handed them over to their captors. They prayed for forgiveness and restoration/revival of their love for God and obedience to His ways. And Nehemiah professed the truth that God was just and righteous in everything He brought against them; that He had dealt with them faithfully, while they had acted wickedly (Nehemiah 9:33). The people wept for their abandonment of the Law and their covenant with their God.

So the people rededicated themselves to a new covenant with YHWH, committing to a signed document detailing their return to the ways of God; His commandments and statutes. They dedicated the Wall of Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple, restored the tithes and the Sabbath. And they were reconciled with God. There are many today who are praying fervently for that same reconciliation with God and revival of faith in our nation. But are we taking the concrete [tangible and visible] steps that signal a return to the ways of the Lord? Or has Revival become more of an emotional and often-times temporary experience, failing to yield any lasting long-term evidence of God's involvement?

I ask this question because there was one thing I noticed in re-reading the accounts of Nehemiah and Ezra. In the first chapter of Ezra, the Bible states that "the Lord stirred up (put in motion) the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia", to write a proclamation that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, thereby launching the opportunity for the Jews to once more seek Him and His righteousness in how they lived their lives and conducted their government. In other words, the living God sovereignly and powerfully broke into human history with an action that resulted in people being convicted of their sin, and a recovery of Biblical truth that embraced His moral laws, and re-established His Word as the central and absolute authority over all of life's existence. Is that how we understand and promote Revival in the 21st Century? Or has that word become just another "feel good" general truth that we tell ourselves when we gather large groups of Christians together to praise and worship and speak "Revival" as a desired result of our fervor and zeal?

Are we demanding of our civil, as well as religious institutions, to establish the Word of God as the central tenet by which this nation will govern itself and our individual lives? Too many of our churches look like the world, instead of representing the holiness of God. It is also not enough to declare that America "made a covenant with God at the founding of this country", if like the ancient nation of Judah, we have torn that covenant asunder with our arrogance, wickedness, rebellion, and following after the desires of our own heart! God did not abandon us -- the nation of America abandoned God! We cannot expect our nation to be excused of the blasphemous and heinous corruption and abandonment of God's Word, if the same God did not excuse His chosen people, the nations of Israel and Judah. In fact, we resemble Babylon more than we do the repentant Jews who returned to Jerusalem from that adulterous nation. 

Believe me, I passionately desire Revival in the United States! But to be true and absolute Revival, it must be more than an emotional human response to the acknowledgement of our sin and rejection of God's authority in our lives. We cannot plan and orchestrate revival. It begins with an action from God! So, I will be praying for God to break into our world with a manifest [and physical] display of His Presence that convicts the hearts of people to genuine repentance; a turning away from their selfish ambition to show evidence that they are true and obedient followers of Christ. 

After all, the perfect example of God breaking into the world [and the greatest revival ever] was the coming of our Savior. And it happened in a manger in the backwater village of Bethlehem. It was also at a dark and hopeless time in history. I think we can agree that this time also qualifies for such an initiation of revival and God's sovereign action. Throughout the Bible's history, God has used a willing, righteous, and obedient remnant. I believe such a remnant exists today, and why I believe revival in the individual life is so important and necessary to defeat Evil in our day. Finally, I know this remnant has been set apart to God, filled with His Spirit, and preparing for the return of our Lord and Savior. Therefore, I am not expecting a raucous, explosive expression of worldwide revival, but rather a quiet, yet powerful fear of the Lord, experienced as the irresistible presence of God that sweeps through the faithful remnant, who will then carry it to the masses. May we all soon have that spiritual sense that God was in this place, and we have received a divine visitation!

Habakkuk 3:2     O Lord, I have heard the report of You, and Your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.

 

The Importance of Hosting the Presence of The Holy Spirit In These Last Days

A very good friend reminded me of the excellent video by Bill Johnson, titled "The Holy Spirit Is In You". I heard this video when it first came out, about 6 years ago, and it was perfect timing then, and is still as relevant today. Mark and I had just been activated in our anointing to partner with Jesus in an Inner Healing Ministry, and it was so important that we understand how pivotal the role of the Holy Spirit would be in our ability to carry out our assignment from the Lord.

First of all, let me tell you that I had no prior grasp or comprehension of needing a relationship with the Holy Spirit. Throughout my conventional Church experience, I only heard about praying to Jesus or God; rarely hearing about seeking a relationship with them, let alone being taught that they desired it! What I heard from the pulpit [or Sunday School class] was usually all about asking for what God or Jesus could do for me. But when the Lord arranged for me to to have the opportunity to accept an assignment to work with Him to "set the captives free", I was introduced to the Person of the Holy Spirit, who enhanced my relationship with God [in all His fullness] and beyond measure!

And now, six years later, I am so glad to rediscover the important messages of that video. I want to share what I have learned about stewarding and manifesting the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I want to encourage everyone to pursue it. I will begin by saying that what I am going to write is my own understanding of Biblical precepts, and I do not expect everyone to agree with me. But I believe I have been shown a legitimate facet of God's Truth. I do not propose that I have complete knowledge on the subject, but I am willing to state that I believe this is what God has shown me and spoken to my spirit. 

So, let me begin by saying that, as Believers, my husband and I regard the stewardship and manifestation of the presence of the Holy Spirit as a sacred responsibility. In calling us to His service in His Inner Healing ministry, God has given us a special assignment to be good stewards of the power of the Holy Spirit in us by overseeing and dispensing that power in accordance with His desires for the lives of others. We are to be a picture of what it is to partner with the Father to see His love, mercy, compassion and grace to defeat the strategies of the devil to kill, steal and destroy lives -- just as Jesus did! 

And I'm going to borrow from that Bill Johnson video by agreeing that God loves to see "private victories in secret places". That is the perfect description of my experience during an Inner Sealing session with a person, as I see the presence of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit revealed in what can only be described as a supernatural encounter. There is a spiritual occurrence/experience of the Presence and the Power, which are openly evident [and visible] as the Beloved encounters the manifestation of the Savior and the Comforter in their life. And it is that much more precious when it is a "private victory in the secret places" of those lives. The power of the Presence of the Holy Spirit does not have to be "for the world". By that, I mean that it is not necessary that it be declared to all the world to prove that we are good stewards of what He has assigned us. We do not need to draw attention to our stewardship ... whether it be in giving to the needy, in demonstrating how fervently we pray or worship, or when partnering with Jesus to bring His victory and healing to a wounded soul or spirit. That is not to say that public worship and prayer are wrong! God loves to be glorified!

But I believe the Father knows the true intentions and motivations of our heart, and He is more pleased when we do what Jesus did. Yes, He spoke to thousands at the Sermon on the Mount, and to crowds in every city as He traveled throughout Galilee and Judea. But I believe we have lost the recognition that Jesus also focused on personal revival in the lives of individuals. And that is how I believe the "revival" the Church is prophesying in these Last Days will be accomplished. I am more interested in stewarding revival in individual lives, by introducing people to the saving power of Jesus Christ and the power of the presence of the Holy Spirit in them. Once they submit and surrender to that consuming fire, they are a force to be reckoned with on this earth, and God will equip them to share and spread that manifestation "as they go".

I do not believe Global Revival will happen by the Holy Spirit using His power to make it happen. It will be individuals stewarding His power [in them] by being willing to step into that power they possess and having an effect in the world. I do not believe it is the Holy Spirit's role to respond to our prayers by changing the world for us! That is not properly using our stewardship! 

I will admit that I spent many years in my faith not understanding [or stewarding] the importance of hosting the Holy Spirit. It wasn't until I surrendered to the fullness of the Godhead [Father, Son and Holy Spirit] that I understood what hosting the Spirit was all about. I had to learn how to express His power in me to affect personal revival in the lives of those who came to our ministry for Inner Healing. I knew it wasn't me who could impact a change in lives, but the power of the Holy Spirit in me who could touch and heal a broken heart, wounded soul, or tormented spirit. It is He who transforms a life; changes someone's perspective to what the Father desires; and creates in someone a new birth and a new heart. I am just a caretaker and steward of His ministry to God's beloved. 

But we MUST be willing to accept that stewardship and take its responsibilities seriously. We must not quench or grieve the Holy Spirit! In today's world, not quenching the Spirit takes boldness. Because of our inclination towards "political correctness" and the advent of the "cancel culture", many Christians are unwilling to stand up for Biblical principles or God's truth because of the backlash that comes with it. I remember the first time the Holy Spirit prompted me to say something in a Bible study that I knew would cause conflict. I tried to bargain with Him that He would not want me to be divisive, but I clearly heard in my spirit, "I want them to know this Truth! Do not quench the Truth"! And I believe that because I was bold enough to declare His message to the group, that God determined I could be trusted with His Word and He moved me further into my assignment.

And I have to say that I identify with what the Holy Spirit feels when He is grieved. When I see the sin in a person's life [whether self-inflicted or imposed upon them by the sins of another], I am saddened to see God's purpose in [and for] their life stifled. And now, more than ever, as we see the character of the world deteriorating, it is important that Christians understand the importance of the Holy Spirit in their lives. He is not to be put on display as a spectacle or a distraction; or for self-aggrandizement (promoting oneself as being powerful or important). We need the Holy Spirit in the world right now to counter the growing evil of the Enemy, and to comfort us; to counsel, convict, guide, and empower us to overcome and endure. And we must manifest [demonstrate] His Power in us to the rest of the world, so that as many as possible can be Saved, Empowered, and Transferred into the Kingdom of God! He makes possible what the world wants to convince us is impossible! Whatever it is that God has called you to in this life, you can not do it without the Holy Spirit. May His Presence be a growing reality in the lives of all who call themselves Christians! It's is time to host His power in our lives -- the rest of the world needs to see Him in us!

Acts 1:8    But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.

The Words of Jeremiah Are For The Ages

"For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you," says the Lord, "plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope... I will be found by you, "says the Lord, "and I will restore your fortunes and I will free you..".  This is the familiar Scripture, Jeremiah 29:11 and 14; favorites of mine. In context, Jeremiah is speaking to the Israelites and telling them that the "plan" is that they are about to go into captivity for 70 years, but God will not abandon them.  There is hope for restoration. Jeremiah is calling out the false prophets who are proclaiming that everything is OK, and telling the Israelites they will not be taken to Babylon.  Through Jeremiah, God tells them "don't believe the lies." Jeremiah has the unpleasant task of warning the people of the coming judgment from the Lord due to their rebelliousness and wickedness. But the Lord also tells him to speak to the people, reassuring them that when the captivity is over, the Lord will restore them and bring them back to Jerusalem. They will seek Him with all their hearts and He will be found by them.

In the middle of sleepless nights, I hear my Lord and Savior encouraging me; telling me that whatever is going to happen in the coming difficulties; He has a plan.  He is sovereign in my circumstances, and if I seek Him with all my heart, He will listen and I will find Him.  My future abides in Him. 

I wrote the above in 2011, but I could have just as easily written it today. I know I have said it many times before, but there have been days in the intervening years that I have identified with Jeremiah. No, not as a prophet. I believe that only Jesus can assign that office. But I have cried out to Him, because my spirit has sensed that we have been lied to by our politicians and our own false prophets. EVERYTHING IS NOT OK! I do not believe God is pleased with the state of the world, the Church, or many people who call themselves Christians. At the same time, I know He has not abandoned us, and His covenant promises of victory in Christ remain intact. But I do not want to see my fellow believers fall prey to the false hope that is being delivered by self-appointed prophets, and become devastated when we enter into our own captivity.

Just as in Jeremiah's day, present-day believers proclaim, "The Lord has raised up prophets for us". And these modern "prophets" speak of "Kingdom" and "Revival" and "Restoration"; all praiseworthy tenets of God's promises. But are they speaking the whole truth of what  God is revealing to us in these days? How can one point the Body of Christ to Revival and Restoration without warning that both are in jeopardy because of our idolatry of [and seduction by] the false gods of ecumenicalism, self-promotion, and a counterfeit "feeling" religion? It's as if what the Bible tells us is going to happen before Christ returns is just a story written for another time; it doesn't really pertain to us. If we just keep using the buzzwords "Kingdom","Revival", and "Restoration", we can pretend that what the Word says is not meant for us, after all!

So, instead, we will choose to believe that Jeremiah 29:11 and God's promises of peace, hope, and a future are meant for us, but choose to ignore that what He says just six verses later could also be a warning meant for us ... "Behold (listen very carefully), I am sending the sword, famine, and virulent disease (pestilence) on them, and I will make them like rotten figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with virulent disease; and I will make them a terror (warning) to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a horror, a hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations to which I have driven them, because they have not listened to and honored My words...".

Our God is the same God today as He was when He spoke those words to Jeremiah over 2500 years ago. His Nature, His Character, and His promises have not changed. Look around; really pay attention! The sword of war is upon the earth, and our nation is in the cross-hairs. We have already suffered through a traumatic season of virulent disease, and every prognosticator on the earth is warning of global famine. It is a very real possibility in the coming year! And lest you hear the lie that this Word from God was meant for ancient Judah in the Old Testament and was spoken under the old covenant, and it is said [again] that we are meant to experience Kingdom, Revival, and Restoration, I would ask that you hear the Word of Jesus in the New Testament and His foretelling of our future under the New Covenant ...

In response to the Disciples question of how we would know the time was near for Him to return, Jesus said, "Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many. You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age]. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble]".

But people are frightened when they hear these warnings, and they do not want to receive them; rather, they prefer what tickles their ears and makes them feel better. Those that declare themselves to be modern-day prophets, speaking only words of Hope in the return of Jesus and our victory, may not call themselves Christ or the Messiah, but they will declare themselves anointed. By whom? By the Lord? ... Or other men? Jesus, Himself, says there will be wars, famines, pestilence and "intolerable anguish and unprecedented trouble" [including persecution] before He returns. Just this week, Newsweek reported that a member of Finland's Parliament, and a Finnish Lutheran Bishop were charged with a Hate Speech crime for quoting from Romans in their defense of Biblical marriage. But the Helsinki District Court dropped the charges and determined it wasn't their job to "interpret Biblical concepts". But that's how dangerously close we are to religious persecution becoming a global entitlement. And do not think that our Constitutional right to free speech will be a safeguard when that anti-Christian agenda is whipped into a frenzy. 

The times that we are living in are just as precarious as the times of Jeremiah. We have entered into a 21st Century version of captivity in Babylon that is no different than the ancient nation of Judah's experience. The question remains if God is going to turn this nation over to its captors for a time of judgment for abandoning Him and prostituting the blessings that He bestowed on this land. Make no mistake, I believe He has not abandoned us, nor will He turn His back on His remnant, anymore than He abandoned the exiles who would return to Jerusalem from their Babylonian captivity and restore the Temple of Jehovah. But, now WE ARE the temple! And God will restore His righteous remnant in these last days! That is our hope and our future! But WE MUST NOT BE UNPREPARED for God's judgment against those [in the nation and the Church] who misled, corrupted, and compromised His holy commandments. 

If we are truly His people, we see and understand His whole counsel. And we will be united and stand strong through both the judgment and the restoration. So, I encourage you to read the Book of Jeremiah. Let the words of long ago feed your soul and spirit with the horror of our offenses against the God of the Universe. But let the ancient words also encourage and comfort you as we await our redemption and our restoration to holiness. We have never been promised that we would escape troubles, persecution, or even death. What we have been promised is a glorious inheritance in Heaven where we will be united with Jesus, and we will rule and reign with Him after He has defeated Evil on the earth. That is the hope and the future that I look forward to! Whatever I have to endure until then will be done through His strength in me, and with praise of Him on my lips. I know that He loves His own with an everlasting love, and He will continue His faithfulness to us until the day we stand in His presence. That is the hope that we can all believe in!

1 Corinthians 14:3     On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.

 

Celebrating Both Our Unity AND Our Differences

If we, as the Body of Christ, are bound together by His love for us all, then we abide in perfect harmony; both together and individually. At least, that's how it should be, and certainly what God desires. And wrapped up in that harmony is the idea of unity. Yet I also know that God gives different callings, assignments and desires of the heart to those who are willing to co-partner and co-create with Him. That's an awful lot of opportunities for the devil to try to disrupt and corrupt our work in the world as followers of Jesus.

Throw in the fiery darts of religion, pride, and fear of man, and our mission as ambassadors of Heaven can go awry. I celebrate that "the Church" is beginning to come out of old paradigms that defined "the work" of the faithful as identical and as serving only each other. I also don't think God is primarily interested in getting church members more involved in what churches are doing inside the church buildings, but rather to encourage church members to get more involved in what God wants done out in the world. And He wants a lot done! And it all looks different! So, I also celebrate that He has made us all dissimilar and called us to different assignments and work for the purpose of transforming lives and the world.

It is my heart's desire that we could be unified in acknowledging and honoring the different work that we do. The worst thing to cause disharmony and disunity is to think that someone isn't executing their assignment the way we think they should! Or that they aren't doing enough, or performing their work often enough -- whatever words of conflict that define what the devil is whispering.

I don't pay too much attention to the "rules" or templates that men have declared as "about to happen", "are imminent, or "absolutely essential" to doing God's work. Instead, I try to always keep Jesus as my model, because He only did what He heard or saw the Father doing. So, I keep my spirit on alert, discerning when a prominent follower of Christ has heard from the Holy Spirit and is carrying out his or her instructions by informing the rest of us what the Lord desires done. And to me, this is the highest form of worship; to understand that we have been given particular gifts in order to undertake a particular calling; in order to fulfill a particular assignment that God needs accomplished; and in order to see His will done in the earth. That's how I want to glorify my Father in Heaven. 

It is our job to concentrate on what the Father and Jesus are revealing to us about our assignment, while encouraging others who are receiving their own assignments. We are not going to all look alike, nor should we. We must be diligent to not "eat our own"! There is much to be done here on earth to transform and restore this place to its original design and purpose! And I know that is sometimes difficult to do... our humanness gets in the way, and we judge and compare ourselves to each other; or we analyze how we would complete that assignment differently. But we need to remember the chastisement Peter received in John 21:21-22 ... So when Peter saw him [the man that Jesus loved], he asked Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man [what is in his future]?”  Jesus said to him, “If I want him to stay alive until I come [again], what is that to you? You follow Me!”  

Of course, this was in reference to the way that the disciples would be persecuted and executed for following Jesus, but the same principle holds true for ministry, no matter how it affects our calling. We are to follow Him! To stay focused on the One who calls us, and on fulfilling our assignment; using the gifts and the wisdom, skills, intelligence, and knowledge we are provided by our Creator to complete our task.

 I recently read a motto for a Kingdom entrepreneurial company [that seeks to help Kingdom disciples use the skills they've been given by God to succeed in the business world]. This motto works just as well in the scenario of staying focused on following Jesus in co-creating and partnering with God's purpose for our lives and assignments: "In the natural, your credentials may not be too impressive, but when God adds His super to your natural, you will be able to co-create with the Creator of the universe. God makes the wheat, man makes the cakes. God makes the trees, man makes the chairs". 

So, if we each have our own unique and individual skills, talents, gifts and assignments, then, as Jesus said, "What is it to you?", how someone else makes his assignment happen? Or even what his assignment is! We cannot possibly expect to accomplish all the things God has designed or planned! I just want to do my task well and please the Father. And someone else may be given the same [or similar] assignment, but the Holy Spirit can give them different knowledge and skills to effect a different outcome that the Father wants to expand upon. That is not for me to question or to ask, "What about that person? What do You have planned for them?"

So, as we see the Enemy attempting to sow disunity and disharmony among God's workers in the world, let us be cognizant of his strategies. Let us not be like the religious Pharisees, who demanded that Jesus follow their strict and numerous regulations and governing principles of how to follow YHWH. Rather, let us be like Jesus, who sought reconciliation between man and God; not religion. Let us love and encourage as He did. Let us celebrate the particular gifts and skills that each of the disciples brought to the table of managing the earth as the Father desired. Let us celebrate our individuality, even as we join together to respect and encourage our mutual purpose of edifying the world of the Gospels of Salvation and the Kingdom. Let us celebrate the various ways we innovate and disrupt the status quo of the world! We are different but we are unified in our purpose... to see thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven! Amen!

Romans 12:4-5    For just as in one [physical] body we have many parts, and these parts do not all have the same function or special use, so we, who are many, are [nevertheless just] one body in Christ, and individually [we are] parts one of another [mutually dependent on each other].

Why The Old Testament's History Speaks To Us Today

 

This week as our Home Church/Ekklesia meets, we will be diving into the Bible's Genesis, Chapter 11, which features a short exposé on Nimrod and the Tower of Babel on the plains of Shinar. We have also asked our group to read chapters 7-9 in the Book of Jasher, a book in the Apocrypha, which is a group of texts that aren't in the Canon, but have a thread related to the canonical biblical writings. Plus this ancient Book of Jasher is referenced in Joshua 10:13, 2 Samuel 1:18, and 2 Timothy 3:8. 

I subscribe to the suggestion of Proverbs 25:2, which says, "It is the Glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out". Since we are called priests and kings in Revelation 5:10, it makes sense to me that God references this ancient Book so that we will search out more of what God wants us to know. Also, it fills in a lot of historical gaps in the Bible and, for me, actually helps me to better understand the lives of the Biblical characters, and see how it relates to modern man.

But the focus of this blog post is not extra-biblical and apocrypha books. It is about connecting what God is showing us at the beginning of the Bible to help us understand and see what is happening in what I believe are the rapidly approaching Last Days. I know the skeptical will say, "Why do you spend so much time delving into the Old Testament? We have a New Covenant with Jesus, and everything that happened before Him is obsolete for us." I have a different viewpoint.

The God of Genesis is the same God of the Book of Revelation. He hasn't changed, and everything about Him should be important to us. The entire Bible is meant for us to learn from; to learn His Nature and Character; to learn the strategies of the Enemy; to see how God has worked throughout history to reconcile Himself to His creation and restore us to our original purpose in Genesis -- to manage this earth as a colony of Heaven; to rule with the authority and dominion He gave us; and to make Earth look and act like Heaven. I find it extremely helpful to see the ways in which the Enemy tempted men to rebel, and then to go further and learn from the mistakes that men made out of their pride, arrogance, and lust for power and wealth. And we must not forget Jesus's warning, As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man!

From the Bible we only get the hints of what it was like in the days of Noah. But when you add the historical background that the Book of Jasher provides, you see that the lives of Noah, Nimrod, and Abraham all overlap. For instance, did you know that Abraham studied at the feet of Noah? Abraham was the eight times great-grandson of Noah, and was sent to live with Noah when his life was threatened by Nimrod, who was the tyrant of ancient Babylonia, and his reign was wicked and brutal. He was the most powerful king of the ancient world, and Abram's father, Terah, served him as "the prince of Nimrod's host [army]". On the night that Abram was born, Nimrod's wise men and conjurers saw a very large star in the East sweep across the sky and swallow up the stars of the four corners of heaven. They said to each other, "This only betokens the child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful, and multiply, and will possess the whole earth, he and his children forever; and he and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their lands" (Jasher 8:4).

Just like King Herod at the birth of Jesus, King Nimrod demands the death of the child, Abram. His father, Terah, secrets him away to live in a cave for 10 years, and then "when Abram came out from the cave, he went to live with Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of the Lord and His ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem, his son, for a long time" (Jasher 9:5). That's a lot of information that explains a lot of unanswered questions in the Bible. And for me, it explains why Abram listened to the Lord when He said, "Go away from your country, and your relatives, and from your father's house to the land which I will show you" (Genesis 12:1) and verse four that says, "So Abram departed [in faithful obedience] as the Lord had directed him". 

Keeping in mind that in the culture of the time, "your father's house" could mean your ancestor's home (such as your eight times great-grandfather, Noah), and why Abram recognized God's voice. He was raised to know the Lord by Noah and Shem! And Abram would certainly have known of the wicked reign of Nimrod, who not only built the city of Babel, but other cities as well, and Jasher 11:4 says Nimrod "vexed the Lord, and rebelled and transgressed against Him". Verse 7 says he "continued in wickedness and teaching wickedness to the sons of men; and Mardon, his son, was worse than his father, and continued to add to the abominations of his father."

But it is not only the ancient books that give us additional information that supplements the Bible, but the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian who was born just a few years after Jesus's crucifixion, and who provides a treasure load of cultural significance to the history of the Bible. Of Nimrod, Josephus writes, "Now it was Nimrod who excited [the residents of Shinar] to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, who was the son of Noah -- a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded [the people] not to ascribe [their prosperity and plentiful condition] to God, as if they could believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny -- seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence upon his power" (Chapter 4, Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews). Sound familiar?

Josephus goes on to write of Nimrod's arrogance and attempt to take revenge on God for what He had done to their forefathers; by building a tower to conquer God for sending the Flood and destroying mankind. These events that took place at the Tower of Babel have had a devastating effect on mankind ever since. Nimrod was the first to attempt to establish a totalitarian world government and religious system that discredits God and ruthlessly dominates the world. It resulted in the Kingdom of God versus the Rule of Man (sponsored by the kingdom of darkness). It has been the objective of Satan since the Garden of Eden -- a one world order that governs the earth through tyrants that he places in power. From Genesis to Revelation, it is a book of rebellion against God. 

Throughout Biblical history [and the history of the world], it has been a story of man's attempt to thwart God's Sovereignty over His Creation. But, at every turn, we see the power of the Lord to stop the events that attempt to glorify mankind instead of Himself. And, so, it should not surprise us that we see it continuing in our own time here on earth. But we, who believe and trust in Jesus Christ, know how fruitless those attempts will be. We know the present plans, and all future plans, to dethrone God from the earth are futile and in vain. We know the truth of the Word and the historical testimony the Bible gives to the Divine Will of the Creator, and eventually, there will be a last rebellion of man against God, and every knee will bow and all mankind will be brought into submission to the Lord. We must pray that the growing rebellion we see across the globe will be quelled by the appearance of the Lord with His Heavenly Host! We will sing and shout praises of His Glory as we witness the defeat of Satan's influence in the earth, once and for all!

Philippians 2:9-11   For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.

A Word of Encouragement For These Times

 

In writing my last few blog posts, I have been prompted to sound the warning bells of the precipice the world faces as a result of pride, selfishness, and moral relativism that permeates the state of man. Because of the free will choices of those who reject God, any chance of the world's reconciliation with the Father seem remote, at best. Those who stand in positions of authority and power [whether placed there by God or their own evil schemes] have wasted the grace given by our Creator to make the world a better place for all. 

I do not want to be misinterpreted ... all is not lost; reconciliation is most certainly possible on a personal and individual level, when one seeks to spiritually connect with God. And it is to that person that I wish to offer hope and assurance in the midst of what might look like a condemned world. I want to affirm how God sees you, and just how valuable you are to Him. And this cannot be confirmed by any philosophical theory, or ritual laws of religion, or denominational code of conduct. As old-fashioned as it might seem, the most accurate way to know how God perceives you today, in this off-the-rails 21st Century, is to read the Bible. BUT ... I want you to read it from what may be a different and unfamiliar perspective.

Can you receive the idea that God orchestrated what was written in Scripture for your sake? That He wanted His particular thoughts written down in a way that would instruct and benefit you personally? That may sound trivial but it is really quite profound when you consider that most of us think of Scripture as a recording of the entirety of God's knowledge; the sum total of all He is about. [However, it is my opinion, that God is SO big, that the Bible barely scratches the surface of His nature and character]. So what if the purpose of Scripture is to reveal to you what God thinks of you, and how He wants to love you; help you; rescue you and set you free; heal you and make you whole; to show you how to get out of the mess in which you find yourself? What if He wants to "re-create" you into the unique being He designed you to be in the first place? 

Any teaching from Scripture, whether it be religious "activity", or religious theology, that does not have those goals in mind, is going to be counter-productive to God's purpose for making the Bible available to us. And sadly, the Holy Book has been used far too often to show us how far we have fallen short from the image of Christ. But the Messiah did not come to make us feel small and insufficient. His goal was to destroy the power of the devil, to forgive our sins, and to point the way to restoring His Kingdom on earth! So God instructed the writers of His Word to strengthen your faith in who He is, and in who you are -- how to accomplish those providential goals for your benefit. That's how much He loves you!

I love this quote by Asher Intrater, a Messianic leader in Israel, whom I have come to greatly admire for his wisdom and his connection to God's heart... "God cares about you. He does not care about church pews other than to give people a place to sit. He does not care about economic theory other than how it affects your receiving of His provisions. He does not care about denominational organizations other than the well-being of the people in them." God's focused on caring about us! And any use of Scripture to edify us about God [and our relationship with Him] should have that theme as its foundation. 

The Word is not written to be restrictive, as some would say, but so that you might receive the life force of God [Holy Spirit] and prosper in His ways. The commandments of the Law of Moses were not instructed by God in order to make you follow a strict code of conduct, but to bless you when you choose to obey them. The proverbs of Solomon were recorded to instruct you so that you might avoid your own foolish and self-destructive ways. Every verse of Scripture was ordained by God for you! It was written to you, for you -- to show you that He loves you, is concerned about you, and to guide you as you maneuver through these evil times that are out of our control. 

Don't let anyone use Scripture to condemn you! True, it is written to show you the difference between right and wrong; between walking in righteousness or sin. But God instructed His Word to be written to you to convict you of how He cares about you and wants to protect you from temptation -- not to condemn you. The latter is the devil's role. He is a liar and a deceiver; an accuser and a condemner. His primary purpose is to cause you to sin. First, he tempts you, and then he condemns you as a prosecuting attorney in the Courts of Heaven. God's desire, in His Word, is to edify you of how Satan works his deception, even as He gives you the knowledge of how to avoid it. I want you to hear me clearly: there is a difference between conviction of sin and condemnation. The Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin so that God's goodness and grace can lead you to repentance, and you can stop sinning. 

Remember this: any Christian religious doctrine that condemns you is misrepresenting God's heart for you. God will never condemn you as long as you choose to obey and trust in Him. Jesus does not condemn you, as stated in Romans 8:1 ... Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior]. The only way you receive condemnation from God is to rebel against Him, and by leaving the guidance of His grace and love. Condemnation is not, nor has ever been, His intention towards you! 

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Religious condemnation is not from God. Again, from the wisdom of Asher Intrater: "Religion is the ministry of condemnation. Redemption is the ministry of God's grace". I'm sorry if that offends, but Jesus came to represent God's intentions for you, not to bring Religion to the earth. He came to bring God's personal perspective of how He regards you, and to invite you to walk in the Light of His love and grace. 

If you choose to walk out of His Light, then you have entered Satan's darkness, and that's on you -- it's not God's fault you chose to leave His Light. If you choose to leave His presence, then the only other option is to be in the darkness. There is no light other than that which is in God. Period! Scripture reveals to us that mankind is defiled because of what happened in the Garden; mankind has defiled and condemned themselves. But Scripture also reveals that we aren't locked into that state of condemnation. Godly preaching and teaching convicts us of our sin, and then edifies us as to the truth of receiving grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Yeshua. Any attempt to justify ourselves through our own self-righteousness is humanism. The answer to man's condemnation is to ask for forgiveness and believe in the power of God's grace to redeem us. 

So, in these detestable times we find ourselves, let us not lose God's perspective on who we are. We, who believe and have faith in Jesus's saving grace, are recognized and beloved as long, lost children who have returned to our spiritual home. God sees us, as He looks upon our Savior. Though we might find ourselves in the time when the world has condemned itself in the eyes of God, you must not fear that God has abandoned you. Because He cares about you, and loves you, He has an assignment for you, on His behalf. There is no need for fear nor hesitancy. He will send the Holy Spirit with wisdom, understanding, might, counsel and knowledge of His heavenly strategies. You will receive dreams and visions of how you are to remain in the Light. And because you have the Fear of the Lord [both the reverence and awe of the Lord, and the recognition of what He says about His intense hatred of sin], you will be a mighty spiritual force to be reckoned with in the spiritual battles that have come upon the earth. 

Bottom line: let Scripture reveal who God is; His extraordinary love for you; His ways to walk in His Light; and how He can use you to reveal His glory on the earth. Yes, Evil pervades the earth, but you do not belong to the darkness. The truth is that the darkness fears you and your knowledge of the power and authority you possess in the Kingdom of God. Let the Light of God in you shine bright as a testimony of His Goodness and Might!

I want to acknowledge the inspiration I have received of the whole truth of my God through teaching and edification from Mr. Intrater. He truly has a heart to see all believers in Yeshua be all they can be in YHWH. That is my desire for you, as well.

1 John 5:13    These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God [which represents all that Jesus Christ is and does], so that you will know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have eternal life.