Worship under Grace: His words, our lips

Ever since the day of Pentecost, the human language has ceased to be a barrier to declaring the beauty, majesty, awesome splendor and amazing grace of ABBA and His BELOVED Son Yeshua; our limited vocabulary is no longer an impediment to the worship of Yahweh!!

Isaiah 28:11 says "For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people"

The Holy Spirit gives us words for worship too.....Jesus said that true worshipers will arise who will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:23)

The Spirit of God within us puts words in our mouths...(Acts 2:4) He gives the utterance and we begin to declare the "wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11)

True worshippers "alethinos proskunetes" (proskuneo: fall down before like a dog)are those who rise up to fall down before El Elyon , the most High God. When we fail to speak out our heart, He is merciful and His Spirit speaks for us...He delights in our worship, which rises up to Him as a sweet perfume(2 Corinthians 2:15, Philippians 4:18) This is the reason that we exist, to have communion with our Maker and Lover of our souls.

Thank you Holy Spirit!! By the work of Yeshua we are always in Your Presence and You will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) You help us speak of God(Acts 2:4,11) You help us pray (Romans 8:26) You edify us (1 Corinthians 14) You speak what you hear from Daddy and remind us of what Jesus said (John 16:13-15) You are the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13)

  

All blessing and honour, glory, praise and adoration be unto the  Loving Father, whose LOVING KINDNESS is better than life; the Son, our beloved Elder Brother and Great High Priest; and the Spirit of Truth who is within us...a SEAL of God within us unto Salvation. (Ephesians 1:13) Hallelujah!!!

Grafted into Eternity

According to the wisdom of the world we are all a finite accident. The universe and life as we know it came into existence by mere chance and will, in the near future, come to an end as a result of that same chance.

The big bang theory, evolution and the anticipated big crunch, all sprang up from men wanting to know the mind of God. Finite beings, in a desperate attempt to explain the inexplicable ended up attributing their very existence to mere chance; with one school of thought shrinking God into a finite frame of reference and another totally denying His existence.

But the living Word, the sharp two edged sword divides this conflict of soul (human “finite” reason) and spirit (a part of the Infinite). The Word of God is full of evidence that points to the Wisdom and Knowledge of God being much greater, beyond human understanding and the physical realm.

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jerimiah 33:3)

“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge..” (Ephesians 3:19a)

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding…” (Philippians 4:7a)

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”

(1 Corinthians 2:5-11)

That which has a beginning also has an end. But He who IS the Beginning and the End, the alpha and omega, the aleph and taf  (Revelation 1:8), He who created ALL things and in whom all things consist (1 Corinthians 1:17), the Almighty El Olam (Genesis 21:33), the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:22), He is infinite, He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), the unchanging Jehovah Shammah (Ezekiel 48:35), the GREAT I AM!!

Today through faith in His only Son, Yeshua, Jesus, we are sons and daughters of the Living Yahweh (Romans 8:15-16), grafted into eternity, who  “….shall not perish but shall have EVERLASTING life” (John 3:16b). Therefore, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. (Psalm 107:2) Amen!!

God of every situation!

We see a toothache as a small problem, well within the threshold of pain that we can withstand and easily made right by a good dentist.

Acne and pimples may worry a lot of people but only to the point that moves them to save up a lot of money and to go to a skin clinic and have the epidermal layer of the face painfully removed. In situations like these, almost no one cries out to God. We think we can handle it ourselves. 

But consider this, a person afflicted with a life threatening disease like cancer, detected at the final stage, when medication fails and doctors give up all hope; he runs to God and asks to be healed. The situation is way beyond the control of man and the afflicted individual knows the magnanimity of the situation and when all hope is lost he cries out to God.

But, beloved, this is not the only point at which God can help us. He does not want that we only go to Him and ask Him to deal with the impossible situations in our lives. He wants us to rely on Him for EVERYTHING!!

Jesus said, “…even the hairs of your head are numbered” (Luke 12:7)

Beloved the God who cares to number the very hairs on our head, cares much more about our general well being. We say “God helps those who help themselves”. But our God is a God of the helpless, comforter to the comfortless; He is our righteousness. John speaking under the unction of the Holy Spirit said “Beloved, in regard to all things I pray that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” (3 John 1:2) He knew that it was God’s desire that we be healthy in spirit, mind and body.

The trouble is that we rely more on ourselves than we do on God. The writer of Hebrews says, “For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:10-11)

In Luke 8, when Jarius was informed that is daughter had passed and that he should not bother the Master anymore, imagine how he must have felt. In that situation when all hope was lost and the situation way beyond human control, Jesus said, “only believe”. Beloved, that is all that needs to be done. The only work that God desires that we do now is "only believe" in the One He sent, Yeshua, His beloved Son.

Jesus answered, "The work God wants you to do is this: to believe in the one he sent." (John 6:29, ERV)

The Hebrew word for heal is “rapha” and is derived from the root word “raphah” which means relax or be still. It is written in the book of Psalms “be still and know that I am God...” (Psalm 46:10). In Hebrew it is “har-Pu u-de-u ki-a-no-Chi Elohim”; the word “har-Pu” comes from the root “raphah”. In other words in all things we are not to rely on our selves or our efforts but put our faith in what He has done; rest in His finished work.

The Word says, “Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But HE was wounded for OUR transgressions; HE was bruised for OUR iniquities; the chastisement of OUR peace was on HIM; and with HIS stripes we ourselves are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)  1 Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that dying to sins, we might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.”

Beloved, God who is able to deliver us from life threatening situations is much more capable of solving the little problems in our lives. The trouble is that WE don’t let Him. Peter asks the believers to cast ALL of our cares on to Him for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). The amplified bible says, “He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully”. So "let not your heart be troubled" (John 14:1, 27).

The psalmist says in Psalm 121 that He will not allow your foot to stumble, He will not allow the sun to strike you by day (say goodbye to heatstroke and melanoma) nor the moon by night (bid farewell to night chills, pneumonia and influenza too), He will keep you, He watches over your soul!! Amen!!

This is our God! Truly makes you wonder like the psalmist, “who is man that you are mindful of him” (Psalm 8:4)

El Shaddai- Almighty, All Sufficient One, Jehovah Shabbaoth- The Lord of Hosts, El Elyon- The Most High GOD; is also ABBA- DADDY!! Hallelujah!!

What the rod and staff (Psalm 23) are actually for...

It is human nature to cry out to God when we are in trouble, asking “Why God? Why did you bring this on me?”

But we must realize that God does not cause us to be sick nor does He delight in burdening us with sorrows. On the contrary the bible says in Isaiah 53:5 “…the chastisement of our peace was upon Him…” Jesus suffered all our sorrows so that all may be well with us.

 David says in Psalm 23, “Even though "I" walk through the valley of the shadow of death...."  It is we who go into the valley; it is we who get caught in the traps the devil sets for us.

But the rest of the verse says..."....You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me"

Previously, I was very much under the impression that the rod and staff were for us who go astray; to bring us back on track with a holy smack.

But I am glad that Our Lord is nothing like that. According to the Word, the good shepherd would leave his flock to go after one lost sheep, (John 10); with the rod and the staff  he will tear apart the young lion and the bear to save his sheep, (1 Sam 17:36); but most of all the Good Shepherd (Jehovah Rohi), the Lion of the tribe of Judah, came into this world as a Lamb, the Lamb of God who took away our sins (John 1:29); the Creator died so that His creation might be redeemed by believing in Him; “…whosoever believes in Him shall nor perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)

So as the psalmist says “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy” (Psalm 107:2)

Forest Fire of Burning Hearts

Why did God manifest a burning bush before Moses when He spoke to Him for the first time?People may ask where is the burning bush today? It is impossible for a bush to be on fire and not be consumed. 

Well to that I would like to first say “The LORD does whatever he wants, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and the deep oceans.” (Psalm 135:6 ERV) and secondly “Jesus answered, "God can do things that are not possible for people to do."” (Luke 18:27 ERV)

The burning bush, today, is the heart of the redeemed. At the new birth we are made saved from our sins and made into new creatures in our spirit (2Corinthians 5:17) and we are sealed as His children (Romans 8:17) by His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) who is the Dunamis (Power) of God (Acts 1:8), the All Consuming Fire comes to live in us. At that very moment our hearts are set ablaze and we are transformed from “complacent and compromising ones” to “PASSIONATE BURNING ONES” set apart by Jehovah Meccadeshichem (God who sanctifies us and sets us apart).

Now picture a forest fire; a spark from the Son of God lights up a dry heart….the heart is set aflame……now in a forest of dry hearts  the burning one brings the fire to the fuel and what you have is a full blown incendie, a terrible forest fire of burning hearts. But where a fire causes death and destruction the All Consuming Fire restores Health and Wholeness. From one dry heart to the other the Spirit Fire leaves behind a trail of hearts on Fire…..replacing tears with laughter, guilt with peace, and mourning with dancing; soothing pain with the oil of gladness!!

The early church was not about towering, magnificent edifices glorifying the works of man, it was the hearts of ordinary men set aflame with fire of Elohim by the Holy Spirit, rooted and grounded on the Rock of our salvation, Yeshua ha Maschia!! Persecution made them cry out for boldness (Acts 4:29), revelation left them thirsting for more, salvation was made available to all, jews and gentiles alike (Acts 10) and by His Spirit they were sealed as His own (Ephesians 1:13).

I strongly believe we are moving in to such a time again!! God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh as He promised in Joel 2:28.

Let us not seek to douse this fire by making it about your own efforts instead let’s fan the flame by putting our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ!!

"Not by [human] power, not by [human] might, but by My Spirit says the Lord!!!!" (Zechariah 4:6)

We are Your burning ones

We are consumed by You

We set our lives apart

We are consumed by You

So let this love be like a fire

Let our life be like a flame

Fill our souls with Your desire

Let our passion bring You fame

-          From the song “Burning Ones” by Jesus Culture

Spiritquakes

It is very hard to describe what it feels like to be touched by God. It may happen anytime while listening to a sermon; or as you read the bible; or when you are listening to a song, worshiping, or even during that tough situation when you just give up and just call on the name of Yeshua.

His touch is indescribable. The closest analogy can be made with that of an earthquake.

We humans are constantly hammering the earth’s crust with sledge hammers, drills and huge tunnel making machines. But no matter what we do at one point on the earth’s surface makes no difference to any other point. This is exactly what it is like when we depend upon our own works and tangible feelings. We may do something and feel good about it or we may feel good about doing something but such feelings are restricted to the flesh realm and may go a little deeper into the soul realm and become instituted as a memory.

Now let us look at an earthquake. Every earthquake starts at a small movement of tectonic plates or small shifts in the earth’s core and as a result entire nations are shaken up, cities reduced to rubble and oceans devour mighty structures.

Similarly, when we feel the touch of Yahweh, we feel it in our spirit and just one touch is enough to reverberate through the soul and the flesh realms and burst out of our mouths in a song….our limbs cannot contain the love and begin to move in a triumphant dance….our eyes cannot contain the joy they overflow with tears. The feeling comes from within, it becomes more than a memory…..it becomes a turning point. “Metanoea” the Greek word used for repentance means change the way you think. Only a touch from the God can bring about true repentance and only the Holy Spirit can help fulfil what Paul talked about in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to the world but be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING of your MIND.”

Only the Lamb of God who took away our sins (John 1:29) can cause a change from INSIDE OUT.

“So that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (LITV)