Why? **

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  In the intrigues of life on this planet earth we have so many questions but the most vexing one is just a simple, “Why?”

When things make no sense to my human assessment of evil’s cruelty it’s time to allow the Holy One to take over and direct my thoughts. 

“Will you trust Me in the “whys” of life so I can take you to the greater things?”

The Holy Spirit leads me in this time of meditation back to His Word and the account of a man named Gideon.  In Judges 6-8 the story of Gideon’s life and purpose as a “mighty man of valor” begins with him threshing wheat in a wine press in order to hide it from the marauding bands of Israel’s enemies. 

Hard times and great fear had come upon his people.  The children of Israel lived under the continuous threat of being plundered and being left with no resources to survive so they took to life in the dens and caves of the mountains in the land of their enemies.  They had to thresh their wheat in a wine vat where no one could see or they risked the loss of their diet’s mainstay due to the thieving Midianites who came against them.

Judges 6:7-10 tells us that as the people cried out to the Lord, He sent a prophet to remind them of their illustrious history with the One True God and how the Lord had delivered them from the hands of all who had oppressed them. Then in Vs 10, we read, “Also I (The Lord God of Israel) said to you, “I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.  But you have not obeyed My voice”.

An angel then appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you mighty man of valor”. 

Then began the “why” question; “Gideon said to him, “Oh my lord, if the Lord is with us why then has all of this happened to us?  Where are all His miracles that our fathers told us about saying, Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?  But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

For most of us facing hardships in life as Christians, we are wondering if not asking the same thing.  “Why, if you are with us, is all the heartburn hitting our lives?”  Where are the mighty acts of Divine intervention that we have read and been told about in Your Word for those who are called by Your Name? 

Gideon’s conversation with the messenger angel of the Lord continued and Gideon was essentially drafted into the Lord’s plan for the deliverance of His people.  Despite all his self-doubts, the Lord saw in Gideon what Gideon did not see in himself: a faithful warrior heart.

We read about the “fleece” of Gideon,  where the man wanted (and needed) more confirmation of the calling on his life at that moment  We will do well to remember that Gideon lived before Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of every believer's heart so a fleece was more of an acceptable way to discern and know God’s will back then

The interesting thing to my mind is that the Lord did not give an answer to the “Why” Gideon personally asked in the beginning but spoke to him about his part to play in the circumstances they were in.  I can see that when resolution comes to the problems I face, the “Why” questions fade in the Glory of God’s Divine intervention.

The mystery of Holiness waits for the “conditions” on the ground to be right for Divine intervention to be executed in resolution to our temporal problems. The nation of Israel endured and survived, by however a slim margin in their view, until Gideon was raised up to save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Once Gideon was convinced that his calling was from God, the Lord told him what to do and Gideon obeyed his commands.

It so happened that compromise was tolerated in the religious (Spirit) life of Israel.  Hard times for sin way back when, brought the consequence they were living and rather than seek the Lord they apparently dived into more idolatry and worship of other gods either instead of, or in addition to, seeking and giving worship to the One True God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Gideon’s first assignment was to tear down an altar of worship to Baal, that his father had erected and to replace it with an altar for their worship to the One True God.   For me, the reader of this story, I see the “why”, not in a direct answer but in what the Lord commanded Gideon do at the onset of his calling as a servant of the Most High and deliverer of Israel out of the hands of their enemy:  Take down the altar and stop the sinful worship of foreign gods. 

Idolatrous compromise had overtaken Israel and the Lord’s discipline of His people in allowing them to become a victim of the surrounding nations had them crying out for deliverance. There are interesting parallels of this story to our nation today. 

Judges 6:6 says, “So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites and the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord”.

For Believers in today’s world, who are followers of Christ Jesus, all the “why” questions we may ask are bound up in the eternal plan that the Lord has and they relate to His unique calling on our lives.  We are in the process of being made Holy.  We are being cleansed and purged of our unrighteousness and compromise is a flesh liability that we must not allow to corrupt our hearts and minds. 

It seems that in Gideon’s day, idolatry (Baal worship) was an acceptable practice and not seen as a problem until Gideon made his stand in obedience to the Lord.  

There is much to be gleaned from reading about Gideon and his calling and there is much symbolism to be applied to our lives today.  I find that I learn more about the mystery of Holiness when I stop asking “why?” and start asking the Lord, “what? …….do You want me to do with where I am today?”   

As He begins to show me and as I obey what I believe to be His directives, I see that following my Lord’s plan for me will eventually answer every “why?” or give me the peace to wait until I see Him face to face for the full and final answer.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?    

Before You Fling The Stone***

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  The battle rages and it is always for the hearts of humanity and takes place first in the mind.  The mental battle is the hard wrestle. 

Ephesians 6: 11-13 tells us, “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.   Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Stand therefore having girdled your waist with truth….”

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.  He speaks from out of the darkness and my wrestle against the rulers therein. 

“Remember David.  He declared the victory before he sent the stone into Goliath’s head”. 

Most of us learn the Biblical account of David and Goliath early in our faith “training for reigning.”   The fact that we will and must face-off with Goliaths in our Christian walk is well known.  But today the Lord takes me back to the story of that victory to show me an important detail that is easily overlooked in the lead-up to the toppling of the giant in his life.

Hand-to-hand combat is not advisable against a giant of human flesh that is energized by the dark lords of the unseen realm.  David knew that truth, even though King Saul and the rest of the army of Israel thought that was the only way to defeat the enemy. 

I guess I can see the similarities between them and me when I think only in terms of flesh (carnal) weapons to use in the battle or “wrestle” against people or situations that represent the opposition to my Kingdom and my King.   Human anger even if it begins as “righteous” provides no victory over the darkness.

Looking back to the Word in I Samuel 17: 44-48, “And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field”.  Then David said to the Philistine (enemy), “You come at me with a spear and a javelin.  But I come to you in the Name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands and I will strike you and take your head from you.  And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines (enemy) to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel.  Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands”.

David gave the victory speech not for his enemy alone, but for his fellow warriors as well. But today, it is the timing of it that I am called to see.  David made this faith declaration of victory before he sent the stone into the head of the enemy.

I know personally that the battle is for the heart and mind of each generation.  I also know that the enemy of God is a liar and in our humanity we are vulnerable to his lies.  That is why we have been given the Holy Spirit of the Savior and why He is the One who will lead us into all truth.  That is also why the battle comes down to making the declarations of truth; first to ourselves and then to the world around us.

Notice how Goliath had intimidated Israel’s army.  He spewed his threats and used his size as evidence of his ability to defeat God’s people.   The devil uses the same tactics today, maybe not in the physical arena but surely in the Spiritual one and that defines the battle for the heart through the mind of all of us. 

Lies of the evil one must be contradicted and challenged.  That is what David’s declaration of victory was all about.   David declared faith in the One True God and what He said about the Lord was truth the enemy (and his fellow warriors) needed to be reminded of.  Back in the day God was making His Sovereignty known through Israel.  His chosen deliverance came through a young boy with a stone and a sling.  But before he let the stone fly, David declared the victory would come and by the Hand of God alone.  

That is what I must do today before I fling the stone.  I must stand and declare the Truth about our God and King.   The battles(s) belongs to the Lord God of all creation and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  To Him be all the glory forever and ever and to his kids on earth we can and must take claim to the victory over the rulers of this dark age.   Evil giants are defeated by truth in the battle field of our minds.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?        

Find Your Joy***

The Holy One calls to me this morning. Thinking of last Sunday and the joy of gathering with those who share faith in Yeshua, I know Sundays are an important day in our week.  As Christians this day is not just a day to rest like God did during creation week.  For us it is also a day to remember and celebrate the greatest victory the world of humanity could ever know; the Resurrection of Jesus our Savior.  But Monday arrives and joy cannot be found. 

The Holy One speaks through the early morning brain fog and I hear a directive, “Find and maintain your joy”.

His words cut like a knife to circumcise my heart.  Obviously, there is something I am missing and a discipline I must begin to enact. Thus begins our back-and-forth exchange of unspoken thoughts.  The process of sanctification is anything but pretty.  It involves rolling up our spiritual sleeves and getting to all the corruption we don’t like to even think much less talk about.

The Holy Spirit continues and points out a sin pattern that needs to be corrected.    “Stop blame shifting your lack of joy over onto other people’s actions or the circumstances of life.”

First the flint knife and now the cold water that brings me to complete attention.

Despair seems to be widespread in these end times as hope for better days fades. And it is so true that we all have to battle for “joy”. There is a deep divide between joy and happiness.  Comfortable circumstances seem to be the criteria we all use to define “happy” but happy is not the joy of the Lord that is missing in so many of our lives today.  How can we be filled with joy when we are not “happy”?  Or can we experience one without the other?

Galatians 5:22 tells us. “But the fruit of the SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”   I notice that happiness is not on that list, so then I must conclude that joy is not dependent on happy circumstances and happy circumstances do not define or limit joy.

Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life.  It is the evidence of His Presence and it is His life within me that is my source for joy.  I must come to admit that I cannot manufacture my own joy.  It always gets mixed up in the self-driven pursuit of my “happiness”.

The Lord takes me back to His word and His model as where to look for joy.  Hebrews 12:2 says, “looking unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

I must look to the Cross where Jesus died; the place of greatest suffering for any human body made up of flesh and bone.  For 6 hours one Friday, evil had his way with the Holy Son of God.  Evil used the Romans and the Jews to circumstantially torture the One we call “Savior”.   

Humanly speaking that was a most justifiable time to blame people and out of control circumstances for the agony He was suffering.  Yet we are told that our Lord Jesus was focused on the joy of what would ultimately come from the suffering and even as He despised the shame of it, He did not blame shift the reason.

Jesus kept to the mission which was to glorify His Heavenly Father and restore humanity back in relationship with our Creator God. Jesus looked beyond the people who nailed Him to the Cross and those who yelled “Crucify Him”.  Jesus looked beyond the evil that was tormenting and mocking His humiliation.  Jesus looked past all of that to the great eternal purpose and therein found His joy.

So, what does that mean to me?  Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.  To find my joy, I must look beyond the people who do evil and beyond the circumstances that weigh me down.  In faith I must look to Jesus while trusting in that Divine purpose for which I have been chosen to endure such people and circumstances and remain true to the mission:  To share the Truth about our Kingdom and our King with a lost and dying world.

Divine purpose to me means there is a reason for everything and I must glean that higher purpose out of the trials of life and the people through whom they come.  To blame evil people or the acts they do for my lack of joy is an insult to the Holy One who provides it. 

Faith and Joy seem to be intertwined.  Faith declares all is well because the Lord (not evil) is in control.  Joy is the feeling that follows the faith.  Perspective is the key to finding my joy.  Looking past what is evil to focus on the Lord's plan and His promise of the "good" to come will enable me to find my joy no matter what the immediate circumstance may dictate.  

I understand that this is a discipline of heart and mind and may not be acquired in a day, but as I continue to look to the Holy Spirit for His perspective, I will be able to see beyond the agony of today and see the ecstasy of tomorrow and like my Lord and Savior, therein find my joy.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

                   

The Importance Of Marriage***

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  The mystery of our God is deeper than any of us can begin to fathom.  We have been given symbols and models of His Sovereign Being like His Divine order in the universe that humans have a hard time explaining.  There is the uniqueness of every human being so that there is no one like us in the world. There is attention to detail in the smallest of God’s creatures to the most massive and formidable animals that ever walked His earth.

In the Divine order of things, the Lord has provided structure and accountability, provision and peace.  He reminds me this morning of the importance of the institution of Marriage in this chaotic world we find ourselves trying to manage.

“Temporal Marriage is an eternal symbol and must be viewed in light of eternity”.

The Holy Spirit speaks to a great issue in our lives today.  Marriage is more than just a temporary contract to legitimize a flesh relationship between 2 people regardless of gender.  Marriage was ordained and given to us as a covenant commitment between a man and woman until death separates the flesh bond.  Marriage is a flesh union that makes two people one.   But even more than that, Marriage is a symbol that represents the unity between us and the Lord through the Holy Spirit. 

We need to take careful consideration as to how we honor and respect or dishonor and disrespect the institution of Marriage since it is a God ordained unit. Few are the messages we hear about the Sacred Romance we ought to be in with our Lord and lover, Jesus.  Few are the messages that remind us that Marriage is a Holy covenant and we are expected to uphold our vows to one another since it is symbolic of our love unity with God Himself.

At the end of time, Revelation 19:7 says, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him (God) glory for the marriage of the Lamb (Jesus) and His wife (the church) has come and His wife has made herself ready.

Biblical marriage is the place much like a rock tumbler where the rough edges of our character and personality are made smooth but in our “world” today we have a different perspective where marriage is a social contract that can be easily dissolved and re-entered with others for any and all excuses.  Marriage for many has become just a shell covering any and all lustful relationships and stands only until the pleasure is extracted and the relationship emptied of any self-edifying usefulness.

This may seem like a harsh indictment but the point of Holiness today is to stand against the compromised definition of marriage and hold to the undefiled definition and eternal symbolism of the marriage covenant.  

When two individuals get married and consummate that marriage, the two become one and that is physical unity.  Humans have been designed physically to facilitate that union.  That is the mystery of the marriage relationship.  It is mystical in that there is also a spiritual bond that is created and death is the only legitimate way to break that bond without excruciating heart pain.  Separation by death is another form of pain different than “divorce” or infidelity.

Our God is a covenant God and as His people, He expects us to live by our covenant with Him and with one another.  Love is a decision and marriage is a covenant so it is no wonder that God is grieved when we betray both. 

I wonder if we were asked to think more about the eternal aspects and symbolism of the marriage unit, would we be so OK with divorce?  Marriage is of tremendous significance to God’s people but only as we see it as the symbolism and in light of our eternal unity with Him.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?     

Love is A Decision NOT An Emotion***

The Holy One calls to me this morning: 

"Remember, love is a decision not an emotion"….

The truth is sometimes difficult to grasp in our emotionally charged flesh life.  So many of us have missed the mark and moved the target to be justified in seeking a happy rather than a "Holy" place in our relationship with others.
 
This morning the Holy Spirit speaks to me and to all who are struggling in relationship issues with His reminder that love is a decision not an emotion....and…. commitment to that decision will be emotionally challenged. The faithful will stand firm in their decision even and especially during the hard times. 

We have an amazing model of that Love in the person of Jesus Who is so committed in His decision to love us that He died so that we, in spite all our flawed and sinful and utterly unlovable failures, can spend the rest of eternity with Him.

We are called to love one another in that same way. Choose to love. Decide to love... and do not let emotions get in the way! Thank you Jesus for showing us what true love is all about.

 John 15:12, "This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you". 

Thinking about the Martyrs dying daily for their decision to love. Thinking about less than perfect marriages where the faithful are dying daily to their own happiness for their decision to love. Thinking about the community of believers called the church who are dying daily in their own (righteous but debatable) opinions for their decision to love.

Our decision to love will cause heartburn. Our decision to love with cause humiliation. Our decision to love may even cause our physical death. But if we are true followers of Christ we have made a decision to love and on that decision we will stand, bearing with the scruples of the weak (errors arising from the weakness of mind spoken of in Romans 15) and in defiance of the temptation to abandon ship or marriage or church.

For those of us who have been rejected or persecuted or dismissed as of lesser value, the decision to love can be most difficult on a human level, but this is where the ultimate love for our Lord has the greatest victory as in forgiveness.
 
The decision to love Jesus is seen in our choice to love the world of people and in situations where He has placed us, not because of how they react to us personally but because love for Jesus is the decision we have already made.

Every day our love for our Lord may be challenged, but the faithful will stand firm.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?