JustJeff

When we assume anything at all we are destined for trouble. If we dare assume that our course is laid out for us, that we are guaranteed our journey to heaven we may well end up in hell. This can lead to a prayer life, if any at all, that is meek and effortless. We should not forget that the Lord specifically mentions that there are two roads on this walk, one wide, one narrow. Obviously He gives us a choice and knows the outcome of that choice. We have been given a free will, as were the Hebrew children. Most chose the wide road. Do we think that they were predestined to make that choice? Probably so, as God knows our hearts but, they did have a choice. If we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, as we are taught to do, then any thought of a predestined journey should go down the tubes and afford us a real prayer life. I call a prayer life that is absent of the belief that we can change God's response fruitless. Our prayers should be designed to move our Father in some manner for someone or something. He needs us to humble ourselves to Him, not in apathetic indifference, but in genuine love and concern. Only He knows how many prayers for an unsaved soul moved Him to send the right person at the right time. We have to always remember, He does not hear sinners and intercessary prayer is instrumental for the salvation of the lost. God forbid that we don't move Him!

As Moses appealed to God for who He is and how He presents Himself through His word this is what we should duplicate from Moses' example. Moses' logic is God's obvious love compounded by God's own promise to muliply the seed of the forefathers, a reminder to God of His own word. To pray the promises of God is to ask of Him what He has told us He will give, which is more than we will ever need. Knowing the bible is instrumental in having effective prayer. You cannot possibly pray in God's will if you do not know Him, have a relationship with Him which can only be established by obeying Him as He has intructed, in the bible. As Moses appealed to God for who He is and how He presents Himself through His word this is what we should duplicate from Moses' example. Moses' logic is God's obvious love compounded by God's own promise to muliply the seed of the forefathers, a reminder to God of His own word. To pray the promises of God is to ask of Him what He has told us He will give, which is more than we will ever need. Knowing the bible is instrumental in having effective prayer. You cannot possibly pray in God's will if you do not know Him, have a relationship with Him which can only be established by obeying Him as He has intructed, in the bible.

The Jews violated a prime commandment by building an idol and reverting back to the very bondage that Yahweh had set them free from. And it is so true. We always strive to return to that which we have been set free from, putting Him to an open shame. It is that very love that God has for us that causes His great wrath when we go astray. What father would see their child come to great harm and not react, especially when so much has been given to prevent such an occurence? How could our heavenly Father not punish us for our disobedience? Our only hope for completely this long and difficult journey is that Yahweh guides us along the way, encouraging us to do great things when we obey and chastising us when we stray. Our Righteous Judge cannot be jusified by His creation as we cannot see as He does. Could it have been that Yahweh was trying Moses, to develope him as the leader that he was reluctant to be? By His expressed desire to eliminate a rebellious people He caused Moses to show his love for them, forgiving as the Father expects us to forgive. A hard but enduring lesson.

We need to ask for forgiveness continually simply because it is our nature to sin. To assume that we're ok and sinless is wrong as we sin continually in our hearts. God does not hear sinners (John 9:31) and if we are unforgiving we are in breach of God commandment to forgive, therefore we are in sin. Yahweh clearly indicates in the scriptures given that He will not forgive us if we do not forgive others. It rather clear cut. Carrying around grudges, anger and hate is depressing and ugly. One feels great when one is able to overcome this fleshly hurdle.

1. PRIDE. 2. PRIDE. 3. We must ask God each day to provide our Daily Bread because He is Yahweh Jirah. Only He provides what it is that we need to sustain us each day whether it is spiritual bread or physical. In the entire scope of things it is He that has given us our plan for this life as He has predestinated us. No matter the path that we choose, wide or narrow, it is Yahweh that guides us and give us what is needed to accomplish our journey. There is nothing that we can do of ourselves and He requires our dependence upon Him. When we pray and ask Him to fulfill our daily needs it is then that we surrender to His rule over our lives, humbling ourselves to the Almighty. We are mindful that He inhabits His Holy Mountain with those who are contrite and humble of spirit.

To the degree that the Father rules in heaven is as we pray for His rule to be established here on earth. A place where life is focused completely and utterly on Yahweh, only to serve Him with praise and worship in total adoration. A prayer for harmony and oneness with all believers where religion does not exist and all agree as one. We pray that the Father's will be done in earth to encourage the quick return of the Son, when all things will be put under His feet, when His kingdom is established forever more and God is all in all. As we pray these thoughs, these desires, we must realize that we are the gateway. It is we who are to be witnesses to increase the body of believers. It is we, who by our testimony, live the prayer of the righteous. When we offer this prayer we cannot be hypocrites, we have to live it.

So, we claim the Mighty God as our Holy Father and we dedicate our lives to Him, promising to obey Him through His word and by the guidance of His Holy Spirit. By keeping our promise and doing His will to the best of our ability we reflect His nature and character and hallow His precious name. On the other hand, when we profess our Chrisitianity to the world and then proceed to live a life of sin we put Him to an open shame, which by the way, happens all too often among the body of Christ. To enter His courts with our prayers we must ask for forgiveness of our sins as God does not hear sinners.

I just sense that there will be perfect harmony. Everyone with one mind, one accord. We will be totally focused on worhshipping and praising the Triune God for eternity, together, as one. This shalom has given me a better feel of the Lord's peace, the peace that passes all understanding. It is something that we seek upon receiving the Holy Ghost, yet can only taste in part. What a glorious time it will be! I cannot think of a greater expectation than to be with Jesus, living in holiness in a place without sin, and all of the grief than accompanies it. Loving one another with the agape love of the Lord, always. Amen.

I can imagine that Gideon was somewhat beside himself with fear at the appearance of the angel of God Here was poor old Gideon, already quite shaken by the oncoming Midianites and now, he encounters the heavenly presence of Yahweh's messenger. This, the same Yahweh that told his forefathers that they would be struck dead, if only to look upon Him. This the same Yahweh that punished Gideon's people time and time again for their disobedience to His laws. Oh what a relief it must have been when he was told; "Shalom! Do not be affraid. You are not going to die." He had just experienced Yahweh in a way he had never before heard or felt. A God of peace. The altar, Gideon's memorial was appropriately named; "the Lord is Peace". The peace that the Lord gave to Gideon was a peace of harmony with Him. A peace that was tranquil, that comes when all fear is gone. A peace that passes all understanding, which comes from the Lord. A peace that only a Savior's love can give.

Synonyms for "save" are deliver, redeem, rescue, bail out. For "Savior"; deliverer, redeemer, rescuer, saver. To earn the name of Savior there must be an action, an act that deserves the recognition of the name. In the case of Our Savior, He did all of the aforementioned synonyms by His birth, sinless life, death and resurrection. By His birth He was the Deliverer. By His sinless life He was the perfect sacrifice thereby an acceptable price for our redemption. With His death, He rescued us from certain death by eternal separation from God the Father. With all, by His name we are saved (bailed out, if you will).

1. Because a family would be left so hopeless without the patriarch at the head Yahweh instilled in them the necessity of looking after one another by making it law. Therefore, it was the obligation of the next of kin, the male figure, to step in and assist as needed when his family member was in trouble. This extended even to the surviving brother to know the widow of his deceased brother if he (the deceased) die without an heir. 2. Simply put, we would be dead in our sins had Jesus not substituted Himself for us as the only acceptable sacrifice that could be offered for our pardon. To this end He became our near kin and raised us up by the seed of His Holy Spirit to be joint heirs with Him. Whew! 3. God's love is boundless, even to the sacrifice of His Son. There is no human love that would be able to give what Yahweh has given, time and time again, forever. 4. I have found that I am a valuable asset, when I felt worthless, disposed of by the world. There is a new sense of self appreciation and yet, humilty, when I realized that the God of All Creation, can give me of His time, at my behest, at the moment I have need. I, we, are priceless in His sight.

My entire family was lost, wandering about in a world of sin, bowing down to the Prince of this world, in his servitude, at His will. I can't count the times that the name of our beloved Savior was blasphemed by our lips, mocked by our behavior. Through it all, He waited. He waited for us to reach our lowest low and when no one else would help He was there. With His nail scarred hand He reached down and rescued us, each one and now, we live to serve Him. As we grow in Him, we suffer with Him and as Peter so aptly put it, by our suffering He makes us perfect and establishes us, together, as one with Him. All, as in whole or complete most certainly describes Yahweh. None could even come close to what He gives and has given; His all. Who could even attempt to forgive as He does? Who could bless as He does? Who could save us as He does? Who could love as He does. None. Only the God of Gods is all grace. There is no one else.

The Old Testament is the basis for the New. God illustrates His history with mankind, how, in our sinful nature we cannot have a relationship with a Holy God. He demonstrates His boundless love for us by reaching down, and picking us up each time we fail. It would be a task in itself to count the times that His people failed Him in the Old Testament. The book of Judges alone shows many failings. Yet, these failings are the very reason for the New Testament as a whole, and John 3:16 in particular. Because of our inability to keep his law, because of the infirmity of our flesh, He knew He had to make a better way. A way in which there could be no failure, a perfect sacrifice to redeem us for all time. He provided something than no man would give, His Son, who would endure the cross to bring us back to the Father. To give us everlasting life. Greater love has no man. A mission, set and established thousands of year before, in the Garden of Eden.

1. Faithfulness and being trustworthy are elemental to keeping one's word. In faithfulness Yahweh displays His loyalty to us and, as He cannot lie, He is fully worthy of our trust. Without both of these elements one cannot be considered honest. 2. As a Christian I am compelled to offer my complete allegiance to a Faithful God, striving daily to live a life in accordance with His word, inspired by His example, allowing the Holy Spirit to have control. To run the race that I may obtain the prize, knowing that God is faithful to give me everything that He promises. He will always be my guide, never leaving or forsaking me. Even in the most desperate of times, He truly inspires me to go on. I read, I believe. 3. We, the believers, are called Christians, Christ-like. Our character should then, be a reflection of our Lord's character, including His faithfulness.

1. In Exodus 32: 9-10 Yahweh was determined to destroy the Hebrew children. Through Moses' intervention (Ex 32:11-12) He spared them. They were forgiven. It might be considered that Christ intervenes for each of us in the same manner. In Deuteronomy 8:2-5 Moses explains to the people that Yahweh used the 40 years in the wilderness to humble the people yet, He provided food, water, their shoes did not wear out nor did their clothing rot. Without His forgiveness the next generation would never have been. 2. No, they were not contrite. Moses again "...for it is a stiffnecked people;..." (Ex 34:10). And so they remained, which led to their wilderness journey. 3.God's grace is sooooo amazing! To think of myself, I am a wretch. No matter what I do each moment of the day, no matter how hard I try, I remain a sinner. No matter the power of the Holy Ghost inside of me, I still fail and yet, each and everytime, my Lord, my Savior, my Friend, picks me up and holds me to His bosom in love, forgiving me in my humiliation. I pray for the day when I shall be as He is, all forgiving, no grudges, no venegence, no ill will toward my fellow man. Love, pure and holy. Amazing.

I dare say that removing the metaphor of the Father and the Son from our vocabulary would be like adding two little letters to it: Ms. By the addition of Ms. to our language we have opened the door to total confusion of the word of God, allowing for a new "politically correct" translations with alarming regularity, further diluting our understanding of Yahweh's character and nature. Believe this. Feminism has created a 3rd level in the female hierchy from Miss, a single woman, to Mrs., a married woman, to Ms., a woman who can have a fatherless child to raise all by herself. Toward that end, a generation of kids is being raised without a father and absolutely no comprehension of nor respect for what a father brings to the table. The love, companionship, protection and guidance that only a male father figure can give is never instilled, forever absent from the makeup of the child. What a shame if we were to remove that imagery of our Heavenly Father and our Mediator Son from our vocabulary. We would lose the entire intent of the bible, that is God's desire for us to know Him and effectively communicate to Him by that knowledge. The femine metaphors of Yahweh clearly illustrate the pain He suffers to birth us and rear us up. He offers His love and self sacrificing nature for us, in the manner in which a mother would do. He is as close by as a babe to the mother and He feeds with the same closeness and affection of a breast fed infant. I read a story of a great fire on a farm. All was scorched. As the farmer was surveying the damaged he noticed a small pile, a charred carcass laying in the ruin. It was the remains of a chicken. He lifted the remains up and out scurried a number of chicks, alive and well. The hen had given her life to protect her children. We need to keep God the Father and God the Son in their proper perspective, as He intends, not as society desires.

Interestingly enough, in scripture reference of Isaiah 62:4-5, Yahweh refers to Jerusalem as Hephzibah, Hezikiahs wife. Yahweh entered into a covenant agreement wih His people which He likened to a marriage covenant. Marriages during Old Testament times were dominated by the male, who was the sole support of the family. Toward that end, Yahweh expected His wife, Israel, to be totally dependent upon Him, and to reverence Him accordingly. This, as Old Testament wives would their own husbands, without whom they would struggle to survive. Jesus brought us a New Covenant, a new marriage arrangement, a fresh outlook though the equality of the Holy Spirit. This precious gift gives us, His bride, a better relationship with Him, and prepares us for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We, constitute His church, the bride. Needless to say, as a husband much in love with His wife is as zealous he is over her. Zealous, the root word for jealous describes Yahweh's love for us. As He gives us for His all for us He expects no less in return. He is indeed jealous of this love given and equally jealous to any lost to our foolishness through our vanities of idolatry and **** for the cares and riches of this world.

Jesus presented Himself as the only earthly means by which we could commune with the Father. He proclaimed that God had "given" His children to Him and, He told Philip that "anyone who has seen Him has seen the Father." Conclusively, Jesus plainly illustrates that His words and His presence indicate that He and the Father are one. Add to this the Holy Spirit and we have God in three persons, blessed Trinity! The Lord always separated Himself from the Father in heaven. He told us that He came not to seek His own glory but, to glorify our Father in heaven. He distinguished Himself from the Father as the Son of man(kind). Thus He allowed Himself to be a conduit to the Father above, distinct from He, Himself, here on earth. Jesus is God the Son to whom God the Father has given all power in heaven and in earth. Two distinct and separate parts of the Godhead. And so it will remain until He has put all of His enemies under His feet... "And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." 1 Cor 15:28

Save for Yahweh's chosen prophets, He was unapproachable to the Jews. Only the High Priests could enter through the second vail, the holiest of all but once a year for the remission of sins. The Jews were forbidden to even set foot on Mt Sinai, lest they die and as time passed, the Jews would fall away from Him, only to call for Him in times of great hardship and affliction. This, because their relationship with Yahweh was distant, broken by sin from a law they could not keep. Jesus introduced us to the Father as a loving, father figure. He made Him approachable and available. A God who desired an intimate relationship with each of His children. By His sacrifice, He gave us the Holy Spirit, to commune continually with our heavenly Father, to help us to be able to be obedient. He taught us that His was a tough love, that we would not go unpunished by our sin, yet we would always be loved in our brokenness. I cannot fathom an earthly father even remotely able to do this. It is why I can call no man on earth my father.

Our Father is the head of His creation and we are His children. The values that the Old Testament places on a father in relation to his family is one of complete authority, respect, honor and, dependence. It is in this manner that we should view our heavenly Father and it is the way we He expects us to conduct ourselves. According to Otfried, the first of his two observations, detailed above, is my understanding of Yahweh. It is important to understand that the Old Testament is the basis for the New. As a father brings up his child, so has the LORD brought us up through the ages. He established His parenthood, watched us grow and became a rebellious lot, and He demonstrates His undieing, Fatherly love for us by making a way for us to return to Him. I always consider that when I am obedient His love shines in innumerable blessings. it is not possible to see all His benefits. Yet, when I am disobedient, He bless me still; with chastisement and discipline. Oh the fullness and glory of my heavenly Father. His fatherly love toward His child, His ever watchfulness is what keeps me in line day to day, minute by minute. He causes me to humble myself, to be accepted of Him.

To the Hebrews living water, such as a river, represented a place of purification. This became a chance to be cleansed, refreshed, renewed. Today, a mikvah, or ritual bath is used and is done in instances of conversion, a baby boy's bris (circumcision) or girl's naming ceremony, the cleansing of a menstruous woman, life transitions (becoming a grandparent) and other changes. To have the Living Water dwelling within through the person of the Holy Spirit means daily purification, a constant change through purging, cleansing and renewal. This tells me that our God is continually present and working within the believer to bring us to the point of holiness, as only He can make us holy. I thirst for the Living Water, knowing that when I receive this blessed gift, I will thirst no more. My worldy desires will be quenched, my search for carnal satisfaction passing day by day. With certainty I can say that as long as I continue to drink of His Living Water my future will be assured. My future in the presence of His glory.

Flesh. Pride. Humility.

He never sleeps and never slumbers nor does He ever leave me nor will He forsake me. With that in mind I cannot possibly recount the times that God has blessed me and pulled me through times of trouble. The Lord truly is my Shepherd, through a tumultuous childhood, while in the military during a time of war, an adulthood of drug addiction and alcholism with a complete loss of everything I held dear. Through it all, He herded me gently toward Him, to His pasture until He brought me to the green grass of the born again experience and a new life with the Holy Ghost. Still now, even today, life's hardships and travails continue. I still have a new life of growth ahead of me, as do my brothers and sisters in the Lord's work. We struggle to get along and fight at times yet our Father, our Great Shepherd keeps us in the fold reassuring me that as He has done before, He will do again. He will bring me, and us, to greener pastures.

QI (1): To Abraham, Yahweh had provided a sacrifice; Issac. He had told his son the truth. (2): Hebrews 11:17; "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Issac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son."(3): Our mission is located in Florida, in a rapidly growing community, which is forcing out the poor and needy. In 1994 the city via the powerful neighborhood associations tried to close our homeless shelter. As we went through the process to remain open, we lost at every level until we had to appeal to city council. We prayed and fasted and on that day, we were confident, by the Holy Spirit, that we would prevail. In order for the ministry to be victorious, the city had to have a super-majority vote by council. One member abstained, four voted aginst us and, on the very last vote, we won. God tried us until the very end and as a result, we became all the more confident in, and faithful to, the Lord Jesus. (4): Ours lives are hid in Christ. He fulfills our every need, in every circumstance and we must give thanks to Him in all things. (5): We're talking agape love here, unconditional love. Praise Him!

Thinking about God as my Keeper and Psalm 121 brought to mind that this Psalm was chosen by the Cherokee nation as their Psalm. Considering this and the plight of the American Indian I am assured that no matter the difficulties or hardships that I endure day by day, my God is watching over me, keeping me and leading me as I show go to attain the plan He has for me. In my distresses, at the end of this life of hardship, I will be in His presence. Oh what stength I draw from my Keeper! By His Holy Spirit He guides me. He tells me when I am right or wrong, will admonish me when I start to stray. He leads me as I should go. My Savior guards me from the devil, reminding me that the ememy attacks 24/7. He covers me with His blood and He, is my armour, my protecter. He is my guardian against the world and it's enticements. He keeps me in check when I feel drawn back. He assigns His angel to watch over me in dangers I cannot anticipate. My Keeper, my Savior, my Friend, our LORD.