King Hezekiah and Jerusalem were in dire straights in Isaiah 37. The enemy was at the gates and taunting the inhabitants of the city, the King, and God. It was a relentless rage against God's people. Verse 3 speaks of something I feel we can all identify with, "...a day of trouble, of rebuke and blasphemy-for the children are come to the birth and there is not strength to bring forth."
Every true Believer has reached a place at times where there is absolutely no strength left to "birth" our victory. The enemy uses every tactic at his disposal to wear us down, discourage us, and taunt our beliefs and our faith.
When we find ourselves in these situation we must do what King Hezekiah did; he went immediately before the Lord. He prayed to the One who dwells between the Cherubim (referring to the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies), He prayed to the God of gods, He alone rules over heaven and earth. He cried that God give ear and hear, open His eyes and see and hear all of the lies of the enemy (vs. 15-17)
Hezekiah cried, "Save us that all of the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, and You alone."
God answered Hezekiah's prayers, every one of them. He heard every word. And when we have gotten to our point where there is no strength God will also take over on our behalf. He has never changed and what He did for Hezekiah He will do for us. When the enemy rages, rants and raves he is not only attacking us but he is after the God in us! He is blaspheming God also. God will intervene on our behalf.
Deuteronomy 33:26,27 gives a beautiful picture of this fact. It says that there is none likened unto our God; He rides upon the heaven in our help and in His excellency on the sky. The eternal God is our Refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms: He shall thrust out the enemy from before us and say, "Destroy them".
We are winners before the battle even starts! Only Believe!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
We Are Justified Already!
Our sure standing in God is explained in detail in Romans 4 and 5. The last verse of chapter 4 says that Christ was delivered up for our offenses. Not His offenses but ours; every one of our sins. And the pouring out of His soul on our behalf was accepted by the Father. He was the perfect Lamb of God.
In the same way that His sacrifice on our behalf was accepted, He was also raised for our justification. OUR JUSTIFICATION! We are accepted in God. Chapter 5 says that we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ. We have full access to the Father by faith in this position of grace on which we stand. It is a strong platform on which we stand and we need to be more than confident of our position not only in the future but right now!
We are seated in a spiritual kingdom in heavenly places. Christ told Peter that He would give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever we bound on earth would be bound in heaven; and whatever was loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. This is a powerful set of keys! Do we use them?
We have been given the authority by Christ through the Holy Spirit of God to rebuke the devil and he has to flee. It is not our power but the power of the Spirit of God working in and through us. We have the keys, we have the power, we have the position of authority and the justification to use these tools because we are now justified in the Father through Jesus Christ.
The most beautiful prayer I have ever read is in John 17 where Christ prays to the Father that we would be one with Him and the Father. He did not ask that we be removed from the earth yet but that we be one with God now. This must be possible or He would not have made the request on our behalf. I remind myself quite a bit that the problem is not on His end; it is on my end. The problem is my difficulty to actually realize my position in Christ.
He was raised for our justification! He did not have to be justified, He was sinless. We are justified in Him. We need to realize the power, the keys and the great authority we have in Him. The world will see, experience His favor upon us and ask us what makes us so different. This is our opportunity to lead others to the realization of who Christ Jesus really is! We are justified in the Father through, and by, and because of Christ sacrifice on our behalf.
Our Justification ~* HE AROSE!
" Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus my Saviour!
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o're His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ Arose!
Vainly they watch His bed,
Jesus my saviour!
Vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Death cannot keep his prey
Jesus my Savior!
He tore the bars away
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
* Robert Lowry, 1826-1899
In the same way that His sacrifice on our behalf was accepted, He was also raised for our justification. OUR JUSTIFICATION! We are accepted in God. Chapter 5 says that we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ. We have full access to the Father by faith in this position of grace on which we stand. It is a strong platform on which we stand and we need to be more than confident of our position not only in the future but right now!
We are seated in a spiritual kingdom in heavenly places. Christ told Peter that He would give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever we bound on earth would be bound in heaven; and whatever was loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. This is a powerful set of keys! Do we use them?
We have been given the authority by Christ through the Holy Spirit of God to rebuke the devil and he has to flee. It is not our power but the power of the Spirit of God working in and through us. We have the keys, we have the power, we have the position of authority and the justification to use these tools because we are now justified in the Father through Jesus Christ.
The most beautiful prayer I have ever read is in John 17 where Christ prays to the Father that we would be one with Him and the Father. He did not ask that we be removed from the earth yet but that we be one with God now. This must be possible or He would not have made the request on our behalf. I remind myself quite a bit that the problem is not on His end; it is on my end. The problem is my difficulty to actually realize my position in Christ.
He was raised for our justification! He did not have to be justified, He was sinless. We are justified in Him. We need to realize the power, the keys and the great authority we have in Him. The world will see, experience His favor upon us and ask us what makes us so different. This is our opportunity to lead others to the realization of who Christ Jesus really is! We are justified in the Father through, and by, and because of Christ sacrifice on our behalf.
Our Justification ~* HE AROSE!
" Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus my Saviour!
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o're His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ Arose!
Vainly they watch His bed,
Jesus my saviour!
Vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Death cannot keep his prey
Jesus my Savior!
He tore the bars away
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
* Robert Lowry, 1826-1899
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Honor And Deliverance
Everyone has committed errors and made mistakes in their lives. They come back from time to time to haunt us and remind us of what we would truly be but for the mercy and grace of God. Our sins and misdeeds after forgiveness are cast into what God calls the depths of the sea; never to be recovered. But there is still something in human nature, I believe at the encouragement of our spiritual enemy that wants us to break out our fishing gear to go a fishing again for what has been forgotten from God's perspective.
Lamentations 3:19 says, "Remembering my affliction and my misery, the wormwood (poison) and the gall=my soul has them still in remembrance and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope;
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail not. "
Recalling our misdeeds, rebellions and sin to mind should not be an exercise of hopelessness; it should remind us and bring great praise and thanksgiving to our heart that we have a Heavenly Father that has far removed the guilty sentence we then deserved. The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin and iniquity.
The Psalmist says in chapter 91:14,15,16 that God says, "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My name. He shall call upon Me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation. "
This works for all of His children. The key to this mighty promise is in the first of the verses; Because they have set their love upon Me.
Love Him. Get intimate with Him. Tell Him how much He means to you every day. Set your love upon Him for the things of this world are passing away like smoke. The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life are ever so temporary; do not waste a moment on such things.
He is coming in the clouds with great glory. He will one day soon take away those who are His to be with Him for eternity. Set your heart upon HIM!
I SURRENDER ALL ~ Judson W. Van de Venter 1855-1939
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine,
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give my self to Thee.
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
Lamentations 3:19 says, "Remembering my affliction and my misery, the wormwood (poison) and the gall=my soul has them still in remembrance and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope;
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail not. "
Recalling our misdeeds, rebellions and sin to mind should not be an exercise of hopelessness; it should remind us and bring great praise and thanksgiving to our heart that we have a Heavenly Father that has far removed the guilty sentence we then deserved. The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin and iniquity.
The Psalmist says in chapter 91:14,15,16 that God says, "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My name. He shall call upon Me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation. "
This works for all of His children. The key to this mighty promise is in the first of the verses; Because they have set their love upon Me.
Love Him. Get intimate with Him. Tell Him how much He means to you every day. Set your love upon Him for the things of this world are passing away like smoke. The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life are ever so temporary; do not waste a moment on such things.
He is coming in the clouds with great glory. He will one day soon take away those who are His to be with Him for eternity. Set your heart upon HIM!
I SURRENDER ALL ~ Judson W. Van de Venter 1855-1939
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine,
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give my self to Thee.
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
Friday, July 22, 2011
OUR CALLING
The Apostle Paul prays in Ephesians 1 that the eyes of our understanding be enlightened that we may know what is the hope of our calling. A large portion of our calling is to continually be transformed into the image of Christ who gave Himself for us. Verse 18 says that we are His inheritance!
Like the Tribe of Levi in the Old Testament we, as they, do not have an inheritance on this earth. God said He was Levi's inheritance! Likewise, we belong to Christ who died for us. From the foundations of the world the Almighty God (El-Elyon), the Everlasting Father put us into His blueprint to be a Bride for His Son.
The eyes of our understanding need to be further enlightened to the exceeding greatness of His power toward we who believe. Our belief is in accordance of His mighty working power through the dealings and wooings of the Holy Spirt upon us individually, and as a set aside group on this planet in total rebellion of anything and everything that speaks of the One True God.
This inheritance was provided by the Father in Christ for us when He raised Him from the dead and set Christ at His right hand in heavenly places. Our place is there also. The devil has to flee at the mention of the name of Jesus. For Christ is far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in the world to come.
God put all things under Christ's feet and made Him the head of all, especially His body, the Church. His fullness fills all in all. In the fullness of time all things will finally be gathered together in Christ for all to see; both things in heaven and things on earth. What glorious days await us. Ponder this thought; Christ endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him; we must train and discipline ourselves to do likewise.
2 Corinthians 4:13 says we have the same spirit of faith; we must not only believe it but speak it. Knowing that He that raised up Jesus from the dead will also raise us up in Jesus. " And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power..." (1 Corinthians 6:14)
Our inheritance is eternal! Run the race and never give up! We live by faith, not feelings. Our calling is sure and He is ever faithful.
ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS NAME ~ Edward Perronet 1726-1792
All hail the power of Jesus Name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all;
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all;
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all!
O that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all;
We'll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Like the Tribe of Levi in the Old Testament we, as they, do not have an inheritance on this earth. God said He was Levi's inheritance! Likewise, we belong to Christ who died for us. From the foundations of the world the Almighty God (El-Elyon), the Everlasting Father put us into His blueprint to be a Bride for His Son.
The eyes of our understanding need to be further enlightened to the exceeding greatness of His power toward we who believe. Our belief is in accordance of His mighty working power through the dealings and wooings of the Holy Spirt upon us individually, and as a set aside group on this planet in total rebellion of anything and everything that speaks of the One True God.
This inheritance was provided by the Father in Christ for us when He raised Him from the dead and set Christ at His right hand in heavenly places. Our place is there also. The devil has to flee at the mention of the name of Jesus. For Christ is far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in the world to come.
God put all things under Christ's feet and made Him the head of all, especially His body, the Church. His fullness fills all in all. In the fullness of time all things will finally be gathered together in Christ for all to see; both things in heaven and things on earth. What glorious days await us. Ponder this thought; Christ endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him; we must train and discipline ourselves to do likewise.
2 Corinthians 4:13 says we have the same spirit of faith; we must not only believe it but speak it. Knowing that He that raised up Jesus from the dead will also raise us up in Jesus. " And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power..." (1 Corinthians 6:14)
Our inheritance is eternal! Run the race and never give up! We live by faith, not feelings. Our calling is sure and He is ever faithful.
ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS NAME ~ Edward Perronet 1726-1792
All hail the power of Jesus Name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all;
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all;
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all!
O that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all;
We'll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Faithful Friend - Asher Intrater
Ministry for revival in Israel and the nations
© 7/17/2011 Revive Israel Ministries
Faithful Friend - by Asher Intrater
One of the most important characteristics of a godly person is to be faithful. That means to be faithful to your friends, a faithful friend. The edition of our book "Covenant Relationships" in Hebrew is called, "Faithful Friend." Yeshua said that the ultimate goal of discipleship was to produce friends for Himself (John 15:15).
"Pursue love" – I Corinthians 14:1
To pursue love means to pursue people by means of love. Being a faithful friend demands initiative and effort. It does not just wait for someone to come along. It reaches out to demonstrate faithfulness to others. Saul (Paul) blessed Onisiphorus because he searched and found Paul when he was in prison (II Timothy 1:17). Paul also rejoiced to do the same thing; he left a successful ministry opportunity to search out his friend Titus. Finding Titus was considered a greater "triumph" than success in ministry (II Corinthians 2:14-15).
"He loved them to the end" – John 13:1.
Yeshua loved His disciples all the way to the end. Being a faithful friend involves a process. It is a series of tests. It has a price to pay. That price increases along the way until it demands faithfulness even unto the death (Revelation 2:10). Faithfulness is a long path of dialogue, confrontation, forgiveness, disappointment, pain, and sacrifice. To be faithful is to go all the way with another person.
"If your brother sins against you go to him and rebuke him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have won your brother" – Matthew 18:15.
This verse more than any other describes the process of covenant dialogue from a faithful friend to another when there is a problem. The purpose is not just moral confrontation but an effort at restoring relationship. To be faithful you must continually enter into honest loving conversations to correct problems and restore relationships. There is no such thing as human relationship without problems.
If you love Me, keep My commandments" – John 14:15 (13:34; 15:9; 15:10; 15:12; 15:16).
Love is something we are commanded to do. It is based on obedience, not on emotions. Love has emotions but is not dependent on them. It is not even dependent on other people. Trust is dependent on others' trustworthiness. However, we can love people before they are trustworthy. Yeshua loved the whole world (John 3:16), but He trusted no one (John 2:25).
All people are basically unfaithful in their "human" nature, but God is faithful to us in spite of our unfaithfulness to Him (Romans 3:4). Likewise to be faithful to someone is a unilateral decision on our part. Be faithful even if no one else in the world is. Choose to walk in loyalty and integrity; in humility and grace.
A good relationship demands the mutual faithfulness of both sides. However, your being faithful to that relationship is your side alone. A good husband will decide to be a good husband to his wife regardless of what kind of wife she is (and vice versa). We do what is right "as unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:21, 22; 6:1, 6:7)."
"A brother is born for adversity" – Proverbs 17:17.
To be faithful is to be aware when a friend is in need or in trouble. That is the time to run to be close. It is hard to demonstrate faithfulness when everything is going well for the other. When the going gets rough is when we get going to help. Those are the choice opportunities.
"Make for yourself friends through unfaithful mammon…" – Luke 16:9.
Yeshua emphasizes here the simple point that friends are more important than money. He does not mean to "buy" friends in a manipulative, controlling manner. Rather, money can be a tool in building relationships. Anything you can buy with money is less important than friendship. Everything in this world is temporary. Only faithful relationships are eternal.
Money is not a means to purchase goods for ourselves, but a means to bless people. People are often in financial need. Money can be used to demonstrate faithfulness. When you use money to help others, you raise the opportunity to develop trust.
"Many a man declares his own loving-kindness, but a man of faithfulness, who can find?" - Proverbs 20:6.
In this world today, many people speak of love, but a person who is faithful to his friends is a rare commodity. Let's be one of them.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
A Battle Strategy For Us!
Isaiah 42 says to shout from the mountain tops and let us give glory to the LORD! Why? Because the LORD (our Shepherd) is also a mighty Man of war and will go forth like a warrior and prevail against His enemies.
Some times our part is to stand still and experience the salvation of the LORD. Our victory is by faith, not by sight. Do not go by what your eye sees but by what your spirit discerns through the leading and voice of the Holy Spirit operating in us. Jesus said that the Spirit will lead us into all truth.
I read about the great battle in the days of King Johoshaphat when singers went out ahead of the army of Israel. Singers? Yes, they sang "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever."
When they began to sing and praise the LORD set ambushes against the enemy and the enemy was defeated. This same strategy will also work for us. The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of His people. If you want God in any situation, praise Him. Our victory is in accordance to our praise.
In this manner the principalities and powers in our lives and in our surroundings are moved. ( Ephesians 3:10-To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our LORD; In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him."
It is His faith in us; established from the foundations of the world by the foreknowledge of Almighty God. Sing unto the LORD; for His mercies and victory are well established and unmovable. We are His children and the sheep of His pasture.
We can go into battle as the singers did in the days of King Johoshaphat.
Some times our part is to stand still and experience the salvation of the LORD. Our victory is by faith, not by sight. Do not go by what your eye sees but by what your spirit discerns through the leading and voice of the Holy Spirit operating in us. Jesus said that the Spirit will lead us into all truth.
I read about the great battle in the days of King Johoshaphat when singers went out ahead of the army of Israel. Singers? Yes, they sang "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever."
When they began to sing and praise the LORD set ambushes against the enemy and the enemy was defeated. This same strategy will also work for us. The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of His people. If you want God in any situation, praise Him. Our victory is in accordance to our praise.
In this manner the principalities and powers in our lives and in our surroundings are moved. ( Ephesians 3:10-To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our LORD; In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him."
It is His faith in us; established from the foundations of the world by the foreknowledge of Almighty God. Sing unto the LORD; for His mercies and victory are well established and unmovable. We are His children and the sheep of His pasture.
We can go into battle as the singers did in the days of King Johoshaphat.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
HE IS LISTENING!
Last evening I was walking around in my yard looking up at the night sky. A Scripture verse came to my mind while I was thinking of the peace talks that the Quartet are holding in Washington DC tomorrow, July 11.2011.
It seems every time the United States or other European nations gather to force Israel into something they should not need to do something bad happens. I was wondering if something would happen next week. I thought of a verse while praying and did not know where to find it; it says, " when Thy judgments come upon the earth the people of the world learn righteousness..."(Isaiah 26:9)
Even in judgment, as bad as it can get, God sends it to turn people to righteousness, to repentance. It takes an awful hard heart to not pray for the people that have suffered in Japan, or the earthquakes and floods all over the world. The week of the earthquake the Japanese government gave full support to the Palestinian Authority in their fight against Israel. Still, in mercy God sends judgments.
Another verse I have thought of for the past several days regards the authority we have as Believers over the enemy. I talked with Rev. Cooper, my elder Pastor friend and ask him if this was scriptural or have I imagined it? He said Christ said this to us.
He also said that we do not live this way because it takes strong faith; we really do not comprehend the power and authority Christ gave us.
The verse if found in Luke 10:19 ~
" I have given you authority to overcome all of the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you."
What blessed me to no end is that these two verses that I was thinking of were on a Christian news site today when I checked in on the news. Right there in front of me!
The same verses! God knew my questions, He knew I would not really believe it until I saw it for my self in Scripture, and He sent confirmation of these two verses right when I needed them. It has been a trying month for my family but He has been right beside us the entire time and in His love He sends these spiritual blessing across my path. What a loving Heavenly Father we have.
I would like to give one thought on the promise by Christ of the great authority we have over the enemy. When Israel went into the Promised Land with Joshua, God said they would be victorious over the inhabitants of the Land. But, God also said He was leaving 5 wicked kings in the land so that the next generation of the Children of Israel would learn how to fight! God leaves enemies around us also so we can learn the taste of victory and learn how to fight.
He promised that we would not be harmed. Harm to our spiritual man is spiritual death; this will not happen to His children. The battles we face teach us that we have no power in our self; it all is from Him. Like Moses when they were facing the battle of their lives, as long as Moses held his arms up to heaven, Israel was winning; when his arms dropped the enemy started to succeed.
Is it not the same for us? How can we enter the army of God unless we are battle tested? We cannot learn of His power unless we need deliverance and are delivered. We experience God as our High Tower when we need a High Tower. We know that He is our sword and shield when we are under attack. We learn of His faithfulness always even when it looks as if all is hopeless. Our authority is IN HIM!
Here is a verse that reveals the secret place we need to be at all times, both good times and in times of difficulty. It is a mindset ~
" My soul yearns for You in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for You."
THIS is our victory! THIS is where our great authority originates - Staying in Him!
It seems every time the United States or other European nations gather to force Israel into something they should not need to do something bad happens. I was wondering if something would happen next week. I thought of a verse while praying and did not know where to find it; it says, " when Thy judgments come upon the earth the people of the world learn righteousness..."(Isaiah 26:9)
Even in judgment, as bad as it can get, God sends it to turn people to righteousness, to repentance. It takes an awful hard heart to not pray for the people that have suffered in Japan, or the earthquakes and floods all over the world. The week of the earthquake the Japanese government gave full support to the Palestinian Authority in their fight against Israel. Still, in mercy God sends judgments.
Another verse I have thought of for the past several days regards the authority we have as Believers over the enemy. I talked with Rev. Cooper, my elder Pastor friend and ask him if this was scriptural or have I imagined it? He said Christ said this to us.
He also said that we do not live this way because it takes strong faith; we really do not comprehend the power and authority Christ gave us.
The verse if found in Luke 10:19 ~
" I have given you authority to overcome all of the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you."
What blessed me to no end is that these two verses that I was thinking of were on a Christian news site today when I checked in on the news. Right there in front of me!
The same verses! God knew my questions, He knew I would not really believe it until I saw it for my self in Scripture, and He sent confirmation of these two verses right when I needed them. It has been a trying month for my family but He has been right beside us the entire time and in His love He sends these spiritual blessing across my path. What a loving Heavenly Father we have.
I would like to give one thought on the promise by Christ of the great authority we have over the enemy. When Israel went into the Promised Land with Joshua, God said they would be victorious over the inhabitants of the Land. But, God also said He was leaving 5 wicked kings in the land so that the next generation of the Children of Israel would learn how to fight! God leaves enemies around us also so we can learn the taste of victory and learn how to fight.
He promised that we would not be harmed. Harm to our spiritual man is spiritual death; this will not happen to His children. The battles we face teach us that we have no power in our self; it all is from Him. Like Moses when they were facing the battle of their lives, as long as Moses held his arms up to heaven, Israel was winning; when his arms dropped the enemy started to succeed.
Is it not the same for us? How can we enter the army of God unless we are battle tested? We cannot learn of His power unless we need deliverance and are delivered. We experience God as our High Tower when we need a High Tower. We know that He is our sword and shield when we are under attack. We learn of His faithfulness always even when it looks as if all is hopeless. Our authority is IN HIM!
Here is a verse that reveals the secret place we need to be at all times, both good times and in times of difficulty. It is a mindset ~
" My soul yearns for You in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for You."
THIS is our victory! THIS is where our great authority originates - Staying in Him!
Jehovah
The Angel of the LORD mentioned in the Old Testament was Christ in human form. He walked and talked with Abraham. He accompanied the two angelic beings who sent destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah. He spoke in the midst of a burning bush that was not consumed when Moses was called to free the Children of Israel held captive in Egypt.
He was revealed to Ezekiel with eyes of fire and a form of burnished bronze. He sent angels to destroy the Syrians when they had gathered against Elisha with the hills covered with fiery chariots. He appeared to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus in such a bright light that Paul was blinded. He walked through the Garden of Eden with Adam and conversed with him in the cool of the day. He spoke with Moses face to face on Mt Sinai. He carved the Ten Commandments with His fingers.
All of these were revelations of the Son of God; One of the Trinity. The ancient name used by Israel for thousands of years has been JEHOVAH. This word is so sacred that when the Rabbi's would write it with pen and parchment they would use a brand new pen to spell the name, then discard the pen.
When this word is taken apart it is found that its origin is from two words; JAHWEH which means I AM...and HAVAH which means to become more and more revealed.
One revelation at a time. I believe that we will be discovering new revelations of Christ and who He is for all of eternity. This life is just a dress rehearsal for eternity!
He has declared Himself to be the Way, the Truth, The Light, a High Tower, a Strong Defense, our Healer, our Salvation, our Buckler, our Shield, our Defense, and His attributes are endless. He is whatever we may need at any time in our life; always a new revelation.
Even the last book of the Bible is titled the Revelation of Jesus Christ; another revelation altogether. We have been given in these last days a revelation that Abraham, Paul, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Naham, Isaac, King David and all of the others in the past did not have.
What have we done with the final revelation of Jesus Christ? Most run from it because we do not understand it. It is there for us. Study it and pray for discernment to understand it. After all, this is the ONE who is coming back for His Bride! We should be well acquainted with the One to whom the Father has gathered for His Son!
Christ said that He is coming back for those who are looking for Him. Keep looking up; the Groom is coming! Do not be found sleeping or entangled with the cares of this life so close to His soon return.
He was revealed to Ezekiel with eyes of fire and a form of burnished bronze. He sent angels to destroy the Syrians when they had gathered against Elisha with the hills covered with fiery chariots. He appeared to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus in such a bright light that Paul was blinded. He walked through the Garden of Eden with Adam and conversed with him in the cool of the day. He spoke with Moses face to face on Mt Sinai. He carved the Ten Commandments with His fingers.
All of these were revelations of the Son of God; One of the Trinity. The ancient name used by Israel for thousands of years has been JEHOVAH. This word is so sacred that when the Rabbi's would write it with pen and parchment they would use a brand new pen to spell the name, then discard the pen.
When this word is taken apart it is found that its origin is from two words; JAHWEH which means I AM...and HAVAH which means to become more and more revealed.
One revelation at a time. I believe that we will be discovering new revelations of Christ and who He is for all of eternity. This life is just a dress rehearsal for eternity!
He has declared Himself to be the Way, the Truth, The Light, a High Tower, a Strong Defense, our Healer, our Salvation, our Buckler, our Shield, our Defense, and His attributes are endless. He is whatever we may need at any time in our life; always a new revelation.
Even the last book of the Bible is titled the Revelation of Jesus Christ; another revelation altogether. We have been given in these last days a revelation that Abraham, Paul, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Naham, Isaac, King David and all of the others in the past did not have.
What have we done with the final revelation of Jesus Christ? Most run from it because we do not understand it. It is there for us. Study it and pray for discernment to understand it. After all, this is the ONE who is coming back for His Bride! We should be well acquainted with the One to whom the Father has gathered for His Son!
Christ said that He is coming back for those who are looking for Him. Keep looking up; the Groom is coming! Do not be found sleeping or entangled with the cares of this life so close to His soon return.
CHURCHES AGAINST ISRAEL- Giulio Meotti
CHURCHES AGAINST ISRAEL
By Giulio Meotti
A few days ago UK researchers announced that 17 skeletons belonged to Jews were found at the bottom of a medieval well in Norwich, England. The Jews were murdered in a pogrom or had been forced to commit suicide rather than submit to demands for conversion to Christianity.
The bodies date back to the 12th or 13th Centuries, at a time when Jewish people faced killings, banishment and persecution throughout all Europe. Those 17 Jews were killed because of "replacement theology," the most ancient Christian calumny arguing that because of their denial of the divinity of Christ, the Jews have forfeited God's promises to them which have been transferred to the Church.
Some 10 centuries later, global Christian forums are reviving this theological demonology against the heirs of those 17 Jews: the Jews of the State of Israel. The World Council of Churches, an ecumenical Christian body based in Geneva and boasting 590 million worshippers, just ended a four-day conference in the Greek city of Volos. Not a single word of criticism was uttered there against the Islamists who are persecuting Arabs who believe Jesus.
Lutherans arrived to Volos from the United States, Catholics and Protestants from Bethlehem and Nazareth, Orthodox Christians from Greece and Russia, lecturers from Beirut and Copts from Egypt. The conference declared the Jewish State "a sin" and "occupying power," accused Israelis of "dehumanizing" the Palestinians, theologically dismantled the "choseness" of the Jewish people and called for "resistance" as a Christian duty.
The conference denied 3,000 years of Jewish life in the land stretching between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, took sides against the very presence of Israel, likened the defensive barrier that has blocked terrorism to "apartheid," attacked Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria invoking the name of God and conceptually dismissed the Jewish State, imagining it to be a mixture - Islamic, Christian and perhaps a bit Jewish. It even legitimized terrorism when it talked about the "thousands of prisoners who languish in Israeli jails," proclaiming that "resistance to the evil of occupation is a Christian's right and duty."
In the last few months we have seen a radical and dangerous increase of attacks on Israel by the Protestant and Catholic churches. While the US is home to many Christian supporters of Israel, the groups more closely linked to global public opinion, European bureaucracy, the media industry, the United Nations and various legal forums are all violently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. They are paving the way for a new Jewish bloodbath by the theological exclusion of Israel's Jews from the family of nations.
The patriarch of the Antioch Church, the Catholic Melkite Gregory III Laham, proclaimed that there is a "Zionist conspiracy against Islam," reviving old conspiracy theories that led to infamous pogroms.
In Antwerp, once called "the Belgian Jerusalem," a highly respected and government-funded Catholic school, the College of the Sacred Heart, just hosted a "Palestine Day" replete with anti-Semitic references and activities for youngsters. One stall at the event was titled "Throw the soldiers into the sea," allowing children to throw replicas of Jewish and Israeli soldiers into two large tanks.
The most influential international Catholic peace movement, Pax Christi, just promoted a boycott of Israel's goods "in the name of love." The most hated Israeli product includes Ahava, the famous Israeli cosmetics company, whose shop in Covent Garden, London, has just been closed by the company after years of demonstrations. Strangely, Ahava body lotion tubes have been chosen as a satanic symbol of Jewish colonialism.
Today, most of the divestment campaign against Israel is driven by Christian groups such as the Dutch Interchurch Organization and the Irish Catholic group Troicaré, both funded by the EU. The United Church of Canada, a very popular and mainstream Christian denomination, just voted to boycott six companies (Caterpillar, Motorola, Ahava, Veolia, Elbit Systems and Chapters/Indigo) and South African bishop Desmond Tutu convinced the University of Johannesburg to severe all its links with Israeli fellows.
Last year the Methodist Church of Britain voted to boycott Israeli-produced goods and services from Judea and Samaria. The catholic Pax Christi is also leading the campaign glorifying Mordechai Vanunu, Israel's nuclear whistleblower who had converted to Christianity.
La Civiltà Cattolica, the Vatican magazine reviewed by the Holy See Secretary of State before publication, in January opened with a shocking editorial on Palestinian refugees. Adopting the Islamist propagandist word "Nakba," just recently invoked by Arab mobs to breach Israel's borders, the paper declared that the refugees are a consequence of "ethnic cleansing" by Israel and that "the Zionists were cleverly able to exploit the Western sense of guilt for the Shoah to lay the foundations of their own state."
Israel's relationship with the Vatican is different from Jerusalem's relationship with Albania or Luxembourg for example, because the Catholic Church has more than one billion adherents and a global moral authority.
At the Rome synod, Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, a cleric chosen by Pope Ratzinger to draft the synod's 44 final propositions, denied the Jewish people's biblical right to the Promised Land. "We Christians cannot speak about the Promised Land for the Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people", Bustros said, reviving the "replacement theology."
Edmond Farhat, a Maronite Apostolic Nuncio, who is a sort of Vatican's Ambassador, described Israel's place in the Middle East in terms of a rejected "foreign implant" that which has no specialists "capable of healing it."
Elsewhere, the current Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, named by Pope Ratzinger to represent the Catholic community in Israel and the West Bank, is sponsoring an appeal against the "Judaization of Jerusalem."
Indeed, at this time, new anti-Israel policies by the most powerful Christian groups are breathing new life into Medieval doctrine that demonized Jews for hundreds of years.
The latest excavations in England suggest the Jews were thrown down the well together, head first, the kids after the parents. Five of them had a DNA sequence suggesting they were likely to be members of a single Jewish family. Some 10 centuries later, five Jews from the same Israeli family, the Fogels of Itamar, were slaughtered in their own beds. A famous Italian priest, Mario Cornioli, wrote immediately after the massacre in a subliminal justification of the killings: "What is Itamar? An illegal Israeli colony built on stolen land."
The replacement calumny has changed its language, yet it still marks a death sentence for the Jewish people: Israelis, like Lucifer, were God's chosen but were cast out for their rebellious and evil ways, and now deserve to be obliterated from the so-called "Holy Land," the argument goes. From Norwich to Itamar, the Jewish martyrs are an everlasting and heroic stain in this horrible, theological blood libel.
Israel is the nation and the land given to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! We are opposed to "replacement theology" and will stand with Israel no matter what!
David HockingHFT Connect
By Giulio Meotti
A few days ago UK researchers announced that 17 skeletons belonged to Jews were found at the bottom of a medieval well in Norwich, England. The Jews were murdered in a pogrom or had been forced to commit suicide rather than submit to demands for conversion to Christianity.
The bodies date back to the 12th or 13th Centuries, at a time when Jewish people faced killings, banishment and persecution throughout all Europe. Those 17 Jews were killed because of "replacement theology," the most ancient Christian calumny arguing that because of their denial of the divinity of Christ, the Jews have forfeited God's promises to them which have been transferred to the Church.
Some 10 centuries later, global Christian forums are reviving this theological demonology against the heirs of those 17 Jews: the Jews of the State of Israel. The World Council of Churches, an ecumenical Christian body based in Geneva and boasting 590 million worshippers, just ended a four-day conference in the Greek city of Volos. Not a single word of criticism was uttered there against the Islamists who are persecuting Arabs who believe Jesus.
Lutherans arrived to Volos from the United States, Catholics and Protestants from Bethlehem and Nazareth, Orthodox Christians from Greece and Russia, lecturers from Beirut and Copts from Egypt. The conference declared the Jewish State "a sin" and "occupying power," accused Israelis of "dehumanizing" the Palestinians, theologically dismantled the "choseness" of the Jewish people and called for "resistance" as a Christian duty.
The conference denied 3,000 years of Jewish life in the land stretching between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, took sides against the very presence of Israel, likened the defensive barrier that has blocked terrorism to "apartheid," attacked Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria invoking the name of God and conceptually dismissed the Jewish State, imagining it to be a mixture - Islamic, Christian and perhaps a bit Jewish. It even legitimized terrorism when it talked about the "thousands of prisoners who languish in Israeli jails," proclaiming that "resistance to the evil of occupation is a Christian's right and duty."
In the last few months we have seen a radical and dangerous increase of attacks on Israel by the Protestant and Catholic churches. While the US is home to many Christian supporters of Israel, the groups more closely linked to global public opinion, European bureaucracy, the media industry, the United Nations and various legal forums are all violently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. They are paving the way for a new Jewish bloodbath by the theological exclusion of Israel's Jews from the family of nations.
The patriarch of the Antioch Church, the Catholic Melkite Gregory III Laham, proclaimed that there is a "Zionist conspiracy against Islam," reviving old conspiracy theories that led to infamous pogroms.
In Antwerp, once called "the Belgian Jerusalem," a highly respected and government-funded Catholic school, the College of the Sacred Heart, just hosted a "Palestine Day" replete with anti-Semitic references and activities for youngsters. One stall at the event was titled "Throw the soldiers into the sea," allowing children to throw replicas of Jewish and Israeli soldiers into two large tanks.
The most influential international Catholic peace movement, Pax Christi, just promoted a boycott of Israel's goods "in the name of love." The most hated Israeli product includes Ahava, the famous Israeli cosmetics company, whose shop in Covent Garden, London, has just been closed by the company after years of demonstrations. Strangely, Ahava body lotion tubes have been chosen as a satanic symbol of Jewish colonialism.
Today, most of the divestment campaign against Israel is driven by Christian groups such as the Dutch Interchurch Organization and the Irish Catholic group Troicaré, both funded by the EU. The United Church of Canada, a very popular and mainstream Christian denomination, just voted to boycott six companies (Caterpillar, Motorola, Ahava, Veolia, Elbit Systems and Chapters/Indigo) and South African bishop Desmond Tutu convinced the University of Johannesburg to severe all its links with Israeli fellows.
Last year the Methodist Church of Britain voted to boycott Israeli-produced goods and services from Judea and Samaria. The catholic Pax Christi is also leading the campaign glorifying Mordechai Vanunu, Israel's nuclear whistleblower who had converted to Christianity.
La Civiltà Cattolica, the Vatican magazine reviewed by the Holy See Secretary of State before publication, in January opened with a shocking editorial on Palestinian refugees. Adopting the Islamist propagandist word "Nakba," just recently invoked by Arab mobs to breach Israel's borders, the paper declared that the refugees are a consequence of "ethnic cleansing" by Israel and that "the Zionists were cleverly able to exploit the Western sense of guilt for the Shoah to lay the foundations of their own state."
Israel's relationship with the Vatican is different from Jerusalem's relationship with Albania or Luxembourg for example, because the Catholic Church has more than one billion adherents and a global moral authority.
At the Rome synod, Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, a cleric chosen by Pope Ratzinger to draft the synod's 44 final propositions, denied the Jewish people's biblical right to the Promised Land. "We Christians cannot speak about the Promised Land for the Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people", Bustros said, reviving the "replacement theology."
Edmond Farhat, a Maronite Apostolic Nuncio, who is a sort of Vatican's Ambassador, described Israel's place in the Middle East in terms of a rejected "foreign implant" that which has no specialists "capable of healing it."
Elsewhere, the current Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, named by Pope Ratzinger to represent the Catholic community in Israel and the West Bank, is sponsoring an appeal against the "Judaization of Jerusalem."
Indeed, at this time, new anti-Israel policies by the most powerful Christian groups are breathing new life into Medieval doctrine that demonized Jews for hundreds of years.
The latest excavations in England suggest the Jews were thrown down the well together, head first, the kids after the parents. Five of them had a DNA sequence suggesting they were likely to be members of a single Jewish family. Some 10 centuries later, five Jews from the same Israeli family, the Fogels of Itamar, were slaughtered in their own beds. A famous Italian priest, Mario Cornioli, wrote immediately after the massacre in a subliminal justification of the killings: "What is Itamar? An illegal Israeli colony built on stolen land."
The replacement calumny has changed its language, yet it still marks a death sentence for the Jewish people: Israelis, like Lucifer, were God's chosen but were cast out for their rebellious and evil ways, and now deserve to be obliterated from the so-called "Holy Land," the argument goes. From Norwich to Itamar, the Jewish martyrs are an everlasting and heroic stain in this horrible, theological blood libel.
Israel is the nation and the land given to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! We are opposed to "replacement theology" and will stand with Israel no matter what!
David HockingHFT Connect
Saturday, July 2, 2011
God Has Sworn!
PSALM 89 ~
" My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.
Once I have sworn by My holiness
that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever,
and his throne as the sun before Me.
It shall be established forever as the moon,
and as a faithful witness in heaven."
Such promises of God to us! The Apostle Paul said that we as Believers are the seed of David; and a greater than David came and died to wash away our sins. What a price He paid. Such love is beyond human comprehension.
One day soon we shall see the King in all of His glory!
Look up for our redemption is drawing ever so close.
When we are transformed in the twinkling of an eye we shall inherit a body likened unto His glorious, eternal body. What a day that will be!
" My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.
Once I have sworn by My holiness
that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever,
and his throne as the sun before Me.
It shall be established forever as the moon,
and as a faithful witness in heaven."
Such promises of God to us! The Apostle Paul said that we as Believers are the seed of David; and a greater than David came and died to wash away our sins. What a price He paid. Such love is beyond human comprehension.
One day soon we shall see the King in all of His glory!
Look up for our redemption is drawing ever so close.
When we are transformed in the twinkling of an eye we shall inherit a body likened unto His glorious, eternal body. What a day that will be!
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