Our words have power.
Yahweh's Word created the entire universe. He left a bit of Himself, this Word, in every atom and molecule of existence. This Word resonates with Itself. There is a part of everything that exists that is awaiting the full manifestation of the Word of the Lord that is resonant inside of them.
Romans 8 says that creation groans, eagerly awaiting the manifestation of the sons of Yahweh. These groans go unheard, unnoticed until the sons stand up and take their places, making declarations of their own. Creation rejoices when the sons make declarations because now they have something with which to resonate. They have a conductor to their symphony and they know the exact frequency with which they should vibrate for Yahweh's full purpose to be revealed.
As we make declarations and they become a part of the very fabric of all of existence itself, creation can remind us again of our declarations when we are tempted by the enemy to forget who we are, where we come from, and that Yahweh has given us all things in Him. Imagine that, as you are walking along the paths of the Earth, every footstep releases the molecules in the ground to vibrate with the same declaration you made in faith. As you play with your dog and he lopes in your backyard, every movement of his body vibrates with the frequency of the Word you declared. As you go about your daily life and are faithful in your job and over your family, every act of obedience, every word spoken to a colleague, every time you give up something you wanted so that another could have their way causes harmonic vibrations that run through your being saying, "Yes! Yahweh is here!" Everything that surrounds you was designed to remind you of Yahweh's Promise so that, when the enemy comes to you and tells you a bunch of lies to make you forget the Word that you heard in faith, creation itself rises up and says "NO! I have heard the Word from your very lips and this is what it is!"
Creation itself wants you to remember the Word of Yahweh. It can be very passionate about it if you but the have ears to hear.
He who has ears to hear let him hear! He who has faith to speak, let him declare! Let all of creation resonate together with the Word of our God. Oh, come Kingdom! HalleluYah!
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Two Voices
Each of us speaks with two voices.
The secular world has this concept as well. Usually it is talking about how someone can say one thing but mean another. Sometimes, they don't even realize they're doing it. It's that inner thought that prompts what is spoken. "I like your dress" might be true, but it might have an underlying thought of "She can make anything look good" or "I wish I were that pretty." Others are less honest, deliberately saying one thing while meaning another.
There is a verse in Hebrews which says "An oath of confirmation puts an end to all dispute." Another verse says that every matter must be established by two or more witnesses. There are always two voices.
It can be difficult to understand when the two voices don't line up. Many people... or maybe it's just me... find myself confused when what is presented to them at face value--the first voice--and what they sense underneath--the second voice--are not in agreement. If we're lucky, we will realize the source of the confusion and go looking for the truth. If not, we will begin to believe the lie or disbelieve the truth and eventually decide that the "first voice" is not a trustworthy source.
So it is with religion. Religion's face-value voice says "God loves you" but underneath it tells us that He hates us. Sadly, people begin to disbelieve the truth that Yahweh loves us because they sense the disconnect between the two things religion is telling us.
Well-meaning Christians are not to blame for the lies of religion. Since the days of Constantine and the beginning of the Roman-Catholic church, religion has been a mixing of the seed. Yahweh's Truth was mixed with pagan ideas and rituals in order to win more converts and escape persecution. The enemy had an inroads then, and he became one voice of the religious church while Yahweh's Truth was the other. As these two voices are dichotomous, it is easy to see the disconnect between the two voices.
Religion spends all of its time telling us that we are horrible, horrible sinners who deserve Hell and all that's coming to us and that Yahweh only spared us out of His great and infinite mercy and grace. The focus on our sinful state speaks of a contrary concept to Yahweh's unconditional love. People become confused because once we are saved and have received Yahweh's unconditional love, we are no longer sinners. Our hearts are freed and lined up with Yahweh, and when we occasionally make bad decisions, they are temporary mistakes that have already been forgiven. As long as we keep submitting to Holy Spirit and His wisdom and power, Yahweh will help us grow out of these bad decisions. If we are not submitting to Holy Spirit, I would venture to question our salvation at all.
I understand why well-meaning Christians want to talk about sin, Hell, and salvation. Firstly, it is technically true. We were sinners and Yahweh did save us out of His love and grace. However, once we are saved we should not focus on sin, but focus on the Savior. Secondly, they are trying to knock down pride or any idea that we could have earned salvation, and let me be clear, we cannot earn salvation. They are also trying to ensure that we value Yahweh and all He has given us. Often, they are speaking to people who are not saved and people who are saved at the same time. It can be hard to tell one person in a public setting that he is a sinner who needs salvation and another person in a public setting that he has already been saved so is no longer a sinner.
Nevertheless, religious Christianity has a problem. It is confusing for people as they sense the disconnect between "God loves us unconditionally" and "You should go to Hell for all the evil that you've done, worm."
It is difficult to mesh the concepts of mercy and justice in the minds of man. It is hard to say, "God loves you unconditionally but does not accept the evil thoughts/actions that you are participating in." People have decided that they are what they do, and this is not true.
The truth is, "Yahweh loves you unconditionally and therefore He has better things for you than the evil thoughts/actions you are participating in." He wants more for us than we want for ourselves. C. S. Lewis once said that we are far too easily pleased.
So people are fleeing religion in droves because they sense the disconnect between the two voices of religion. Unfortunately, they are seeking Truth in places that it will not be found. Babylon, the secular world, has nothing better to offer them, but sometimes because it has two voices that are more in sync, it can look appealing. Just because the two voices are in sync doesn't mean they are speaking Yahweh's Truth. Just because two voices are out of sync doesn't mean that one of them is not true.
We need to discover the Truth and then discover integrity. Integrity means being completely, 100% of a thing. When we have integrity, our two voices are in sync. When we have integrity, one voice is ours and one voice is Yahweh's. An oath of confirmation puts an end to all dispute, and each matter is established.
Let me be clear again. Yahweh does love you unconditionally. He also does not love sin. There is no disconnect between these two concepts because you are not your sin. This is the very reason He came to save us and, I would venture to say, the definition of salvation. Salvation is when Yahweh came and separated us from our sin. Thus He can destroy sin without having to destroy us, whom He loves.
Yahweh is love and He loves all that He called into being. This is true, voiced by Yahshua Himself when He died on a cross as confirmation of the original Word that Yahweh spoke when He brought creation into existence: I love you.
So Yahweh became His own voice of confirmation and that ends all dispute.
Monday, July 4, 2016
What is a Zadokim (Part 2)?
Scriptural References:
Genesis 14-15
Ezekiel 44 (starting at vs. 15)
Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)
Matthew 5:17-18
Hebrews 7
John 14
Psalm 23:3
Hebrews 12
The relationship between Abraham and Melchizedek is a shadow of the relationship between us and Yahshua. That Melchizedek was without beginning and end, a High Priest of God Most High, Possessor of Heaven and Earth and also the King of Salem. His name means King of Righteousness, so He was both King of Righteousness and King of Peace (Shalom-peace, completion, wholeness). When Abraham submitted to Melchizedek and gave a tithe of all, eschewing all possession in Babylon (Genesis 14), Yahweh made a covenant with him (Genesis 15) that was the Covenant of Abraham. There He promised to bless Abraham and his descendants and give him a son, and “Abraham believed Yahweh and it was credited to Him as righteousness.” The rest of Abraham’s life was guided by that covenant. The King of Righteousness “led him in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3) and the fact that Abraham did not do it perfectly did not nullify the covenant, but all of Yahweh’s promises to Abraham were fulfilled (yes and amen!).
So it is with us, only better. Yahshua is our Melchizedek, mediator of the New Covenant, the Covenant of Love (Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV). More than just being Preist of God Most High, He is God Most High and Possessor of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, He can be High Priest over other priests. (Hebrews 7). He is a Priest Forever in the Order of Melchizedek. Yet, a High Priest of a priestly order needs priests that minister with Him to God Most High. That is us, the Zadokim (Ezekiel 44:15). We are the righteous ones/sons of righteousness that may “come near to [Him] to minister to [Him] and they shall stand before [Him] to offer [Him] the fat and the blood.” We can only do this through Yahshua, our High Priest and the Mediator of the New Covenant because He is the “Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him].”
Yet, we cannot do this if we do not enter the New Covenant. We may cling to the Old Covenant, the Laws of Right and Wrong. (I have been doing this, unaware.) In attempting to be righteous ourselves, we focus on the Tree of Knowledge of Right and Wrong and forget about the Tree of Life, who is Yahshua. He is able to save, and He is able to lead us in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s (name as in etymologically and name as in authority) sake. In this, we can look unto Yahshua, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12), instead of looking to the right and left, the right and wrong, and thus we can walk in paths of righteousness instead of being distracted by the old laws. This is how Yahshua can fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17-18). It is, in fact, the only way the law can be fulfilled.
It is also the only way we can become Kings and Priests. Priests of the New Covenant and Kings with the authority of righteousness. We are righteous, not because of what we do, but because we believe Yahweh. Like for Abraham, righteousness is a promise. The King of Righteousness and the King of Peace has promised us righteousness and peace and the only way to have righteousness and peace is to receive the promise by faith. The laws of right and wrong do not apply to us, not because there is no right and wrong, but because there is a law that supersedes that, the Law of Love. This law fulfills the law of right and wrong and, just like Abraham messed up and still received the promise, so we can walk in faith that as long as we set our eyes on Yahshua, we shall receive the fullness of the promise even if we make mistakes occasionally, even if we are not perfect. Still, we shall fulfill the laws of right and wrong by fulfilling the Law of Love. We only do this by receiving the Covenant of Love, the Promise of the Father, the New Covenant.
I am still walking this revelation out, but it is more and more real every day. I look forward to a life lived in the New Covenant, and I am so grateful for our Mediator, our Intercessor, our High Priest, Yahshua.
Genesis 14-15
Ezekiel 44 (starting at vs. 15)
Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)
Matthew 5:17-18
Hebrews 7
John 14
Psalm 23:3
Hebrews 12
The relationship between Abraham and Melchizedek is a shadow of the relationship between us and Yahshua. That Melchizedek was without beginning and end, a High Priest of God Most High, Possessor of Heaven and Earth and also the King of Salem. His name means King of Righteousness, so He was both King of Righteousness and King of Peace (Shalom-peace, completion, wholeness). When Abraham submitted to Melchizedek and gave a tithe of all, eschewing all possession in Babylon (Genesis 14), Yahweh made a covenant with him (Genesis 15) that was the Covenant of Abraham. There He promised to bless Abraham and his descendants and give him a son, and “Abraham believed Yahweh and it was credited to Him as righteousness.” The rest of Abraham’s life was guided by that covenant. The King of Righteousness “led him in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3) and the fact that Abraham did not do it perfectly did not nullify the covenant, but all of Yahweh’s promises to Abraham were fulfilled (yes and amen!).
So it is with us, only better. Yahshua is our Melchizedek, mediator of the New Covenant, the Covenant of Love (Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV). More than just being Preist of God Most High, He is God Most High and Possessor of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, He can be High Priest over other priests. (Hebrews 7). He is a Priest Forever in the Order of Melchizedek. Yet, a High Priest of a priestly order needs priests that minister with Him to God Most High. That is us, the Zadokim (Ezekiel 44:15). We are the righteous ones/sons of righteousness that may “come near to [Him] to minister to [Him] and they shall stand before [Him] to offer [Him] the fat and the blood.” We can only do this through Yahshua, our High Priest and the Mediator of the New Covenant because He is the “Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him].”
Yet, we cannot do this if we do not enter the New Covenant. We may cling to the Old Covenant, the Laws of Right and Wrong. (I have been doing this, unaware.) In attempting to be righteous ourselves, we focus on the Tree of Knowledge of Right and Wrong and forget about the Tree of Life, who is Yahshua. He is able to save, and He is able to lead us in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s (name as in etymologically and name as in authority) sake. In this, we can look unto Yahshua, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12), instead of looking to the right and left, the right and wrong, and thus we can walk in paths of righteousness instead of being distracted by the old laws. This is how Yahshua can fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17-18). It is, in fact, the only way the law can be fulfilled.
It is also the only way we can become Kings and Priests. Priests of the New Covenant and Kings with the authority of righteousness. We are righteous, not because of what we do, but because we believe Yahweh. Like for Abraham, righteousness is a promise. The King of Righteousness and the King of Peace has promised us righteousness and peace and the only way to have righteousness and peace is to receive the promise by faith. The laws of right and wrong do not apply to us, not because there is no right and wrong, but because there is a law that supersedes that, the Law of Love. This law fulfills the law of right and wrong and, just like Abraham messed up and still received the promise, so we can walk in faith that as long as we set our eyes on Yahshua, we shall receive the fullness of the promise even if we make mistakes occasionally, even if we are not perfect. Still, we shall fulfill the laws of right and wrong by fulfilling the Law of Love. We only do this by receiving the Covenant of Love, the Promise of the Father, the New Covenant.
I am still walking this revelation out, but it is more and more real every day. I look forward to a life lived in the New Covenant, and I am so grateful for our Mediator, our Intercessor, our High Priest, Yahshua.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
The End of the World
I have just finished watching the movie "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," which is now available on Netflix. It is the story of a young boy coping with the aftermath of his father's death in the World Trade Center on September 11. It is extremely sad and incredibly emotional, and I found myself remembering that day and what it was like.
I was thirteen, and old enough to know how momentous it was. I remember watching the second plane hit the tower on TV. I remember watching the Twin Towers fall. I remember that the entire school was glued to the news until parents complained and made them turn it off. I remember the entire country pulling together. I remember the whole nation being traumatized by this event. I remember watching them sing "Amazing Grace" on Capitol Hill on the TV that night. I remember the television specials that aired for the rest of the year, and the shows that were not aired because they were too reminiscent of what happened. I remember the national grief and the international support expressed by America's allies.
Then I think back to the Orlando shootings or the Paris attacks or the San Bernardino shootings and I think: this is becoming more common. We are not responding as we did. Instead of nations coming together, we change our profile picture on Facebook to represent our "support" and start politicizing the deaths of innocent people. We are becoming desensitized. Terrorism happens all the time now. We cannot even stop for it anymore.
And I think how easy it is for people to look at the world and decide that Yahshua must be coming back soon because look how awful it is and it must be near the end. We are, after all, destroying ourselves.
I don't know about Yahshua's return date (even He didn't know, He said), but I can tell you that we do not end in destruction, but redemption. Because then I remember that Yahweh is sovereign and none of this takes Him by surprise. I remember His plan and purpose that He set in place from the Beginning. I remember that it is not limited by nations or able to be thwarted by terrorism. I remember that it supersedes circumstance and makes all things good.
Incredibly, He can fix this. Not in the way that you might think, and not in the way that will leave the world like it was before terrorism began. No, He will take us back even further, back to the Beginning, to His original plan for the world.
So while I can look at the news and at society and at all the horrible choices some people are making and the lack of honor for the plan that Yahweh made when He started this whole creation business, I can also see that His plan is still there, still in motion, still redeeming. And I have the chance to choose.
Do I choose to give up and await the destruction of the world, to be mired in depression and hopelessness? Do I choose to strive and attempt to change things in my own strength and with my own resources? Or do I choose to submit to Yahweh's plan and receive my access to Heaven's resources and be a part of the remnant, the redemption, the fruit that will remain when Babylon meets its inevitable end?
Because I can be part of the destruction or part of the redemption, and the End of the World looks a lot like the Beginning.
I was thirteen, and old enough to know how momentous it was. I remember watching the second plane hit the tower on TV. I remember watching the Twin Towers fall. I remember that the entire school was glued to the news until parents complained and made them turn it off. I remember the entire country pulling together. I remember the whole nation being traumatized by this event. I remember watching them sing "Amazing Grace" on Capitol Hill on the TV that night. I remember the television specials that aired for the rest of the year, and the shows that were not aired because they were too reminiscent of what happened. I remember the national grief and the international support expressed by America's allies.
Then I think back to the Orlando shootings or the Paris attacks or the San Bernardino shootings and I think: this is becoming more common. We are not responding as we did. Instead of nations coming together, we change our profile picture on Facebook to represent our "support" and start politicizing the deaths of innocent people. We are becoming desensitized. Terrorism happens all the time now. We cannot even stop for it anymore.
And I think how easy it is for people to look at the world and decide that Yahshua must be coming back soon because look how awful it is and it must be near the end. We are, after all, destroying ourselves.
I don't know about Yahshua's return date (even He didn't know, He said), but I can tell you that we do not end in destruction, but redemption. Because then I remember that Yahweh is sovereign and none of this takes Him by surprise. I remember His plan and purpose that He set in place from the Beginning. I remember that it is not limited by nations or able to be thwarted by terrorism. I remember that it supersedes circumstance and makes all things good.
Incredibly, He can fix this. Not in the way that you might think, and not in the way that will leave the world like it was before terrorism began. No, He will take us back even further, back to the Beginning, to His original plan for the world.
So while I can look at the news and at society and at all the horrible choices some people are making and the lack of honor for the plan that Yahweh made when He started this whole creation business, I can also see that His plan is still there, still in motion, still redeeming. And I have the chance to choose.
Do I choose to give up and await the destruction of the world, to be mired in depression and hopelessness? Do I choose to strive and attempt to change things in my own strength and with my own resources? Or do I choose to submit to Yahweh's plan and receive my access to Heaven's resources and be a part of the remnant, the redemption, the fruit that will remain when Babylon meets its inevitable end?
Because I can be part of the destruction or part of the redemption, and the End of the World looks a lot like the Beginning.
Monday, June 27, 2016
What is a Zadokim?
Many years ago, I invented a word, or so I thought. This word meant "sons of righteousness" to me. It was Zadokim. After inventing the word, I looked it up and realized that I hadn't invented it at all. I had discovered a Hebrew word that meant "righteous ones."
In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 44, I read some of the saddest verses in the Bible. Israel had gone astray from Yahweh and the priestly order of the Levites had been barred from entering Yahweh's presence because they had aided in Israel's disobedience. I can think of nothing more awful than being kept away from Yahweh. But then I read verse 15. "But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God."
This describes the Zadokim. We are the priest of Yahweh Most High and we shall draw near to Him and minister to Him. We shall offer Him our lives and all that is in them. We are priests of the New Covenant, ministering to Yahweh. We are also able to teach His people the difference between the holy and the unholy (vs. 23) and we do it all without sweating, in the rest (vs. 18).
I am honored to be a Zadokim, a righteous one, a priest of Yahweh Most High, submitted to the High Priesthood of Yahshua--Melchizedek--and we operating in the New Covenant. As we walk with Holy Spirit, each of us can discover our unique Promise and Purpose as His Zadokim in the Earth. We are His representatives. We are His people. We are the Zadokim.
In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 44, I read some of the saddest verses in the Bible. Israel had gone astray from Yahweh and the priestly order of the Levites had been barred from entering Yahweh's presence because they had aided in Israel's disobedience. I can think of nothing more awful than being kept away from Yahweh. But then I read verse 15. "But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God."
This describes the Zadokim. We are the priest of Yahweh Most High and we shall draw near to Him and minister to Him. We shall offer Him our lives and all that is in them. We are priests of the New Covenant, ministering to Yahweh. We are also able to teach His people the difference between the holy and the unholy (vs. 23) and we do it all without sweating, in the rest (vs. 18).
I am honored to be a Zadokim, a righteous one, a priest of Yahweh Most High, submitted to the High Priesthood of Yahshua--Melchizedek--and we operating in the New Covenant. As we walk with Holy Spirit, each of us can discover our unique Promise and Purpose as His Zadokim in the Earth. We are His representatives. We are His people. We are the Zadokim.
Monday, June 20, 2016
The Lie within the Lie
So many people struggle with knowing Yahweh's love. Many of the songs on Christian radio are about people who can't seem to grasp that Yahweh loves them no matter what. Perhaps that is why they speak to me so.
The church has confused a lot of people with the constant use of the phrase "unconditional love." They say that Yahweh loves man unconditionally, but then simultaneously preach a doctrine that portrays a God who will smite you if you look cross-eyed at Him or who will not bring your deepest desired blessing to pass unless you manage to get everything perfectly right. One thing wrong, and like dominoes, your blessing falls apart. This dichotomous doctrine has caused many people to overtly or unconsciously doubt that Yahweh truly loves them "unconditionally." The phrase is rendered almost meaningless.
For me, it has been difficult to receive this unconditional love of Yahweh, even when He Himself has been the one telling me that He loves me unconditionally. He is good and patient, though, so He is teaching me.
One thing He has shown me recently is the lie within the lie. This is a devious ploy of the enemy whereby he tells you a lie that we can see outright, but hides another lie within that lie. Thus, when we choose to disbelieve the outright lie, we still have a problem because there is another lie to conquer in our minds before we can truly be free of the enemy's thoughts.
In the Garden of Eden, the overt lie to Eve was that she and Adam would not die if they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but rather they would be like Yahweh. (Genesis 3:5) There were so many covert lies in that statement, though. One of the biggest ones was that Adam and Eve were not one with Yahweh. Basically, the enemy lied to them by implying that they were not close enough to Him to be "like" Him. How much more like Him could they get, walking with Him in the cool of the day and being united with Him in His Spirit?
Holy Spirit has shown me that the enemy does the same trick to us. For example, the overt lie in the issue of Yahweh's love is that "Yahweh does not love us unconditionally." I have walked with Yahweh long enough now to know that He does love us unconditionally, whether or not I feel it. However, trying to make myself believe this has been frustrating. (It's always frustrating when you try to do something yourself, isn't it?)
Today, Holy Spirit revealed to me the covert lie, namely "I do not believe that Yahweh loves me unconditionally." That's right. I can declare that I already believe that Yahweh loves me unconditionally because in reality, I do.
There is a part of me that existed in the Beginning when Yahweh spoke me into being. This part of me remembers Him whispering His Promise to me. That He would always love me. That He would come back for me no matter how far I went from Him. That He had a plan and purpose for my life all laid out. This part of me not only believes, but KNOWS without question that Yahweh loves me unconditionally and what all of His Promises are.
"Bless the LORD oh my soul and forget not His benefits!" Psalm 103:2
Oh that we would remember the Truth that Yahweh spoke from the Beginning. This truth conquers all lies and all lies within lies. Forget not His benefits, His Promises.
Yahweh is faithful. He reveals the lies and the lies within the lies and then, after He has removed all of the layers that were blocking Him, He reveals the Truth underneath that has been there all along. Thank You, Holy Spirit!
The church has confused a lot of people with the constant use of the phrase "unconditional love." They say that Yahweh loves man unconditionally, but then simultaneously preach a doctrine that portrays a God who will smite you if you look cross-eyed at Him or who will not bring your deepest desired blessing to pass unless you manage to get everything perfectly right. One thing wrong, and like dominoes, your blessing falls apart. This dichotomous doctrine has caused many people to overtly or unconsciously doubt that Yahweh truly loves them "unconditionally." The phrase is rendered almost meaningless.
For me, it has been difficult to receive this unconditional love of Yahweh, even when He Himself has been the one telling me that He loves me unconditionally. He is good and patient, though, so He is teaching me.
One thing He has shown me recently is the lie within the lie. This is a devious ploy of the enemy whereby he tells you a lie that we can see outright, but hides another lie within that lie. Thus, when we choose to disbelieve the outright lie, we still have a problem because there is another lie to conquer in our minds before we can truly be free of the enemy's thoughts.
In the Garden of Eden, the overt lie to Eve was that she and Adam would not die if they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but rather they would be like Yahweh. (Genesis 3:5) There were so many covert lies in that statement, though. One of the biggest ones was that Adam and Eve were not one with Yahweh. Basically, the enemy lied to them by implying that they were not close enough to Him to be "like" Him. How much more like Him could they get, walking with Him in the cool of the day and being united with Him in His Spirit?
Holy Spirit has shown me that the enemy does the same trick to us. For example, the overt lie in the issue of Yahweh's love is that "Yahweh does not love us unconditionally." I have walked with Yahweh long enough now to know that He does love us unconditionally, whether or not I feel it. However, trying to make myself believe this has been frustrating. (It's always frustrating when you try to do something yourself, isn't it?)
Today, Holy Spirit revealed to me the covert lie, namely "I do not believe that Yahweh loves me unconditionally." That's right. I can declare that I already believe that Yahweh loves me unconditionally because in reality, I do.
There is a part of me that existed in the Beginning when Yahweh spoke me into being. This part of me remembers Him whispering His Promise to me. That He would always love me. That He would come back for me no matter how far I went from Him. That He had a plan and purpose for my life all laid out. This part of me not only believes, but KNOWS without question that Yahweh loves me unconditionally and what all of His Promises are.
"Bless the LORD oh my soul and forget not His benefits!" Psalm 103:2
Oh that we would remember the Truth that Yahweh spoke from the Beginning. This truth conquers all lies and all lies within lies. Forget not His benefits, His Promises.
Yahweh is faithful. He reveals the lies and the lies within the lies and then, after He has removed all of the layers that were blocking Him, He reveals the Truth underneath that has been there all along. Thank You, Holy Spirit!
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Holy Spirit: We Cannot Handle That and It's Ok!
I continue to be impressed by the importance of Holy Spirit. Without Him, we are powerless and we are not who Yahweh called us to be when He envisioned us in His mind before He created us.
Without Holy Spirit, I am nothing.
Holy Spirit is the Christ anointing that Yahshua left for us when He ascended into Heaven. Holy Spirit is the Person of the Godhead who was supposed to empower us to do all of the things Yahshua said we would do. We cannot do the "greater things than these" that Yahshua spoke of without the empowerment of Holy Spirit.
This is why Yahshua told the Apostles to wait in Jerusalem until we received the "Promise of the Father." He is the Promise to us, and He enables us to fulfill our promise and purpose in the Earth.
In Acts 1:8, Yahshua says that we "...shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..." linking power with Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 1:24, it says that Christ is the "wisdom and power of Yahweh." Again, if Holy Spirit is the Christ anointing that Yahshua left for us, then Christ in this instance is Holy Spirit and again, Holy Spirit is linked with power, but also wisdom.
Thus, without Holy Spirit we cannot fulfill our purpose because we will lack the wisdom or revelation to know what that purpose is and we will lack the power to carry on to completion what that purpose is.
Holy Spirit allows us access to the deeper things of Yahweh. Yahweh is infinite, and there have been many times I have gotten just a small glimpse of His Infinity and been utterly overwhelmed.
Consider the depths of an ocean. There is only so far down a human body can go without dying. Partially because we need oxygen and the tank that is supplied for SCUBA diving is limited and finite. However, there is also the weight of the water itself to consider. If a human body were to go past a certain depth in the ocean, it would be utterly crushed and overwhelmed by the weight of the water.
Yahweh is much deeper than an ocean. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can safely explore Him at all. Holy Spirit empowers us to explore Yahweh because--if we submit to Him and His Lordship--He will make us beings capable of withstanding the overwhelming power of Infinity. We can then receive the blessings and assignments that Yahweh has for us in these places in Him.
We can never fulfill our purpose until we become who Yahweh meant us to be in the beginning. He desired a people who would be capable of having a relationship with Him without being overwhelmed by His glory and splendor even as we honor and worship Him as glorious and splendid. Therefore, He sent Holy Spirit to make us into such beings.
Once we have access to the deeper regions of Yahweh to learn His heart and His mind for His creation, we can receive the blessings, power, and assignments to bring His heart and His mind into the Earth that He created and is rightfully His in the first place.
There is so much insanity going on in the Earth right now as people replace their ideas of what seems "good" and "right" for Yahweh's heart and mind. It is happening in the secular world. It is happening in the church. This is only possible because the enemy told us that we didn't need Holy Spirit.
I think part of the reason it was so easy for Holy Spirit to be removed from the church and made the "third wheel" of the Trinity is because it is hard for the human mind to understand Him. We cannot humanize Holy Spirit.
It is easy to anthropomorphize Yahweh. He is not a man, but we can make Him into the image of man so that we can understand Him and put Him in a box. He is a creator. Ok, man creates. We know what creating means. We can handle that. He is a Father. Ok, we've seen fathers. We know what those look like. We can handle that. He loves people. We like to be loved. We can redefine "love" to mean a good feeling. Ok, we can handle that. Many people even picture Him as an old man in a white robe with a long white beard. There is no reason to picture Him this way. It's definitely not how He is described in the Bible. Yet, our minds need some image to hold on to when we consider Yahweh so we put this picture of Him there so we can handle that.
Yahshua actually was a man, so it is easy to humanize Him. We conveniently forget the "Christ" part of Yahshua the Christ and focus on the "Yahshua" part. He was a nice guy! He healed people! He gave people food and fulfilled their basic needs. We want someone to take care of us in that way. Ok, we can handle that. He had long brown hair and brown eyes. He had a nose and mouth. He wore clothes. We understand that. Humanity.
Then there is Holy Spirit. Uhh... He causes you to be empowered to explore the spiritual things of Yahweh. What does that mean? He is a Spirit. What do spirits even look like? Normally we picture ghosts as faded images of the human who has died, but Holy Spirit was never a human and He has never died. We cannot handle that! In fact, one of the very reasons Holy Spirit comes into our lives is to take us to places we cannot handle without Him. Remember the ocean analogy?
So the enemy came and said, "I'll let you keep your God and your Jesus, but I'll take away Holy Spirit! Then you won't have any power. In fact, your God and your Jesus will be powerless because I have taken the wisdom and the power away!" As Yahweh and Yahshua are certainly not powerless, then we are not even really worshipping Yahweh and Yahshua without Holy Spirit because we cannot know Them without Holy Spirit. Instead, we worship false, faded images of Them, but we think it's ok because we think we are really worshipping Yahweh and Yahshua!
Insidious. How dare the enemy let us think we are worshipping our God when all along we are really worshipping idols!?!
We must accept and submit to Holy Spirit as the body of Christ. It is essential for the Kingdom expansion in the Earth and for the fulfillment of Yahweh's original intent for the world. If we do not let Holy Spirit be the Lord of our lives, we will die in the wilderness like those in Israel who refused to hear Yahweh on Mt. Sinai because He was too big and too powerful and too scary and they could not handle that!
Without Holy Spirit, I am nothing.
Holy Spirit is the Christ anointing that Yahshua left for us when He ascended into Heaven. Holy Spirit is the Person of the Godhead who was supposed to empower us to do all of the things Yahshua said we would do. We cannot do the "greater things than these" that Yahshua spoke of without the empowerment of Holy Spirit.
This is why Yahshua told the Apostles to wait in Jerusalem until we received the "Promise of the Father." He is the Promise to us, and He enables us to fulfill our promise and purpose in the Earth.
In Acts 1:8, Yahshua says that we "...shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..." linking power with Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 1:24, it says that Christ is the "wisdom and power of Yahweh." Again, if Holy Spirit is the Christ anointing that Yahshua left for us, then Christ in this instance is Holy Spirit and again, Holy Spirit is linked with power, but also wisdom.
Thus, without Holy Spirit we cannot fulfill our purpose because we will lack the wisdom or revelation to know what that purpose is and we will lack the power to carry on to completion what that purpose is.
Holy Spirit allows us access to the deeper things of Yahweh. Yahweh is infinite, and there have been many times I have gotten just a small glimpse of His Infinity and been utterly overwhelmed.
Consider the depths of an ocean. There is only so far down a human body can go without dying. Partially because we need oxygen and the tank that is supplied for SCUBA diving is limited and finite. However, there is also the weight of the water itself to consider. If a human body were to go past a certain depth in the ocean, it would be utterly crushed and overwhelmed by the weight of the water.
Yahweh is much deeper than an ocean. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can safely explore Him at all. Holy Spirit empowers us to explore Yahweh because--if we submit to Him and His Lordship--He will make us beings capable of withstanding the overwhelming power of Infinity. We can then receive the blessings and assignments that Yahweh has for us in these places in Him.
We can never fulfill our purpose until we become who Yahweh meant us to be in the beginning. He desired a people who would be capable of having a relationship with Him without being overwhelmed by His glory and splendor even as we honor and worship Him as glorious and splendid. Therefore, He sent Holy Spirit to make us into such beings.
Once we have access to the deeper regions of Yahweh to learn His heart and His mind for His creation, we can receive the blessings, power, and assignments to bring His heart and His mind into the Earth that He created and is rightfully His in the first place.
There is so much insanity going on in the Earth right now as people replace their ideas of what seems "good" and "right" for Yahweh's heart and mind. It is happening in the secular world. It is happening in the church. This is only possible because the enemy told us that we didn't need Holy Spirit.
I think part of the reason it was so easy for Holy Spirit to be removed from the church and made the "third wheel" of the Trinity is because it is hard for the human mind to understand Him. We cannot humanize Holy Spirit.
It is easy to anthropomorphize Yahweh. He is not a man, but we can make Him into the image of man so that we can understand Him and put Him in a box. He is a creator. Ok, man creates. We know what creating means. We can handle that. He is a Father. Ok, we've seen fathers. We know what those look like. We can handle that. He loves people. We like to be loved. We can redefine "love" to mean a good feeling. Ok, we can handle that. Many people even picture Him as an old man in a white robe with a long white beard. There is no reason to picture Him this way. It's definitely not how He is described in the Bible. Yet, our minds need some image to hold on to when we consider Yahweh so we put this picture of Him there so we can handle that.
Yahshua actually was a man, so it is easy to humanize Him. We conveniently forget the "Christ" part of Yahshua the Christ and focus on the "Yahshua" part. He was a nice guy! He healed people! He gave people food and fulfilled their basic needs. We want someone to take care of us in that way. Ok, we can handle that. He had long brown hair and brown eyes. He had a nose and mouth. He wore clothes. We understand that. Humanity.
Then there is Holy Spirit. Uhh... He causes you to be empowered to explore the spiritual things of Yahweh. What does that mean? He is a Spirit. What do spirits even look like? Normally we picture ghosts as faded images of the human who has died, but Holy Spirit was never a human and He has never died. We cannot handle that! In fact, one of the very reasons Holy Spirit comes into our lives is to take us to places we cannot handle without Him. Remember the ocean analogy?
So the enemy came and said, "I'll let you keep your God and your Jesus, but I'll take away Holy Spirit! Then you won't have any power. In fact, your God and your Jesus will be powerless because I have taken the wisdom and the power away!" As Yahweh and Yahshua are certainly not powerless, then we are not even really worshipping Yahweh and Yahshua without Holy Spirit because we cannot know Them without Holy Spirit. Instead, we worship false, faded images of Them, but we think it's ok because we think we are really worshipping Yahweh and Yahshua!
Insidious. How dare the enemy let us think we are worshipping our God when all along we are really worshipping idols!?!
We must accept and submit to Holy Spirit as the body of Christ. It is essential for the Kingdom expansion in the Earth and for the fulfillment of Yahweh's original intent for the world. If we do not let Holy Spirit be the Lord of our lives, we will die in the wilderness like those in Israel who refused to hear Yahweh on Mt. Sinai because He was too big and too powerful and too scary and they could not handle that!
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