Not Like in the Movies

 I grew up in a time when certain movies were shown yearly, and you gathered the whole family around and watched them.  The Ten Commandments was one of those movies and Moses was the star.  Aaron, his brother, was around but basically he spent the entire movie in the background.  Somehow that movie determined how I read the Bible because I have read Exodus a bunch of times and I just found out today that Aaron had a "rod" of his own, like Moses had a staff and they were definitely co-leaders when it came to showing the power of God to Pharaoh and calling down the plagues.  

Aaron's rod was the one that turned into a snake.  Aaron's rod turned the Nile to blood.  Aaron's rod brought the plague of frogs.  Aaron's rod brought the plague of gnats.

Their is an amazing dignity and honoring that takes place when Aaron dies.  It is unlike anything in the Bible.  Moses, Aaron and Eleazar, Aaron's son who will take over the duties of the priesthood ascend Mount Hor.  All the community sees the 3 of them ascend the mountain.  At the top of the mountain Moses removes Aaron's priestly garments and puts them on Eleazar, "And Aaron died there on top of the mountain."  Now Eleazar and Moses come down the mountain and the whole community is now aware of the death of Aaron and they mourn 30 days.  

This had to be very hard on Moses and there is still a lot of the Exodus story left to tell.  Many things happen between now and the death of Moses, just before they enter the promised land.  Miriam had died a little before Aaron, so he was dealing with the death of his sister, who was a leader in the community and his brother and co-leader.  It seems Aaron is given the punishment of death for being a part of striking the rock, when he and Moses were told to just speak to the rock to get water out of it, way before Moses is.  The real punishment is not being able to enter the promises land, but death is given to Aaron way before they are ready to enter.  

Knowing how hard it is to lose a brother, I feel for Moses and how hard it must have been to just keep on, keeping on and leading this people.  

Heart's Cry

 Crush me, break me, take me to that precious place where all I have is YOU.  (the night is far spent)

Jacob's Ladder, Our Messiah, The Lamb Who Connects Us with the Kingdom to Come

 Jacob had the dream of the ladder as he was leaving the promised land to go back to Abraham's home of origin to look for a bride.  The promise of the God of Abraham and Isaac is given to him at this spot.  God promises to bring Jacob back to this land and give it to him.  Yeshua encounters Nathaniel and speaks to him of Jacob's ladder and make it clear that He is that ladder on which the Kingdom to come pierces through the barrier of the Day of the Lord and enters this evil age with a Shofar blast of the sureness of the faithfulness of God.  The Kingdom is coming!  Here is a taste, a foretaste, a down payment, a breaking through of the powers of the age to come that confirms and gives perseverance to your heart to continue in this evil age, with a joy and a absolutely certain hope that what He said He will do!

Prayer of Repentance for the Arrogant Kingdom

 Daniel 9 has a powerful, humble, prayer of repentance for the Jewish people and their stewardship of the calling of God.  Based on that model and the truth of scripture, here is my first draft of the gentile prayer of repentance for the arrogant kingdom. (aka the "church" - that sees itself as the replacement for Israel)

KNOW THIS - The God of Israel, has one bride, His chosen people.   "I will never leave you nor forsake you" was spoken to the people Israel.  (Deut. 31:6)  Is God a liar?

Hosea was commanded to go again and love His wife Gomer, after her unfaithfulness, after she willingly left him.  Get the picture?

Their call as the chosen people of God is irrevocable.  Look up the meaning of that word and decide whether or not you are going to call the Holy Spirit who inspired Paul to write that a liar - because if you do that you are on very, very shaky ground.

The prayer...

We repent Lord for the arrogant kingdom, that we as gentiles are a part of. We repent for all claims to replace, or usurp Your chosen people. We repent of establishing the work of our hands and praising it above You. We repent of the name "Christian" we are not "little Christ's". We are disciples of the Messiah of Israel. We do not have our own tree. We are not the root. We are "not a people", made to be a people by Your sacrifice and death on the cross. We are grafted into their vine. Their root supports us. Theirs are the promises, theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, theirs the covenants, theirs the receiving of the law, the temple worship. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah. We repent Lord "church" and the "Jesus" associated with it are false gods. We are grafted into Messiah's community, a remnant people that Your sovereign grace has preserved since the time of Abraham. Have mercy and open blinded eyes for Your glory.

The Parables of Jesus

 Look at and consider the parables and ask the Spirit of God if these statements are true.  

1)  Like a good joke the parables have a punch line, one main point that the Messiah is trying to get across.  We must not get lost in analyzing the details.

2)  Most of the parables are warnings to the lost, that there is coming a day of judgment, wake up, repent, turn while there is still time.

3)  The parables are spoken in the context of the overall perspective of Scripture, which is, we live in "this evil age" our actions here matter only as they are related to the Kingdom to come, money, power, fame are useless if not used for the purpose of the Kingdom, the Day of the Lord is coming when the God of Israel will set all things right, destroying those who actively oppose His Kingdom, following the Day of the Lord, the Kingdom of God takes full control of the earth with the Messiah ruling from Jerusalem.

Messiah's Community - a history

 Awhile back I thought it would be good to look at the history of the "church", the mostly gentile attempt, to have an organized following of God on the earth.  Well after listening to another persons attempt to do that, I honestly didn't see any fruit in it, so I kind of turned the whole thing upside down, started off from a place that acknowledges that "church" is a horrible translation of the Greek word ecclesia.  Ecclesia is basically just gathering so a rioting mob is called ecclesia, the people gathered around Moses in the wilderness are ecclesia and the followers of the Jewish sect are an ecclesia, the difference being who or what is the central focus and reason for the gathering so the very best translation of ecclesia when it is referencing the disciples of Yeshua is Messiah's community.  With that lead in this is what I posted in my facebook group Love Truth.

  First of all "ecclesia" should not be translated church and the idea that something new started on Pentecost (a Jewish holiday, being celebrated, by Jews, in Jerusalem) is patently ridiculous. God in His amazing faithfulness and sovereign plan has preserved a remnant of people, called out ones, whose focus, purpose and life is given over to the glory of God. He called out Abraham from among the nations, He pushed the promise through to Isaac and then to Jacob and through Jacob's sons who grew into the nation of Israel. His ultimate plan on the Day of the Lord is to bring in every living descendant of Jacob as a nation. This will demonstrate both His power and His faithfulness as they believe in and trust the One whom they had pierced, as a nation, born in one day! So he has had called out ones all along the way prior to Yeshua they were almost all descendants of Jacob or rare gentiles brought in to preserve the line of Jacob so that Yeshua could come from the tribe of Judah as prophesied. The Hebrew word for these called out ones is Kahal and it is the equivalent of ecclesia. So properly translated in our day "church" would be dropped and we would be known as Messiah's community. This translation would place us, grafted into Messiah's already existing plan for Israel. This translation would press humility upon gentiles who have an annoying tendency to build things and put their own name on them, which is what the appellation "church" has become. (other examples, King James Bible, Assembly of God, Church of God, Joe Blow ministries, etc) So the history of Messiah's community is, God at great price to Himself has reached into humanity and called out, chosen, to work through certain vessels who are convinced of their own deadness and inadequacy. At any point where power or prestige in this evil age has been obtained the glory of God has been compromised by the glory of man and the true remnant has had to withdraw and form something smaller and weaker than what they left. That smaller weaker gathering is Messiah's community and they are known by their love and by the fact that though they are in this evil age, they are not a part of the world system. The actual history is a repetitive picture of small groups through out the earth who shun power in this evil age, and long for the return of the King, the restoration of His throne and His people Israel. And today, Messiah's Community is one day closer to welcoming Messiah onto this earth!

Staying Present in the Process

 I see the value in assessments, personality tests, lists of evil spirits and what they cause.  May they always be used for His glory, healing and drawing people closer to the King.

I think they are tools to be used and I am grateful for the understanding and relief that they bring.

In my observation they are part of the process of healing, growing and changing.  They are not usually, the answer, the ultimate solution.

Having others in your life who promise to stay faithfully, present and supportive throughout the process is the one thing that matters more than all else.  Triggers, bad days, unexpected moments of grief that blindside a person, all these require another human being who cares, listens, and keeps on showing up over a long period of time.  

Healing comes in slow increments and that is very much okay.  When we are in a hurry to see others healed, we should probably examine if there is not a lack of love, driving us to just push the person to "get over it."