“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Isaac The Welldigger-2’

Posted on February 6, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Isaac begins his new vocation by digging up his father’s old wells, a good place to start. Always start with the familiar. Gen. 26:17-18 says, “And Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham, his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names by which his father had called them.” Isaac began to dig up his father’s wells which the Philistines had stopped up. Arabs believe, ‘Destruction Shows Possession!’ (Go Figure!) Question, has God dragged you off my friend? Are you discouraged, distressed, down in the dumps? Have you lost all hope? Then maybe, just maybe, you need to roll up your sleeves and do something for God, like dig a new well or an old one to refresh yourself and others. Maybe that’s what Yeshua/Jesus meant when He said, “Occupy till I come!” Luke 19:13. The word in Greek is (pragma) where we get pragmatic from, or practical. In other words, do something practical, don’t just occupy space or a pew in church.

The ‘Interpreters Bible Commentary’ says, “Isaac turned back to what were proven wells.” He could have looked for a new oases, but why bother? Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” We are heirs of our ancestors whether we like it or not. I see pictures of my father and sometimes it’s scary. We are ancestors in culture, customs, character, features, knowledge, nature and experience. In fact those lessons of life teach us about man, God, duty, prayer, worship, sacrifice, etc. In fact I am amazed at 67 just how much my parents did teach me about life. But many times the only thing we learn from life, is that we don’t learn anything from life and we have to keep repeating our mistakes. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Experience is the best teacher, but fools learn from no other method.”

Isaac was dragged out of Gerar and cast out into the desert and he needed water, and a lot of it, and he needed it right away! So his servants dug a well in the valley v.19 and found a, “well of springing water.” (Beer-Chay-Mayim) fresh, flowing, running water, an artesian well. However, there was contention with the Philistines, and they said it was theirs, so he named it ‘Esek‘ contention and moved on. Then they dug another well and this time there was strife and fighting over it, so they named it ‘Sitnah‘ strife and moved on again. What problems are facing you today? Are there contentions and strife in your life? Have you lost your spiritual joy? Maybe, just maybe you need to put those old Philistines behind you and move on. Let them have that old well, it may not be worth the fight, but sometimes it is. So, weigh the odds, count the cost, and make your choice, but choose wisely and always on the LORD’s side. God has a place of rest and enlargement just for you, Jabez!

In v.22 Isaac left Sitnah and dug another well and for that one the Philistines strove not and he named it ‘Rehoboth‘ and said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” The common interpretation for ‘Rehoboth‘ is “wide places or streets.’ However, when you look at the root in ‘Paleo-Hebrew,’ the Hebrew prior to the Babylonian captivity, the (Resh-is a head; the Chet-is a fence or inner-room; and the Beth-is a tent or house). So, you have the ‘Head person of the private, inner-room, of the house or family.’ Or, the ‘Head, offering security to the family.’ Rehoboth is more beautiful and picturesque in ancient Hebrew than just a wide place and I believe that is what Isaac is offering his family. Finally he is far enough away from the Philistines to obtain peace from without, but not peace from within! Peace from his enemies, yes! But not from himself, nor from his God! You see there is peace with God, Romans 5:1; there is peace from God, Romans 1:7; and there is the peace of God, Phil. 4:7; and one day there will be, peace on earth, Luke 2:14. Do you possess the first four?

So, Isaac’s unrest causes him to move again, or is it the Spirit of God moving him, v.23? “And he went up from there to Beer-sheba.” He went home, to the place where he grew up, Gen. 21 and 22. Where his father, dug a well, built an altar, planted a grove, and called on ‘El-Olam’, “The Everlasting God.” That night the LORD appears to Isaac and speaks to him v.24 and makes a covenant promise to bless him and his seed for Abraham His friend’s sake. Do you get the impression that God was leading him along the whole time to get him to the place where God could bless him and use him for His glory? Beer-La-Hai-Roi, Gerar, Ezek, Sitnah, Rehoboth, Beer-Shebah! God had a plan for Isaac as He does for everyone of us if we will just trust Him and obey His word. (How does that old hymn go, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy…”

Six things happen in Gen. 26:24-25 and it is important to note their sequence: ONE – v.24, Isaac had a personal encounter with the LORD! Have you? Before you can know God’s will and direction you must know, ‘YADA’ God. Ps. 46:10. (That’s, spiritual intimacy) To do this, you must be willing to spend time in prayer, alone with Him, seeking His divine direction and intervention. Isaac was in the habit of communing with the LORD, Gen. 22; and meditating on the LORD, Gen. 24; and entreating for the LORD, Gen. 25. Are you in the habit of doing those three things on a regular basis? Remember, ‘A person’s prayer life should encompass much more than a person’s prayer list.” Prayer is a two-way street: TWO – v.24, God promises Isaac divine assurance and divine blessings; “I am with thee, I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed.” A three-fold blessing, assurance, blessing and multiplication.

Then Isaac does four things as a result of this encounter, note them in v.25: First – He builds an altar for family and corporate worship. He worships his Creator, Jehovah-Elohim. Second – He calls upon the name of the LORD in prayer, he asks for protection and provision. Third – He pitches his tent and establishes his homestead, he settles in for a long winters night, about 80 years. Fourth – He digs a well to provide his family refreshment and remuneration, and he takes possession of his area. Where are you today? On the back-side of some desert? Has God dragged you out from among the Philistines? Is there contention and strife among your peers? Do you have more to bear than you can bear? Then you need to build an altar; You need to call on the LORD; You need to pitch your tent; You need to dig a well. But first you may need a Bible, a blanket, a canteen and a cabin and Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know (yada) God.” The “I am” is in italics which means it’s not in the Hebrew text, so can you do that? Just be still and ‘yada‘ God, have spiritual intimacy with Him, some one on one time with God, it’s not as easy as you think. Adam had ‘yada‘ with Eve in Gen. 4:1 and she gave birth, God is looking for that same kind of intimacy but on a spiritual level, Hos. 6:3. Isaac found it but he had to come full circle and so do we, Rev. 2:4, “We have left, not lost, LEFT our first love!” We have stepped out of the circle and the ‘Head is waiting in the Inner-Room of our Tent’ our, Rehoboth, with open arms, wooing; “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst Come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” The God of heaven and earth wants to know, is there room in the Bethlehem of your heart today for the Son of God to be born afresh? “He who testifieth these things saith, “Surely I come quickly.” Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus.”       “Between The Lines”

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Isaac The Welldigger-2’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Heart After God, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Isaac The Welldigger-1’

Posted on January 19, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Abraham is 99 years old and God says, “You are going to have a son,” and he falls on his face and breaks out in laughter, not in tears, laughter. Gen. 17:17. Isaac or Yitzhak was born in Gen. 21:1-8, circumcised on the 8th day, and weaned from his mother on his third birthday, that’s how it was done. The next day Hagar and Ishmael his half brother are driven out, expelled, with nothing more than a loaf of bread and a bottle of water. 37 years pass between Gen. 21:22 and Gen. 22:1 and Abraham’s sacrifice on Mt. Moriah. Thirty seven years between that period and the next capitol letter. So, we know nothing about Isaac’s early life as we do Ishmael’s. Isaac’s early life is a mystery, just like the early life of Yeshua, Jesus. However, we do know he stayed on Mt. Moriah with the Angel of Jehovah when his father Abraham left to return home to his mother Sarah in Gen. 22:19 with the two servants, as seen in the Hebrew text, why? To commune alone with the LORD like Joshua did in Ex. 33:11. Do you take time to commune alone with the LORD? Do you? What does it mean to commune with the LORD? Could this be where Isaac learned to meditate on the LORD? Gen. 24:63.

In Gen. 23, Sarah, Isaac’s mother dies, whom he loved very much and he mourns her death and lived in her tent. He was very close to Sarah as Ishmael was very close to Abraham and Hagar. How do we know this? Gen. 24:67 says, he is finally comforted, (na-cham) consoled, eased of grief following his mother Sarah’s death. Question, where did he take Rebekah? Into his mother Sarah’s tent. He was living there while Abraham his father was living with Keturah, his new wife which means incense, who bore him six more sons, at 140.  The ancient Rabbis believe this is Hagar who came back after Sarah died. In Gen. 24, Abraham’s eldest servant, probably Eliezer (God’s – helper) of Damascus  goes to Iraq to get Isaac a wife, namely Rebekah the second matriarch. Her beauty and character were captivating, like a noose around your neck and Isaac’s grief was immediately lost in his love for his newly arrived bride. The first time we find Isaac as an adult other than on Mt. Moriah is in Gen. 24:63 where we find him meditating in the field near Lahairoi, “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide: and he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold the camels were coming,” his father taught him well, or the Angel of the LORD did. The next time we find Isaac is in Gen. 25:19-23 where he ‘Entreats’ the LORD for children for his wife at the age of 60. Three things stand out here: 1 – He knew how to Commune with the LORD; 2 – He knew how to Meditate on the LORD; 3 – He knew how to Entreat to the LORD.

Abraham is still alive and 160 years old when his grandsons Esau and Jacob are born. They are about 15 years old when Abraham dies so he had time to influence their lives. There is another famine and the LORD tells Isaac to go to Gerar not Egypt and confirms Abraham’s Covenant with him in Lahairoi which we know as the ‘Gaza Strip’ today. Abraham is dead at this point because Isaac becomes the new Patriarch with the confirmation of the covenant just like Abraham did when his father Terah died in Haran in Gen. 11:32. Isaac lies about his wife Rebekah, being his sister and she is about 60 years old and very beautiful, (like father like son) or like they say, ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!’ What is ironic is the only verse in the Bible like this is Ezek. 16:45 which says, “Like mother like daughter.” But we will leave that one alone for now 🙂 Then Isaac enters a new career, a new occupation, a new calling if you will. We had; Adam the ‘Garden-Tiller;’ Enoch the ‘God-Pleaser;’ Noah the ‘Ship-Builder;’ Abraham the ‘Altar-Builder;’ Hagar the ‘Run-Away;’ Moriah the ‘God-Seer;’ Ishmael the ‘Great-Archer;’ Some missed ‘Brush-Strokes;’ The ‘Adam’s Family;’ and now, Isaac the ‘Well-Digger;’ Here’s something to put on your frig;   “A person’s prayer life, should encompass more than their prayer list!” (ponder that thought a moment)

Wells are very important, especially in the desert where water is very scarce. To name a well denoted the right of property and to stop or destroy one was a mark of territorial conquest or encroachment. Just keep that in mind! A dug well many times was a source of living, you paid to drink or bestowed gifts on the owner. Esau married Judith whose father owned a well, which made him rich, his name was Beeri, (Well) Gen. 26:34. Water is essential to life, you need it to cook, clean, drink, irrigate; Dr. Shelton who studied fasting stated, a man can go without food for 40 days, without water for three days, without air for 8 minutes, and without hope for 30 seconds. Starvation begins on the 41st day when the stored food reserves in your tissues are used up. (Interesting Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Jesus all fasted for 40 days not 41). We take water for granted, we just turn a faucet, but in Isaac’s day you either lived by a river, dug a well or died of thirst and dehydration. A dug well indicated that you liked the area and that you planned on staying there for awhile with your family. Now Abimelech and the Philistines envied Isaac and filled his father’s wells with stones and told him to move on! To get out of their territory, Gen. 26:14-16, sound familiar? So, he departed from Gerar City and dwelt in Gerar Valley. By the way, Gerar is the Gaza Strip and is the modern city of, ‘Umm.’ The root word for Gerar means, ‘to drag off or away.’ Sometimes my friend, God has to drag us off or away from something so we can hear His voice and know His will. We like security, the unknown is a scary thing. Most of us don’t like to live ‘by faith!’ He was, ‘at ease in Zion,’ to use a common phrase and God dragged him off to the valley where He could use him and speak to him. We don’t live on the Mt. top of transfiguration, we live in the valley with the demons Matt. 17. Question, where has God dragged you off to today? Do you feel lonely, lost, destitute, hopeless, and helpless? Then you are right where God wants you, in the valley where the enemy has chased you! Isaac could have stayed and fought but it was God’s will to move on. He had something to do for God and something to hear from Him.

There are times in our lives when circumstances cause us to move on, to make changes, and to adjust to whatever God is allowing to happen to us. Remember, God led him to Gerar during the famine, Gen. 26:13, and then he became great, “And the man became great and went forward and grew until he became very great.” Sometimes God’s servants stay too long in one place and sometimes they don’t stay long enough to make a difference. Isaac could have gotten mad at the Philistines but instead he just moved on, and on, and on. It is no different with us today either, sometimes God allows circumstances to occur in our lives to “Gerar” drag us out kicking and screaming or He has to use the enemy to shove us out the door so He can speak to us and use us for His glory. So don’t get mad, get moving, pitch a tent, not a fit, grab a shovel, dig a well, dip your cup in, try some living water and be still and listen to that small, still voice and wait on Him! That’s what I had to do in the fall of 2006, when He said, “Step out of the boat!” I’ve never looked back, not one time, and I’ve never, ever regretted stepping out of that boat!     “Between The Lines”

“Abba, Father, Thank You for leading us along the way, showing us the way, teaching us the way, even when we have to come kicking and screaming. You know what’s best, Abba always knows best, because only You know the end from the beginning. Show us Abba, the way in which we should walk, the right paths, so we may commune with You and Your Son, meditate on You and Your Word and entreat with You and Your Spirit.” In ha shem Yeshua we pray, Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” – ‘Isaac The Welldigger-1’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Heart After God, Olivet Ministries International, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘The Adam’s Family -2’

Posted on January 12, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Abel, Cain’s brother built an altar to present his offerings to God and an altar as you remember had three requirements: ‘Sacrifice – Worship – Prayer!’ The Sacrifice, had to be the very best you had, perfect, spotless, prime, the choicest, and especially the ‘first born of your flock.’ The Worship, had to be from your heart, genuine, real, authentic, true praise and adoration, attributing worth and praise to God in song and proclamation. The Prayer, had to be genuine acts of contrition, from your heart to God’s heart, not just words of repetition, but words of petition, supplication, confession, communion, intercession, and thanksgiving. (yada) intimacy and intercourse on the highest level with your Creator and Friend. Abel had all three in abundance, but he knew it was the blood that made atonement possible! His parents learned that in the Garden (Gan) after they sinned, and God had to kill the lambs to make atonement for their sin and clothe them, Gen. 3:21. Interesting, Adam Clarke claims in his commentary this happened on the first, “Day of Atonement” and his calendar calculations were one month different than the Jewish one putting it on November the 1st.  Think about the implications of that.

The LORD had no respect for Cain or His offering, why? No Blood! You can’t sacrifice grapes and apples, they don’t bleed! To sacrifice means to slaughter with deadly intent! You can’t slaughter fruit! Without blood we cannot enter into the presence of God. Hebrews 10:19, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” Lev. 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.” Fruit is great but blood is His requirement, and the ‘firstling or the first fruits’ belong to God. Prov. 3:9, “Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase.”

We now can enter the Holiest of all places just like faithful Abel because of the blood of the sacrifice, the blood of, ‘The Lamb of God – Jesus The Christ’ has been shed! Our sacrifices of prayer and praise, Heb. 13:15, “the fruit of our lips” are accepted by God because of His blood! Remember that, as you enter into your prayer closet or garden and shut the door or gate, Christ’s blood cleanses us and makes us acceptable before a pure and holy God! Then and only then can God look on us and have respect on us and on our offerings. To be listed in the ‘Hall of Faith,’ Abel had to be a ‘Man of Faith’ and a ‘Man of God’ and  a ‘Man of Prayer’ and a ‘God Pleaser’ not a man pleaser! What are you? Who do you please?

His blood today still cries out to God from the ground, what does that tell you about martyrs? from Abel to Zachariah, to John the Baptist to Jim Elliot to the 165,000 Christians martyred every year for their faith, 500 every day, their blood is crying out to God and to us, constantly. Do we even take time to pray for our brothers and sisters who are being arrested, persecuted, tortured, imprisoned, killed for their faith in Christ? We need to read Acts 1:8 a little more carefully with a Strong’s Concordance. The word ‘witnesses’ is the Greek word for martyrs. In fact the name Stephen means crown, ‘a martyr’s crown.’ I love the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson about Stephen: “He heeded not reviling tones; Nor sold his heart to idle moans; Though cursed and scorned and bruised with stones; But looking upward, full of grace; He prayed, and from a happy face; God’s glory smote him on the face.”

And it all started with faithful Abel, the first martyr, who offered a, “More perfect sacrifice” than his brother Cain; who filled with jealousy killed him and buried him in his garden and yet his blood still cries out to God from the ground today. To our knowledge he never married and he never bore any children. Eve then gives birth to another son in Gen. 4:25, “For God (Elohim) said she, has appointed me another seed (zera) instead of Abel whom Cain slew.”

She knew and we know who was to carry on the Messianic line of promise, Abel! But Satan had him killed, I John 3:12. Not much is said about Seth or Sheth except that he is the seed of the Sethite people and lived 912 years and had a bunch of children in contrast to the Cainite people. His name means ‘appointed’ or ‘seat of the body – buttocks.’ Eve names him in Gen. 4:25 and Adam names him in Gen. 5:3. He lived 105 years before he begot Enosh, ‘Mortal’ and then lived another 807 years. Watch Gen. 4:26, “Then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.” Jehovah or YeHoVaH the covenant name of God, (YHVH). It is now about 235 years since creation, could men have waited this long to worship God in prayer, five generations after creation? I don’t think so! Adam was created for intimate worship, communion, and fellowship with God. Therefore prayer was a dictate of nature! Prayer was a constituted instinct in-wrought in us by our Maker, or as one writer put it, “Man is a praying animal.”

The word ‘Enosh’ simply means ‘Mortal’ or man in general whether singular or collectively. The word ‘men’ is not in the Hebrew text, it is added for clarity, so we get all our meaning from the word, ‘Enosh’ meaning, mankind or referring to ‘corporate worship.’ It is an indication of man recognizing and realizing his frailty and weakness and calling on the LORD, YeHoVaH for help. “Then mankind in general began to call upon the name of YeHoVaH.” The reference must be to social worship not individual prayer, because the word ‘call’ means, ‘To call out to’ or to, ‘Address by name.’ There is one other possibility for this verse; people were called by the LORD’s name to distinguish them from idol worshipers, “The LORD’s people.” II Chron. 7:14, (case in point) Though very few scholars hold to this view.

So, there’s ‘The Adam’s Family.’ Where do you fit, since we are all distant relatives or ancestors? Who are you related to and whose genes are you wearing? Cain was a man of the earth, religious, but destitute of any sense of sin or need of atonement. What do you bring to the altar, a handful of grapes, a couple of apples, are your gifts acceptable to Him, does He have respect for you? Seth, not much is said about him, that could be good or bad, other than he had a son, lived 912 years, had a bunch of other kids and sat around a lot. His name means buttocks if that’s any help. I think it’s a clue, we have a bunch of those in the church today, people who sit on their, never mind you get my drift! E-Nosh, introduces the worship of Yahweh or YeHoVaH or at least the new pattern for invoking that name in corporate prayer and worship. So he becomes our new worship leader, that’s good I like that, or he gives us a name for our group so we are not listed with the idol worshipers and that’s good too.

Abel did not live long but he made an impact on the world he lived in and on God. Oswald Chambers died at 42 in Egypt; Eric Liddell died at 43 in a concentration camp; Nate Saint was 33 and speared to death; David Brainerd was 29 and had TB, his diary moved Jim Elliott who died at 29 by spears and said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” William Carey was also moved by Brainerd’s diary and said, “Attempt great things for God, Expect great things from God.” How does that saying go, “Only one life to live, will soon be past and only what’s done for Christ will last.” What will you do with the one life He has given you? Will God have respect unto you and your offering when you stand before Him like Abel or will you go out from the presence of the LORD like Cain because the LORD has, ‘No respect for you or for your offering?’ The choice is yours, I made mine at 27, on December 25th 1972 at 12:00 pm at Newark Baptist Church and I have never, ever regretted it, never!      “Between The Lines”

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  ‘The Adam’s Family – 2’

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘The Adam’s Family-#1’

Posted on January 7, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

I am not talking about the ‘Addams Family’ you see right now when you open up Google search, Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, Thing and Itt although they made a great family and a great TV series. I want to talk about the family in Gen. 4:1-15 that came from the loins of the first man God created. Adam had three sons, Cain, Abel, Seth and a grandson named Enosh to carry on the Messianic line and we need to consider how their lives impact our lives in the area of prayer; and they do impact them! Gen. 4:1 says, “Adam knew (yada) his wife Eve and she bore Cain and said, I have gotten or acquired (Cain) a man from the LORD.” As someone once said, ‘After Adam and Eve got kicked out of the garden of Eden they raised a little Cain.’ No pun intended. That was the Messianic promise of Gen. 3:15 after the fall. But Cain was a type of the mere man of the earth, ‘worldly’ whose religion was destitute of any sense of sin or any need of atonement. A bloodless religion, and we have buckets of those today, Amen? But, “Attainment can never take the place of Atonement!” NEVER! (Put that on your frig!) Religion is man reaching up to God, trying to please Him but Christianity is God reaching down to man! Without the recognition of a sinless substitute and sacrifice there can be no approach to God, none, nada, zero! This religious type of man is described for us in II Peter 2:2, “And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”

Seven things are said of Cain: 1 – He worships in self-will; 2 – He is angry with God; 3 – He refuses to bring a sin offering; 4 – He murders his brother; 5 – He lies to God; 6 – He becomes a wanderer; 7 – He becomes the object of Divine anxiety and fear. “The Way of Cain” is a religious highway marked for destruction, the broad-way, ‘and many there be that find it!’ Starting in Gen. 4:6, Cain is asked a series of questions by God: “Where are you?”  “Why are you angry?”  “Why is your countenance fallen?” And, “Where is Abel your brother?” You see, ‘Sin separates us from God,’ and it is always God who does the searching, seeking and restoration, always! God more than man desires reconciliation, and that only comes through repentance and the, ‘Prayer of Confession!’ With true contrition! The first prayer a sinner prays is to change his or her status with God, Romans 3:10-11.

Why is God asking all these questions? Do you think He doesn’t know the answers? NO! He is trying to restore Cain to fellowship, as He is you and I! But you have never felt angry with God; You have never felt unaccepted by God; Your countenance has never fallen; You have never felt passed over or slighted by God or others, right? Listen, we have the same problem Cain had! And “Sin lieth at the door!” That is, “A sin offering.” In Hebrew the word sin and sin-offering are interchangeable. This has a very common usage and meaning in scripture. The way this is written, the language implies that previous instruction was given as to the mode of worship that Abel offered through faith. Heb. 11:4, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts…”  We serve a God Who seeks, searches, and saves sinners and never stops, NEVER! Good thing! Amen?

Cain answers God but hopefully not the way you answer God from your, ‘Prayer Closet or Garden;’ (Sarcastically) “I know not, am I my brother’s keeper?” I’m sure you don’t talk to God like that in your prayer closet but how about on the street, or at work, or at school, or when the Holy Spirit convicts you about your habits, or when some crisis comes along? Jude v.11 says, “Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain!” The way of Cain is simply, ‘Will-Worship’ doing it ‘My-Way’ and expecting God to accept it and to bless it. A fruit offering instead of the ‘Firstling of the Flock.’ Nothing wrong with fruit when it’s harvest time, but God requires blood for atonement and grapes don’t bleed! “Cain went out from the presence of the LORD” Gen. 4:16. How sad, how tragic! I can’t imagine being out of His presence for five seconds, that would literally be, ‘HELL!’ (Absence from the presence of God) God is seeking you right now my friend, (zeteo) John 4:23 to worship Him in spirit and in truth and to do it His way, Aren’t you tired of wandering, drifting, floating down a river like a bubble with no meaning and no place to go but down? That is Cain the first born, all the privileges, all the rights, all the honor, and he would not come God’s way, he was the first, he was the ‘Burger King’ and he wanted it his way. So, he killed his brother and buried him in his garden.  So, God had to mark him for the rest of his life because Gen. 9 hadn’t been written yet and the death penalty hadn’t been imposed yet. (Click on part #8 of, “Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” and you will get my view on the ‘Mark of Cain’ there are many, no body has a corner on that market).

Now we turn to Cain’s younger, twin brother Abel who went in the, “Way of God!” Not much is said about this first martyr, who had no offspring that we know of, because Seth was going to take his place. However, he is mentioned by Yeshua/Jesus in Matt. 23:35 and Luke 11:51 where Jesus Himself confirms the record of Gen. 4:8-10 as He mentions the blood of righteous Abel. Abel was a shepherd or a keeper of the sheep while Cain was a farmer or a keeper of the dirt. Abel’s name stands for ‘brevity of life’ and has several meanings; breath, vapor, vanity, transitory, meadow, morning mist: The Adams family was instructed in the proper form of worship, prayer and sacrifice of Jehovah God by their parents. “The LORD had respect unto Abel and his offering.” Gen. 4:4, which has been translated, “To kindle a fire” showing Divine approval, Heb. 11:4. Fire was a symbol of God’s presence and pleasure, as seen throughout the Scriptures; with Abraham making a covenant, the burning bush, the pillar of fire in the desert, Mt Sinai, Elijah on Mt Carmel, as fire came down and consumed the offerings, etc.

Abel was the first one in the, “Hall of Faith!” He was the first martyr and his blood is still speaking unto God from the ground today. In fact, Gen. 4:10 is written in the present tense as if Abel’s blood is still crying out today and I believe it is. Abel not Cain was going to bear the Messiah’s lineage and Cain out of jealousy driven by Satan killed him, I John 3:12 says, “Not as Cain who was of that wicked one and killed his own brother…” This is also further laid out for us in Gen. 4:25 when Seth is born and Eve said, “For God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” We will come back to this next time, but for now just stay with us;   “Between The Lines.”

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  ‘The Adams Family-#1’

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“The Twelve Words Of Christmas” ‘Part Three’

Posted on December 29, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

So, the twelve words of Christmas break down into three stanzas; Born Unto You Today; Savior Being Messiah Lord; But where? The City Of David! “A poor casket to contain so great a Jewel!” (Yet big enough to contain the Prince of heaven and earth!) Micah 5:2 prophesied the Christos would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah 700 years before His birth; “But thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” The least this verse teaches is His pre-existence. It’s a good thing Micah was specific because there were two Bethlehems in Israel; Bethlehem Zebulon 7 miles north west of Nazareth and Bethlehem Ephrathah 5 miles south west of Jerusalem and about 90 miles from Nazareth. Bethlehem in Hebrew means, ‘House of Bread’ how appropriate since Yeshua/Jesus was the, ‘Bread of Life,’ John 6:48. Rachel’s tomb is in Bethlehem, Ruth and Boaz made their home in Bethlehem and it was King David’s home town.

Bethlehem, a little scrubby, shepherd town on the outskirts of Jerusalem the capitol of Israel. Unless the angel had spoken it, the prophet foretold it, and the star had shown it to the wise men from the east; Who would have believed that the Savior of all mankind would be wrapped in swaddling cloth, and lying in a manger there to proclaim; “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men” by ALL the angels in heaven. Heb. 1:6. The word ‘City’ (polei or polis) simply means an enclosed place, or a town with walls, or a city of one’s birth or a birth place. For me it was New Haven, CT; For my wife it was, Wilmington, DE. For Yeshua/Jesus it had to be in Bethlehem, in the ‘City of David,’ in the right line; at the right time, Gal. 4:4-5; and at the right spot, Micah 4:8 ‘Migdal Edar’ (The tower of the flock) Gen. 35:21; where prophecy told us to look for Him, Micah 5:2; and our faith also expected Him to be.

How moving should these moorings of our faith be to us! With the loss of them, all Christianity is lost! You see, prophecy should lead us to holiness, separation unto God, not just excitement about the last days and should we buy gold or silver or who is the anti-christ! Or are you pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, or pan-trib, it will all pan out in the end. In all my teaching on prophecy I have yet to see it manifest itself in Holiness in believers lives, why? There are over 333 prophecies fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus Christ some scholars claim there are 456. So, we can safely to say there are over 300 precise, predictive, prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ in His first coming. The odds of a single man fulfilling only eight are astronomical, check out Josh McDowell’s book, ‘The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict.’

There is no question who King David was or what or where his city or birth place was, Bethlehem of Ephrathah and it’s still there today! The interesting thing was Miriam or Mary was not yet married to Joseph, they were just espoused or engaged, Matt. 1:18; Luke 2:5; They were not even cohabitating; Joseph had to go to the city of David to be registered and taxed because of Caesar’s decree, not Mary who was great with child, just Joseph. She just went along for the ride because she had nothing else to do. 🙂 90+ miles on a donkey, nine months pregnant, in the winter!  Sounds like fun! Which Bethlehem would you have picked if you were Mary and nine months pregnant and had a choice, Zebulun, 7 miles n/w; or Ephrathah 90 miles s/e? Men and their directions! Amen? 😦  They finally arrive in Bethlehem and there is no room for them in the inn, what a strange reception for the ‘Savior of the world.’ John 1:11, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” Room for everything but Christ on Christmas, how ironic! Did you make your heart a Bethlehem for the Son of God this year? Mark 8:20 says, “The Son of God has no place to lay His head,” was that true in your life this year? Did you go through Christmas and not spend 20 minutes with King Jesus, did you even read His story in Matthew or Luke? Don’t be too quick to condemn the Inn keeper, if Jesus knocked on our door this year and it was ‘The Lord’s Day’ on top of it, and we were just to busy to worship Him on His day, shame on that inn keeper, right?  Think of the implications of this scenario and how God brought it all together with His perfect timing. “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, (not a man) made under the law; To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” By the way, ancient Roman law stated, once you were adopted, you could not be unadopted, or readopted again, it was permanent!

“The Twelve Words of Christmas,” ‘Born Unto You Today’ – ‘The Savior Messiah Lord’ – ‘ In David’s Own City.’ Christmas is the season when hope is born anew, as we rejoice in all He’s done and all He’s yet to do. Christmas is the reason we have a story to tell, to a lost and dying world so they won’t go to hell. Christmas is the treason this old world is guilty of, as they reject His grace and His matchless gift of love. Christmas is all about how one tiny, little, baby changed the whole wide world in one night. As Savior, He is worthy of your worship! As Christ, He is worthy of your dependence! As Lord, He is worthy of your obedience! As Jesus, He is worthy of all you can give Him! What did you give Jesus on Christmas this year? After all it was His birthday, was it not?  “Between The Lines”

“Happy Birthday Jesus, Thank You, for leaving Your heavenly splendor and coming to this dirt ball and taking on human flesh so You could die and pay the penalty for our sins so we could know the splendor of Your heavenly home. Help us to really understand and appreciate the meaning of Christmas.”

“Twelve Words of Christmas”  ‘Part Three’

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“The Twelve Words Of Christmas” ‘Part Two’

Posted on December 21, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

“For unto you is born this day, a Savior Who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.” Luke 2:11. The second phrase, “A Savior, Who is Christ the Lord” is out of order in the English but in the proper order in the Greek. The first word is, ‘Savior’ (sotayr) not one who shall be a Savior, but One Who was born a Savior, a Deliverer, a Preserver. (Like, Matt. 2:2, “Where is He Who has been born, ‘King of the Jews?”) No one is born a king, you may be born into a kingly line, you may be born a prince, or born into a royal line, but you are not born a king, unless You were a king before your birth! First – He is a Savior because He saves us from the penalty of sin past; the power of sin present; and the presence of sin future. He is a mighty Savior! That little neonatal baby was the Savior of All-Mankind! He is not a temporal Savior, and He is not a Savior from mere temporal calamity in your life or mine either. He is also not a Savior such as the saviors among the Jewish people who saved them from their civil foes, liked the judges, but He is a Savior from spiritual evils. He saves us from spiritual darkness by His Word; and from the pollutions and power of sin by His merit and grace. He saves us from Satan’s bondage by His blood and from the from the powers of hell by becoming a curse for us and hanging on our ‘Christmas Tree’ namely, ‘The Cross of Calvary’ that we may obtain eternal life. His salvation my friend, extends to the body, soul and spirit for time and eternity! “Hallelujah, What A Savior!”

Second – He delivers us from the Evil one, Matt. 6:13; From the fear of death, which is the core of man’s existence, Heb. 2:15; From temptations, 2 Peter 2:9; And from the wrath of God to come, Rom. 5:9. II Cor. 1:10 says, “Who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver, in whom we trust that He will yet deliver.” He is our ‘Deliverer’ past, present and future!  Third – He preserves us blameless, I Thess. 5:23; He preserves us in Himself, Jude v.1; He preserves us by the power of God, I Peter 1:5; And He preserves us for His kingdom, II Tim. 4:18. A Savior; A Deliverer; A Preserver, for the whole world the (holos kosmos) “Which shall be to all people.” (You and Me) ‘Merry Christmas!’ Oh, how they needed One and Oh, how we need One, especially today, Amen? Jesus is this world’s only hope, only help, only Savior, only Deliverer, only Preserver! In John 14:6 Jesus Himself said, “I am the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life,  and no man can come unto the Father but through Me.” He is exclusively ‘THE’ only way there is, and the only ‘Christmas Present’ that really matters, and I trust you have that ‘Christmas Present!’ In fact in Acts 4:12, the writer, which most scholars agree is Luke says, “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” No other name under heaven, that’s pretty exclusive. Listen carefully, if you are not a sinner, you don’t need Jesus, you can stop reading, but if you are, He is the only answer to your dilemma and mine, the only answer! Day Spring’s first Christmas card by Roy Lessing said, “When you get right down to it the only thing that really matters is, Jesus.” I have that in my home to remind me of the real reason for the season.

Who is this Savior, this (sotayr) that this angel announced from heaven? The verb in this verse is (estin) it is in the present tense and shows a state of being; A Savior Who ‘IS’ and always will ‘BE’ there for us! Amen! Who is what? Christ (the) Lord; the word ‘the’ is in italics which means it is not in the Greek and is added for clarification. So in the Greek, we just have (Christos Kurios) Christ Lord, Anointed Lord, Messiah Lord, or Lord Messiah. The Greek expositors and commentators are not really clear what it really means. (Did you get that? Read it again!) This construction is found no where else in the Bible. It occurs only one other time in the Older Testament in the Septuagint in Lam. 4:20. Nobody really knows what to do with this construction. The modern scholars go nuts with it. Now don’t make this difficult, the angel didn’t intend to for the ignorant shepherds in the fields. They didn’t have doctorates in Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic and linguistics.

Christ or (Xristos) is Greek for, ‘Anointed One’ the Mashiach or the Messiah. As our anointed High Priest He intercedes for us Heb. 7:25 and as our Advocate, our Attorney General, He pleads our case before God’s throne, I John 1:2; Rev. 12:10. He is the Kinsman-Redeemer, The Deliverer, The Sin-Bearer. The way this is written without the definite article, Dr. Luke is stressing His character and His relationship with His disciples and followers. His character is one of Power and Authority – Lord, Master, Owner. His relationship to us is to be our Lord, Master, Owner in every area of our lives. Every Area! But is He your Lord and Master or just your Savior, Servant and Friend? Good question? “Why do you call Him, Lord, Lord but do not do the things that He says?” Is He really your Savior, your Deliverer, your Preserver? Then act like it; Live like it; Pray like it; Give like it! You know, in light of the cross, isn’t it a stinking shame you and I live the way we do?

Listen, He is either, ‘Lord of all or not Lord at all!’ The Greek word (Kurios) is the same as the Hebrew word for Jehovah or Adonai showing His deity, in Matt. 22:44 we see both words, LORD and Lord. Henry Alford said, “There is no other way of understanding this word (kurios – Lord) but as corresponding to the Hebrew word Jehovah.” Jesus used the word (Kurios) when speaking to His Heavenly Father in Matt. 4:7 and 10. What Luke is declaring is that (Christos) the Messiah is (Kurios) God which is plainly laid out for us in Isa. 7:14 and 9:6-7. Remember all the apostles had seen the resurrected Christ except Thomas and when Jesus appeared to him in John 20:28, he cried out, “My Lord (Kurios) and my God (Theos).” Salvation is absolutely, ‘FREE’ my friend, ‘FREE!’ Nothing is free in this world, you’re wrong, salvation is! It costs you nothing, but it cost God everything, every drop of blood in His Son’s veins. That ‘Christmas Gift’ was the costliest gift there ever was, but it’s free to anyone and everyone who will just reach up to His ‘Christmas Tree’ and receive it. You see, Christmas doesn’t come just one day a year, Christmas comes every time a sinner bows their heart in prayer; and prays these three simple words from their heart to the heart of God with sincerity, “Lord, Save, Me!” Peter prayed, ‘Lord save me’ and He did; The thief on the cross prayed, ‘Lord remember me’ and He did; The syrophenician woman prayed, ‘Lord help me’ and He did. If you pray, “Lord, Save Me” with all your heart and mean it, He will, and you will receive the greatest Christmas present of all time, and He comes with a full, no return guarantee.

So, the “Twelve Words Of Christmas” break down into three stanzas; Born Unto You Today; Savior Being Messiah Lord; But where? The City of David; (A poor casket to contain so great a Jewel) next time, for now…   “Between The Lines…”

“The Twelve Words Of Christmas”  ‘Part Two’

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“The Twelve Words Of Christmas” ‘Part One’

Posted on December 18, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

“For unto you is born this day, in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11. You have heard of, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” well I would like to share with you, “The Twelve Words of Christmas.” (hotee etecthay humin saymayron; Sotayr hos esteen Christos Kurios; in poley David) The King James Version has 19 words, they have to add seven to make the English flow (was, to, this, a, the, the, of) In a ‘Charlie Brown Christmas DVD’ he searches for the real meaning of Christmas and at the very end, Linus steps on the stage and asks for the lights and quotes, Luke 2:8-14. Then he walks over to Charlie Brown and says, “And that Charlie Brown is what Christmas is all about.” Then he walks away with his little blue blanket wrapped around his neck and Charlie Brown finally gets it! (Thanks to Charles Schulz who was a disciple of Jesus Christ).

You see Christmas is not about commercialism, or money, or gifts, or decorations, or Santa Claus, or Real Estate; it’s about a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth, lying in a manger, Who changed this world for all eternity. The angel said, “Fear Not! Behold, I bring you, ‘Good Tidings’ of ‘Great Joy’ which shall be to, ‘All People!” Then the declaration, “The Twelve Words of Christmas” in Luke 2:11, “For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior Who is Christ the Lord.” The greatest Christmas message of all time, ever proclaimed by one of God’s angels, to some lowly shepherds abiding in a field outside of Bethlehem at night.

So, if you like Charlie Brown are ever wondering, ‘What Christmas is all about?’ Just read Luke 2:11, better yet memorize it and you will never have to wonder what Christmas is all about again. “For unto you is born this day a Savior…” The world did not need an adviser, the world had advised itself almost into Hell, like this one today! The world did not need a speculator, everything that man could do had been done and men sat in the darkness of their own wisdom, like they do today! The world did not need a reformer, a man who could change the outward relations. The world didn’t need reformation it needed transformation as it does today! The world didn’t need an engineer who could devote his time readjusting the wheels, cogs, pulleys and various mechanical forces of society, NO! What the world needed then and still needs today is a, Savior!

Savior! What a complex word, it is not an official title, it is not even an image you can robe in scarlet and bow down before on account of its majesty and haughtiness. Savior is an angel with a tear in his eye, with arms as mighty as the lightning’s of God, but with a heart full of all tenderness, it is such a complex word. “It has in it all human nature, all divine nature, all past history, all the possibility of prophecy, all the mystery of apocalypse, the tenderness beyond the love of a woman, and the majesty humbling the haughtiness of kings.” Savior is a very complex, yet a very beautiful word, giving purpose, meaning, direction and hope to a hell bound, dying world and to a sinner’s final breath.

This verse Luke 2:11 breaks down into three stanzas and they are not in your normal English order. The first phrase is, “For unto you is born this day;” ‘For Today’ (hotee saymayron) ‘This Day!’ Not that one, or any one, or another one, but ‘This Very Day!’ There is another word in the Greek language for, ‘a day, any day’ (haymayra) Here the angel uses the word, ‘This Day – Today!’ Luke uses this word repeatedly to mean the present period of salvation brought about by Yeshua/Jesus! They waited a long time for this, ever since Adam & Eve sinned in the garden and God gave His promise in Gen. 3:15, “And I (God) will put enmity (enemies) between you (Satan) and the woman (Eve), and between your seed and her seed; He (the seed of the woman) shall bruise your head (Satan), and you (Satan) shall bruise His heel.”

You need to read the rest of Luke chapter 2 and you will learn about the Shepherds, Simeon and Anna. Simeon was a righteous man, devout and waiting for the, ‘consolation of Israel’ and he was promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s ‘Messiah.’ Luke 2:30-31 says, “Lord, now let Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” I Peter 1:10 says, “The prophets inquired and searched diligently for the One to come.” The ‘Wise Men’ waited and knew; The Scribes waited and knew; The Pharisees waited and knew; The Sadducees waited and knew; Even Herod waited and knew; But the real question is; Have You? “For Today!” “This Very Day…”

“Was born…” (etecthay) This is an aorist passive, which means basically it’s past tense, ‘Has been born.’ It is a birth, the Word, the Logos, has become Flesh – God became man, John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth.” When? This Day! The day the angel proclaimed it! The One Who created time, entered it, became subject to it, and it’s conditions. Listen, we don’t make Him our Savior or Lord, we don’t make Him anything, we merely accept Him as such! The infinite became finite, the Imuutable became mutable, the Invisible became visible, the Creator became the creature, and ‘God became Man! That’s Christmas, Charlie Brown! He is the visible manifestation of the invisible God! Or as one writer put it, “Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person…” was born! Salvation was born unto us, Merry Christmas! For You, or ‘Unto You’ (humin) All of you, you plural and you personally, with the idea of personal interest to the point of ownership, it is yours! The words, “Unto You” are emphatic! Christ is your Christmas gift from The Father. So open Him, receive Him, put Him on, enjoy Him, and share Him with others. “For Today – To You – Was Born!” And that leads to the second stanza in this twelve word Christmas sermon from God, “What or Who was born unto all of us personally on that day about 2,000 years ago?” Next time….. “Between The Lines”

“Father, please help us to know and understand the true meaning of Christmas and not get caught up in the commercialism of our day. Let us be mindful that it is the birthday of Your Son Yeshua ha Mashiach and celebrate it as such, making Him the center of our family, home, gift giving, dinner and celebration. May there be room for Him inn our homes and hearts this year.” In His name we pray. Amen!

“The Twelve Words Of Christmas” ‘Part One’

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘More Brush Strokes’

Posted on December 15, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

“The outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD.” Gen. 19:13. The torturous cries or shrieks; it was either the people within Sodom who were being abused or the people without who were crying out for God to do something. If Lot and his two daughters were the only ones spared then there were no other righteous people in Sodom. The age old question comes up again, “Does God answer the prayers or cries of anguish of the unsaved?” Psalm 65:2 says, “O Thou Who hearest prayer, unto Thee, shall all flesh come.” Like Jonah chapter one. I don’t believe it is a question of, “Does God hear the prayers of the unsaved heathen for salvation?” We know He hears their prayers for salvation, II Peter 3:9. In our text we are talking about outcries against sin!

Now God is omnipresent everywhere at once, and He is omniscient He knows everything anyway. Therefore, all speech, all cries and all prayers, are heard and noticed by Him. Hearing is one thing, answering is quite another! Whoever it was who was crying out against Sodom, it came up before the face of the LORD, Gen. 19:13, and He sent two angels to check it out, Gen. 18:20-22. In Gen. 19:19-20, Lot pleads for a mercy for a little city to flee to and the angels grant his request of intercession. Even in his sinful state God heard Lot’s cry for mercy and answered it. Abraham had interceded for Lot and his family and, “God remembered Abraham.” Gen. 19:29. If it wasn’t for Abraham, Lot’s uncle, Lot wouldn’t have made it. Does intercessory prayer work? Ask Lot when you see him or Abimelech, Pharaoh, Ishmael, Isaac, Hagar, or the Kings of the vale or even Melchizedek.

Lot lost his daughters, his sons-in-law, his wife, his testimony, all his possessions, “which were so great” Gen. 13:16, and almost his life. He then commits incest with both of his single daughters, how low can you go? But Lot’s family died, due to one word, ‘LUST’ and poor judgement. Remember, as far as we know Lot did not have a wife before he went into Sodom, so his wife was probably from Sodom and she didn’t turn around to look back, she turned around to go back, Luke 17:32, “Remember Lot’s wife.” But the prayers, the intercessory prayers of a friend, and a friend of God prevailed; 50-45-40-30-20-10. Praise God for, ‘Prayer-Warriors’ who will stand in the gap, v. 27 says, “Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD.” The place, Gen. 18:22, where he bartered with the LORD but ‘Stopped Short!’

When was the last time you stood before the LORD for a backslider, who was living in Sodom, who lost all he or she had, including their testimony? Gal. 6:1 fits in here like a piece of a puzzle. Let us learn a valuable lesson, ‘Prayer Principle’ from this, less we slip away, or worse, get lost and fail to intercede for one who has slipped away. 50-45-40-30-20-10-5-1; “Don’t Stop Short; Don’t Hang Up; Pray It Through!” Until you have your answer, Gen. 18:32. “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten!” God promises to answer prayer, Gen. 19:29, “And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow.” “God remembered Noah.” Gen. 8:1; “God remembered Rachael.” Gen. 30:22; Remember (zaw-kar – to mark, so as to be recognized). Does God remember you? Better yet, are you known in Hell as a man or woman of prayer? Acts 19:15? “Oh LORD, may we be intercessors for those who have pitched their tents outside of the gates of Sodom; for those who have fallen away and lost everything including their testimony. Help us LORD, to remember that prayer does make a difference, and that You Do Remember! Oh LORD, Remember Us, our prayers, and our Lots! Amen!”

“For he is a prophet and he shall pray for you and you shall live.” Gen. 20:7. I love this verse and this principle and promise from God, don’t you? God could have healed Abimelech without Abraham’s prayers, but He chose not to, Isa. 45:11, “Ask of Me things to come concerning My sons; and concerning the work of My hands, command ye Me.” Now there is a principle to wrap your heart and hands around.

Abimelech was innocent, in the integrity of his heart and the innocence of his hands he took Sarah as his wife. Abraham and Sarah lied to him, they told him half truths, which is a lie. But God closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s house. Then God tells Abimelech, he is a dead man, he and all his house unless Abraham prays for him, because God calls him a prophet! Gen. 20:7, Interesting!

Unless Abraham prays, God will not heal! God has chosen to be somewhat limited by our prayers, (I say the reverently). In fact man’s blessings are dependent upon man’s prayers, we have already seen that. There is no such word as ‘FAIR’ in God’s vocabulary, only justice and mercy and He decides which is dished out to whom. So Abraham prays to God and God heals Abimelech, his wives, and his maid servants and then they bear children, v.17. Oh, how dependent the unsaved world is upon our prayers for their blessings and fruitfulness and they are not even aware of it, nor are we many times! To often we fail both God and the world because of our lack of and desire for prevailing intercession on the part of mankind in general. In church we are fortunate if we see 25 people come to Christ over the year, why? No prayer!

The costliest service and most fruitful a Christian can enter into is intercessory prayer. It means to judge, to entreat, to make supplication, to intervene or interpose. The traditional explanation of this word is to, “Invoke God as Judge;” “To break oneself, to be contrite, to pray;” “To act as a mediator, to seek assessment or consideration.” An interesting verse where this word is used twice, once for God and once for man is found in I Sam. 2:25, “If one man sins against another, God will judge (intercede) for him, but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?”

You could write a book on the word intercession, it is used 30 times in I Kings 8 and II Chron. 6 when Solomon dedicates the Temple. However, what is really interesting is how some writers view the origin of this word: One writer says it is an Arabic word, “To notch the edge of your sword” or, “to cut or wound oneself.” Such as the priests of Baal did on Mt. Carmel: Another writer said, “It meant to fall, emphasizing prayer or prostration:” Another said, “It comes from the word, to break or cut, to pass judgement.” I guess they are all right, as true intercessory prayer will take blood, sweat, and tears; it will require prostration of the heart, soul, and body at times; it is to call God into judgement; it does speak of estimating or assessing a situation at times; it does mean to intervene, interpose, entreat, intercede and to stand in the gap!

And, ‘Failure to do so is, SIN!’ I Sam. 12:23. John Knox cried, “Oh God, give me Scotland or I die!” Johnathan Edwards prayed for three days, “Give me New England!” and God did! We need to enter into, ‘Intercessory Prayer’ for our Pastors, our Churches, our Leaders, our Country, our Families, our Fellowmen, and our Enemies!  “Between The Lines”

“The LORD, needs intercessors today, gap-men and women, not just prayer- buddy’s and prayer- partners. Men and women to tarry, prevail, stand in the trenches and fight the good fight and stand in their places before God and not let go until He blesses them, and those they are interceding for. Want to sign up, there is still room for a few? The little hand is on the 12 and the big hand just left the 11 so we don’t have much time!”

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘More Brush Strokes-4’

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘More Brush Strokes’

Posted on December 11, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

“But Abraham stood YET (od – longer, still, more, yet) before the LORD.” Gen. 18:22-37; One of the greatest prayers of intercession between man and God in all the Bible, for mankind takes place right here. Here is a ‘Gap-Man’ of the rarest sort. Oh, if God would only raise up more ‘Gap-Men like Abraham, “Father of a multitude.” America might even stand for another hundred years if we had more Abrahams. The two angels left for Sodom but Abraham stands before, “The Judge of all the earth” and levels with God in Gen. 18:23, “Would You destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Obviously not! Here we see the importance, the supreme importance, of the righteous, in contrast to a wicked, sinful world or family! Like Abraham we need to be honest with God in our prayers, Phil. 4:6, “In everything…let your requests be made known unto God.” As Josh McDowell said, “Get it in the light or be honest with God.” He knows your heart, your desires, your wants, and your intentions anyway.

Abraham answers his own question or reason in v.25, he also recognizes one of God’s eternal attributes; “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Can you imagine for a moment the relationship this man had with the, “Judge of all the earth?” To enter into this kind of a dialogue? Pure, unadulterated friendship! These two, Abraham and El Shaddai were more than intimate friends, they were (ahav – lovers). God willingly, lovingly, directly answers Abraham’s question in v.26. He will spare the city for the sake of the righteous, “America Take Note!” Now Abraham realizes he has God’s undivided attention, but he also realizes Who he is talking to and humbles himself in v. 27, “I am but dust and ashes.” Humility is the key to intercessory prayer. We need to be open and honest yes, but we also need to be humble. These two go hand in hand in prayer, ‘Humility and Honesty.’

We must not only recognize who God is; sovereign, supreme, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and omnificent, etc. But we must remember who we are, “Dust and Ashes.” Gen. 2:7 says, He created us out of nothing (Ex-Nihilo – Latin). We like Abraham need to remember Heb. 4:16, that God’s throne, is a throne of GRACE! And that we have access only because of Heb. 10:19, the blood of the supreme sacrifice Yeshua/Jesus. And we must come humbly before Him remembering the only way up to God is by being down on our knees and faces. I Peter 5:5-7. There can never be true intercessory prayer without true humility, true holiness, of our spirit and true honesty. Humility is the first essential element of intercessory, efficacious prayer and honesty is the second.

This is beautiful, Abraham continues to intercede with the LORD and the LORD continues to concede to his requests. I am speaking reverently here, please don’t misunderstand me! God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, II Cor. 5:18 – He has made us ambassadors, II Cor. 5:20- and He has declared us righteous because of what Jesus Christ has done, II Cor 5:21. Therefore, let us still stand before the LORD, before, “The Judge of All The Earth” and intercede for our wicked cities, towns, nations, and continents and leaders! God has given us the ministry of reconciliation and intercessory prayer and we squander it.

Listen, the only time you are in perfect unity with the Tri-Unity of the God-Head is when you enter into intercessory prayer. Then you are praying to the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only three individuals have the privilege of the ministry of intercession on behalf of others; The Spirit, Rom. 8:27; The Son, Heb. 7:25; and The Saints, I Tim. 2:1. “LORD help us to see how vital our ministry really is on this dirt ball spinning in space, to oblivion. LORD, call the righteous to their knees before it’s to late, and teach us to pray for America, for Israel and for the world before we destroy ourselves.” In Jesus name, Amen!

Suppose there were five less than fifty righteous, would You destroy the city for the lack of five? v. 28. Abraham is desperate now, his nephew Lot and his family are in that city. If you knew that God was going to destroy the city your family lived in, would you become desperate and intercede?  Listen carefully, ‘God does not answer prayer!’ Let that sink in…. In fact let me say it again for emphasis, ‘God does not answer prayer!’ He answers, Desperate Prayer! Determined Prayer! Destitute Prayer! He answers Prayer that sweats, prayer that moans, prayer that cries, prayer that bleeds! And Abraham was at that point, desperate, destitute, despairing, determined to save Lot and his family; 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10… He thought he was safe, why not?

Surely, there was saved Mr & Mrs Lott, his two saved married daughters and their two saved husbands and his two saved single daughters who were dating two saved God fearing men and that would make 10! Surely, none of them would be unequally yoked, right? Wrong! Listen, even if he went to five, threw in the milkman and mailman it still would not have been enough! We don’t ever want to stop short in our intercession with God, NEVER! This is definite, determined, detailed, demanding, desperate, PRAYER! The key to ‘Intercession’ is, “Don’t Stop Short!” If you are going to go for it, “Go For It!” God wants to know, just how serious you are about a certain person or need. How bad do you want your loved one saved? How bad do you want that revival? How bad do you want unity? How bad do you want that healing? How bad do you want that job? How bad do you want that …….?

This kind of prayer, intercessory prayer, ‘COSTS,’ blood, sweat, tears, sleep, and pleasure. We have lost the concept of “Praying Through” in prayer and in intercessory prayer that is vital. We must never stop pleading until the guilty party is acquitted. Now either Abraham thought there were at least ten righteous people in Sodom or God stayed his hand from praying any further. When God finally decides to destroy a place, He forbids it to be prayed for anymore, Jer. 7:16; 14:11. Jeremiah was forbidden to pray, cry or intercede for Judah anymore. Now, we don’t know His determined will many times unless we pray or study His Word. We know it is not His will for any to perish (apollumi – die and go to hell). So we can plead for anyone.

The telephone company used to have a slogan, “Don’t hang up!” Jer. 33:2-3 tells us to, “Call on Him and He will answer.” That’s His promise and God can’t lie anymore than a rock can swim or a duck can chew gum, it’s against His nature. Our problem is we hang up to soon, we cut Him off before He is done talking. We need to cultivate a principle in our prayer life, our intercession to, ‘Pray Through,’ and, ‘Don’t Stop Short,’ and ‘Don’t Hang Up.’ Got it? Why am I not so sure?   “Between The Lines.”

“Oh LORD, make us ‘Gap-Men and Gap-Women’ for America, for Israel, for the World, for our Churches, and for our Families. Oh LORD, Take us, break us, fill us, remold us, and use us to never stop pleading with You the ‘Judge of All The Earth’ until the guilty are acquitted.” In Your Son’s holy name we plead. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” – ‘More Brush Strokes-3’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family Altars, Heart After God, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Pigments Missed’

Posted on December 8, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

Got your palette and brushes ready? Because God is going to pay another visit to His friend Abraham and you may want to add some more shades to your masterpiece. Gen. 18:1 says, “The LORD appeared to him (Abraham) in the plains or by the oaks of Mamre.” There should be no doubt in your mind Who one of these men are, who visits Abraham in the plains of Mamre, in the heat of the day. Gen. 18:1 says, “The LORD (Jehovah – The YHVH) appeared unto him.” Well, He is omnipresent, isn’t He? Everywhere present at once! Then in v.10 He says, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life, and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.” It is the LORD Who gives life because He is omnificent, He is unlimited in creative power. One of His Omni-attributes seldom discussed. Then in v.13, “The LORD said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh?” Showing the LORD knows everything, about everyone. Even the things we whisper in secret, proving He is omniscient, but the real cap-stone is in v.14. A verse we should inscribe on our hearts, “Is there anything to hard for the LORD?” The answer, NO! Not even for a 90 year old woman to give birth and nurse her son for three years. Why? Paint omnipotent on your canvas, right over omnificent, omnipresent and omniscient. That’s the God Who meets you in your prayer closet in the morning, or in your ‘Prayer Garden’ before the cock crows, before the dew dampens your manna, and before the sun warms the crust of the earth.

Now this meeting in Gen. 18 is more than meeting God in your ‘Quiet Time.’ Abraham gets a personal visit from Yehovah. He is in Mamre (Fatness) in Hebron (Communion) residing near the altar he built in Gen. 13:18 and God personally pays him a visit. There is fellowship and communion here we know little of today, (YADA) spiritual intimacy, spiritual intercourse, on a level few of us will ever encounter. Abraham was, “A friend (ahav – a lover) of God.” Can that be said of you? Can it? What sweet communion they enjoyed two-gether, close intimate fellowship. A friend, a real friend, a true friend will share the inner personal thoughts and intents of their hearts. Someone said, “When we lose a friend we die a little.” No, when we lose our best friend we die a lot and we may never recover. “A friend is a present you give to yourself.” Here is one of my favorites, “Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life.” But a real, true friend will share the thoughts and intents of their hearts and the LORD, Yehovah in v.17 said just that, “Shall I hide from Abraham (My Friend) that thing which I do?”

Oh to have that kind of relationship with Yehovah God, that He chooses to share with you, His cares, His intents, and His will with you. It makes me well up with tears as I type these words right now, I can hardly see my screen. Oh God, please help me to finish painting this portrait for my readers, I am not worthy, please God stay Your hand LORD, I am trembling by the power of Your very presence in this room, at this very moment, please Jesus help me……I need to focus, Thank You. (Sorry) Isn’t that what He has done in Christ and in His Word – Reveal His will and His intents for us to pray about? I John 5:14-15; Eph. 5:17. Oh to see God, to talk with Him, to walk with Him, to share the burdens of our hearts and have Him share the burdens of His heart, but could we even bear to hear it? But He does reveal His heart to us and His burdens, in His Word. That’s where He talks with us and we can share our hearts with Him in prayer. In our Quiet Time, Our Secret Place, Our Prayer Garden, Matt. 6:6, but remember to, ‘shut the door!’ He is waiting for us in, ‘The Secret Place,’ patiently, longingly, lovingly, and calling tenderly, ‘Come Unto Me.’ In our Mamre, (fatness) our Hebron (communion) but do we enter or do we walk away empty?

In Gen. 18:20, The LORD shares that burden with Abraham, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great and because their sin was so very grievous.” He goes on in v.21, “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry (zah-ak; shriek, outcry, to cry for help in a time of distress) against it.” Most frequently this cry is directed to God. In Gen. 19:13, it was a tortuous cry or prayer of those being abused in the city. It could have been the neighbors surrounding the city. However, whoever it was, God had enough and He had heard enough! “And enough is enough!” So, He sent messengers down to check it out, along with His Son, and to destroy it if necessary. God never acts over or against any of His creation without a full understanding of all the circumstances, never! What God heard and saw is found in every large and small city today world-wide, namely, “The Noon-Day of Hell!”

But He heard the outcries, the tortuous shrieks against Sodom and Gomorrah and there lies the key, ‘Against!’ Can our prayers, shrieks, cries, tears, outbursts, against, abortion, perverse sexual sin, alcohol, drugs, crime, SIN, gambling, pornography, child abuse, etc, etc, make a difference? I believe it can and just like Sodom and Gomorrah, God will come down and see America and judge it, if our outcries against it are genuine and loud enough and great enough for Him to hear. But I don’t believe we loathe it enough yet, I don’t think we hate it enough yet; Our outcry like theirs must be tortuous and painful and our prayers must literally shriek to heaven’s throne room. As one man said, “If God does not judge America soon, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Do you believe that? Then pray, like you really hate sin! “Between The Lines”

“Oh God, help us to hate sin like You do, to loathe sin, to detest sin, to abhor sin, all sin, any sin, every sin and may our prayers be a tortuous outcry against it and may You remove it from our midst and heal our land. LORD, we long to be Your friend like Abraham, help us to have fellowship like he had, and to have a prayer life like he had, teach us, O LORD. In ha Shem Yeshua we pray, Amen!”

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Missed Pigments #2’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family Altars, Friendship, Heart After God, Memoir, Olivet Ministries International, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 4 Comments