“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Noah – Part # 3)

Posted on August 25, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

“And Noah built an altar unto the LORD…” Gen. 8:20. The first thing this man who walked with God did when he got off the ark, was to build a family altar and worship the God of creation. What’s the first thing you do after a long trip in the car, get out, empty the trunk, run for the bathroom, open the house, check the mail or bow your head and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for traveling mercies to the God of heaven and earth? Noah has been shut up with God for over a year in the ark and not able to offer sacrifices, I’m sure he had plenty of prayer time during those 360 days but he could not sacrifice to his Creator. What a growth period that must have been for him, Amen? Not only do we need to pray, talk to God, we need to worship and sacrifice and walk with God. That’s just what this man of God did the minute he stepped off the ark, “Then Noah built an altar unto the LORD…” There are three things that characterize an altar, ‘Worship, Sacrifice and Prayer.’

Those three elements are what constitute an altar, what’s happened to our family altars? As I said, we get home from a trip, we unpack the ark, get a drink, and call mom when we should pause and praise and thank God, Heb. 13:15. And offer a “sacrifice of praise” and thanksgiving to God, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. A sacrifice calls for death, in the Older Testament it was an animal that died but in the Newer Testament it is the personal ego that must be slain. We must sacrifice our judgement, opinion, and evaluation of what is right and good and praise God for His in all things, including the good, the bad and the ugly. And this “sacrifice of praise” is incomplete until it is expressed.  Noah was in constant communion with God, unbroken fellowship, so it was only natural for him to build an altar and worship God before anything else. Oh, to have a heart after God like that again, to have that fervor and love for God like we did when we first met Him.

Notice Gen. 8:21, “And the LORD smelled a sweet savor…” a sweet soothing aroma. It was the smell of wickedness, it was the stench of sin Ch. 6 that caused God to be sorry He made man on the earth, it was the aroma of their evil deeds and thoughts that grieved God’s heart. But here from this man of God, He smells a soothing aroma, ahhhh! Is your prayer life a soothing aroma to God? Do your sacrifices, your worship, your altars have a soothing aroma? Meditate on those words for a moment, “The LORD smelled a soothing aroma.” Is that really what He smells when you pray, when the angel ignites the incense in your bowl of prayer before the Almighty Rev. 5:8 & 8:3? Do your sacrifices, worship, and altars have a soothing aroma to the Creator or are they a stinging, pungent stench in His nostrils? An (odzo) the odor of a decaying corpse? Our prayers are a picture of the evening incense wafting its way before the nostrils of the Almighty God, Psalm 141:2 (Read it, meditate on it, chew on it) write it on the back of your hand in ink. Better yet, how is your bowl today, empty or full? Oh, how we need to spend time at our altars worshiping, praising, sacrificing, praying; ‘NOT BECAUSE WE FEEL LIKE IT OR WE GET THRILLS’ but because He deserves it and He demands it. And IT can and IT will make a difference! “Something happens when I pray that does not happen when I don’t and it works with mathematical precision!” Look at Gen. 6:6-7. read it and tremble my friend, God was going to destroy man and beast from off the face of the earth. He was grieved that He created them, GREIVED! But Gen. 7:21 says, “And the LORD smelled a sweet savor (a soothing aroma) and the LORD said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake.”  ‘Hallelujah!’

I can’t help but think of II Chron. 7:14 in this context, think of America, think of my church – your church, think of my family – your family, think of my pitiful prayer life and your prayer life; “Oh God, hear us, help us, heal us, teach us, show us, lead us, walk with us, talk with us, so we might talk with You and keep our bowls full. Help us to build family altars again, to offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving continually. Let us learn that ‘One Man – One Woman’ can make a difference – all the difference in the world with You beside and inside of us.” In Jesus Name. Amen!     ‘Between The Lines’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  (Noah – Part #3)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Noah – Part #2)

Posted on August 21, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

“And the LORD shut him in.” Gen 7:16. What a precious truth! The invitation was from God, v.1, “Come into the ark,” not ‘go into the ark.’ The invitation is such that God was already in the ark and was inviting Noah and his family to join Him inside for the voyage, “And the LORD shut him in!” We too need to be shut in with the LORD! How can a man like Noah, who walked with God, be shut up with Him and not pray? Impossible! Oh, the sweet communion the two of them must have had, the fellowship on the ship alone with God. The world’s clamor, noise, pull, filth and sin, shut out by God! Imagine if you can, the sweetness of being shut up alone with the Creator of everything for a year. Just you and Him, alone on a ship together! Oh that’s right, he had those animals and his three sons and their wives and his wife but I’m sure they all got along hunky-dory or is it donky-hory, anyway back to Noah. The word shut (sawgar) means ‘to be shut up’ but figuratively it means ‘to surrender, to give over, to inclose, to shut in oneself, to shut out something or to be shut up together.’

Oh, to be shut up alone with God in prayer, what ecstasy, what joy, what fellowship, isn’t that what Elisha did with the Shunammite’s son in II Kings 4:33? “He went in…shut the door…and prayed to the LORD.” And he was brought back to life! What a precious promise of prayer came to Jeremiah when he was ‘Shut up’ in the court of the prison in Jer. 33:1 and because of that we have the promise of verses 2&3, “Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you know not!” Our part is to call, His part is to answer!  Our highest form of service is the ministry of prayer, the ministry of intercession, the ministry of the interior for our fellow man! Jeremiah was shut up alone with Jehovah, Yahweh, The YHWH, the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it, the LORD who established it, the LORD is His name. He is the One that gave us that promise, go ahead, call on His name, I dare you, I double dare you and see what great and mighty things He will do. “Shut Up With The LORD!” What greater joy could their be this side of heaven?

In Acts 9:40 Peter went to Dorcas in an upper-room, maybe the upper-room, put everyone out, shut the door, knelt down and prayed, and Dorcas was brought back from the dead! “Shut Up Alone With God!” I challenge you to take a Bible, a canteen, a blanket, find a cabin, shut the door and wait on God, alone! Our own Lord and Savior Jesus Christ many times was shut up, or shut out alone with His heavenly Father; The Mount of Temptation; The Garden of Gethsemane; The Cross of Calvary; The Garden Tomb. In fact in Matt. 6:6 Jesus Himself gave us instruction concerning prayer, listen to His words, “But you, when you pray, enter into your room (closet, secret chamber, storage pantry) and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is already in the secret place…” The word for closet (tamion) means a chamber on the ground floor of a home generally used for storage or privacy, a secret chamber. And when you have entered your secret chamber, shut the door and pray to your heavenly Father who is already in the secret place waiting for you, to reward you openly.

Noah was a just man and a perfect man who walked humbly with his God and was shut in with his God on a ship for a year and I’m sure he prayed much with Him and had continual, habitual communion with his Creator. How’s yours? “Oh LORD God, Creator of heaven and earth, help us to find a secret place, a private place, a storage chamber to fill our hearts and minds with your power and presence. And after entering into it may we shut the door and lock it from the inside shutting You in alone with us and may we enter into that sweet, sweet communion with You.” In The Sweet and Holy Name of Your Son Jesus We Pray, Amen!     ‘Between The Lines’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  (Noah – Part #2)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Noah – Part #1)

Posted on August 19, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

God saw the wickedness of man and was about to destroy everything that breathed on the face of the earth, “But Noah found grace (khane) in the eyes of the LORD.” This is the first occurrence of grace in the Bible and its root means, ‘to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor or bestow.’ Judgement is getting what we deserve; Grace is getting what we don’t deserve; But there is one better, mercy; Mercy is not getting what we do deserve! Now why did Noah, and only Noah I might add find grace in the eyes of the LORD? The answer is in the last four words of verse 9, “Noah walked with God.” As with Enoch, you can’t walk with God without talking with Him. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abram, all walked with God as did Elijah, David, Daniel and a host of others. Remember the Hebrew word for walk means, ‘to go on habitually.’ A habitual progress in holiness (halak) to walk on continually, and be conversant. If you can imagine two friends walking together on a long journey and never conversing, then you can imagine a man walking with God like Noah for 500 years and never Praying! Noah like Enoch walked so close to God that God took him and put him in an ark and shut the door!

Notice if you will three things about this prayer warrior in v. 9; First he was a just man (tsadik) just, lawful, righteous; Second he was a perfect man (tameem) integrity, truth, without blemish, complete, without spot. (Noah was a sinner just like us but obviously he knew God’s way and offered sacrifices like Abel not Cain, but he must have been the only one at this point, remember only Noah found ‘GRACE’ in the eyes of the LORD.) A good acrostic for GRACE is, ‘God Rejects All Carnal Effort’ or ‘God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.’ So, how do we find it today, the same way Noah found it then, except we look back to the cross. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and Noah looked forward to it. Gen. 3:15, God’s plan of redemption, Adam knew it, Abel knew it, Seth knew it, Enosh knew it, Noah knew it, but do you know it? Third he walked with God, ‘to go on habitually.’ Is this not what God requires of every man and woman today? Micah 6:8 says, “And what does the LORD require (seek or ask) of you;” Three things; First, to do justly; Second, to love mercy; Third, to walk humbly with your God. To do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly; sounds like Noah, Enoch, Abram. A just man, a perfect man who walked (eth) with God, and found ‘Grace’ in the eyes of the LORD. Noah knew God intimately and habitually walked and talked with Him; Noah above all else was a man of prayer, a man who had sweet, intimate, intercourse with the Creator and God delivered into his hands the world and the total future population. He built an ark, entered in with his family and God ‘Shut the Door!’ Gen. 7:16. We too need to be shut in with the Lord, Matt. 6:6 tells us to go into our prayer chamber and shut the door and pray to our heavenly Father who is already there waiting for us.

“Oh God, may we habitually walk with You and may You shut us in alone with Yourself daily. May we do justly, may we love mercy and may we walk humbly before, You. Lord, help us to be like Noah, Enoch, Abram and especially, Jesus! May we walk and talk with You today and every day, in Your Son’s name we pray. Amen!”  ‘Between The Lines’  “Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Noah – Part #1)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Enoch – # 3)

Posted on August 3, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

What is, ‘Faith’ anyway? The answer is found in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is simply believing, God! Faith is the confident assurance, the confident boasting, of things expected, the conviction, the evidence, the proof of things not seen, as of yet! Let me quote it from the Amplified Version, “Now ‘Faith’ is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things (we) hope for, being the proof of things (we) do not see and the conviction of their reality – faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses. For by (faith) and trust and holy fervor born of  faith, the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report.” WOW! How is that for a definition of faith? Title-Deed to property you have never seen as of yet, but it’s yours, all the same!

Faith is the (hupo – under) and (stasis – to stand) to stand under.  This is a present, passive, participle showing action. A better translation would be, substantiating. Faith is the substance, basis, essence, substructure, foundation of things hoped for; the evidence, proof, conviction of things not seen as of yet! Enoch was one of those, ‘Heroes of Faith!’ You see, ‘Faith is not believing God CAN do something, that’s just wishful thinking or dreaming; Faith is believing God WILL do it!’ You say, “I have faith, but I don’t believe God will do it.” Then you don’t have faith! Gen. 1:1 says, “B’reisheit bara Elohim – In the beginning God.” No argument for His existence, no defense for His origin, no apologetic for His presence, no explanation for His purpose. Just a statement of His being! Who are we to question God, when we can’t even make a rock? God doesn’t need defense attorneys, He needs disciples! This may come as a shock to you but the demons have faith! They believe in the existence of God; they are neither atheists nor agnostics! They believe in the deity of Christ, when they met Him they bore witness to His Sonship, Mark 3:11-12. They believe in the existence of a place of judgment, Luke 8:31 and they recognize Jesus as the Judge, Mark 5:1-13. They submit to the power of God’s word and tremble at it, James 2:19. I can give you ten arguments for God’s existence but ultimately you must come by faith, because that is how God set it up and that is what pleases Him. Enoch walked with God, hand in hand and Enoch talked with God, face to face. Now there are two prayer principles that can help to revolutionize your ‘Prayer Pantry’ and that leads us to our third principle for prayer from Enoch’s life:

Enoch lived for God and with God! In six verses in Genesis 5 the Holy Spirit gives us a brief but blessed biography of Enoch. What could be said about your life in six verses? The repeated statement about Enoch ‘walking about with (eth) God’ implies progress, 5:22,24. One step at a time, you can’t take step two or three until; Listen, you have taken the first step! Amen? (Are you still with Me?) You can’t become a disciple (miniature Christ) until you become a ‘child of God’ first! And spiritual progress is dependent upon unbroken communion! The Hebrew word for ‘walking’ as I said signifies to, ‘go on habitually.’ In fact the Hebrew word to ‘walk about’ (yalak) means ‘to live!’ So progress in holiness was the habit of this ancient saint. We see the result of Enoch’s life with God in his witness for God. Before we can be a witness for God, we must live with God. The order can never be reversed, it is of ‘Divine Appointment!’ In other words, if you are not living for God, keep your mouth shut, too much witness for God today is mere wood, hay and stubble. To use an old phrase, “Put up or shut up!” “Put you money where you mouth is!” James must have run into this 2:18 deals with these people, “show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Listen to the words of Jude talking about Enoch and remember Enoch lived in the days of Noah; “And Enoch also the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints; To execute judgment upon all, and to convict all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their own mouths speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” How much worse could it get? Read Gen. 6:5-6 and you will get a feeling how God felt. Enoch’s son Methuselah died the year of Noah’s flood. In fact, the name Methuselah implies that Enoch received a direct revelation from God. There are several translations of his name but the most popular is, “When he is dead, it shall be sent, i.e. the deluge or the flood!” So this prophecy in Jude was made about 1,000 years before the flood, before Abraham on Moriah, before Moses on Sinai, before Christ on Calvary. How did he know all this? He lived in daily communion with God and was in the habit of taking long walks alone with God and one day, God just said, “Come on home!” Gen. 5:24 does not conclude with those three words, “And he died!” When you live in the inner most presence of God, in His sanctuary, He will reveal to you His inner most secrets.

“And he was not, for God took him.” Gen. 5:24; The Hebrew word for ‘he was not’ (enennu) means he was translated, carried away; Three times in Heb. 11:5 we have the word ‘translated.’ The same word is used for Elijah in II Kings 2:1-11. Jewish tradition states that Enoch was born on Shavuot or Pentecost and was translated on Shavuot or Pentecost. Early church tradition said that ‘Enoch and Elijah’ were the two witnesses in Rev. 11 and that Enoch was a type of the church. How? The Rapture, the Harpadzo, the Great Snatch, the Translation! He did not see death! If we are going to be raptured or translated like Enoch, “How should we then live?” To quote the late Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, like Enoch! To walk with God you must be reconciled to God, have a similar nature, holy fitness, and a surrendered will. To talk with God you must be a ‘God-Pleaser’, to be a God-Pleaser’ you must have ‘Faith’ because without it, it is impossible to please God. No, you are absolutely powerless to please God, but remember, without risk, ‘Faith’ is impossible! To live for God is ‘to walk about’ to ‘go on habitually’ (yalak). Spiritual progress is unbroken communion! Enoch by faith was, pleasing God, walking with Him in daily union and communion, going forward on his knees in prayer and living out God’s witness! Enoch along with his life principles left us three prayer principles in Hebrews 11:6; 1 – Without faith we are absolutely powerless to please God! 2 – We must believe that, ‘He is Whom He says He is, GOD! The great, ‘I AM’ The self-existent, all sufficient, all powerful, ‘YHVH!’ 3 – ‘That He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek(ek-zeteo) Him!’ Search Him out, investigate Him, scrutinize Him, and don’t stop! Kenneth Wuest says, “Diligent seeking finds its reward!” There is the key, ‘Don’t Stop!’ Matthew 7:7-11, ask, seek, knock and don’t stop, keep asking, seeking and knocking until you get an answer, we give up to soon. Luke 11:5-10 “because of his importunity” ‘to request or beg for urgently’ or ‘to be overly persistent in a request’ or ‘troublesomely urgent, shameless.’ This is the only time this word is used in the Bible and it’s used in prayer for a friend. Or Luke 18:1-8 so many examples of persistence in prayer, we give up way too soon! In James 5:16 you have Elijah’s example and we will get there. I love that old African proverb on prayer, “When you pray, move your feet!” I wonder if that means, ‘Put feet on your prayers?’  “Abba, Father, help us to be more like Enoch in our prayer walk. May we be reconciled to You, may we be conformed to the image of your Son, may we step back into Your circle and get back into spiritual shape again, ‘Holy Fitness’ and may Your will be our will. LORD we believe, ‘Help Thou our unbelief!” In ha Shem Yeshua’s Name, Amen!    ‘Between The Lines’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  (Enoch – Part #3)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis ” (Enoch – Part #2)

Posted on July 31, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

‘Enoch walked with God and for God!’ We are given this fact two times in Gen. 5:22-24, I believe it’s repeated for emphasis so we won’t miss it. Gen. 5:22 says, “Enoch walked” (yalak) this word means, ‘to walk about.’ Like the old English movies, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ used to say. It’s deeper meaning means, ‘to live!’ We will see that a little later. In v.22 the preposition with (eth) denotes intimacy and fellowship and appears only in reference to God with Enoch and Noah, the only other man who walked with (eth) God. Gen. 6:9. To walk (yalak) with (eth) God (Elohim) is to enjoy uninterrupted, conscious, intimate fellowship with Him. Or to put it another way, “To Practice The Presence of God!” To walk with God denotes a holy life, a life lived in close, intimate, communion with Him; ‘Spiritual Yada!‘ Hos. 6:3. What an epitaph on your tombstone, “_______, walked with God!”

The first thing implied in Enoch’s walk with God is ‘His Reconciliation,’ II Cor. 5:17-19. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk (yalak) together (yachad – alike, united, in union) except they be agreed (ya’ad-together, appointed, betrothed, engaged: Ex. 21:8-9) Answer? NO! To walk with God means that you have been conformed to his image, NOT, He to yours! So, you have been reconciled to Him! Enoch was 65 when he started walking with God not 5 or 6 and he walked with Him for 300 years and had about 300 children. The second thing implied in Enoch’s walk with God was ‘His Similarity with God’s Nature.’ You see light has no communion with darkness, none! II Cor. 6:14. No sinner can walk with God, because he has nothing in common with God. In fact even his mind is at enmity with God. Gen. 6:5 and Isa. 64:6 we are sinners by nature and sinners by practice, Jer. 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.’ After all, it is sin that separates us from God, is it not? Isa. 59:1-2, “Behold the LORD’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear, but you iniquities/sins have separated between you and your God and your sins have hidden His face from you that He will not hear.” The third thing implied in Enoch’s walk with God is ‘Holy Fitness,’ A Holy God does not walk out of His holiness, He doesn’t step out of His circle, you do and into His circle again! A Holy God can’t walk together with an unholy person, Haggai 2:13. I John 1:6-7 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth…” Walking with God means to cease walking your own way and to abandon the world’s way and follow the divine way. Listen, it’s His way or the highway, or should I say, ‘Hell’s Way!’ The fourth thing implied in Enoch’s walk is a ‘Surrendered Will.’ God does not force His company or His companionship on us. Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you” He doesn’t force it upon anyone. The yoke has two sides, He is under one and you get under the other and you pull together with Him. By the way, Enoch’s grandfather was Mahalalel, ‘Praise to God’ or ‘Blessed God’ – A godly grandfather, what a heritage! How is your walk (yalak) today? Are you in agreement with Him? Better yet is He in agreement with you? Together, united, appointed, betrothed, engaged? Listen, you must be in agreement to walk together, Amen? Amos says you must be betrothed. Christ is the groom and the church is the bride! What a principle for living, what a principle for prayer! How is your walk today? The Hebrew word for walk is (yalak – to go on habitually) how sweet is that! Remember he is the seventh from Adam, a picture of divine completion, rest after the fall, after the sin nature! But this kind of intimacy and union necessitates communion and talking; and prayer is simply talking to God. Just like a child, they walk first and talk second; and that leads to our next principle.

Enoch talked with God and for God! In order to walk you must talk! Amen? Are you paying attention or just reading? These are not just words on a computer screen, I’m sharing my heart with you, if you don’t have time to really ruminate on what I am giving you right now, like a cow chewing her cud, then shut it off, come back later when you have time to think about what I’m writing because this is no 5 minute blog about a walk down the street, or look at my cookies, I spend hours preparing my blog. Now where was I, Oh yeah, have you ever taken a walk with someone you really love, I mean really love! A lot of communication takes place even through silence, sometimes your body language speaks louder than your words. Amen? A look, a glance, a gesture, a nod, a squeeze, a touch, a kiss… If you think not, drive on the belt way at rush hour and watch the body language! Some commentators believe Enoch met God in the ‘Garden of Eden.’ But angels guarded it you say, they guarded the ‘Tree of Life.’ I don’t know if he did, but the Bible says he had intimate fellowship with his Creator for 300 years. Unhindered, unbroken, unsevered, ‘Spiritual Yada’ for 300 years. We can not make 40-50 minutes on Sunday mornings for 40-50 years. The Bible says, “Enoch Pleased God!” What a sequel to his other epitaph, “Enoch Walked With God!” Put either one on my stone! There is a pair of character qualities to mount in your prayer closet, “To walk with God is to please God; To please God is to talk with God.” Put that on your frig! Enoch was a ‘God – Pleaser’ not a man-pleaser! Jude v.16. How did he do that? Turn to Hebrews 11:5, “Before his translation, he had this testimony, that he pleased God!” How is your testimony today? Are you a ‘God – Pleaser’ or a man-pleaser? The test is simple, how are your prayer answers? That pretty much will answer your question right there! James 5:16! How did he please God? Simple, “By Faith!” The word “Faith” appears 230 times in the Newer Testament and only twice in the Older Testament, Deut. 32:20; and Hab. 2:4. Ten percent of them appear in Hebrews 11 alone. Faith is the basic, essential element of prayer. Without it, you cannot please God and He will not answer prayer. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him/God.” The word impossible is actually the Greek word (adunatos) so you are absolutely powerless to please God without faith. So without faith it is impossible to please God, but might I add that without risk faith is impossible. Because if there is no element of risk involved there is no need for faith, because the thing hoped for is a sure thing! You have probably never linked Heb. 11:6 together with Enoch in 11:5, I didn’t either. So, from now on whenever you think of Hebrews 11:6, think of Enoch who talked with God and for God and walked with God and for God, for 300 years and he was not, for God took him! Enoch still has more to share so, ‘Come Walk With Me.’         ‘Between The Lines’  “Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”                         (Enoch – Part #2)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Enoch – Part #1)

Posted on July 29, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

We move now away from the ‘Adams Family,’ Cain, Abel, Seth and Enosh and of course Papa who walked face to face (paw-neem) with God; a deeply spiritual man before the garden incident, who had intimate fellowship with the God of the universe, ‘Spiritual YADA!’  Imagine just you and God all alone, in a garden, on a planet, in His universe, among His entire creation, just you and God! Blows your mind, doesn’t it? Does mine! But listen, you can have that, in your closet, pantry, storehouse of nourishment, in the morning, evening, afternoon or at midnight alone with Him. I love that poem about the garden, I don’t know who wrote it; “In the garden, was a tree; Rich with fruit, a token given; Love’s free choice, so soon abused; Still closer fellowship, refused; In the garden.” (Read it again)

Adam was created in God’s image , after God’s likeness, for God’s glory, to have intimate fellowship with God. Can I get an Amen there? Sweet, intimate, unbroken fellowship with the entire Tri-Unity of the God-Head! Oh, how we lack that today! The only place I know of today where you can find that intimacy, that fellowship, that intercourse, and it can be found my friend, is on your knees, alone with Him, in your ‘Prayer Garden’ or prayer closet. When you pray, you pray to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. When you say the word God, three people say what? So be specific when you address God.

When we looked at Adam in his ‘Prayer Garden’ we learned four basic ‘Prayer Principles’ too often overlooked or better yet disobeyed. Take a moment right now and go back and read Gen. 3:8-10, go ahead, I’ll wait……..(good less than 20 seconds and I am a slow reader) What’s exciting is God is still seeking people today, to have fellowship with Him, John 4:23. So, they knew His voice, why? Because they were accustomed to the sound of it! Second, they knew where to meet Him, why? Because they were accustomed to meeting Him there! Third, they knew what time to meet Him, why? Because they were accustomed to Him showing up at that time! But the fourth principle is a little tougher; they were naked and ashamed. Why? They were NOT accustomed to it! Gen. 2:25 says, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” This is the way we should come to God, naked, no secrets, no sins, nothing hidden, just naked and unashamed. There are no secrets with God anyway, He knows everything, everywhere, every time, He is omniscient! Jer. 17:10 says, “I the LORD, search the heart, I test the the conscience or reins…” In John 2:24-25 it says, ‘Jesus knows all men and what is in men.’

Now I would like to draw some ‘Prayer Principles’ from the seventh from Adam in Gen. 5:18-24; Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham Japeth. Why do we skip over names so fast in the Bible? We come to I Chronicles and skip nine chapters, 500 names. Names are important, they tell a lot about people. Like little Jabez right in the middle of those names, I have 155 pages of sermon notes on that character from teaching and the prayer of Jabez is not about Jabez. Or take my name, Rev. Roger Theodore Boguski I.  Rev. means a church recognized the call of God in my life, examined my credentials, qualifications, qualities, abilities, gifts, character, commissioned me and sent me out to do the work of the ministry. Roger means warrior, spear man, leader, from the womb to the tomb, marine, police officer, preacher, missionary. Theodore means, God’s gift, lover of God, speaker of God; Boguski is Polish, the ski is a suffix for nobility also it shows a connection to the name preceding it which is Bog-us or God’s gift again in Polish then you have the ‘I’ which means there is a ‘II.’ So a name can tell you a lot about a person.

Like the first ten names you have listed in Genesis 5 all have meanings in Hebrew and they are all very important. Adam – man; Seth – appointed; Enosh – mortal; Kenan – sorrow; Mahalalel – blessed God; Jared – shall come down; Enoch – teach; Methuselah – death shall bring forth; Lamech – despairing; Noah – comfort or rest. Now let’s put all them together from the Hebrew, “Man appointed, mortal, for sorrow, but the blessed God shall come down, teaching that His death, whose death, His death, shall bring the despairing, comfort or rest.” That is a summary of the Christian Gospel in the Genesis genealogy. Showing God’s plan of redemption was not some knee jerk reaction to sin but His plan before the creation of the earth.

Enoch (chanak – means dedicated) we get the word (Chanukkah) from its root, “The Feast of Dedication” on the 25th of Kislev or December. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up, (chanak) teach, dedicate, inaugurate, initiate, swear them in” (not swear at them). Enoch is a striking character, one of only two men the Bible says, “Walked with God,” Noah being the other. One of only two men who entered heaven without passing through the portals of death, Elijah being the other. Other than Jesus, Elijah is the only other man the Bible says, “Pleased God!” Six verses, Gen. 5:18-23 and what a biography! In Luke 3:37 he is in Christ’s genealogy through Mary; in Hebrews 11:5-6 he is number two in the “Hall of Faith” after Abel; in Jude vv. 14-15 he is the first prophet to predict the Second Coming and he did it, 1,000 years before the universal flood. But some things seem to stand out in Enoch’s life as a man, ‘Who Pleased God;’ a man whose very breath seemed to be a prayer to God!

“Enoch walked with God for 300 years!” “Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him.” Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” You can’t walk with God without talking with Him, without sweet communion, or fellowship. Elijah also walked with God II Kings 2:11 and He took him. Hebrews 11:5-6 says a lot about Enoch, he was a man of faith, “by faith Enoch,” he was a man of prayer, a God please-er, he believed God and diligently sought Him, Enoch maintained unbroken communion and sweet intercourse with God, he had to, to walk with God. The same is true with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Elijah, etc. God did all the talking, these men were progressive saints, they walked with God, this shows spiritual progress. The Hebrew word for walk is, ‘to go on habitually!’ How sweet is that! So progress in holiness was their habit, sanctification not salvation. God please-ers in a corrupt time. Enoch bore Methuselah who died the year of the flood. Could it be that Enoch’s birth initiated God’s discipline on the earth? “Enoch walked with God and God took him,” probably during his ‘Quiet Time!’ That’s what we need today, ‘A habitual progress and process in holiness,’ “to go on habitually,” to walk and talk with God on a regular basis. As Brother Andrew called it, “Practicing The Presence of Christ!” These men knew the ‘Secret of The Inner Chamber’ and we need to find it again; we need to know the voice, the place, the time and we need to come before Him bare naked, no secrets, no hidden agenda, ‘broken and spilled out.’ We will come back to Enoch on Sunday, he has a lot more to share with us about prayer, ‘Come Walk With Me.’         ‘Between The Lines’  “Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Enoch – Part #1)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Abel – Part #1)

Posted on July 25, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

We discussed the ‘Way of Cain’ which was ‘Will-Worship’ and now we turn to his younger brother Abel who may have been his twin brother and here we see, ‘The Way of God.’ Not much is said in scripture about this first martyr who apparently left no offspring, but he is mentioned by Christ as an historical figure, Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51. He is a keeper of sheep, whereas his brother Cain is a farmer. His name in Hebrew (hebel) has several meanings, breathe, vapor, vanity, transitory, and can even be translated meadow and ‘morning mist’ for brevity of life. We know from the context that the three brothers Cain, Abel and Seth were guided and taught by their father Adam in the proper duty of worshiping Jehovah God, the language implies previous instruction in the mode of worship. “And in the process of time” i.e. “in the end of days” probably the Sabbath, they brought their offerings. Gen. 4:4. “And the LORD (YeHoVaH) had respect unto” in Hebrew it means, ‘to look at with a keen earnest glance,’ and has been translated, ‘to kindle a fire.’ So, Divine approval is shown in a consuming fire and this is seen throughout scripture.

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain; (Cain offered a bloodless sacrifice to God for sin – unacceptable!) By which he (Abel) obtained witness that he was righteous; (But to Cain and his offering God had no respect-unacceptable!)  God testifying of his (Abel’s) gifts, and by it he being yet dead speaks.” Heb. 11:4.  The first one in “The Hall of Faith,” the first martyr and his blood is still speaking to God from the ground today, Gen. 4:10 is written in the present tense, as if it is still crying out today. It appears that Abel not Cain was going to bear the lineage of the Messiah and Cain out of jealousy killed him, just like Esau was going to do to Jacob.

Abel must have made an altar to present his offering to God. There are three requirements for an altar; Sacrifice, the firstling of the flock and it had to be perfect; Worship, attributing worth and praise to YeHoVaH Elohim, “The LORD had respect for Abel and his offering;” Prayer, communion with the Creator of the universe! Abel had all three and he knew that it was the blood that made atonement for his sin, long before Lev. 17:11 was written. His father and mother learned that in the garden after they sinned and God had to kill the lambs to atone for their sin and cover their nakedness. The LORD had no respect for Cain and his offering, why? No Blood! And possibly no worship! No sacrifice for sure, you don’t sacrifice grapes and apples. To sacrifice means to slaughter, to smite with deadly intent. How do you slaughter fruit?  Without blood we cannot enter into the presence of God. Fruit is great but blood is the requirement. Heb. 10:19, “Having therefore brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” We too can enter the Holiest, the Holy of Holies, just like faithful Abel because of the blood of the sacrifice, the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus! Our sacrifices of prayer and praise Heb. 13:15 are accepted by His blood, so as we enter into the holy place, our prayer chamber, let us be mindful of the shed blood of Christ and use it to cleanse us and make us acceptable before a pure and Holy God. Then God will look on us and have respect on us and on our offerings. May we like faithful Abel bring our firstlings, build our altars, pray to Jehovah Elohim and worship Him. Abel to be listed in the “Hall of Faith” had to be a ‘Man of Faith,’ a man of God, and a man of prayer. Even his blood still today cries out to God, what does that tell you about the blood of all the martyrs, from Abel to Zachariah in the Older Testament to John the Baptist and James, Peter, Paul, the early church, the middle ages, Jim Elliot, the 165,000 Christians martyred last year. You need to read Acts 1:8 a little more carefully. When a saint is martyred Jesus stands up to receive them into His presence Acts 7:55. The name Stephen means ‘Crown’ and there have been more martyrs in the last 100 years than in the previous 2,000 years, in fact the blood of martyrs is the seed-bed of the church. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a poem 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 place; God’s glory smote him on the face.” And it all started with Abel who offered a more perfect sacrifice then his brother Cain who killed him and buried him in his garden and yet his blood still cries out to God from the ground today.

“LORD, may You find us faithful like Abel, may You find us righteous like Abel, and may You have respect unto us and our offerings like You had for Abel’s. Father, may we not go in the way of Cain who worshiped You after his own will, but may we accept redemption by the precious blood of the Lamb. May we worship You, Your way and come to You, in prayer through the blood of Your only begotten Son, Jesus The Christ, as a ‘God-Pleaser like Abel.”

Eve gives birth to a third son Seth in Gen. 4:25, “For God (Elohim) said she, has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” So we know who was to carry on the Messianic line, Abel whom Cain murdered. Sounds a lot like Jacob and Esau. Not much is said about Sheth or Seth other than his name means ‘appointed’ or ‘seat of the body-buttocks.’ He lived 105 years and begot Enosh ‘mortal’ who lived 905 years, “Then began men to call upon the name of the LORD (YeHoVaH) the covenant name of God. It is now 235 years since creation, could man have waited that long to worship God in prayer, five generations after creation? Adam prayed in the garden in Gen.3, Abel prayed for his sacrifice in Gen. 4. In fact Adam was created by God for sweet, intimate communion and fellowship with Him. Therefore prayer had to be a dictate of nature, or as one writer put it, “Prayer was a constituted instinct in-wrought by the Maker.” So fellowship, communion,and prayer had to be going on since day one! The word Enosh in our text means ‘Mortal’ hence a man in general, singular or collectively. The word ‘men’ is in italics and is not in the Hebrew text so we get all our meaning form the word ‘Enosh’ and I believe it is a reference to Mankind or Corporate Worship. I believe it is an indication of man realizing and recognizing his frailty, therefore he is calling on the LORD Jehovah for help! “Then mankind began to call upon the name of YeHoVaH!” Our reference must be to social worship not individual prayer. The word call means, ‘to call out to,’ or ‘to address by name!’ “YeHoVaH God, thank you, for corporate worship and prayer. That not only alone in our closets but together as a body we can come to You and pour out our hearts and make our requests known. Thank You, that You are the God Who hears the prayers of all mankind, individually or collectively. Thank you for Your word today it truly was precious and refreshing.” In Yeshua’s Name. Amen!            ‘Between The Lines’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Abel – Part #1)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” – (Cain – Part #2)

Posted on July 21, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

We can’t leave Gen. 4 without saying a few words about, “The Mark of Cain.” The religious commentators are all over the place and nobody has a corner on the market and it seems the deeper they go, the broader the market. Some believe his skin color changed, some believe it was a curse from God, some believe it was an internal thing, some believe it was banishment, the ancient Rabbi’s saw it as a horn on Cain’s head, some believe it was a shaking like Parkinson’s, some just don’t believe and some admit they just don’t know so move on. The Hebrew word for ‘Mark’ is (owth) and is used 76 times in the Older Testament, 75 of those are used as a sign, many as a sign of ownership. Some as a taboo mark for, ‘don’t touch!’ This mark has been the seed-bed of confusion and debate for centuries. However, the word (owth) or sign, token, flag, beacon, monument as used in Exodus 12:13 on the first Passover when they struck the lentil and the door posts with the three branches of hyssop, plunged into the basin of blood was a, ‘sign of something greater to come!’ Or the sign, token (owth) bow God set in the clouds after the universal flood in Gen. 9:13 as a sign of the covenant between God and man that He would never destroy the earth again by water. Or the token, sign (owth) of circumcision that God set up between Himself and the Jewish people making them His covenant people (olam) forever. As you study this word further you see it has a sense of ownership, protection and it is something that is visible I believe, for all to see and it is ‘NOT’ a sign of God’s curse but on the contrary of His protection just like the blood on the door, the bow in the cloud, and circumcision of all the males and a host of others.

The only parallel we have to this marking is found in Ezekiel 9:4-6 with a man dressed in fine linen called the ‘Ink Horn Man.’ Who went throughout Jerusalem and, “set a ‘Mark’ (tav) upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that were done in the city of Jerusalem…and begin at His sanctuary.” The ‘Mark’ or (tav) in ancient Paleo-Hebrew was a symbol of a cross and was the mark of the covenant. Ezekiel was carried to Babylon before they adopted the Aramaic language and alphabet. The cross-references in your Bibles to the Ezekiel passage of 9:4-6 are Revelation 7:3; 9:4; & 20:4 which refer to those during the tribulation with the seal of God in their foreheads and Exodus 12:7; 23 which is the Passover and the blood on the lentil and mezuzot or side posts. Then you have the ‘Mark of the Beast’ in Rev. 13:16-17; 20:4. The 144,000 are sealed during the Tribulation with the Father’s name written in their foreheads. Rev. 14:1.

Now back to the ‘Mark of Cain,’ God said to the Jewish people in Egypt, “Strike the lentil with the hyssop dipped in blood, dip it again and strike the two side posts with one swipe and on every door in the land of Goshen you had a cross in the blood of the lamb, and God said, When I see the sign, token (owth) I will pass over you. In Ezek. 9:4-6 the ‘Ink Horn Man’ put a (tav) the ancient Paleo-Hebrew cross on their foreheads and they were not to be touched. Study the book of Numbers , lay out the twelve tribes and the sanctuary, get in an imaginary helicopter and look down and they marched in the form of a cross for 40 years in the desert. Michio Kaku a Ph.D. Theoretical Physicist said, if you step inside of a perfect cube and look up you will see a cross. In Revelation 21 the new Jerusalem is a perfect cube; estimates are 1,500 miles x 1,500 miles x 1,500 miles and when you step inside the lobby and look up you will see one, humongous cross! And if you continue your search you will find the ‘Cross’ from Genesis all the way through Revelation. Why? It’s God’s plan! That’s why!

So, what was the ‘Mark’ on Cain’s forehead? A visible mark of ownership and protection, saying ‘Don’t Touch,’ a walking sermon, a sign of grace, a shaking, if you will. You’re entitled to any intelligent opinion you wish to draw on your own. Gather your evidence, form your conclusion, make your proposition, but in my humble but accurate opinion, and I may be out on a branch all by myself Dr Showers.  I believe the ‘Mark of Cain’ was an ancient Paleo-Hebrew (tav). Just like the one the ‘Ink Horn Man’ dressed in fine linen put on the men in Ezk. 9:4-6, and it may have been put their by Him.  So that every time a person looked at Cain, and every time Cain looked at a piece of glass or into a pool of clear water to wash his face, he saw this symbol and was reminded of the One who was to come and die for Him to set him free for the murder of his brother and what was this symbol? It was an ancient Paleo-Hebrew, ‘Cross’  on which the ‘Lamb of God would die for the sins of the world’ including Cain’s. But he chose to run, hide and lie, instead of falling on his knees and crying out, “LORD Save Me!” Three simple words from his heart to the heart of God. When confronted by God for his sin instead of confessing it he lied Gen.4:9 and then he gave God the typical humanitarian excuse, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Will you right now acknowledge your sin, confess it to God, take a knee and pray, or will you run, hide and lie like Cain and let Diabalos mark you for trouble? The sin we are dealing with on our journey is not murder, it’s ‘Prayerlessness!’ But it is as deadly as Cain’s for a ‘Disciple of Christ.’ Cain’s brother Abel didn’t live very long and yet he is listed in the ‘Hall of Faith.’ In fact he is the first one you meet as you enter the lobby, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain; by it he obtained righteousness, God testified to this, and even though he is dead his gift still speaks.” What did he offer? The blood of a lamb, a type of Christ, and it started in Gen. 3:21 when God made coats of skins for Adam and Eve. They both knew the way to God, the blood of an innocent lamb which ultimately leads to Calvary, but only Able did it God’s way. Without the recognition of Christ as our substitute and sacrifice there can be no approach to God. There has been more persecution on religious grounds than on any other in the whole world. That’s why I believe the very ‘Mark’ (tav) God put on Cain’s forehead was the very purpose set forth before the foundation of this world, in the council of heaven, rejected by Cain himself, the blood of the Lamb of God! Without the shedding of blood there is no redemption but without the sprinkling of blood there is no salvation. You need both, appropriation and application, the blood was shed at Calvary and the door step but if you don’t apply it to the lentil and door posts of your heart and home you will die, without hope and without Christ and go straight to hell!  “Abba, Father, may we not be marked like Cain for destruction but like Abel for consecration. It’s not enough, O LORD, to know the way; We must be in the way, like Eliezer so You can lead us, guide us, teach us, talk to us, touch us, transform us, mold us, instruct us and make us men and women of prayer, in these last days.” In Jesus Name!      ‘Between The Lines’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  (Cain – Part #2)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Cain – Part #1)

Posted on July 18, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

Adam has three sons in Gen. 4, Cain, Abel and Seth and we need to consider how their lives impact our lives in regards to prayer.  Adam knew Eve and she bore Cain and said, “I have gotten (acquired-Cain) a man from the LORD.” Cain is a type of the mere man of the earth whose religion is destitute of any sense of sin or need of atonement.  But attainment can never take the place of atonement. Without the recognition of Christ as our substitute and sacrifice there can be no approach to God. This religious type of man is described in 2 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 about Cain, he worships in self-will, he is angry with God, he refuses to bring a sin offering, he murders his brother, he lies to God, he becomes a wanderer, and he becomes the object of divine anxiety and fear.

This section could be entitled, ‘The Way of Cain.’ Previously, we said prayer language can be at times, defiant and irreverent. Prayer is simply talking to God and if that is true, then we have in chapter 4 with Cain what we had in chapter 3 verse 9 with Adam where God initiated the search and the conversation, “Where are you?” Here He asks Cain a series of questions starting in v.6, “Why are you angry?” “Why has your countenance fallen?” “Where is Abel your brother?” “What have you done?” Sin separates man from God and it is God not man who does the searching for the other at this point. God more than man desires reconciliation and that comes through confession which is ‘Prayer!’ The first prayer a sinner prays is to change his status (Rom. 3:10-11 tells us there is none righteous, there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God) So it is God who does the seeking initially as with Cain. A conversation develops between God and Cain as God attempts to restore Cain who is angry with God, but you have never been angry with God, right? Your countenance has never fallen, has it? You have never felt unaccepted by God, right? We have the same problem Cain had! Admit it!

“Sin lieth at the door!” And God says, “We should rule over it and not vice-versa.” Praise God! We serve a God, who seeks, searches and saves sinners! Cain answers God, hopefully not the way you answer Him from your prayer chamber. But how about on the street, or at work, or school when you are convicted about your life or habits, or during a crisis, or when circumstances don’t go your way? Jude v.11 says, “Woe to 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 even to bless it. A fruit offering instead of the firstlings of the flock. Nothing wrong with fruit, when it’s a fruit offering but God required blood for atonement, not grapes! Cain wanted it his way, like some of our local hamburger jingles, “Have it your way” but with God there is only one way, “His Way!”

God desperately tried in His conversation to restore Cain but to no avail. God is sovereign and supreme; omnipotent and omnificent but He never forces us to accept Him or His ways. One of the greatest sins of the Christian today is ‘The Sin of Prayerlessness!’ God gave us the method, in fact prayer is His divine plan. God deserves, in fact He desires our fellowship and our communion with Him. Abel knew that sweetness and he came God’s way. Cain never experienced that sweetness because he tried to come, ‘Cain’s Way’ through will-worship. Gen. 4:16 says, “Cain went out from the presence of the LORD.” How sad, how tragic! My friend, it is God Who is seeking you right now, to worship Him in spirit and in truth, to worship Him His way, not man’s way. Why won’t you come? “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, Come. ” Or will you go out from the presence of the LORD like Cain, into the land of Nod, the land of wandering. Aren’t you tired of wandering, tired of drifting, tired of floating down a river like a bubble with no meaning and no place to go but down? In Exodus 33:14 the LORD said to Moses, “My presence shall go with you, and I shall give you rest.” And Moses said in return, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up from here.” I don’t know about you but I need to know the ‘Power of His Presence’ and the ‘Presence of His Almighty Power’ in my life and ministry and especially in my prayer life and closet.

“Oh God, Creator of heaven and earth, and all that in them is, help us to see it Your way and only Your way; Please LORD, don’t stop seeking, searching, speaking to Your creatures, don’t stop drawing Your creation to Yourself, forgive us our sin of prayerlessness, forgive us for doing it our way, cleanse us from our will-worship and for going in the way of Cain. Lord, may we know the sweetness that Abel knew in prayer and fellowship with You.” In Jesus name and for His sake, Amen!     ‘Between The Lines’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  (Cain – Part #1)

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Adam – Part #6)

Posted on July 16, 2011 by The Scarlet Worm

Thus far we have learned from Adam in the garden some very important principles for prayer from the first man to get alone with God, face to face. You must know the voice of God, that means being in His word, John 10:27; You must know the secret place, that means having a special place to meet God Matthew 6:6; You must know the right time to meet God, that means having a specific quiet time alone with God (Mk. 1:35 – morning; Acts 3:1 – afternoon; Matt. 14:23 – evening; Lk. 6:12 – night) It does not matter to God when as long as you are a ‘Praying Person!’

The fourth principle and probably the most important one is, ‘You must be naked and unashamed!’ Now don’t get excited, that does not mean doing your quiet time in your birthday suit. In Gen. 3:9, God called Adam and said, “Where are you?” They were hiding, why? They were bare naked and ashamed! But notice who is doing the seeking and who is doing the hiding! Some things never change, Amen? John 4:23 says, “The Father ‘SEEKS’ for those to worship Him…”(zeteo) to look for, seek out, desire, to possess. It is no different today, God is still seeking for worshipers to worship Him in spirit and in truth! Does God show up in your enclosed garden, or prayer closet and wait, only to find out you never show up? Does He cry out every day, morning, noon and night, from your prayer closet, your pantry of spiritual nourishment, “Where are you?”

The word in Gen. 3:9 for voice or sound can be translated, ‘Thunder, To Yell, Call Aloud – WHERE ARE YOU!! Now it gets a little personal, because this word also implies, “To call or summon by ‘Name!’ Note v.9, “God called unto Adam, not Eve. Dad’s the family altar is your responsibility not mom’s! Notice who speaks first in Gen. 3:9, ‘GOD!’ He initiates the search and He initiates the conversation. Gen. 3:10 gives us a clue to Adam’s problem and our problem in this fourth principle, “And he (Adam) said, “I heard Thy voice in the garden and was afraid, because I was naked and I hid myself.” I heard your voice in the enclosed garden, “But I was afraid!” Terrified, Fearful! Why? Could it be, sin, disobedience, rebellion, neglect? Good guess! I Sam. 15:22 says, “Disobedience is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness as the sin of idolatry.” What’s wrong Adam? I am naked, literally, ‘Bare naked!’ In Gen. 2:25, “They were naked and unashamed” But nine verses later they are naked and very ashamed!

Why, what happened in Gen. 3:1-7? The serpent appeared and sin entered the ‘enclosed garden,’ the secret place, the prayer closet, because Adam left the gate open, he forgot to ‘Shut The Door!’ “NO!” “YESSSSSSS!” Can you hear the hissss of the serpent? God said ‘Shut The Door’ for a very good reason! He, Satan will do everything and anything in his power to destroy your prayer life and your prayer meetings and he has done a pretty good job on that one! They are just about gone, family night, Bible study, youth night, small groups, Bible Clubs, call it anything you want but don’t call it ‘Prayer Meeting’ because Satan won’t like that. Am I stepping on any toes yet, if this blog is to convicting just hit the little red x in the top right hand corner nobody will know except God! I’m writing to me as well, “Guilty as charged, your Honor!” What’s that old saying, “Satan trembles at the weakest Christian on their knees.” By the way, how are your garments before God today, spotless, clean, pure white or filthy? Isa. 64:6 talks about all our righteousnesses as filthy rags, you need to read that verse in a Roman Catholic Bible or look up the words ‘filthy rags’ in your Strong’s concordance. YUK! It’s hard to come before a perfect, holy, pure God in dirty rags, isn’t it? It is confession time! Adam was naked and afraid and he hid himself! Are you hiding from God? Have you withdrawn from the LORD lately? Have you left your first love, not lost, left? Rev. 2:4. Have you stepped out of the circle? I love that poem by Edwin Markham, “He drew a circle and shut me out; Heretic, rebel a thing to flout. But love and I had a mind to win; We drew a circle and shut him in.” If your love, your passion, your fervor, your relationship, your intimacy, your prayer life is not what it used to be with God, who moved, who stepped out of the circle, you or God?

Psalm 139 says God sees every-thing, every-where, every-time! In fact Yeshua/Jesus knows the very thoughts of your mind right now John 2:24-25, “He knows all men & He knows what is in all men.” In John 1:51, He saw Nathaniel and knew what he was meditating on before he came to Him, ‘Jacob’s ladder’ and God searches our hearts and consciences Jer. 17:9-10. You can’t hide anything, anywhere, anytime from an omniscient, omnipresent God. Nothing! So why try? Question, are you in your enclosed garden, with the door shut, in the cool of the day? Do you hear His voice walking in your garden? If not, why not? Are you afraid? Are you naked? Are you hiding? Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them…” When was the last time you heard His voice? When was it? Can you remember? Have you ever heard it? Have you? Are you thirsty for God? How thirsty? Psalm 42:1-2; Does your heart pant after God like the deer pants after the water brook, after being chased by a pack of hunting dogs? Jesus said, “If any man thirsts let him come to Me and drink and out of his inner most being will flow rivers of living water.”

I believe Adam walked with God in the garden, in the cool of the day, before and after the fall and heard His voice calling him. He knew that intimate, personal intercourse with his Creator and had ‘Spiritual Yada.’ He walked before God bare naked, pure, open, nothing hidden before the fall. Then he ran from God; he hid from God; and he lied to God. That is the sequence and order of backsliding, run, hide, lie! Gen. 3:11-12. But when all else fails blame the wife! “The woman whom thou gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.” Some things never change. Amen? As someone once said, “The problem was not the apple in the tree, it was the pair on the ground.” Question, have you disobeyed God? Have you sinned against Him? Have you left your first love? Rev. 2:4 Did you buy the lie? Yes, Yes, Yes! “God Forgive Me!” Please don’t send me out of Your presence God! Moses prayed that in Exodus 33 after the ‘Golden Bull.’ I can’t imagine being without God’s presence for five seconds but not ‘Pass The Shekel Adam.’ He refused to confess, he refused to admit his sin, he refused to repent, so he was driven out of the enclosed garden and out of God’s personal presence. Gen. 3:24. Christian, have you refused to confess, to repent, to admit your sin of prayerlesness, that’s the one we are dealing with! How would you rate your prayer life on a scale of 1-10? You can change that right now! With five simple words from Luke 11:1, “Lord, teach us to pray!”  Not how to pray, we already know how, we just need to learn, ‘To Pray!’  Our basic need is not more theology about prayer, we have bookshelves on it but more practicology in prayer! There is only one way to become more proficient in prayer, and that is to take a knee and pray more. Like the only really way to learn how to ride a horse, is to get on the horse! ‘Between The Lines’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  (Adam – Part #6)

Posted in Christianity, Devotional, Family, Friendship, Olivet Ministries International, Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 1 Comment