“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Num. Ch. 1-6’ Part #7

Posted on April 14, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

God can only dwell among a sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, holy people! Why? Because He is of purer eyes than to even look with favor upon evil, iniquity or sin and those last three words pretty much sum us up. Listen, if He had to turn away from His only begotten Son on Calvary, because of our stinking sin, and His Son was sinless, perfect, holy and pure, but became sin for us, 2 Cor. 5:21. What do you think He will do with us who willfully sin even after having a knowledge of the Truth? Come on now, be honest! A holy, pure, righteous, perfect God cannot, I repeat cannot, dwell among a sinful people and He cannot and He will not answer their prayers! Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard (hide and don’t confess) iniquity (avon – evil, wickedness, unrighteousness, sin) in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Isaiah understood this principle of God not dwelling in the midst of an unclean people; read chapter six of his book, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;” Then an angel, a Seraphim took a live coal from off the altar of God and laid it on his lips and said, “Lo this has touched thy lips, and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.” When was the last time a Seraphim laid a live coal on your lips? Maybe that’s why your prayers are not being answered, your lips are unclean and uncircumcised! Isaiah went on to write at the end of his book in chapter 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 have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you that He will not hear.” Is sanctification and separation important to prayer, not any more than holiness and purity.

The word ‘Separated’ basically means to ‘Set Apart,’ from the world but unto God. It’s not good enough to be only separated from; we must be separated unto! Paul said in Rom. 1:1 that he was, “separated unto the Gospel of God,” I like that. In 2 Cor. 6:17-18 Paul says, “Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” C.I. Scofield points out that, “Separation in Scripture is twofold, from whatever is contrary to the mind of God and unto God Himself. The underlying principle is that in a moral universe it is impossible for God to bless and use His children who are in compromise or compliance with the evil in the universe. Separation from evil implies, separation in desire, motive and act, from the world, in the ethically bad sense of this present world system and from false teachers who are described as “vessels…to dishonor” 2 Tim. 2:20-21. Separation is not from contact with the evil in the world or the church but from compliance with and conformity to it.” Some people and organizations hold to second, third and fourth degree separation, which there is not room to discuss in this blog.

Why did they need to be sanctified? Because, Deut. 23:14 says, “For the LORD thy God walks in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy, (kodosh – holy, sacred, consecrated, set apart to God) that He shall see no unclean (ervah – nakedness, nudity)  thing in thee, and turn away from thee.” The same word is found in Deut. 24:1, a very rare word for uncleanness. God walked in the midst of the camp to deliver them from their enemies, therefore their camp had to be (kadosh) holy or He would turn away from them. Has He turned away from you lately? If you are not where you ought to be with God, whose fault is that?

Let me ask you a different soul searching question, where does God dwell today? What is His tabernacle? Our bodies right? I Cor. 6:19-20, get a hold of those two verses, they will change your attitude if not your life. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s.” He not only walks but lives in the midst of our bodies which is the Temple (naos) of the Holy Spirit. Why, to deliver us from our enemy, Satan. catch this now, therefore your camp, or your body must be holy (kadosh) just like the Israeli camp in Deut. 23:14, that He may see no unclean thing and turn away from helping us. You remember Achan in Joshua 7, the whole nation was punished and men died because of one man’s sin. If there is sin in the camp God can’t bless the camp. Hab. 1:13 says, “God is of purer eyes than to look with favor upon the evil of iniquity.” He can’t look at it, think of His Son on Calvary, “Eli, Eli, la’ma sabach’thani?” “My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?” Matt. 27:46. Sin nailed His Son to the cross, He hates sin, and so should you and I! Repentance (meta-nuos – means, ‘To change the mind, the attitude, the demeanor, direction, about something.’) You should hate sin as much as God hates it. Listen to Heb. 12:4, “You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin!” But Christ did, for You!

Now there are three basic theories that attempt to answer the question, “What shall I do with the, Old Man?” And right away some of you are thinking, I have a few ideas of my own of what to do with,’the old man.’ But I am referring to the old nature, not your husbands or fathers. The first theory is ‘Suppression,’ hold him down, but his lid keeps popping off at the wrong time. Second is ‘Eradication,’ wipe him out, but he keeps turning up like a bad penny when you least expect it. Third is ‘Counteraction,’ which is the most Biblical. Drive him back, this appears to be the best Scriptural view and there are three tenses to this view. The past tense is the believers perfect standing before God through Christ’s imputed righteousness, which happens at the moment of salvation. Perfection in the Newer Testament means, completeness and maturity not absolute sinlessness. You will never attain that in this life.

Paul was perfect in his position in Christ, not in his experience with Christ at the same time, read Phil. 3:12-16. So you can see from that portion of Scripture that Paul was perfect in position but not in experience at the same time. Heb. 10:14 says, “For by one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified.” What offering? v.10, “By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Listen to I Cor. 1:30, “But of Him (God) are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption;” (Beautiful!) How did we get in Christ? God put us in Him! 2 Cor. 5:21, “For He God, has made Him (Christ) who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (Christ).” Powerful verse and principle for prayer. It is possible my friend to be positionally sanctified despite sinful behavior. Look at I Cor. 1:2 and 3:1-4, Paul is writing to a bunch of carnal Christians but he says in 1:2, they are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called saints. So looking at sanctification in the past tense we see it is a statement, an act, and a position. It is imputed righteousness accounted to us and refers to deliverance from sin’s penalty, that is, spiritual death. Next time we will look at sanctification in the present tense; That is the process of progressing towards Christ-likeness. Positionally we are in Christ, BUT practically we run from Christ! And that my friend puts more pressure upon our prayer lives, than anything else in this desert journey of ours. So, until next time, I guess we will see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Num. Ch. 1-6’ Part #7 – 4/14/13

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Desert Prayers - Part #3, Desert Prayers - Part #4, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Historical, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Pastor's Prayer, Pastor's Prayer Principle, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Practicing The Presence of God, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer and The Blood Covenant, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer For Wisdom - Lev. 24:12, Prayer Garden, Prayer in Exodus, Prayer In The Book of Numbers, Prayer In The Desert - Part #2, Prayer Journey, Prayer of The Fatherless, Prayer of The Scapegoat, Prayerology, Prayers In The Desert, Prayers In The desert - Part #7, Preparation For Prayer, Priest = Bridge-Builder, RocK of Ages Ex. 33:18-23, Scarlet Worm, Shekinah Glory, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, The Altar of Prayer, The Incense Altar, The Plague of Prayer, The Power of The Blessing, The Prayer For Atonement, The Prayer For Mercy, The Prayer of The Blessing, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners, Wilderness Prayers | Leave a comment

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Num. Ch. 1-6’ Part #4

Posted on April 6, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

A good title for this book would be, “Operation Desert Storm.” Here is Israel, miraculously redeemed from Egypt by the blood of an innocent lamb, in possession of the law of the Almighty written with the very finger of God on tablets of stone, led by Moses an 80 year old Jewish shepherd, daily looking at their Tabernacle in the very midst of their encampment, supernaturally guided by a pillar of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; having their daily bread sent to them from heaven by ‘UPS’ and their meat by ‘Federal Express.’ You would have thought, they would have marched triumphantly right into the ‘Promised Land’ and conquered it! However, they failed and failed miserably, over and over and over, but we never fail, right? We are always triumphant, right, wrong!

We have been looking at one life changing principle for our ‘Prayer Lives’ in the book of Numbers as we journey toward the promised land and that principle is that, “God, Jehovah Elohim, El Shaddai, YHWH, El Gibbor, El Elyon, El Olam, Adonai, desires to dwell, pitch His tent, tabernacle, in the midst, in the very center, of His people and their lives! He desires it and He deserves it! What an astounding thought and principle, “God, the Creator of the universe, desires to dwell in the very midst of the creatures He created.” The Hebrew word (dwell) means to reside, lodge, set up, rest or inhabit. To abide or dwell, sounds a lot like John 15; or I Cor. 6:19-20. Not only that but His people (us) need to pitch their tents in the very center of His will also, Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 5:17; Because if we are not living in the very center of His will and His purpose, then we are living in a very dangerous place! God should always be in the very center of our lives and ministries too, always! We should encamp, pitch our tent around Him and around His ‘Tabernacle of Meeting.’ We need to ask the LORD to help us see this beautiful life changing ‘Prayer Principle’ so we can apply it to our lives. This is not just some Old Testament principle but a New Testament principle as well.

The first six chapters of Numbers, or actually the first ten chapters are concerned with getting ready to move out! Organization! “God is not the Author of confusion but of peace,” I Cor. 14:33. I learned that very early in my walk with the Lord. Every individual had his or her definitely assigned place and task for the welfare of the whole nation. Organization, methodical, orderliness, systematic, these are the words that describe God’s work. In the church body, every member has his or her place of ministry or function, I Cor. 12; Eph. 4: 1-16. In fact in Eph. 4:11-12, God said, “He gave some, to perfect others, to do the work, so the church can be:” (prepared for their journey just like Israel). Just in case you haven’t discovered it yet, God is never in a hurry. He created word patience and invented the concept of time and doesn’t even wear a watch. So, slow down, go easy, take it one step at a time, on your knees if need be. Israel spent 40 years of preparation and wandering but only five years (Joshua 14) of fighting to conquer the promised land. Forty years of preparation for five years of battle. Sounds like our Lord, 5 BC to 33 AD is about 37 years. So, He spent about 33 years preparing, for a little over 3 years of ministry. Or as one evangelist said, “The time a woodsman spends sharpening his axe, is never a waste of time.”

That formula broke down to eight years of preparation for one year of hand to hand combat, a pretty good formula, if you ask me. Only Christ’s was a little better, ten years of preparation for each year of ministry, and we spend three years preparing for thirty years of ministry and we wonder why we have so many problems in the churches today! The old ‘Boy Scouts’ had a motto, “Be Prepared!” That should be our motto for service to God, “Be Prepared!” Too many times we step into the pulpits, into our Sunday school classes, out on visitation, or into a classroom unprepared or not as prepared as we should be. Now the nation of Israel is not going to move out until chapter ten, verse eleven, but before they do, God must first count the people in chapter one; Then He must arrange the camp in chapter two: Then He must organize the priests in chapter three: Then He must designate their ministries in chapter four; Then He must begin to sanctify or separate them, ‘Set apart His people!’

So, in Numbers 5-10 we see the ‘Sanctification, the Setting Apart as Holy,’ the nation of Israel. Four chapters for organization and six chapters for sanctification or separation. That is significant, if you thought God was really into organization, He spends 25% more time instructing on sanctification! A dirty unclean, vessel is of no use to God! If you have a dirty, filthy, scuzzy pot you can’t pour a can of good soup into it, can you? Well maybe you might, but I will not want to eat it! In chapter five we see sanctification through separation, now some folks have gone a little over board with this one; in chapter six you see sanctification through the Nazarite vow, here you may run into some legalists; in chapters seven and eight you see sanctification through worship, here you may run into the charismatics and spirit worship; in chapters nine and ten you see sanctification through ‘Divine Guidance,’ now here is a proper balance. Let me say this, sanctification is the key to moving out for God, the key! It is not good enough to just be organized, you must be sanctified, ‘Set Apart’ to move out for God! Now why did God put all that in about sanctification, six chapters worth? Because that leads us to the second major principle for an ‘Effective Fervent Prayer Life.’ (EFP) The first one was, ‘God desires to dwell in the midst, in the very center, of His people.’ The second principle is, ‘That God can only dwell among a sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, holy people.” He absolutely refuses to fill, use, indwell, or cohabit with a filthy, scuzzy, slimy, dirty, vessel. Why, because He is pure, holy, perfect and sinless and we will pick up right there next time. So until then, we will see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Num. Ch. 1-6’ Part #4 – 4/7/13

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Desert Prayers - Part #3, Desert Prayers - Part #4, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Pastor's Prayer, Pastor's Prayer Principle, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Practicing The Presence of God, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer In The Book of Numbers, Prayer In The Desert - Part #2, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Prayers In The Desert, Preparation For Prayer, Scarlet Worm, Shekinah Glory, Spirituality, The Altar of Prayer, The Incense Altar, The Plague of Prayer, The Power of The Blessing, The Prayer For Atonement, The Prayer For Mercy, The Prayer of The Blessing, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners, Wilderness Prayers | Leave a comment

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Num. Ch. 1-6’ Part #3

Posted on March 30, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

David was able to make God the center of his life, how? David had a heart after God! Acts 13:22 says, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, who will do all My will.” A heart for God, one sensitive to His will, but marked by a spirit of repentance. Psalm 51 and so many others give us a glimpse of David’s heart, broken, contrite, molded, and conformed in the Master’s hands to the Master’s will. Was David sinless? No, on the contrary, he was very sinful, but he had a broken and a contrite heart and spirit. He loved God so much, he could not live with his sin, that’s why God loved him so much. So, how did David make God the center of his life? He had a heart for God marked by a spirit of repentance and he couldn’t stand his sin, even though he was a sinner, so he kept a short sin list.

Peter made God the center of his life also, how? He loved the Lord! Oh, how he loved the Lord! Did he love Him more than all the other disciples? I don’t know, that is a question for the Lord to answer, John 21:15. However, Peter was the only one who stepped out of the boat and walked on the water in Matt. 14:29. Peter was also the first one who said, “Though all the others forsake You, I will never forsake You, I will even die for You.” John 13. Peter was the one who dove in the water when Christ was on the beach while the others counted the 153 fish and were amazed the net was not broken. Peter was the only one in the garden whacking off Malchus’ ear with a sword, ready to take on the whole Roman army for Jesus. Yes peter was consistent in blowing it! Yes he was impetuous, and abrupt, and hasty! Yes Peter had a foot shaped mouth but he had a God shaped heart also. Oh, how Peter loved the Lord, and the Lord loved Peter too! Acts 2; John 20; Peter did the impossible, Peter said the impossible, and Peter lived the impossible but only while in the immediate presence of the Lord! How did impetuous Peter make God the center of his life, he loved Him for all he was worth, 110%!

Paul made God the center of his life also, how? By serving Him with every fiber of his physical and spiritual being. His life verse was that, “Christ would be magnified in his body whether by life or by death.” He said in Phil. 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Listen to this soldier’s final words, and I mean ‘Soldier,’ II Tim. 2:3-4, “Thou, therefore, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who has chosen him to be a soldier.” Then his final farewell, the last chapter, the last act of this apostle, this soldier, the curtain is drawing, no encore, this is it, II Tim. 4:6-8, “For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them, that love His appearing.” Paul made God the center of his life by ‘Serving.’ He served God with the last dying drop of blood in his veins and with the last dying breath of air in his lungs.

I along with the author of Hebrews must say, “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and Barak and Samson and Jepthah also of David and Samuel and the prophets…” Listen my friend, God desires and deserves to be in the midst of His people, in the very center of our lives. Even in the midst of our wanderings in the middle of the desert. If we make Him the center of our lives, then we will be able to go to Him for guidance and direction. How do we do that? Like Abraham, by believing Him and taking Him at His word; Like Moses, by spending time in His very presence, by getting alone with Him; Like David, by having a heart after God, marked by a spirit of repentance; Like Peter who loved the Lord with all his heart and was not afraid to step out for Jesus, even if it meant getting wet, or looking foolish; Like Paul who served the Lord with every fiber of his physical and spiritual being until his last dying breath. The key my friend to an ‘Effectual, Fervent, Prayer, Life’ whether in the wilderness, in the desert, or on the banks of the Jordan River, is to make God the very center, the apex, the hub, the focal point, the nerve center of your life and keep Him there.

“Practicing The Presence of God,” is not just something for your “Prayer Time” or your “Quiet Time” it is something for your “Daily Life” like Brother Lawrence said, “Whether I’m picking up a piece of straw, washing a pot, or serving communion, I practice the presence of God.” So, it is something we do from the moment we open our eyes in the morning, till the moment we close them at night. David even said in Ps. 4:4, “Commune with your heart upon your bed, and be still.” Ps. 4:8, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for Thou LORD only makes me dwell in safety.” So, even in sleep the LORD can be in the center of your life as you meditate upon Him and slip into the subconscious state. Remember anything you do 38 times consecutively becomes a habit, so this will take some work and effort and sacrifice but the results will be worth more than you can imagine, ‘A closer walk with Him.’ What is the value or cost of that? Ask Nicodemus what it cost him for a closer walk with the Lord, when you see him. Now before you step out of the boat and get wet, you want to count the cost, you want to weight the odds and then make your choice! Now you may not get it right the first time, that’s alright just pick yourself up and brush yourself off. Peter failed, Paul failed, David failed, Moses failed, Abraham failed, but they never quit. So, get back in the circle, He never leaves your circle, you do! Rev. 2:4. An old Japanese proverb says, “It’s alright to fall down seven times as long as you get up eight.” Remember anything you do 38 times consecutively (in a row) becomes a habit! I just read a posting that touched my heart which said, “Aren’t you glad Jesus said, ‘It is Finished’ and not, ‘I am Finished!” Hillel said, “I get up, I walk, I fall down, mean while I keep dancing.” So, you failed, so what, failure is the back door to success, get up, get back in the circle, get back in the closet, God is waiting for you! Til next time, I’ll see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Num. Ch. 1-6’ – Part #3 – 3/30/13

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Desert Prayers - Part #3, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Pastor's Prayer, Pastor's Prayer Principle, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Practicing The Presence of God, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer In The Book of Numbers, Prayer In The Desert - Part #2, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Prayers In The Desert, Preparation For Prayer, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, The Altar of Prayer, The Incense Altar, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners, Wilderness Prayers | Leave a comment

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Num. Ch. 1-6′ – Part #2’

Posted on March 23, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

Someone has asked me to comment on the five elements of an effective prayer life which I mentioned last time. The ‘Prayer Closet’ must be a specific place you go, which has a door that you can close and lock the world and its distractions out while you pray. Adam went into the garden (gan) an enclosed garden with a gate, which the angel guarded after they were cast out. Jesus told us to enter into our “closet and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father who is already in the secret place and He shall reward thee openly.” Matt. 6:6. A ‘Prayer Journal’ is not a prayer list, but a book you can add too and mark answers to prayer so you can praise God for His answers. But as it grows you may pray for things on different days or different weeks. You may add verses, or thoughts or prayers to it, it’s a journal and will become quite lengthy. A ‘Prayer Plan’ is a way to enter into prayer with God, some people like to use the “ACTS” acrostic ‘Adoration – Confession – Thanksgiving – Supplication.’ Maybe you like to read a chapter of Proverbs every day, there are 31 of those, or two or three Psalms, sing a Hymn from your favorite hymnal, read a devotional like “My Utmost For His Highest” anything to get your heart and soul ready to enter the “Holy of Holies.” Remember the words, ‘Listen & Silent’ have exactly the same letters, and you must be silent to listen to God’s voice too, but those who fail to plan, plan to fail. A ‘Prayer Time’ is a specific time to meet God for prayer, Jesus got up a great while before day break and departed into a solitary place and there prayed, before the cock crowed. I like early morning before the busyness of the day crashes in on you, but that is up to you. However, make it regular, make it habitual, make it specific, make it special, and make it holy! It’s prayer time and it’s God’s time! A ‘Prayer Partner’ is not someone you pray with, although you can pray with that person on occasion, it is someone you are accountable too. Someone who can check up on your prayer life and see how you are doing and it should not be your spouse and you should not be their prayer partner either, that way there are four of you in the basket, praying for and watching out for each other. I hope that helps, and remember it is just a plan, and a plan is only as good as the plannee!

However, the key to all this is, ‘GOD’ and He should always and forever be in the center of our lives, especially our prayer lives! That should be the first thing we check out in the morning, not do I have my lunch and homework, or do I have my keys and tools, or is my hear done and my clothes neat. But is God, Yehovah Elohim at the center of my life? Is He before me as I begin my journey today? We should always encamp around Him and His ‘Tabernacle of Meeting.’ At night when the pillar of ‘Fire or Cloud’ stopped, they set up the ‘Tabernacle of His Presence’ and then set up their camp all around Him. So, He should always be at the center, the apex of our lives when we rise up, when we journey, when we set up, and when we rest, why? Because He desires to dwell in the midst of His people. God the father desires to dwell in the very midst of your life and mine and you know what? He deserves it too! Listen, unless God is at the very center of our lives, our prayer lives, just like the children of Israel, will mean absolutely nothing in the midst of our wanderings. Now, how do we make Him the center of our lives? The Bible says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Matt. 6:33; It says we are to, “Set our affection on things above…” Col. 3:2; It says we are to love the Lord our God with, “all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind…” Luke 10:27. But how do we do this? Let’s look at some Biblical examples and try to draw some lessons for our lives.

Abraham made God the center of his life, Gen. 15:6, “And he (Abraham) believed (said Amen) to the LORD (YaHWeH); and He (the LORD) counted it (imputed it) to him (Abraham) for righteousness.” Abraham looked up into the heavens at the stars and said, “Aw-mane!” A confirmation that he believed God, and God imputed it to Abraham for righteousness. This is the first occurrence in the Bible of the vital and sole condition of salvation. Man is without righteousness of his own, Ps. 51:5; Rom. 3:23; Therefore if man is to be just in God’s sight, God must reckon His own righteousness to man’s account through man’s trust in Him. No wonder he was called, “The friend of God,” in James 2:23. So, how did Abraham make God the center of his life? He totally, without hesitation or reservation believed God! God said it and that settled it for him! He took God’s word literally and stood on it, period! How about you?

Moses made God the center of his life too, how? By spending time in His presence, alone, prostrate, interceding for others, 40 days and 40 nights. Some of us have a hard time with 40 minutes. He did it twice, and maybe three times. In Ex. 32 you have the ‘Golden Calf’ and in Ex. 33 God tells Moses that His presence would not go with him anymore and Moses said, “If Thy presence goes not with me, carry us not up from here.” v. 15. Then he says in v.18, “I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory!” Then God hid him in the cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand while He passed by. So how did Moses make God the center of his life? He spent a lot of time with Him in His presence, ALONE! Hudson Taylor said, “The Lord Jesus Christ, as counted on as never absent would be holiness complete.” I just reached up on my shelf and took down a small pile of books by “Brother Lawrence” entitled, ‘The Practice of The Presence of God.’ Nicholas Herman was converted at 18 while staring at a dry, leafless tree in the snow, and endeavored constantly as he put it, “to walk as in His (God’s) presence.” His simple book is just a compilation of letters and conversations, his principle for life however has captivated millions for decades. His poem, “Lord of all pots and pans and things…; Make me a saint by getting meals; And washing up the plates.” Whether washing a pot or serving communion this Carmelite monk of 1666 practiced the presence of God from morning til night. Next time we will pick up with David, Peter, Paul, and some other examples of men and women who have had God living in the center of their lives or practiced the presence of God. But until then we will see you “…Between The Lines…”

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Num. Ch. 1-6’ Part #2 – 3/23/13

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“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Numbers, Ch.1-6’

Posted on March 10, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

Numbers is a book of ‘Wanderings’ and it gets its name from two numberings in chapter one and twenty six. One at Mt. Sinai and the other at Moab, 38 years later. The Greek version calls this book ‘Arithmoi‘ and the Latin version calls it ‘Numeri,‘ but the Hebrew title seems the best, ‘Bemidbar‘ for wilderness. The underlying principle of Numbers seems clear and applicable; while it may be necessary to pass through some wilderness experiences, one does not need to live there or camp out in them! Another title for the book of Numbers could be, “The Book of Murmuring” or “The Book of Complaining.” Why, because an 11 day journey became a 38 year agony! Why, lack of belief in God, lack of faith, lack of vision, or lack of trust! Which ultimately leads to disobedience and rebellion which is as the sin of witchcraft!

This book is so applicable to us today in our walk with the Lord it is frightening. We are either walking with the Lord, straight for ‘The Promised Land’ or wandering in the wilderness trying to find our own watering holes. Christ is seen throughout the book of Numbers in many ways: The bronze serpent on the pole in Num. 21:4-9 & Jn. 3:14; The rock that quenched their thirst in Num. 20 & I Cor. 10:4; The daily manna or bread of life in Num. 11; Ex. 16. & Jn. 6:31-33; The pillar of fire & cloud, giving guidance and the power of His presence in Num. 9. & Jn. 14; The sinners refuge in Christ can be seen in the cities of refuge in Num. 35; Balaam foresees His kingship, “I see Him, but not now, I behold Him, but not near, a star shall come out of Jacob, a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Num. 24:17.

Numbers is also a sad book, as it records the failure of Israel to believe in the promise of God. The consequence of 40 years of aimless wandering in the desert. In fact their murmuring even caused Moses to sin and lose his blessing, Num. 20:10-12 as he struck the rock twice. The book of Numbers records the powerful process of testing and maturing; it is a manual of ‘Divine Discipline’ and we all have one. God must teach His people the consequences of irresponsible decisions. You would think with all they saw, with all they experienced, the ten plagues, the Red Sea, the waters of Marah, the manna, the quail, the red heifer, that they would have believed God and would have trusted Him completely! Then look at all we have seen, all we have experienced, and yet we still don’t always fully trust Him, do we?

God is the Author of order, not confusion as you see the way He organized His people around the Tabernacle in the desert. It was in the very center of their lives, as he should be! He then turns from the outward conditions of the camp to the inward conditions of the people. Listen, Numbers describes the spiritual preparation of His people, and what is He doing today with His church? Spiritually preparing them for heaven, His ‘Promised Land.’ Israel followed God step by step until Canaan was in sight. Then at the most crucial moment they drew back in unbelief, why? Because of the murmuring, the dissension, the back-biting, the complaining, and the groaning that had already become incessant, Num. 11:1. However, their unbelief after sending out the 12 spies at, Kadesh Barnea was something God would not tolerate, Heb. 11:6. Their rebellion at Kadesh Barnea was a pivotal point in their march forward, what’s yours? Due to their unbelief, the generation that began, that set out on the journey, was not to be the generation to cross the river, to conquer the land, to receive the promise.

Listen, unbelief brings discipline and hinders God’s blessings. He can’t bless a faithless people! “Be it unto you according to your ______!” Unbelief leads to disobedience, and disobedience leads to rebellion, and rebellion is the same as the sin of witchcraft, I Sam. 15:22-23. Turn to, Mark 16:9-14 and read it right now, go ahead I’ll wait, it’s to long for me to write out……………….. v.14 says, “He upbraided them” (He gave them a tongue lashing) you see unbelief leads to hardness of heart (Mk. 6:52). Hardness of heart is, ‘the lack of spiritual perception,’ the lack of readiness to learn the past and apply it to the present situation or problem. Only two spies, Joshua and Caleb,  were allowed to enter the ‘Promised Land’ after 40 years of aimless wandering, why? They believed God! Numbers illustrates both the goodness and the severity of God as seen in Rom. 11:22, and it teaches that God’s people can move forward ‘ONLY’ as they trust and depend on Him!

Numbers is a book so relevant for the Church, and Christians today that it could be titled with your name or your Church name right on it. In fact it is a book so up to date, so on the money, you could read it as today’s headline in your news journal: “Church Rejects God’s Plan, Wanders 40 Years” – “Pastor Strikes Rock In Anger, Loses God’s Promise” – “Christians Complaining, Causes God’s Fire To Fall” – “People Loathe Manna, Die From Quail Consumption” – “Woman Struck With leprosy, For Usurping Authority” – “Committee Of The Concerned, Swallowed By The Ground.” However, what we need to concentrate on in this book of wanderings are the prayers of Moses, the Priests, and the People. I am sure we could learn some ‘Principles for Prayer,’ from the lives of those who wandered for 40 years in a desert, burying more than 250 family members every day. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m not always on the bank of the Jordan ready to cross over, and I don’t always walk straight to God’s promise. Sometimes I feel I spend more time in the desert wandering around than in the land killing giants. Now maybe you don’t have that problem and maybe you do, so let’s spend some time learning from the experiences of others and see if we can glean some ‘Principles For Living’ for our prayer lives. The first six chapters are primarily concerned with setting up camp and taking a census and getting everyone in position to move forward! So don’t be in a hurry, God isn’t! He doesn’t ever wear a watch! But we need to note one thing and it is of utmost importance as we begin to look at prayer in this applicable book, “God desires to dwell in the midst of His people.” Num. 2:17. It’s important to have a prayer closet, a prayer journal, a prayer plan, a prayer time, and a prayer partner. However, if God does not dwell in the center of these five elements they will come to naught! “Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward… in the midst of the camp;” Well until we meet again, we’ll see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Numbers, Ch. 1-6’ – 3/10/13

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“The Prayer of Distress” – ‘Exodus 17:4-7’

Posted on February 10, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

In Exodus 12 the children of Israel celebrated the Passover; in chapter 14 they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground; in chapter 16 they got manna and quail but in chapter 17 they ran out of water and blamed their leader Moses and, “put the LORD to the test.” Therefore, Moses, “cried (sa-aq)  unto the LORD saying, What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me?” The LORD told him to take his rod and the elders and go before the people. When it seems like everything and everyone is against you and they are ready to stone you, ‘PRAY!’ Take the ‘Rod of God,’ His Book, and His leaders and just stand before His people and watch Him do His work!

Exodus 17:6 says, “Behold, (Hinneh – particle of interjection) I (YeHoVaH) will stand before you, there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.” The ‘Rock’ was a type of life through the Holy Spirit by grace; Christ is the ‘Rock’ or ‘Stone’ smitten that the Spirit of life might flow from Him to all who would freely drink, v.6; I Cor. 10:1-4, esp. v.4 which says, “And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”

The children of Israel were totally unworthy v.2, for they strove with Moses and put the LORD God to the test. In fact Moses named the place “Massah Meribah” (Trials and Contentions) v.7, because of the striving and the testing of the LORD. In fact they even said, “Is the LORD among us or not?” But you and I have never said or felt like that, right? The characteristics of grace are seen in this passage and are; that it is free, Eph. 2:8; abundant, Rom. 5:20; & Ps. 105:41; near, Rom. 10:8; and all the people had to do was to take and drink of it freely, Isa. 55:1, “Ho, every one that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no money; come, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

When you are confronted by a crowd, by a congregation, by a board or a by group and they are striving with you and putting the LORD to the test: The first thing you need to do is ‘PRAY,’ to cry out to God for help. The word Moses used was (sa-aq) to shout, call out, call for help, muster, summon, a cry of distress or desperation, or to raise a cry of wailing. I get the idea that Moses was “DESPERATE!” Do you get that feeling too? This is probably from v.4 where he tells God, “They are almost ready to stone me!” That meant they probably already were picking up some rocks. So (sa-aq) is a cry or prayer of desperation or distress, an ‘S-O-S’ kind of prayer. This is when you need to pray for wisdom, direction, guidance and protection. You need to take the ‘Rod of God’ in your hand and your godly leaders by the hand and stand before your people on the Rock, Jesus Christ and allow Him to lead you and speak through you. There is a time to talk and there is a time to walk and I am speaking from many years of experience. There is also a time to smite the Rock as Moses did here in Exodus 17:6 in Horeb at the beginning of his ministry and a time to speak to the Rock as he did in Numbers 20:11 at Meribah-Kadesh near the end of his ministry just after Miriam died. However, instead in his anger he struck the rock twice and lost his chance to enter the ‘Promised Land.’

A lot happened in Numbers 20 at Kadesh, Miriam dies and there is no water and the people complain again. It is after 38 years of wandering through the wilderness and most of the original group is dead and only their children are living now. Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before the tabernacle of God and the glory of the LORD appears in v.6 and the LORD tells them to take the rod, gather the assembly and speak to the Rock before their eyes this time and it will give forth water for the people and their beasts, v.8. However, Moses takes credit for this miracle, v.10, “must we fetch you water out of this rock?” Then he strikes the rock twice instead of speaking to it in v.11. He also called the people “rebels” v.10. He also did not believe in, nor trust the power of God, v.12, “because you believed Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel.” He also failed to glorify God before the nation of Israel and he rebelled against God, v.24, and for this Aaron also died, v.26.

You see the problem with, “The Prayer of Distress” is if you are not careful after your tsunami, you seem to get a big head and think you can do it all by yourself next time and forget that God shares His glory with no one. Not with Moses, David, Paul, Daniel, Aaron and especially not with you and me! Exodus 34:14 says, “For thou shalt worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” In fact Isa. 48:11 says, “And I will not give My glory unto another.” Use, “The Prayer of Distress” but don’t abuse it and whatever you do, don’t let it go to your head and remember, Ps. 65:2 says, “O Thou who hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.” God is a prayer hearing, prayer answering, prayer caring, prayer listening, GOD! In fact Jesus, God the Son, the second person of the Tri-unity, ever lives to make intercession for us right now, Heb. 7:25. “And the Spirit Himself (The Holy Spirit) makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Rom. 8:26. That’s the second person of the Tri-unity, WOW!  There’s a lot of prayer going up before His throne for us constantly. Till we meet again, see you– “…Between The Lines…” 

“The Prayer of Distress” – ‘Exodus 17:4-7’ 2/10/13

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“The Prayer for Buts” – Lev. 26:40

Posted on February 4, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

“But if they shall confess their iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against Me, and that also they have walked contrary to Me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity; Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.” Lev. 26:40-42.

We could have entitled this, “The Prayer of Confession Regarding Blessings and Cursings” but we tried to keep it simple. In Lev. 26:1-13 we see that obedience results in continued blessings from God. God said, “You shall keep My Sabbaths, reverence My sanctuary, walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments.” Then I will give you, rain in its season, produce and fruit, you shall eat bread to the full and dwell in your land safely. God would give peace in their land, so they could lie down in peace, and no one would make them afraid. He would rid evil beasts out of the land and the sword of the enemy. In fact they would chase their enemies out of their land. He would walk among them and be their God and they would be His people and establish His covenant with them and set His tabernacle in their midst. It almost sounds like a fairy tale, almost to good to be true; Just keep My Sabbaths; Reverence My sanctuary; Walk in My statutes; Keep My commandments, four things, not to difficult. There were only ‘Ten Commandments’ but they had to add to them so they had ‘613’ well that isn’t so bad. Then they decided to make up 39 main categories (abbot – fathers) with 39 sub-categories (toledot – children) under them and that added up to 1,521. Then you add the Torah, the Tenach, the Talmud, Tradition, the Oral Law, and your Bubbe and you are in for a real ride, so hang on.

However, God said in v.14-16a, “BUT, if you will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; And if you shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors Mine ordinances, so that you will not do all Mine commandments, BUT that you break My covenant; I will also do this unto you:” The LORD begins a series of six cursings or chastisements against His people that keep getting worse from terror, consumption, burning fever, famine, sorrow of heart, loss of God’s presence, destruction and death, foreign powers ruling them and that is only the first chastisement. Each one after this is increased seven fold; He will make their heaven like iron and the earth like bronze and their land and their trees won’t yield anything. Plagues will destroy their people and wild beasts will destroy their children. God will send pestilence, ten women will bake bread in one oven and they still go hungry and eat the flesh of their children. He will finally scatter them among the nations and the land will lay waste and finally enjoy her Sabbaths and those in foreign lands shall pine away and faint for fear from a shaken leaf v. 36 and they will have no power to stand before their enemies and they will be slaughtered and the nations will do nothing to help them. v. 37-39. WOW!

If we obey God will bless, I Sam. 15:22-23, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou has rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected thee…” Somber words! But disobedience results in Cursings, plagues, disease, fevers, terror, famine, enemies, just to mention a few and it just kept getting worse until there was nothing and no one left!

“BUT! if they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers… I will remember My covenant…and I will remember the land.” v.40 & 42. Praise God, for the ‘Buts’ in the Bible! Rom. 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, ‘But’ the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 5:8 says, “But, God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God saw the wickedness of mankind and that it was great on the earth and it grieved God in His heart that He had made man. “But, Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Gen. 6:8 and mankind got another chance. Sometimes the word is not used in a positive way as we saw in v.14, like Lot’s wife in Gen. 19:26, “But his wife looked back from behind him, and became a pillar of salt.” In Greek you have three words for ‘But’ you have (de – a moreover but), (gar – a regular but), and (alla – a big but). The word in Rom. 6:23 is (alla) a big ‘BUT!’ “For the wages of sin is death, ‘BUT’ the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Here in Lev. 26:40 we have one of those blessed ‘Buts!’ “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers…” Then v.42b, “…I will remember the land.” ‘Praise God!’ If we will confess our sins, our iniquity, if we will humble our hearts, v.41b, if we will accept our guilt v.41b, if we will confess our unfaithfulness and that we have been walking contrary to God and His ways, He will remember His promises and our land also. I realize these promises are to Israel and the Jewish people, but He is my God and this is my Book and if I want to claim one of His promises I am going to claim it! If I want to pray II Chron. 7:14 and claim it for America, don’t knock on my door and tell me I can’t, “If My people who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” I guess some people still don’t believe II Cor. 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him, Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”

I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But confession is saying the same thing about sin that God says, and He says He hates sin! It put His Son on the cross on Calvary to die for you and for me. We are talking about confession here not admission, there is a big difference between them, don’t sugar coat this. Confession isn’t easy, it always involves repentance, remorse, restitution, and change. I liked how Dawson McAllister used to put it, “No Jesus, No Change!” “No Change, No Jesus!” Don’t tell me you got saved and there has been no change in your life, habits, manners, purpose, direction, goals, vision, mouth, you are either a liar or Jesus is a farce and I’ll vote for you being the liar.

However, there is one more ‘But’ in this passage, ‘Praise God!’ It is in v.45, “But, I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.” He won’t forsake us if we will confess and forsake our sins, Prov. 28:13, “He that covers his sins shall not prosper, But whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.” Oh my friend how we need to praise God for the ‘Buts’ in the Bible and how we need to pray for more buts in our lives. There are almost 4,000 buts in His Word and it would be worth your while to take a concordance and a Bible and sit down and look up many of them, it would enrich your life more than you realize. “Lord, Thank You, for the buts in Your Word, and for those in Your providential dealing with mankind. It has made my life all the more richer. In ha Shem Yeshua, Amen!” Well we’re done with Leviticus, now on to, “Portraits of Prayer in Numbers” till then, I guess we will see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“The Prayer for Buts” – ‘Lev. 26:40’ 1/31/13

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“The Prayer For Wisdom” – ‘Lev. 24:12’

Posted on January 25, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

“And they put him in prison, that the mind of the LORD might be shown them.” Lev. 24:12. Oh, how important it is to know the ‘mind of the LORD’ concerning any matter whatsoever. The word for mind is the Hebrew word (peh) and means mouth, as the means of blowing, particularly speech; specifically the edge, or the side of the mouth. It is translated, commandment, the mind, mouth, saying, sound, speech, sentence, wish, or word. So, we get the sense here of knowing the spoken, or revealed word of God. His commandment, His mind, His Word in a certain instance or matter! But how do we find the mind of the LORD in any particular matter?

Just like Moses did in Numbers 15:30-36, with a man who was gathering sticks on the Sabbath; Simple, he went to God and asked Him! If you really want to know anybody’s opinion or mind on a specific matter, what is the easiest and quickest way to find out? Go to them and ask them! Not by trial and error, not by a religious survey, not by how you feel about it, but what that individual thinks or has said about the matter. What the LORD told him in v.35-36 was that the man was to be stoned to death outside the camp by the whole congregation for breaking one of God’s commandments v.30-31. Question, was gathering sticks prohibited? No, it was the Sabbath, and they were not allowed to work or start a fire on the Sabbath, the only restrictions given by the LORD, Ex. 33:1-3, “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD; whosoever does any work therein shall be put to death. (pretty simple) You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.” (oops!) He was going to make a fire, that’s why he was gathering the sticks and God knew the intentions of his heart, as He does yours and mine. (oops!)  Aren’t you glad you are not under the law but under grace? The law was given to show us we are sinners, Rom. 3:20, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Isaiah 64:6 says, “All our righteounesses (mitzvot) good deeds are as filthy-rags, used menstrual cloths…” So, think of that the next time you think you are keeping the law, some of the law, half of the law, or part of the law and offering it up to God and He says, “Thank you, do you have any more for Me, maybe tomorrow you can do better and give Me two?” Listen, God says, “My Son, Jesus The Christ, died on a cruel, ugly cross for you 2,000 years ago and paid for all your sins and all your unrighteous rags and you can do nothing except, accept that sacrifice as full to payment for all your penalty, Period!” In fact, James 2:10 says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (One Point!)

In Num. 27:1-5 the daughters of Zelophehad had a problem because they had no male descendant to inherent their rightful possession in the promised land. So Moses, “Brought their cause before the LORD.” v.5; The LORD told them the land should pass to the daughters in the absence of a son or to the brethren in the absence of children or to the next of kin, so the inheritance would stay in the family and so we have the story of Ruth and the mind of the LORD.

In Exodus 18:13-26 Moses is judging the people, because he had a direct line to God to know His mind in these matters. What was his direct line? PRAYER, talking to God, in fact he like we had an ‘800’ number, even though he didn’t have a cell-phone. It was 1-800-537-3323 for 1-800-JER-33:2-3, “Call unto Me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.” Prayer, genuine prayer is all that is needed sometimes to know His will, and His mind in certain matters. (Sometimes fasting is required, study and meditation) The other half that is vital is His Word! If it is written in His Word, you don’t need to inquire except for wisdom, James 1:5-6, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally and upbraids not, and it shall be given him; But let him ask in faith nothing wavering…” (the key!) By the way Moses is ‘Burning Out’ in Exodus 18 and his father-in-law Jethro, a Midianite priest, had to help him out with some fatherly advice to share the load, before he crashed. So, he found ‘able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness…and made them to be rulers over the people with him, and bear the burden.’ v.21-22. Then all the people went back to their tents in peace because they had a plurality of leadership. They made known, “the statutes of God and His laws” not their opinions, the key to Godly counseling, use His wisdom, it is never wrong. A word to the wise today is insufficient, that’s why you need to use God’s word when counseling.

If His Word says, “Thou shalt not steal…” then don’t ask Him if you can; If it says, “Thou shalt not covet…”don’t inquire about it; If it says, “Be ye not unequally yoked…” then don’t ask Him to save your unsaved boyfriend or girlfriend, just breakup with them and then pray for God to save them. God’s perfect will and mind are perfectly revealed in His Word. The Word of God is like a giant mirror, reflecting His perfect will and mind on any certain subject or matter. You can go to Him about anything or anyone and talk to Him, He is the greatest listener in all the universe and He has the answer! If we would just do that, then we would have, “perfect peace” not just “peace” but “perfect peace” the kind that passes all understanding, “the peace of God.”

Isaiah 26:3-4 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon Thee, because he trusts in Thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever, for in the LORD YeHoVaH is everlasting strength.” The words ‘perfect peace’ are the exact same words in the Hebrew text, (shalom, shalom) peace on the outside and peace on the inside. The only way you can have peace on the inside is to invite the ‘Prince of Peace’ into your heart and life to be your Lord and Savior and the only way there will be real peace on earth, on the outside is for the ‘Prince of Peace’ to come down and set up His kingdom on earth and reign for 1,000 years from Jerusalem, “Even so come Lord Jesus.” Now that is ‘Perfect Peace!’ Do you have have it?

Phil. 4:6-7, is the New Testament fulfillment of this concept, “By Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Prayer and the Word together clearly reveal His mind on any subject or matter. If you don’t know the mind of God don’t worry the Holy Spirit does and He will help you to pray, read Rom. 8:26-27. “That the mind of the LORD might be known;” Lev. 24:12. Oh my friend, how we need to know the mind of the LORD today more than ever. We need to give ourselves to Prayer and His Word, especially as we see the time of the Lord’s approaching. Amen? That was weak. 🙂  Well until next time, we’ll see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“The Prayer For Wisdom” – ‘Lev. 24:12’  1/25/13

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“The Prayer of Rejoicing” – Lev. 23:40

Posted on January 15, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

“And you shall rejoice (samah – be glad, delight in, be joyful, be merry) before the LORD your God seven days.” Lev. 23:40. You have in this chapter the seven feasts of YeHoVaH that the Jewish People were commanded to continually celebrate every year at their appointed times. There were five offerings, ‘The Burnt, The Meal, The Peace, The Sin, and The Trespass.’ Then you have seven feasts as seen in this chapter, three in the spring fulfilled by Christ; 1 – The Passover, v.4-5 which speaks of the substitutionary death of, ‘The Lamb of God.’ Christ died on Passover, at the exact time of the offering of the Passover Lamb, 3:00 PM. That’s when He said, “Father into Your hands I commend My spirit and He gave up the ghost.” Luke 23:46. 2 – Unleavened Bread, v. 6-8 which speaks of the holy walk of the believer I Cor. 5:6-8. Christ had to be in the ground before sundown on the 14th of Nisan to fulfill this feast, He is our unleavened bread, John 6. 3 – First Fruits, v.9-14 which speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the first fruits of all believers, I Cor. 15:20-23. Christ arose on the day of First Fruits, very early in the morning before the sun was up. The next feast was in early summer, fifty days after Passover called; 4 – Pentecost, v.15-22 and this speaks of the descent of the Holy Spirit after Christ’s ascension and His seating at the right hand of the Father in heaven, Acts 2:33. Then came the summer harvest and the three fall feasts which Christ will yet fulfill; 5 – Trumpets, v.23-25, this will be fulfilled at His second advent when He comes for His bride, the church and raptures her out of here before the tribulation starts; 6 – Day of Atonement, v.26-32, or the ‘Time of Jacob’s Trouble,’ Jacob being another name for Israel, Jer. 30:7; Rev. 7:14; 7 – Tabernacles, v. 33-44, when Christ will come and tabernacle with His people and set up His millennial kingdom and reign for 1,000 years, Rev. 20:2, 3, 4, 5, 6. This last feast, the ‘Feast of Tabernacles’ was to be celebrated for 8 days.

The first day was to be a holy sabbath and the last day was to be a holy sabbath. In Gen. 2:3 it says, “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” Now obviously God was not tired and did not need a nap or a 5-hour energy drink, neither does rest imply cessation of activity. If you read Gen. 1 & 2 you will see that God completed His work in heaven and earth on the sixth day Gen. 2:31. But then something interesting happens in Gen. 3:1-2, it says, “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made and He rested on the seventh day…” So when did He complete or finish all of His work, on the sixth day or really on the seventh day? If it was on the seventh day, what did He create that was not a part of the heavens and the earth, but wrapped a bow around it so the package was finished and gave it to mankind to enjoy every week? (The Sabbath) It is suggested by many Jewish commentators that God created rest (menuha) on the seventh day. The Hebrew word for rest (menuha) is better translated joyous repose, tranquility, or delight. “To the Biblical mind (menuha) is the same as happiness and stillness, as peace and harmony.” God didn’t rest in the sense of taking a nap or chilling out. No, instead He celebrated and delighted in His creation. He entered into the joy of His creation and set it free to be connected to you and me.

Now keep that thought in mind as you enter into these feasts, you can’t celebrate a feast with YeHoVaH without, “Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Worship, Praise and Prayer.” Now in v.40 they were to take, “the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook and you shall rejoice before the LORD their God seven days.”  They were to make booths with the branches and dwell in them for seven days, Neh. 8:15ff. Sounds like Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Matt. 21:1-11. Deut. 16:14-15 speaks of this feast and says that the LORD will bless them in all their produce and work of their hands so that they will rejoice! In Luke 19:37, it says that all the multitude of disciples began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. It sounds like the fulfillment of this.

The key here is to rejoice before the LORD, that’s why this blog is called, “The Prayer of Rejoicing!”  The Hebrew word for rejoice is (samah) as I said and means to brighten up, to be gleeful, to be joyful, merry, happy, glad. Most Christians today are walking around with a puss on so low they can suck marbles out of a gopher hole without even bending over. Come on, it’s not really that bad, if you are reading this, then you can afford a computer or a cell phone and you are not desperate or destitute yet! Read the book of Psalms, it is filled with the word, ‘REJOICE!’ Ps. 5:11, “Rejoice, shout for joy!” Ps. 13:5, “Rejoice in thy salvation!” Ps. 33:1, “Rejoice in the LORD!” In fact just keep reading the Psalms until you take your eyes off of yourself and put them on God, then you will rejoice.

The word rejoice has the the meaning of praise woven right into it. How do you shout for joy and leap for joy to your God and not praise Him? I don’t know, third base! Since prayer is simply talking to God then praise must be a form of prayer, Amen? In fact it is one of the highest forms of prayer known to men and angels. When we come asking for nothing but offering the sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips, Heb. 13:15, there is no higher form of prayer. (nada!) What did the people do the day Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey? They laid palm branches on the road and shouted and leaped for joy and rejoiced yelling, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Matt. 21:9. The whole multitude began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. Jesus said if His followers were to keep silent, “The very stones would immediately cry out.” I have one of those.  Praise to our God is an innate law built into His very creation, it is natural, it is exhilarating, it is desired by Him. In fact He inhabits the praises of His people. Webster says to rejoice is to experience joy and gladness to a high degree, to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations, to exult, to be full of joy. Do you pray like that? Why not? Listen to Psalm 68:3, “Let the righteous be glad, let them rejoice before God, yea, let them exceedingly rejoice!” What a beautiful thought, to rejoice before the LORD, to shout for joy, to leap for joy. Oh to have that child like faith, love and excitement once again. Do it again Lord, do it again! Till next time, we will see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“The Prayer of Rejoicing” – Lev. 23:40 – 1/15/13

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Consecration For Prayer - Lev. 8:22-24, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, Pastor's Prayer, Pastor's Prayer Principle, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Practicing The Presence of God, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer and The Blood Covenant, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayer of The Fatherless, Prayerology, Preparation For Prayer, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, The Altar of Prayer, The Plague of Prayer, The Power of The Blessing, The Prayer For Atonement, The Prayer For Mercy, The Prayer of Rejocing - Lev. 23:40, The Prayer of The Blessing, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners | Leave a comment

“The Prayer For Atonement” – ‘Lev. 16:29-31’

Posted on January 12, 2013 by The Scarlet Worm

“You shall afflict your souls and do no work at all;…For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you shall be clean from all your sins before the LORD.” Lev. 16:29-30. They were to do no work at all, it was to be a sabbath of solemn rest and they were to fast for 25 hours. Fasting is always associated with prayer, why? It humbles the soul, weakens the knees and prepares man’s heart for him to enter into God’s presence and receive His message. This day they will be made clean, v.30 (taher) ceremonially clean, purified “from all their sins.”

In Ezra 8:21-23 it says they, “afflicted their souls” and, “proclaimed a fast” v.23. They fasted and entreated the LORD and He answered their prayer, Isa. 58:5. There are two personal requirements in our text for atonement: 1 – Afflict your souls; 2 – Do no work at all. The second one is easy for most of us, it’s the first one we have trouble with, “Afflict your soul” (ana – humble, abase, ravish, bow down) your (nefesh – soul, life force, breath, the immaterial part of a person, the seat of emotion and desire, the heart-soul-mind, the real YOU). The ‘Day of Atonement’ was the most important day in the Jewish calendar. It is sometimes called, “The Day” or “Yom Kippur.” It is a “Sabbath of Rest,” or a “Sabbath of Sabbaths.” Only on that day did the high priest enter into the Holy of Holies, Ex. 30:10; Heb. 9:7-8, and not without blood to make atonement for himself and the people of Israel. The priest was to enter three times into the ‘Holy of Holies’ and sprinkle the blood seven times. It was also on that day that the people were to afflict their souls to humble themselves before their God. In Matt. 27:50-51 the moment Yeshua/Jesus yielded up His Spirit willingly to His Father the temple veil was rent, torn from top to bottom. Not neatly folded up and put away to be used another day but torn from top to bottom rendering it useless and opening the ‘Holy of Holies’ for immediate access for any and all who would enter. Heb. 10:19-20 says, “Having therefore, brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus; By a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say His flesh;” We now can enter into the Holiest or the ‘Holy of Holies’ boldly because of the blood of God’s supreme sacrifice, His pure, spotless Son, “The  Lamb of God.”

He has given us a new and living way Heb. 10:20, through the veil of His flesh, and He has become our High Priest, sitting on the right hand of God ever living to make intercession for us Heb. 7:25; Oh my friend, a new and living way, not a dead bloodless sacrifice, ‘The Lamb of God’ has made atonement once and for all for us and He is alive! The cross couldn’t keep Him, the grave couldn’t hold Him, hell didn’t want Him and heaven couldn’t wait for Him! Our prayer today is not one of ‘Atonement’ but one of ‘Cleansing’ one of having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, one of having our bodies washed with pure water, Heb. 10:22. Our atonement was made on Calvary 2,000 years ago on an old rugged cross, way up on a hill where they took our Jesus whom they couldn’t kill. Our prayer for atonement happened the day we cried out to Him for salvation, for me it was August 27th, 1972, 12:30 pm, 220 Shore Drive, Guilford, CT, I was sitting in a green chair looking out at the waves on a lake on a beautiful summer day when I cried from my heart to the heart of God, “LORD save me!” And He reached down from His throne in heaven and saved my sorry soul forever! When was your prayer for atonement? When did you cry out to God to save you, three words that changed your eternal destiny forever? “LORD save me!” “LORD remember me!” “Lord help me!” “LORD redeem me!” Spiritual birth and physical birth have many things in common one of which is, when you are born it’s a done deal, there is no going back. You can’t change your mind, and crawl back into the womb and say, “Forget it!” Neither can you change your mind once you are ‘Born Again!’ Once saved, always saved, there is no going back, no refunds, no returns, it’s a done deal! However, you are going to get dirty on the road called life and you have to stop along the way and wash up. Yeshua/Jesus was washing the disciples feet in the upper room in John 13 including Judas when Peter said, “Do my whole body Lord!” v.9. When Jesus said, “He that is washed (louo – bathed) needs not except to wash (nipto – wash off, rinse) his feet.” Picture in your mind a man returning to his home from a public bath house, his feet would become dirty and require cleansing not his body. So the believer is cleansed from all sin, “Once for all” Heb. 10:1-12, but he needs to bring his daily defilement before God so he might abide in unbroken fellowship with the Father and the Son, I John 1:1-10. In the O.T. the order of approach to God was the brazen altar/sacrifice, the laver/cleansing, and the holy place/access; In the N.T. the order is Calvary/sacrifice, confession/cleansing, then His presence/access.

We still need to afflict our souls with fasting for Divine guidance, Jud. 20:26-28; and for victory over temptation, Matt. 4:1-11 and we will talk more about this again later. Fasting accompanies Prayer, Luke 2:37; Confession Neh. 9:1-2; Mourning Joel 2:12; and Humiliation Neh. 9:1. Fasting humbles man’s soul, weakens his knees and prepares his heart for the message God has for him to receive and shows God that he is serious about what he is involved in, especially knowing God’s will in a particular matter. If you want to see the difference between man’s fast and God’s fast, study Isaiah 58 some time, but until then we will see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“The Prayer For Atonement” – ‘Lev. 16:29-31’ 1/11/13

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Consecration For Prayer - Lev. 8:22-24, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Gateway To God, Groaning In Prayer, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, Pastor's Prayer, Pastor's Prayer Principle, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Practicing The Presence of God, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer and The Blood Covenant, Prayer Closet, Prayer Dialogue, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayer of The Scapegoat, Prayerology, Preparation For Prayer, Priest = Bridge-Builder, Scarlet Worm, Shekinah Glory, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, The Altar of Prayer, The Incense Altar, The Middle East, The Plague of Prayer, The Plgue of Prayer, The Power of The Blessing, The Prayer For Atonement, The Prayer For Mercy, The Prayer of The Blessing, The Rod of Prayer, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized, Value of Prayer-Partners, Vietnam, Widow Ministry | Leave a comment