NEW LIFE - A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 7, 2017

VERSE: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered" (Proverbs 28:26)

EQUATION: Navel-gazing + Puffed-up self esteem divides from Authentic Relationship

ACTION: Christians in the west seem to have a problem separating the temporal from the eternal, thereby making horrible, even life-altering choices. We were not bought at the highest possible price- the Life of the Son of God on a Cross- to give the devil a foothold in our lives. So let's cut this out. Let's stop acting like fools and let's cease giving the world ammunition with which to beat God over the head with, by calling us hypocrites.

PRAYER: Our Great God and Father in Heaven, we repent for every wrong choice in life, which each and every one of us has made, sometimes many times over. Help us not to take Your matchless Grace for granted so we can keep on sinning, but remind us all that You gave us the Spirit of Power and Self- discipline what we may be delivered from all evil and temptation, when put upon by the evil one. Help us to choose wisely and to defend our bodies, minds and souls from all sides while cutting off the angle of sin that we may be shining lights for Christ, at all times and for all the days of our lives, in Jesus' Strong and Holy Name, we ask these things, amen.

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THE PRAYER OF MOSES, PART 1

 Psalm 90 verse 1: “You have been our dwelling place in all generations”.

Moses the most humble man on the world here in Numbers 12:3 "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth". It is my humble opinion that this statement still stands over 3500 years later because there is no one alive today who fits this description....or can come close to the Face to face relationship the great prophet Moses had with the Lord Yahweh!

Many in the Bible, and now - from personal experiences - have had brief life-changing encounters with the great God of Heaven, but Moses was different. Jesus met so many times with Moses in the Tabernacle and for those extended periods on Mt. Sinai where He not only instructed Moses, but gave him the Law and the direction to lead his people to the point where Joshua could cross them into the Promised Land.

As great and humble as He was, God never forgave the last big sin Moses committed- pride in striking the Rock when he was told specifically to speak to the Rock (which was Christ). This is a perfect example of the extremely high standard God has for those who are His leaders- then AND now!

To understand the final recorded prayer of Moses, please grasp the full meaning of what he actually did! Yahweh, through the Holy Spirit, had Moses physically write down the ENTIRE first five books of the Bible – the Torah/Pentateuch. These greatest ever writings include the COMPLETE revealed knowledge of human history for its very beginning!! Moses was and is the only person in the entire history of mankind, who KNOWS what happened at Creation and in those early days. While he was not there at the moment of Creation, Moses heard it  directly from the One Who actually created the earth- Jesus! No matter how many big named preachers who ever lived preach or no matter how many times we read the Bible cover to cover, we will  never have the original intent and insight that Moses had because of this – never in this world!

Therefore, when Moses writes in verse 1: “You have been our dwelling place in all generations, he is speaking from the position of Authority of one who spent more than 40 years in the Sinai desert.

As Christians, we are not in the Heavenly Realm as yet, since the plans and purposes of God are still in place, until the completion of time. What the Holy Spirit is saying through Moses’ prayer is that just as He – God – was within a breath and a prayer’s reach of Moses at all times after he was called at the Burning Bush, He (the Spirit and Person of Yahweh) is there for us as well!  This is SOP – Standard Operating Procedure – for ALL the people of God who have put their Faith and Trust in Him from Adam and Enoch to the last person under the wire before Jesus shuts it down for good! This is for ALL Generations – Old AND New Testament saints, Jew, Gentile and every configuration in between.

God Himself provides the proof in the very next Psalm – Psalm 91:1  where He says “He who dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High, shall ABIDE (dwell, live, set up camp, settle down) in the shadow of the Almighty”.

How can a person dwell and live in God, when he or she currently lives among the most disgustingly corrupt times in all humanity – by Faith! By Faith!  Read John 15:1-11 and marvel and love and be blessed by the Savior – Jesus Christ/Yahweh – who said in Verse 7 “If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done”.

This is the good, kind, loving, and wonderful merciful Savior, Savior Redeemer and friend who rescued the souls of all who seek to follow Him, love Him, obey Him…..and turn from all sin, repent and trust/obey/accept Him as Lord of all. 

Moses knew this Jesus personally and relationally. Hebrews 11:26 tells us that Moses “esteemed (held high and dear to his soul) the Reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward”! How did Moses know Jesus Christ 1500 years before He was born in Bethlehem Ephratah in a cold damp cave? Moses knew Him from the Burning Bush, the Mountain, the Pillar of Cloud, the Pillar of Fire, Face to face, in the Tabernacle and in the Voice of the Spirit dictating the Oracles of God. We, who are called by the Name of the King – Christians – have no idea who fortunate and blessed beyond measure we are heirs to the Kingdom of Yahweh, the same Jesus Who walked and talked with Moses!. Meditate upon this, and fall on your knees in gratitude. 

PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES: THE BOOK OF GENESIS #7

RESOLVED: CONFIDENT PRAYER BRINGS RESULTS

12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” (Genesis 24:12-14)

As in the days when Jesus spoke of the unbelievers who looked “for signs and wonders”, many are looking for the same today. They seek  physical manifestation, through signs, instead of trust by Faith. It is the old “Doubting Thomas Syndrome”, which permeates a lot of modern Christianity.  However, this unique prayer, early on in human history, is different in so many ways.

The name of Abraham’s apparent most trusted servant/right hand man is not made known, because the Spirit of the Living God is leading the faithful to focus more on HOW the faithful servant went about his mission. There is some thought that Eliezer was this faithful servant, seeing that he is the closest advisor and friend to the great Abraham. The faithful servant was entrusted by Abraham to go back to his own family in Haran to find a wife  who was not a pagan like the vile Canaanites, for the latter’s son, Isaac. Isaac was the vehicle through whom the God of Heaven would start His new paradigm, via the Hebrews.  Before looking closer at this prayer, please read Genesis 24:6-8 to get the serious instructions to walk away, if the leading of the Lord is not there.

This is an important truth for us Christians, in these last days. We need to remember that whatever we are going through, we ARE going through and it will be a lot easier to let God lead the way. He knows the way, holds sway, rules the day and if He is so inclined to say, we need to just walk away. This is the gist of the teaching from Abraham’s instruction to Eliezer if he discerns the woman not to be what God ordained.

That being said, let us dive, portion by portion, into not just the prayer, but the submissive heart and humility of this servant of Abraham.

-          “Oh LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day” (verse 12a)…being a sent man on a mission, from the Lord’s major prophet of the day, the servant seeks to please the master (Abraham) and not returned empty-handed from this, to which he had sworn to Abraham. The success he seeks is not for his personal gain. There is absolutely nothing wrong with praying for our mission to assist someone else to be a fruitful venture. Unlike the majority of mankind, we do have access to the Throne of Grace, and our Heavenly Father loves it when we just give even the smallest matter to Him.  This way, we exhibit our complete Faith in God.

-          “Behold, here I stand by the well of water….”(verse 13a)….when you and I place a matter before the LORD,  it is absolutely incumbent on us to leave it there and not run hither, tither and yon trying to then try to address the matter ourselves.  When we give something to the Lord, in faith, and pray for His Mighty Hand to bless, address or redress the matter – stay put, don’t try to replace God and allow Him to be Who we say and know He is. Psalm 46:10 is explicit in its instruction “be still and know that I am God”!                              

-          “Now let it be….”(verse  14a)….”let her be the one (verse 14b)…..and by this I will know (verse 14b)….these are the words (prayers) of a man who is confident, firm and completely sure of his relationship with God! The application for us is to do likewise and be clear in our intercession. Such clarity is always answered, at least in my experience, and definitely Abraham’s servant. He had to know the closeness the relationship between his master and the Great God of Heaven Who spoke directly and with no confusion in His Words, to Abraham. So he obviously expected the same kinds of answers and signs from Above, knowing that he was on a mission from one of God’s favored prophets of all time!

Does God answer such confident, bold, direct, clear and expectant prayer? You bet He does. Look at Genesis 24:15 “And it happened…!” It happened! God answered as clearly and directly as Abraham’s servant prayed.

Finally, we must never allow God’s love, grace, mercy and compassion and His answers to our prayers be showered upon us, without being overwhelmed by gratitude. When the Lord answered Abraham’s servant’s intercessory plea on behalf of his master’s request for a wife for Isaac, look at how a true believer in God should respond here in Genesis 24:27 “And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 

~Amen~

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