At some point we have to make a decision and launch our faith out into the deep, or else indecision will be the graveyard of our dreams and our destiny…
We are not made for safe harbors. Faith means launching out into the deep and get into the flow of what God is doing and be about our Father’s business, because that’s where Jesus is.
If we are going to be used by GOD and fulfill our god-given destiny (the purpose for our life), then we are going have to learn to live by faith – and another 4 letter word for faith is RISK.
“Life goes on – whether you choose to move on and take a chance in the unknown or stay behind, locked in the past, thinking of what could’ve been.” Anonymous
“You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.” Anonymous
“As I look back on my life, I realized that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.” Anonymous
“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” Steve Maraboli
February 16
MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST The Inspiration of Spiritual Initiative
“Arise from the dead…” EPHESIANS 5:14
Not all initiative, the willingness to take the first step, is inspired by God. Someone may say to you, “Get up and get going! Take your reluctance by the throat and throw it overboard— just do what needs to be done!”
That is what we mean by ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes to us and says, in effect, “Get up and get going,” suddenly we find that the initiative is inspired.
We all have many dreams and aspirations when we are young, but sooner or later we realize we have no power to accomplish them.
We cannot do the things we long to do, so our tendency is to think of our dreams and aspirations as dead.
But God comes and says to us, “Arise from the dead….” When God sends His inspiration, it comes to us with such miraculous power that we are able to “arise from the dead” and do the impossible.
The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life and power comes after we “get up and get going.”
God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome.
When the inspiration of God comes, and He says, “Arise from the dead…,” we have to get ourselves up; God will not lift us up.
Our Lord said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13). As soon as the man did so, his hand was healed.
But he had to take the initiative. If we will take the initiative to overcome, we will find that we have the inspiration of God, because He immediately gives us the power of life.
In our times of trouble we as Christians need to learn to call upon the name of the Lord…
One of those names is Jehovah Rapha, which means:
“I am the LORD, who heals you.” (see Exodus 15:26)
Mark 5:25-34
25 Now a certain womanhad a flow of blood for twelve years,26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.
She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behindHimin the crowd andtouched His garment.28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt inherbody that she was healed of theaffliction.30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself thatpower had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said,“Who touched My clothes?”
31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say,‘Who touched Me?’”
32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.33 But the woman,fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
34 And He said to her,“Daughter,your faith has made you well.Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
The story of this woman takes place within a larger story.
Jesus is answering a 911 call, as He’s on his way to a synagogue leader’s house to heal his dying daughter (seeMark 5:21–24), when this unnamed woman causes an interruption to His progress.
What we know about the woman is, first, she had a bleeding condition, and the issue had continued for twelve years. That’s a very long time.
Second, she had spent all her money on treatments from many doctors, and nothing had helped; in fact, the blood issue had only grown worse (seeMark 5:25–26).
We also know that Jewish Law declared her to be ceremonially unclean, due to her bleeding issue (Leviticus 15:25-27).
This meant that it was unlawful for her to be out in public and she would not have been permitted to enter the temple for Jewish religious ceremonies.
According to the Law, anything or anyone she touched became unclean as well.
The fact that she was in the crowd pressing around Jesus means that each person who bumped into her would have become unclean, too—including Jesus.
But, after twelve years of suffering, she was obviously desperate for a miracle.
“When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed’” (Mark 5:27–28).
As soon as the woman touches Jesus, her bleeding stops and she knows she’s been healed.
In an instant, Jesus does what no doctor in twelve years had been able to.
Whatever your problem, whatever you face, Jesus is more than enough… call upon His name!
Tips to Destroy Pride (and Create Humility) Read: Romans 4:25
Habit:
Character Formation How would you create silence?
Would you focus intently on trying to hear the hush?
Probably not. That would simply make you more aware of the noises around you.
Instead, to create silence you must actively remove all noises until none remain.
Only after eliminating noise will you have created the condition of silence.
Humility is similar in that we create the conditions for its existence by eliminating pride.
Pride, the principal sin of the human heart, is the idolatry of the self.
Pride is like a reality distortion field that prevents us from seeing God, our neighbors and ourselves as they truly are.
It causes us to exalt ourselves, depreciate others and dismiss our absolute dependence on God.
John Calvin was right when he said, “the human heart is an idol factory. Every day we create new idols of the self, idols that must be smashed.”
Here are two ways you can destroy pride:
➤ Recognize your utter dependence—An essential way we kill pride is by learning to recognize our utter dependence on God.
Pride causes us to forget we are creatures whose very existence is contingent on God’s continuous action.
Humility comes as we develop the habit of acknowledging that no action we take can be done apart from God’s providence.
As Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
The universe is so radically contingent on God that it would cease to exist without his continuous sustainment.
God’s daily work of preserving and governing the world cannot be separated from the act of calling the world into existence.
Not only did God create us; but every moment of our continued existence is caused directly by God’s action.
Recognizing we can do nothing apart from God destroys our pride.
➤ Focus on the cross—We recognize the theological significance of Jesus’ crucifixion in an abstract, theological way. But how often do we really think about what it means that Jesus was nailed to a cross to purify us of our sins (see Ro 4:25)?
By meditating on the death of Jesus we can see ourselves in proper perspective.
As Charles Spurgeon said, “Pride cannot live beneath the cross!”
Pride is like a reality distortion field that prevents us from seeing God, our neighbors and ourselves as they truly are.
PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY: Destroying pride is accomplished by focusing on the cross and our dependence on God.
Jesus promised that He would come and live in us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit!
John 14:16-18
Jesus speaking: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you FOREVER, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
John 16:5-15
“But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts [and taken complete possession of them].
But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].
And He, when He comes, will convict the world about [the guilt of] sin [and the need for a Savior], and about righteousness, and about judgment: about sin [and the true nature of it], because they do not believe in Me [and My message]; about righteousness [personal integrity and godly character], because I am going to My Father and you will no longer see Me; about judgment [the certainty of it], because the ruler of this world (Satan) has been judged and condemned.
“Ihave many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth].
For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future]. He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you.
All things that the Father has are Mine. Because of this I said that He [the Spirit] will take from what is Mine and will reveal it to you.
The assignment and life mission that Jesus has given to each of us is to come to Him and learn of Him, and it is the Holy Spirit in us who is our instructor facilitator, who illuminates God’s Word to us and leads us in ALL Truth!
The Personality and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
We talk and think about Jesus and God the Father quite a bit (as well we should), but we don’t really talk and think about the Holy Spirit nearly as much.
And in those rare times when we do talk about the Holy Spirit, we don’t quite talk about Him correctly.
It is common to hear adults, students, and kids refer to the Holy Spirit as “it” and speak of the Spirit as if “it” is some impersonal force akin to the “force” in the Star Wars saga.
But the Spirit is not an “it.” He is indeed a “He.” And He is fully God and just as important as the Father and the Son.
The Holy Spirit is a person…
The Personality of the Holy Spirit
When we say the “personality” of the Holy Spirit, we mean that the Holy Spirit is a person, not an impersonal object.
1)The Holy Spirit Possesses the Attributes of Personhood
The basic definition for personhood is the presence of intellect, emotion, and will. In other words, a person thinks, feels, and make decisions. The Holy Spirit passes this three-fold test.
2)The Holy Spirit’s Works Confirm His Personality
We will discuss the works of the Holy Spirit more in depth in a minute, but for now notice that what He does reveals the attributes of personality. Impersonal objects do not do the following:
3)The Holy Spirit’s Interaction with People Confirms His Personality
The ways the Holy Spirit interacts with people also reveals the attributes of personhood.
3)Regenerating Believers
Regeneration means to give life. The Holy Spirit gives new life to believers. (John 3:5-7,Titus 3:5)
4)Baptizing of Believers
This occurs instantly and automatically at the point of conversion and has nothing to do with water baptism. This baptism is the joining together of all believers into union with one another and more importantly with Christ. (Romans 6:3-5,1 Corinthians 12:13,Galatians 3:27-28)
5)Sealing of Believers
Like baptism, this also occurs instantly and automatically at the point of conversion. The Spirit’s sealing guarantees one’s salvation and future hope of heaven. In one sense, the Spirit’s sealing marks us as a possession now belonging to God. Think of a king’s royal wax seal imprinted by his signet ring. In another sense, the Spirit’s sealing serves as a down payment or pledge that God is going to return for what is His.(2 Corinthians 1:22,Ephesians 1:13,Ephesians 4:30)
6)Indwelling of Believers
Once again, the Spirit’s indwelling occurs instantly and automatically at the point of conversion. Now on this side of the cross, this indwelling presence of the Spirit is permanent. (John 7:37-39,John 14:16,Romans 8:9,Jude 19)
7)Filling of Believers
Unlike the baptism, sealing, and indwelling of the Spirit, the filling of the Spirit is conditional and not permanent (but it is repeatable). The filling is only for believers after the point of conversion and concerns the believer being controlled by the Spirit. The Bible no where commands Spirit baptism, sealing, or indwelling, but it does command filling. (Ephesians 5:18)
8)Interceding for Believers
Like Christ, the Holy Spirit is our advocate before God. (Romans 8:26)
9)Guiding Believers
One of the titles of the Holy Spirit is Paraclete which means “one called alongside to help.” The Spirit is given to help and guide believers – or to counsel them. (John 14:16)
10)Producing Fruit
This fruit – internal character that results in external God-glorifying behavior, is produced in the yielded believer by the Holy Spirit, not the believer himself or herself. That is why it is the fruit of the Spirit and not the fruit of the Christian. (Galatians 5:22-23)
God has appointed His intercessors to be Watchmen on the Wall…
In ancient times, watchmen stood guard on a city’s walls to see to the welfare of its citizens and to warn of coming trouble.
Who is to do that job today in a dangerous world moving closer to the crisis of the close of the age?
Jesus told us to both watch and pray!
Question: “What does it mean to watch and pray?”
Jesus used the phrase “watch and pray” on a couple of different occasions.
Once was the night before the crucifixion. Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He prayed that “this cup be taken from me” (Matthew 26:39).
After the prayer, He found His disciples sleeping. He was grieved that they could not even pray with Him for an hour and warned them…
“When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep.
He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour?
Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger.
There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
(Matthew 26:40-41 The Message)
Another occurrence of the phrase “watch and pray” is found earlier in Jesus’ ministry when He prophesied about the end times.
Luke chapter 21 details many of those events, and Jesus warns that they would happen suddenly…
“But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping.
Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once.
So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.”
(Luke 21:34-36 The Message)
“Watch and pray.” The word translated “watch” means “to have the alertness of a guard at night.”
A night watchman must be even more vigilant than a daytime guard. In the daytime, danger can often be spotted from a distance. But in the night everything is different.
A night watchman must use senses other than sight to detect danger. He is often alone in the darkness and without the defenses he would otherwise employ.
There may be no indications of enemy attack until it happens, so he must be hyper-vigilant, suspecting it at any moment. That is the type of watching Jesus spoke about.
Jesus warned us that we are too easily distracted by the physical and will be caught unaware if we do not continually discipline ourselves.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, sleepiness overcame the disciples. Their physical need overpowered their desire to obey Him.
He was grieved when He saw this, knowing what was ahead for them.
If they did not remain spiritually vigilant, in tune with Him (John 15:5) and ready to deny the flesh, they would be overcome by the evil one (1 Peter 5:8).
Jesus’ disciples today must also watch and pray. We are easily distracted by this world, our fleshly needs and desires, and the schemes of the enemy (2 Corinthians 2:11).
When we take our eyes from Jesus and His soon return, our values begin to shift, our attention wanders, and soon we are living like the world and bearing little fruit for God’s kingdom (1 Timothy 6:18–19).
He warned us that we must be ready at any moment to stand before Him and give an account of our lives (Romans 14:12; 1 Peter 4:5; Matthew 12:36).
“Watch and pray.” We can only remain faithful when we are devoted to prayer.
Through the pray of faith, offered in Jesus’ name, God has made available to us ALL power in Heaven and Earth (see Matthew 28:18-20) to accomplish His will, keep the “Turkey” at bay and change the world, but these things only happen as we submit to God in prayer.
In prayer, we continually allow God to forgive us, cleanse us, teach us, and strengthen us to obey Him (John 14:14).
In order to keep watch, we must pray for endurance and freedom from distractions (Hebrews 12:2; Luke 18:1; Ephesians 6:18).
We must pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
If you don’t like what you see happening in the world today, then God has given us His instructions on how to change the world!
“If my God-defined people, respond (debauchery of the world) by humblingthemselves, praying, seekingMy presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives (and ways) , then I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health.”
(2 Chronicles 7:14 The Message)
Change starts with us and our relationship with God!
Gideon’s 300
Judges 7:4-7
[The Backstory: God first encounters Gideon cowering in a winepress, ironically calling him a “mighty man of valor,” prophetically forecasting Gideon’s role as a savior of Israel, rescuing them from the Midianites.
Gideon incrementally moved from a position of weakness and fear to a position of strength and valor as he started to trust increasingly in God.
But first Gideon’s army had to be whittled down from 32,000 to 300 by a series of tests designed to weed out the fearful, leaving a 450 to 1 ratio in favor of the Midianites, ensuring that God would get the credit for the victory.
Nevertheless, Gideon’s 300 men seemed like a million men to the Midianites, throwing the enemy into utter confusion, fighting one another in the darkness. And Gideon’s army did not even have to fight.] 4 And theLordsaid to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And theLordsaid to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And theLordsaid to Gideon,“With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
Please note that the men that God chose we’re the ones who had the presence of mind to keep their eyes on the horizon, to watch and see what the enemy was doing!
This is your invitation to come join our Watchmen on the Wall Prayer Call three times a week, where we pray for and encourage one another; where we pray for our modern-day Cyrus – President Donald Trump; we also pray for a grassroots Awakening and Revival in our land and in the churches across our land; and we pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and for God’s guidance over Bibi Netanyahu.
Watchmen on the Wall Prayer Call
SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES
JOIN US ON OUR WATCHMEN ON THE WALL PRAYER CALL – 3 times/WK, in your time zone:
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The Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world…
Revelation 5:1-7
The Lamb Takes the Scroll
5 And I saw in the righthandof Him who sat on the thronea scroll written inside and on the back,sealed with seven seals.2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,“Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to openand read the scroll, or to look at it.5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold,the Lion of the tribe ofJudah,the Root of David, hasprevailed to open the scrollandto loose its seven seals.”
6 And I looked,and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stooda Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns andseven eyes, which arethe seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right handof Him who sat on the throne.
The Passover Lamb
Out of all the sacrificial services in the Torah, none is so well known and so often remembered as the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.
The Passover Lamb was the first sacrifice that Israel, as a nation, was commanded to make. Juxtaposed against the drama unfolding in the Exodus narrative, the Passover sacrifice strikes an indelible impression on the mind of the reader.
In that story, the stakes are very high. Death is coming to the land of Egypt. Even the Israelites will not be spared as the LORD comes to strike the firstborn of man and beast. It is a judgment from heaven, a terror in the night.
Merits of innocence and guilt are not considered. Faith and creed are irrelevant. The righteous will perish with the wicked. Previous plagues had shown particularity, sparing the Jews in the midst of Egypt. The tenth plague, however, will be completely impartial. Just as in life itself, death knows no boundaries, the tenth plague will strike Egyptian and Jewish homes alike.
Only those who are within homes marked by the blood of a lamb will be spared. Had the Egyptians imitated the ritual slaughter of the Pesach, marking their homes with the blood in like manner, they too would have been spared. The only criteria for salvation, in this instance at least, is the blood on the doorway.
Who’s Blood Is It?
Christianity has traditionally interpreted the Passover and particularly the blood on the doorway as a type of Messiah’s redeeming work. One midrash interprets the situation in an identical manner, except that the blood symbolized by the lamb’s blood is Isaac’s.
“What did God see [when he passed over the Israelites houses]? He saw the blood of the binding of Isaac: as it is said, ‘God will see for himself the lamb . . .'” Genesis 22:8, Macoby, 1988
In that midrash, the blood of the Passover lamb symbolizes the sacrifice of Abraham’s only son. The blood of Isaac serves as an atonement. God remembers Isaac’s sacrifice when he sees the lamb’s blood, and in the merit of Isaac’s willing self-sacrifice, he spares the blood-marked house from wrath.
The Christian interpretation is the same, but the names have changed. The blood of the Passover lamb symbolizes God’s only begotten son. The blood of Yeshua serves as an atonement. God remembers the Messiah’s sacrifice when he sees the lamb’s blood, and in merit of Messiah’s willing sacrifice, he spares that house from wrath.
[Sar Shalom – Messianic Jewish Community]
Note the highlighted words from God’s instructions, regarding the Passover sacrifice:
“…on thetenthday of this month each family must choose a lamb… The animal you select must be…withno defects…take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of thefourteenthday of this first month” (Exodus 12:1-13)
Have you ever kept a one-year-old lamb roaming loose in your house? Not to mention for four days? Well, neither had the Hebrews.
Remember that they were slaves whose living areas were probably small and cramped.
Can you imagine living in tight quarters with a one-year-old lamb? What would your house sound and smell like?
Lambs are about the nicest and cutess pet you could have.
How would your family, especially your children, react to after keeping this young lamb in your home for four days, and after having it become a part of your family, to then have to slaughter it and offer it as a sacrifice?
How do you think Abraham felt, after having waited 100 years to have Sarah give birth to Issac, to then be asked by God to offer him as a sacrifice?
We are told in John 3:16, “That God so LOVED the world that He gave His ONLY begotten Son…”
The message here is that even though SALVATION comes to us as a GIFT, by faith, it did not come cheap!!!
The point is, intimacy with Messiah Jesus is paramount to our receiving this GIFT from God, for the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation back into God’s family.
Jesus CANNOT be our Saviour, unless we first make Him Lord of our life.
This is the price we must ALL pay to follow Jesus and be one of His disciples:
Romans 12:1-2 Living Sacrifices to God
1 Ibeseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodiesa living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,which isyourreasonable service.2 Anddo not be conformed to this world, butbe transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you mayprove whatisthat good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said His to disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him(Jesus) ought himself also to walk just as He (Jesus) walked.
It’s at this time of the year that we celebrate the RESURRECTION of our Lord Jesus, the Christ (Messiah) – who is Saviour of the World, where we acknowledge that after 3 days and nights in the grave, that Jesus walked out of that tomb, as our Risen Lord!
What is the significance of the Resurrection?
If you are already a Believer, then please allow me to wish you a blessed and happy Resurrection Day; but if your are not yet a Believer, then please come along with us and join the Adventure!
