Discipleship Network Forum

A Lesson about Hunting Dogs and Church

I'm back in Europe this week with a group of senior adults from the church. We're cruising down the Rhine River and enjoying visiting the towns an cities along the way.

Yesterday, we were in Cologne, Germany, the site of the largest cathedral in Germany. The cathedral's main claim to fame, however, is the golden shrine that is placed behind the high altar which is supposed to contain the bones of the three wise men who came to visit Jesus. The idea that someone might know where those bones actually are blows my mind. I know from my church history that Helena, the mother of Constantine, spent much of her life looking for relics of faith and documenting holy places in Israel. She's given credit for having located these bones.

Of course, I also read that there were so many relics of the cross sold (tiny slivers of wood), that a ship could have been built from them. 

Everything is not always what is is presented to be.

I can't help but wonder why having claim to those bones matters. It's the reason this cathedral is so large, because they have this claim to the bones of the wise men. The city's crest is of three crowns, representing the three kings. Everywhere I went in the town, I was reminded that they have possession of the bones.

I asked if there had been any testing on the bones to substantiate the claims. The answer was no. They've looked at the bones, and archaeologists believe the bones are from a young adult male, a full-grown male, and an older male. Funny, I don't remember those details in the scripture.

But does it matter? What is it about us as humans that we are constantly searching for tangible proof of the things in which we place our faith? The very idea of faith is to trust in those things we cannot see, touch, or even understand. Yet, in our desire to prove our trust that God sent His Son to us as a babe, we want to hang our trust on things that have withstood time. 

I can't help but wonder if we demonstrate the shallowness of our faith when we look for tangibles to prove what we believe. I think there's a reason that God didn't give us those tangibles -- even an empty tomb! -- so we focus everything we believe on Him.

How would you describe our desire for tangibles to a non-believer? Is it a sign of the weakness of our faith or the strength?

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Bob and I attended a conference Saturday morning in New Orleans that was designed to raise awareness of the human trafficking problems in the United States. My daughter is involved in this ministry in New Orleans, so I thought I understood the problems of human trafficking through our conversations. Not so! I learned alot in the conference.

1. I learned that women and children (and to a smaller number young boys and men) are being pulled into slavery to drug sellers and sex pushers through intimidation and threats. Some are even sold into slavery by a parent who needs the money or by being orphaned.
2. I learned that human trafficking is real and flourishing in the United States, even though it's seldom given any press.
3. I learned that in almost every case, those who are in the sex industry especially should be seen as victims instead of labeled with names like prostitutes.
4. I learned that most every city in the U.S. has problems with human trafficking.
5. I learned that Christians, sometimes through their churches and sometimes by themselves, are making a difference by educating children, building self-esteem to offset the promises of those who would lie to them, and building relationships with those in the industries to help them know about God's grace.

The movie Amazing Grace tells the story of William Wilberforce, a conservative, evangelical Christian, who used his position in parliament to help bring about the abolition of slavery in 18th century England. I can't help but wonder if this is a time for Christians to step up in numbers to help abolish this form of slavery as well.

Please, tell me what you think. How should we as Christians respond to this treatment of those who can't respond themselves? What's being done in your community to eradicate this form of slavery? Is your church involved? Should the church be involved?

I walked away from that conference with so many questions . . . I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

• Has a pattern of behavior been established within a text or its context?
• Is that pattern verifiable or based on assumption?
• Beyond a pattern, has this behavior developed into a practice?
• Has that practice been established or incorporated into church life?
• Is the pattern or practice for all believers for all time or for a specific group of believers for a specific time?
• Is that practice to be modeled by us and passed on to future generations of the church?
• Is the practice, pattern, or model directly commanded or just inferred from the text?
• Does the particular passage simply recount history or is it instructive for the future?
• Does the passage describe what certain church actions looked like, or does it prescribe what they should look like?

• Have we matured enough in Christ so as not to bring our preconceived notions into the text?
• Do we have a tendency to want others to behave the way we do?
• Are we judgmental of others who have a different way of expressing their faith because of our personal conclusions?
• Are we more concerned with a model, mode, or modification that we have established by experience, or are we willing to consider that the Spirit may be leading us to accomplish His will in a way that might be peculiar to others?
• Do we have an inclination to be controlling?  
• Do we tend towards already made conclusions, or are we willing to reexamine how we arrived at those conclusions.

Such are the paths of all who forget GOD;

The hope of a hypocrite will perish –

His confidence is mere gossamer,

His trust a spider’s web.

He can lean on his house, but it won’t stand;

He can hold on to it, but it won’t last…

Yes, this is the “joy” of the godless,

and out of the dust will spring up others like him.

-         Job 8:13-15,19

              In the past few weeks, we’ve had a lot of shaking around us.  The world has become small and we hear all events happening around us almost instantly.  Not only that, we see them happening as they happen via live video streaming.  We can’t help but be distressed by the faces of agony and suffering in Christchurch, NZ; and most recently, in northern Japan.  Am sure many, if not all of the victims are asking, why?

            It makes us look within ourselves and ask.  What am I standing on?  Will I survive a shaking?  In times of crisis, who can I depend on?  The Book of Job tells us that those who depend on their wealth and power are likened to a man whose house is like a spider’s web.  He may think his “house” is safe but it won’t stand.  He can lean to it but it won’t last.  As soon as the strong wind comes, it is blown away and you won’t even see a trace of it.  The Scriptures call those who trust in their own accomplishments as hypocrites because they know very well the uncertainty of our times.  His confidence is flimsy and a mere house of cards. 

            It cannot be denied that the Church has suffered much in the past.  It underwent horrendous persecution at the hands of bigots and unbelievers; and many are still suffering today.  The Scriptures say, these things must happen but the people of GOD will discern and will look at it as an opportunity to serve the ungodly.

            Lately, when there was a tsunami in Aceh, our Church sent a medical team who ministered to the muslim community in the area.  It was quite apparent that their rich muslim brothers from M. E.  were nowhere to be found.  It was the Christians who helped them.  I am always happy to see that the people of GOD are always the ones who come to the aid of those who suffer.  As YESHUA once said, “By their fruits, you shall know them!”

            We may hear the oceans roar and the mountains quake, but the people of GOD understand that YESHUA is their Rock and Refuge.  The Name of our LORD is our strong tower.  The righteous run to it and we are safe!  The LORD rescues us from all trouble.  That is why the righteous shall not be shaken!

            From where will my help come?  My help comes from ADONAI ELOHIM, who made heaven and earth!  There is no other Redeemer but YHWH!

            מלאך

“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and tell them that this is how you are to bless the people of Isra’el:  you are to say to them,

              ‘Y’varekh’kha YHWH v’yishmerekha,

              (YHWH bless you and keep you.)

              Ya’er YHWH panav eleikha vichunekka.

              (YHWH make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.)

              Yissa YHWH panav eleikha v’yasem l’kha shalom.

              (YHWH lift up His face toward you and give you peace.)’ 

In this way, they are to put my Name on the people of Isra’el, so that I will bless them.”

-Numbers 6:23-27

In my past blog, I suggested that the head of the family should bless the whole family by pronouncing the Aaronic blessing to the entire household; and not just once, but at least weekly, perhaps over dinner.  Today, I will expound on the meaning of this peculiar high priestly blessing.  As priest over your family, you preside on the blessings or curses that you allow over every member of your household.  It is important that we know exactly what we are declaring as we bless them.

Let us dissect the above-mentioned passage:

Firstly, let me explain that to understand the passage well, we must view it according to how the ancient Hebrews “see.”  The Hebrews were a nomadic people and they lived in an agricultural society.  They thought in concrete terms; meaning, they see things according to how they see, hear, smell, taste and feel.  They do have abstract ideas but it is closely tied to concrete practices.  They think and speak action words, rather than abstract words.  In contrast, our educational system was patterned after the Greek philosophical style.  So we have learned to think in abstract terms.  For example, the Septuagint uses the Greek word ‘pistis’ for the English word ‘faith’ to describe moral conviction of a religious truth.  Faith is an abstract word.  The Hebrews do not have the word faith but use the word ‘aman’ meaning to build up or support, to trust or to be morally certain.  In short, Abram trusted GOD’s promise because of past concrete experiences on the faithfulness of SHADDAI.  When a Hebrew uses ‘aman’ he pictures a parent nurturing, supporting a son.  So Abraham sees SHADDAI as a parent he can trust because He has faithfully nurtured and protected him and his family throughout his life.

There are some who would not like me using the Name of YHWH, however, I feel I must use His official Name because of the importance of this blessing which He himself commanded Aaron and his sons to bless Israel.  The Name by which ADONAI is to be known to all generations is YHWH.  Today, names are just identifiers but to the ancients, names come from words that depict the character of a person.  YHWH means I exist or I cause to exist.  YHWH is the One who is, who was and who is to come.  Before there was anything or anyone, YHWH is.  He has no equal because all that we see were caused to exist by Him and for Him alone.  The fact that the Name is mentioned three times indicates the prime importance of this particular blessing.

YHWH bless you.  The Hebrew word is ‘barak’ meaning to kneel.  Can you imagine ADONAI kneeling to bless you?  I know, the idea does not seem right to me.  However, did not ADONAI stoop down to earth to bless us with His only SON?  Did not YESHUA kneel before His disciples to wash their feet?  Yes, ADONAI will come to bless us with gifts!

YHWH keep you.  When we use the word ‘keep’ we are more likely to think of obeying but that won’t make sense because we know ADONAI will not obey us but we ought to obey Him instead.  The Hebrew word is ‘shamar’ meaning to guard or protect.  The Hebrews were shepherds and during the night, in order to protect their flock of sheep, the shepherds would build a hedge of rocks around the flock and discourage predators by placing thorn branches on top of the rocks.  Shamar means to protect by putting a hedge of thorns around a flock.  ADONAI ELOHIM is our shield and His Word guards our hearts and minds.

YHWH make His face shine upon you.  Face is ‘paniym’ in Hebrew.  You have many faces: a happy face, a sad face, an angry face, a smiling face, a stern face, etc.  The face is the essence of the character of a person.  The face is the ‘presence’ of a person.  To shine in Hebrew is ‘ore’ meaning to gloriously give light.  In Scripture, the presence of ADONAI is characterized by blinding light.  He dwells in unapproachable light!  It characterizes His holiness, justice, righteousness and love.  When ADONAI shines on you, you will also exude His presence!

YHWH be gracious to you.  The word gracious in Hebrew is ‘chanan’ meaning to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior.  This is a special act of favor when ADONAI ELOHIM stoops to favor a person who is but dust.  In Scripture, YHWH has names that characterize his eternal attributes, such as YHWH-Jireh (Provider), YHWH-Tzva’ot (LORD of Hosts), YHWH-Shalom (He is our peace), YHWH-Nissi (He is my banner/miracle), YHWH-Rapha (He is my healer), etc.  All that YHWH is, He is to His covenant children.  We are complete through union with our LORD YESHUA!

YHWH lift up His face toward you.  To lift in Hebrew comes from the root ‘nasa’ meaning to carry, bring forth, advance.  When YHWH lift His face toward you, He brings all of who He is to you, especially His presence.  You become the apple of His eye.  I remember the words of David, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place – what are mere mortals, that you concern yourself with them; humans, that you watch over them with such care?” (Ps 8:4,5)  We are beloved because of YESHUA!  Indeed, ADONAI! Our LORD! How glorious is your Name throughout the whole earth!

YHWH give you peace.  Shalom is a word that many do not really appreciate.  Many think that shalom or peace is the absence of conflict or war.  But it means more than just being safe.  It means to b restored or to be completed.  So when we pray for shalom, we desire the restoration of something into its original state.  This is why we are instructed to pray for the shalom of Jerusalem, for its complete restoration.  One day, the new Jerusalem will come down from ADONAI and there we will find all that is good.  We will find the river that refreshes from the throne of ADONAI.  We will find the Tree of Life just like it was in Eden.  And we will all be transformed into the image of YESHUA, just as ADONAI intended from the beginning.

By our blessing, we will put the Name of YHWH on our family and He will bless us all.  How can we put the Name of YHWH on our family?  Remember, tyhe Name represents the character and essence of a person.  In this case, ADONAI promised that as we bless our family, He will transform their mindsets and put His Torah in their hearts and cause all of us to obey His directions. 

So from beginning to end, it is all about YHWH.  The FATHER draws us to Himself in union with YESHUA by the gentle urging of the HOLY SPIRIT.  He nurtures us with His Word that creates a divine nature in us so that we may walk in the good works which He prepared for His covenant children before the foundation of the world.  He trains our hands for battle and His abiding presence becomes our victory in daily challenges.  In our weakness, He is strong and we go from strength to strength until we come before Him on that Day.  The righteous shall perform exploits for ADONAI!

מלאך

One of the things I spend most of my time on is developing curriculum to go with NavPress' LifeChange Series. As a part of that work, I've spent a lot of time reading Matthew Henry's biblical commentary.

Even though a new edition of his work was published in 1997, his original work is over 300 years old. I fell in love with some of the old classical writings in my doctoral work. I especially enjoyed reading books on teaching that dated in the late 18000s and early 1900s. I loved being able to see the passion of those early teachers and how far we as teachers have come.

When I first started reading Henry's older work, I couldn't get past the funny English spelling (seemed like every other word had a "u" in it that had no purpose), the use of "thee" and "thou" and "thy" and the convoluted sentence structures. I mean, he used semi-colons and colons in ways that would never pass an editor these days. The editor is me kept getting hung up on those idiosyncrasies.

And then, I started reading the words for themselves, and making my way through those convoluted sentences, and found instead a passion in those words that began to resonate with me. I found myself nodding with affirmation of a uniquely-turned phrase that captured truth for me in a new way, even though the words were penned three centuries ago. Commentaries today are so academic, and so analytical, that there's little room for passion for Christ in the words. Not so with Matthew Henry. The reader can tell that Henry not only knew what he was talking about, he personally knew the One as well.

Many years ago, a youth worker wrote that the greatest sin youth teachers could commit was convincing teenagers that the Bible is boring through the way they teach. I can't help but believe she would have loved Matthew Henry's take on the Bible. 

Other commentaries give more depth and have the luxury of the work of textural critics and archaeologists to draw upon. But for fun, try Matthew Henry's. 

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Making Disciples on facebook was started a little over a year ago, and has been the center of discussion about all things having to do with Making Disciples for quite some time.  There are over 10,000 hits daily on this site and it is genuinely a community of believers who engage in love and deep thoughtfulness.  I urge you to visit us and "like" our page, participate in the discussions, and help encourage others to Make Disciples.

You who live in the shelter o,f ‘Elyon,

Who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai,

Who say to Adonai, “My refuge! May fortress!

My GOD, in whom I trust!” –

He will rescue you from the trap of the hunter

And from the plague of calamities;

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you will find refuge;

His truth is a shield and protection.

                                  -Psalm 91:1-4

      In my past blogs, I explained the power of the Word of GOD.  We do not deny the facts and realities of physical life but we adhere to the Truth of GOD’s holy word.  We believe that when we appropriate GOD’s promises into our lives it will become physical and visible reality.  I always believe in practicing what I teach, so let us apply GOD’s Word into our daily life.  I suggest that we begin by daily declaring the truth.  Trusting comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of GOD.  We must hear ourselves speak the seed of GOD’s Word so that it can be planted into the fertile soil of our hearts.  By this practice, trust or faith will sprout up and grow as we see the effect of GOD’s promises in our lives.  The more we pray GOD’s promises, the more we see results.  The more we see results, the more we grow in trust.  By this practice, we become overcomers because we faithfully apply GOD’s solutions to our daily challenges.

      Of course, I am assuming that you meditate on GOD’s Word daily and cling to it for dear life.  By meditating, I mean that whatever passage of Scripture you read, you think about it carefully.  You ask the HOLY SPIRIT to teach you its meaning and give you understanding on how to effectively apply it.  Meditation is an action word, not passive.  It goes on throughout the day as you go about your daily routine.  Meditation is interactive between you and the HOLY SPIRIT.  It is never boring but always dynamic.  Meditation is a catalyst to positive transformation!

      Here’s a sample of a positive confession after meditating on the subject passage above, that I do early in the morning, before I start my day:

      “FATHER, thank you for making me a covenant child of your Kingdom through union with the LORD YESHUA.  I praise you, LORD, for giving me your precious promises that provide me with everything pertaining to a life of godliness.  Today, I proclaim your goodness in my life through your holy Word.  I live in the shelter of my LORD, even my nights are spent in the shadow of your wings.  Without you, I am lost; but with you, I have all Ineed.  You are my refuge, my fortress! There is no other GOD in my life but you.  I surrender all of myself to you today.  O LORD, you are the One who rescue me from all trouble especially from the enemy who hunts me like a prey daily.  You will not allow any plague to come near my house but you will cover me with your hedge of protection.  Your Truth, O LORD, is a shield to me.  I am fully clothe with your armor as you fill me with your Presence.  You are with me all day and I have no fear.  Thank you, FATHER, for the indescribable gift of your abiding presence.  You are my shield and my very great reward! Through the glorious Name of my LORD YESHUA, I pray.  Amen.

      As we pray in the character of our LORD YESHUA, we are assured that the prayer of the righteous is indeed powerful and effective!

      May ADONAI bless you plenty!

       מלאך

How’s the prayer time in your small group? Is it something you look forward to or groan at? Are you seeing answers or do you assume that even God is bored? Here’s a resource that will help you. Evaluating Prayer in Your Small Group is a new assessment tool from SmallGroups.com. And I have two articles in it.

Continue reading at Why Didn't You Warn Me?

I went through the unimaginable over the past week and a half. My computer hard drive crashed. Luckily, I had backed up everything so I didn't lose much. There are messages and files that were sent to me that never arrived, but everything on my desktop survived.

The bad part for me was just being without my computer. For more than a week, I had: no email, no facebook, no calendar, no address book, and no way to do my work. I was lost. My entire life is now connected with my computer. Without it, I was lost.

That got me thinking (because there wasn't much else I could do!). I have become so attached to my computer as my means for communicating, that I was unable to keep up with most of my relationships without my computer.

Ouch! Shame on me! Isn't that taking the easy way out?

I email and chat on-line with friends and collegues because that's the easiest and most efficient way to keep in touch.

I keep track of Facebook so I'll know how my hundreds of friends are doing, even though I seldom interact with them.

Being without my computer for a week was a good reminder for me that I need to make sure that I intentionally put others first instead of relying on what's easiest and most efficient.

Oops. Sorry!

Margie Williamson

Community Manager 

In church on Sunday, before the service started, myself and one other lady were in the santuary listening to praise music and praising Him.

I felt the Lord speak  and say "Jane did you know that one wild thought can wreck your life. "

I pondered that for a minute, what do you mean Lord? "Well, if you have a wild or unhealthy thought and you dwell on it long enough, you will start to believe it and the next thing you know sin is crouching at your door. "

Yikes! I was led to a passage in 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (New International Version,)

 ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶ And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

“Make sure you are very strong and brave! Carefully obey all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful in all you do. This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper and be successful.^”

-Joshua 1:7,8

      When Joshua and the nation of Israel was about to cross over to the Promised Land, ADONAI made specific commands that Joshua and every Israelite must obey in order to live long and successfully occupy the land.  They were not to swerve from it to the right or to the left but their lives must be characterized by complete trust on the word of ADONAI.

      The Israelites were confronted with the harsh realities of the power of the enemy at Jericho.  The enemy lived in a well-fortified city.  Its gates were strong, made to withstand a long siege that Israel was about to attempt.  There were a lot of giants living within the city and its warriors were seasoned because war was a way of life at that time.  The wall surrounding the city was so thick and wide, chariots could run on top of it.  From atop the wall, the enemy could easily rain down arrows, spears, large stones and even boiling oil as Israel attacks.  The enemy was ready.   These were the hard facts.

      What did Joshua have?  A ragtag army who were fed and nurtured by ADONAI in the desert.  They had plenty of women andchildren who were marching along with them.  Their weapons were those that were plundered from previous war campaigns, otherwise, many had farm implements.  These were the facts.  BUT, they had the word of ADONAI – the promise of victory!  As long as they obey His word, they would have success and prosperity.  This is the Truth!  They had seen the works of wonder that ADONAI performed in their midst and no god among the Canaanites and even Egypt had ever done anything like it. 

      What was ADONAI’s strategy?  All the warriors  of Israel must march around the city silently for six days and on the seventh day, as they were marching around the city seven times, while the priests were blowing their trumpets, Joshua was to give a signal and all the army was to give a shout of victory and the walls would collapse and the warriors were to charge into the city straight ahead.  In short, ADONAI already wrote the history of the campaign against Jericho and He has given them victory.

      In the natural mind, no sane general would follow such an outrageous plan.  There were too many uncertainties.  What if the wall won’t collapse?  As they ran to attack the city, the enemy could easily shoot them down with arrows and spears; and as they scale the wall, hot boiling oil would surely be poured on the helpless warriors.  Can they risk such a loss?  Joshua would be the laughingstock of the whole Canaanite world! 

      Either trust the word of ADONAI ELOHIM or withdraw.  What’s the cost?  In the natural mind, the enemy had all the advantage.  Isn’t this always the dilema of every believer?  To be or not to be…that is the question!

      Fact – what you can see with your eyes, hear with your ears, smell with your nose, taste with your tongue and feel with your hands.  Truth – every atom, particle, molecule in the whole of creation were made by the word of ADONAI and He sustains all of it by the word of His power.  He is the only One who can suspend the natural laws.  What He created, He can uncreate.

      Joshua must have remembered when ADONAI parted  the Sea of Reeds.  He must have remembered the sun standing still until he defeated the army of Amalek.  Most recently, he witnessed ADONAI parting the Jordan river so Israel could cross over on dry ground into the Promised Land.  His own clothes did not wear out and his sandals remained good for the whole 40 years of wandering.  He saw ADONAI’s faithfulness as He fed them daily with manna and provided water from the Rock who was YESHUA the Messiah.  Is there any doubt at all that ADONAI would fulfill His promise?

      This is the difference between knowledge on facts and the living experience of Truth.  Knowledge just makes people arrogant but Truth sets people free!  Free to do the right thing.  Free to be supernatural and divine!

      Have you experienced the Truth? To experience Truth is to experience true life.  If all you have are facts, then all you have might be true lies!

          מלאך

“Make sure you are very strong and brave! Carefully obey all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful in all you do. This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper and be successful.^”

-Joshua 1:7,8

      When Joshua and the nation of Israel was about to cross over to the Promised Land, ADONAI made specific commands that Joshua and every Israelite must obey in order to live long and successfully occupy the land.  They were not to swerve from it to the right or to the left but their lives must be characterized by complete trust on the word of ADONAI.

      The Israelites were confronted with the harsh realities of the power of the enemy at Jericho.  The enemy lived in a well-fortified city.  Its gates were strong, made to withstand a long siege that Israel was about to attempt.  There were a lot of giants living within the city and its warriors were seasoned because war was a way of life at that time.  The wall surrounding the city was so thick and wide, chariots could run on top of it.  From atop the wall, the enemy could easily rain down arrows, spears, large stones and even boiling oil as Israel attacks.  The enemy was ready.   These were the hard facts.

      What did Joshua have?  A ragtag army who were fed and nurtured by ADONAI in the desert.  They had plenty of women andchildren who were marching along with them.  Their weapons were those that were plundered from previous war campaigns, otherwise, many had farm implements.  These were the facts.  BUT, they had the word of ADONAI – the promise of victory!  As long as they obey His word, they would have success and prosperity.  This is the Truth!  They had seen the works of wonder that ADONAI performed in their midst and no god among the Canaanites and even Egypt had ever done anything like it. 

      What was ADONAI’s strategy?  All the warriors  of Israel must march around the city silently for six days and on the seventh day, as they were marching around the city seven times, while the priests were blowing their trumpets, Joshua was to give a signal and all the army was to give a shout of victory and the walls would collapse and the warriors were to charge into the city straight ahead.  In short, ADONAI already wrote the history of the campaign against Jericho and He has given them victory.

      In the natural mind, no sane general would follow such an outrageous plan.  There were too many uncertainties.  What if the wall won’t collapse?  As they ran to attack the city, the enemy could easily shoot them down with arrows and spears; and as they scale the wall, hot boiling oil would surely be poured on the helpless warriors.  Can they risk such a loss?  Joshua would be the laughingstock of the whole Canaanite world! 

      Either trust the word of ADONAI ELOHIM or withdraw.  What’s the cost?  In the natural mind, the enemy had all the advantage.  Isn’t this always the dilema of every believer?  To be or not to be…that is the question!

      Fact – what you can see with your eyes, hear with your ears, smell with your nose, taste with your tongue and feel with your hands.  Truth – every atom, particle, molecule in the whole of creation were made by the word of ADONAI and He sustains all of it by the word of His power.  He is the only One who can suspend the natural laws.  What He created, He can uncreate.

      Joshua must have remembered when ADONAI parted  the Sea of Reeds.  He must have remembered the sun standing still until he defeated the army of Amalek.  Most recently, he witnessed ADONAI parting the Jordan river so Israel could cross over on dry ground into the Promised Land.  His own clothes did not wear out and his sandals remained good for the whole 40 years of wandering.  He saw ADONAI’s faithfulness as He fed them daily with manna and provided water from the Rock who was YESHUA the Messiah.  Is there any doubt at all that ADONAI would fulfill His promise?

      This is the difference between knowledge on facts and the living experience of Truth.  Knowledge just makes people arrogant but Truth sets people free!  Free to do the right thing.  Free to be supernatural and divine!

      Have you experienced the Truth? To experience Truth is to experience true life.  If all you have are facts, then all you have might be true lies!

          מלאך

Ready For the Road Ahead

            No matter how long you stare at the picture below, your brain will tell you that the smaller circle pattern has a larger center and the larger circle pattern has a smaller center.  In reality, it's an optical illusion.  Both centers are the same size.  Optical illusions are brain teasers.  Some are geometric, like the one below.  Others are illustrations which have hidden objects, or subjects that change appearance depending on which side of the brain is active when you view the picture.  Whatever shape or form they take, optical illusions are just that- illusions.  They are not what they appear to be.

            The Bible tells us there is a grand and dangerous optical illusion in our life and we run into it on a daily basis.  It is the temptation of sin.  Proverbs is so mindful of this illusion, it repeats the warning two separate times (Prov. 14:12; 16:25).  Sin looks harmless at first glance, even good at times, but in the end, its reality is death.  And like optical illusions which dazzle our eyes and override the brain's rational process, our eyes are the instruments which introduce both godly and sinful thoughts into our lives.  Jesus illustrated it in this way, "The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great the darkness!"  (Matt. 6:22-23).  What goes into you through your eyes, has a direct effect on both your heart and mind.  So, as the children's song goes, "Be careful little eyes what you see".

            One time, when my sister and I were in high school and our parents were out for the evening, we stayed up late to watch a Rod Serling show (somewhat like the Twilight Zone).  It just so happened to be a dark and stormy night, so the stage was set for nerves to be on edge.  I've never really liked watching scary things, but my sister had talked me into it.  As the climax approached, a bolt of lightning and a clap of thunder sent us into each other's arms and a split second later to the TV's OFF button!  We never watched another episode.   What had appeared to be fun, turned out to be anything but fun.  It was an optical illusion.

            The greatest scene of temptation in the New Testament is the encounter between Satan and Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11; Mk. 1:12-13; Lk. 4:1-13).  No matter what Satan enticed Jesus with, fame, power or pleasure, Jesus steadfastly refuted those temptations with God's Word.  It is the most powerful lens by which to view the optical illusion of sin.  Jesus knew that Satan's promises were optical illusions and what was true could only be found in God's Word.  Like a lamp turned on in a dark room, God's Word dispenses light which shows everything for what it truly is.  If you are being fooled by the optical illusion of sin, immerse yourself in God's Word and surround yourself with His people (Ecc. 4:9-12).  This is the way a disciple keeps his/her eyes healthy.

Ann H. LeFevre                                                                                                 2-27-2011

It seems that in just about every religion created by people, either in fiction or the real world, any masculine deity has a feminine counterpart.  For every god there must be a goddess to act as counterpoint and consort.  Yet, the one religion that comes from God to man portrays God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in one, using masculine pronouns and masculine relational identities.  There is one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  There is no need for a goddess, because God is a complete totality of all identity and personality traits.  He does not need a counterpoint separate from Himself, a yin to His yang.  He is a symphony complete in Himself, containing all the melody, harmony, and rhythm necessary to resonate the music of the spheres.

That does not mean He does not desire a consort on whom to lavish His love.  However, the bride He seeks is not His equal in power, wisdom, or longevity.  Instead, this infinite Being seeks to craft His bride from the frail, foolish, finite creatures He has created.  No wonder human beings cannot conceive of this sort of cosmic union.  Sure the gods of the Greeks and Romans were known to dally with humans, but not to raise them up as a Bride, fit to consort with, and even reign with, for eternity.  That is unfathomable to the human imagination!  How could this fairy tale of epic proportions have ever originated in the minds of men?  Would they ever dare to reach so high as to think God would desire them for His Bride? 

Yet, He clearly is reaching down to us "frail children of dust" to raise us up, mold us, and breathe life into us so that we can stand beside Him in the New Jerusalem as His "pure, spotless bride."  Mind-boggling.  Only God could have conceived and orchestrated this plan.  I am so glad to be part of His beloved Bride to be.  I just can't wait for the wedding!!