Follow Me

 "And Jesus, walking be the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" Matthew 4:18-19

"And when He had called the people unto Him with His disciples also, He said unto them, "Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Mark 8:34

I find it so interesting that when Jesus called His disciples, His commandment to them was to "Follow Me." 

A few months back, I was worshiping the Lord in the Spirit, during my devotions when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and revealed to me, "The highest form of worship is to follow Me." What a revelation! Praying is a wonderful connection with the Lord. Singing praises and worship to the Lord is great fellowship with Him. Going to church to worship with the congregation is admirable, and all these things are part of worshiping God, but they are only a part of following the Great Shepherd. Following Him is the highest form of worship.

Oscar Wilde once said, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"  During the time of Jesus, when Rabbinic Judaism was taking shape, a rabbi would lead his disciples in a similar way the shepherd led his sheep.  The rabbi's training wasn't just the words that he taught, but it was the example of his life. It was in the way he said things, or even the movements and gestures he used while teaching. To "follow the rabbi" didn't just mean just to walk with him or behind him, but to imitate him. If the rabbi moved his hand in a certain manner, that was the way the students moved their hand. If the rabbi enunciated his words in a certain tone, the disciples enunciated their words that way, too. This is still the way of life for Chasidic Jewish people. Their way of dress and customs reflect their rabbis' customs. The way the rabbi moves during his prayers is the way the followers move.

Now, we have a Rabbi whom we are called to emulate. For even hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. I Peter 4:6  But you might say,"How can we imitate Him since He is no longer here with us in a physical form, as He was with the disciples?"  He sent us the greatest Teacher. He sent His own Spirit into our hearts to teach us and show us the way. "I have many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come." John 16:13.

Paul, in writing to the Roman church, said, "For as many as are LED by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Roms.8:14  And to the church in Galatians, he wrote: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Gal. 5:25 It is the Holy Spirit that dwelt inside of Jesus that we must follow. Not men's traditions or customs - not even our own perception of Jesus. But the very life of Christ is revealed to us, day to day, as we follow in His steps by the leadership of the Holy Ghost.  Paul also wrote to the Galatians and said he wasn't taught the things of the Spirit by man, "For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Gal. 1:12  I love what the Apostle John wrote, concerning the teachings of the Holy Spirit: But the Anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same Anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him. I John 2:27

Dust

Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me? Remember, I beseech Thee, that Thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it. Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled: Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare Thy truth? For in death there is no rememberance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks? His breath goeth forth, returneth to his earth; in that very day his thought perish. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Hallelujah!

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes—I, and not another.

But perhaps someone will ask, “How is the resurrection achieved? With what sort of body do the dead arrive?” Now that is talking without using your minds! In your own experience you know that a seed does not germinate without itself “dying”. When you sow a seed you do not sow the “body” that will eventually be produced, but bare grain, of wheat, for example, or one of the other seeds. God gives the seed a “body” according to his laws—a different “body” to each kind of seed. Then again, even in this world, all flesh is not identical. There is a difference in the flesh of human beings, animals, fish and birds. There are bodies which exist in this world, and bodies which exist in heaven. These bodies are not, as it were, in competition; the splendour of an earthly body is quite a different thing from the splendour of a heavenly body. The sun, the moon and the stars all have their own particular splendour, while among the stars themselves there are different kinds of splendour. These are illustrations here of the raising of the dead. The body is “sown” in corruption; it is raised beyond the reach of corruption. It is “sown” in dishonour; it is raised in splendour. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. As there is a natural body so will there be a spiritual body. It is written, moreover, that: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’. So the last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. But we should notice that the order is “natural” first and then “spiritual”. The first man came out of the earth, a material creature. The second man came from Heaven and was the Lord himself. For the life of this world men are made like the material man; but for the life that is to come they are made like the one from Heaven. So that just as we have been made like the material pattern, so we shall be made like the Heavenly pattern. For I assure you, my brothers, it is utterly impossible for flesh and blood to possess the kingdom of God. The transitory could never possess the everlasting.

Listen, and I will tell you a secret. We shall not all die, but suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, every one of us will be changed as the trumpet sounds! The trumpet will sound and the dead shall be raised beyond the reach of corruption, and we who are still alive shall suddenly be utterly changed. For this perishable nature of ours must be wrapped in imperishability, these bodies which are mortal must be wrapped in immortality. So when the perishable is lost in the imperishable, the mortal lost in the immortal, this saying will come true: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’ ‘O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ It is sin which gives death its power, and it is the Law which gives sin its strength. All thanks to God, then, who gives us the victory over these things through our Lord Jesus Christ! And so brothers of mine, stand firm! Let nothing move you as you busy yourselves in the Lord’s work. Be sure that nothing you do for him is ever lost or ever wasted.

Gen. 18:27; Ps. 103:14; Job 10:8-9; Ecc. 3:20, 12:7; Ps. 104:29, 30:9, 6:5, 146:4, 150:6.

Job 19:25-29

1 Corinthians 15:35-58 Phillips Translation

The Love of God

For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that every one who believes in Him shall not be lost, but should have eternal life. If God loved us as much as that, surely we, in our turn, should love each other! (John 3:16; 1 John 4:11 Phillips)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind. (II Timothy 1:7 KJV)  God is love, and the man whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in him. So our love for Him grows more and more, filling us with complete confidence for the day when He shall judge all men—for we realize that our life in this world is actually His life lived in us. [I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal. 2:20 NIV] Love contains no fear—indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected. (1 John 4:16-18 Phillips) [Whatsover is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23 KJV]

Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, pain or persecution? Can lack of clothes and food, danger to life and limb, the threat of force of arms? Indeed some of us know the truth of the ancient text: ‘For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter’(Ps. 44:22)

No, in all these things we win an overwhelming victory through Him who has proved his love for us.

I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth, neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor anything else in God’s whole world has any power to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 8:35-39 Phillips)

This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience—it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance.

Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails.

Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 Phillips)

Prayer for America

Recently, my sister asked me to join her and my other sister in praying for our nation, each day at 12:30. I readily agreed, as Jesus told us, " Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." (Matt 18:19).  I have shared in a number of older posts that I use the Lord's prayer as guideline or prayer directive. Yesterday, as I was praying, the Holy Spirit came and showed me how to pray for our nation using the Lord's Prayer as an outline:

 

Our Father in Heaven - Who brought our nation into being and kept our forefathers on this continent.

Hallowed be Thy Name - You provided us with our freedoms: religion, speech, press, etc. 

Thy Kingdom come - Your salvation and peace come to every citizen of this nation. 

Thy will be done on earth as in Heaven - You know what is needed and Your judgements are right 

Give us this day our daily bread - You have blessed this nation with so many natural resources, thank You and help continue to bless others, both materially and Spiritually

Forgive us our sins - our greed, prejudice, lack of morality, rioting, drunkenness, etc. As we forgive those who sin against us - those who have wronged us, taken advantage of us, etc 

Lead us not into temptation - pray for our leadership: President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, senators, house representatives, governors, legislators, judges, mayors, etc. 

Deliver us from evil - protect those who protect us - police, sheriffs, soldiers, secret service agents, those in the Pentagon, etc. also firemen, first responders, doctors/nurses.

If You Shall Say to the Mountain...

 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:20-24 KJV

I recently sold my house in downtown Indianapolis and moved out to the country to rent from a very good friend.  During the moving, I had been listening to a sermon by Brother William Branham on speaking the word. He had taken his text from this portion of Scripture and related a number of testimonies that had happened in his life to demonstrate this Scripture to him. 

During the move, even though I knew it was the Will of God for my life, I had been very stressed and anxious about the timeline and making the right decisions. However, on this particular day, my faith was high and my stress level was almost non-existent.  I had stopped at a store downtown to refill my 2 five gallon water jugs and was driving through the country. As I had recently taken a large load in my car, my two back seats were laid down, with the two full water jugs sitting in the very back of my SUV. 

I was driving down the country roads, thanking God for His provision, praying about His Will being done, when suddenly a truck in front of me slammed on his brakes.  I slammed my brakes to avoid a collision and when I did, two jugs of water came barrelling from the back causing one of them to burst and five gallons of water to gush all over the front of my car, covering me, my seat, the console and the dashboard.  

Suddenly, I was not in the Spirit anymore. I was angry with the man and angry with myself for being somewhat careless in my driving.  Then, as I drove on, I noticed my windows were fogging up, so I looked down at the heater to turn on my defogger.  The A/C was a 65 degrees and the recycle inside air was on. I tried pressing the button to change the A/C to heater and turn to inside air, but nothing changed. I had to roll down the windows to get the windows to defog so I could see to drive the rest of the way home. 

Suddenly, I was now angry with God. I began telling Him what I thought and how angry I was. I realized that it was going to be cold that night and after work that evening I would be freezing and the windows fogging unless I drove with them down which would be even colder. Gently, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the Scripture about speaking to the mountain, so I first repented of my bad spirit and then laid my hands on the A/C / Heater controls and prayed, "Father, You said to take You at Your Word and I claim this Scripture. I speak to this Heater and controls to work in Jesus' Name." 

It didn't immediately start to work, but I knew if I had spoken in faith it was going to. I got home and googled about water spilling onto the A/C controls. Everything I read indicated that my electronics was ruined and I would need to get it replaced. That night after work, when I turned on my car, both sides of my heater turned onto 85 degrees with the fan on high. Within three days, everything was working just as it always had and continues to run perfectly. 

 God is Good and His Word is true if we can only believe and have the faith to appropriate His Word! I share this to encourage you to believe His Word and appropriate it in your life.

This is My Body

This morning, in prayer, I was thinking about Communion or the Eucharist, also known as the Lord's Supper. Growing up in a Protestant family, we celebrated the Lord's Supper in our church at least once a month, with foot-washing following.  Unlike many Protestants, we used real wine and drank from one cup or goblet, versus the traditional single mini-cups. 

I know of many people who are offended or disgusted by this use of a single cup for an entire congregation. However, this is the pattern we see in the Bible times and continues this day among the Orthodox Jewish people. 

When a groom takes his vows under the wedding canopy, he first drinks from a goblet of wine and then lifts the veil of his bride and offers her a drink of the wine. They are, by this ceremony, becoming one.

In Matthew 26:26-29, when Jesus took the bread and blessed it, He then broke it and gave it to the disciples. His commandment was to “Take it and eat it, this is My body.” For centuries, many Christians have believed that He was speaking of the bread being His body. However, I believe a better understanding of this is, that His body is the believers.

Whenever a man eats bread, his body breaks down that bread and distributes it throughout the body. How is it carried to the parts of the body where it is most needed? By the blood. This is exactly what Jesus said in the next part, when He took the cup and said, “This is the New Covenant IN MY BLOOD”

In our modern society, we have an aversion to drinking after others, because science has explained to us how germs are passed from one person to the next, especially by drinking or eating after others. However, most of us would not think twice about drinking after our own family or possibly even close friend.  When Jesus shared that cup with His disciples, He was telling them, "You are My family and family one with another. You share My blood." 

 The Apostle Paul often used the analogy of the body to talk about the "church". But what is the church? Is it a building with wood or stone, or is it the people that make up the congregation. The original understanding of the church was the people. And those people were a community of faith or "family". 

 So then, when Jesus said, "This is My body" I believe He was referring not only to the bread, but even more so, to the disciples and those who would believe on Him through their words. We are His body.

In Christ

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 There is therefore now no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1

What does it mean to be in Christ? 

When God gave Moses the pattern for building the tabernacle in the wilderness - which was later replicated by Solomon on much larger and permanent scale, Moses was told to make it according to the pattern that was shown him in the mountain (Exodus 25:40). God took Moses up to Heaven and showed him what the real temple in Heaven looked like and then Moses constructed the earthly model.

First, there was an outer court where was the alter of sacrifice and then a laver of water where the priest were to wash their hands and feet before entering into the Inner Court or Holy Place. In the Holy Place, there was a seven branched lamp-stand that was to remain burning, a table with the "Bread of Presence" which bread could only be eaten by the priests and finally an altar of incense before a very heavy veil that covered the way into the final chamber - the Holiest of Holies. In this chamber there was a box that was overlaid with gold (as was all the furniture in the tabernacle). In this box, there were two tables of stones that contained the commandments of God written by His own finger, the rod of Aaron which budded almonds long after it had been cut from the life source, and finally a pot of manna (the bread which fell every morning for 40 years in the wilderness and fed the children of Israel). On top of the box was the Mercy seat and looking down on the seat were two cherubim carved of gold, having their wings stretched out over the Mercy seat. 

The priest and the people could come into the outer court often with their sacrifices, but only the Levites could enter into the Inner Court (Holy Place). Only the High Priest could enter into the Holiest of Holies and that, only one day a year. On that day, their was much ceremony and protocol that must be followed before he was allowed to enter. He must be ritually pure, wearing special garments reserved only for the High Priest and he must bring blood for the atonement of all the sins of the children of Israel, as well as himself. If he failed in one point, he risked his life being forfeit in the Presence of the Almighty God, or as it is called in Hebrew - the Shekinah (the Abiding). The Ark of the Covenant was the very Throne of God on earth. Oh what a beautiful type of what is in Heaven, now. But time does not permit me to elaborate on all this, right now. God willing, I will share some of that in another posting.

But what does this have to do with being IN Christ? When Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), died on the cross, it is recorded in the Gospels, an earthquake shook the earth and the veil of the Temple was rent in two from top to the bottom. This was God's way of showing His people that the way into the Holiest of Holies was now open to one and all. The Great High Priest had entered into the Holiest with His own blood, not for His own sin, as He had no sin, but for the sins of the whole world. And by His blood, He had made the way for anyone to enter into the True Holiest of Holies, which is in Heaven.

To be IN Christ is to not stop in the outer court of the temple, nor in the inner court, but to come all the way into the Holy of Holies. Now, not just anyone can enter in. You must come by the blood of Yeshua. Just as the High Priest could only come in with the blood of the atonement, so must we come with the blood of the Lamb - Jesus the Messiah.

Just as the blood of the lamb was put on the door posts, at the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12), the blood of Yeshua must spiritually be applied to our hearts by faith in His finished work at Calvary.  In Ezekiel 9, we read a vision that the prophet had concerning God's judgement on Israel and Judah. In the vision, he saw that a man clothed in linen with a writer's inkhorn at his side was commanded to go through the city and mark all those who were crying (interceding) for the sins committed in the land. Then he was to execute the rest. This speaks to us of another marking that is spoken of in the book of Revelations. "And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, 'Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.'" Revelation 7:2-3  We are not just sealed with the blood of Jesus, but we must be also sealed with the Holy Spirit. "In Whom you also trusted, after that you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise." Ephesians 1:13

Jesus said that He is the door to the sheepfold and anyone who came any other way was a thief and a robber and the sheep would not listen to them. In Matthew 22, Jesus told a story about a wedding supper that was given for a king's son. After all that were invited declined, the king sent forth his servants into the highways and found those who were rejected by society and brought them into the banquet. But there came one in who didn't have on a wedding garment and the when the king saw him, he threw him out because he wasn't wearing the garments. When a rich man threw a banquet for a wedding, he gave a wedding garment to those who were invited. This is why the man was thrown out and arrested, because it was obvious that he had entered uninvited.

And so it is with us, any other way than through Jesus' blood is incorrect. Jesus said, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life: No man comes unto the Father, but by Me. John 14:6  He told Nicodemus that except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. When Nicodemus replied that  he was too old and could not enter again into his mother's womb, Jesus explained that He was speaking of the spiritual rebirth. He said, "Except a man be born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God." John 3:5

If you do not know Jesus Christ, (Yeshua the Messiah) as Savior and Lord of your life, I beg you today, cry out to Him. Repent of your sins, ask Him to come into your life and be your Lord and Master. He will hear you and answer. And then ask Him for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, without which you are powerless to live your life pleasing to Him.

Just a Quick Line

 I have been working on downsizing my physical and digital life over the past few weeks. Today, I went on my browser favorites to see what websites I could delete that I haven't looked at in several years. I had a number of "messianic" Jewish and Hebrew websites that I had bookmarked. Some of the websites no longer existed.  However, I was very saddened to see that several no longer mention Jesus or Yeshua anywhere.  My heart was burdened to see that they had went searching for their "roots" and forgot about the branches. My mind went to the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:21: "For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee."  I am very thankful for God allowing me to look into the Hebrew roots of Christianity, but I don't ever want to forget or deny the Messiah. For He said, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." Luke 9:26  May God help each and very one to draw closer and closer to Him through the finished word of Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah)!

When God sends you an email

In 2013, I was on a fast for several days and was maybe feeling a bit discouraged. I was sitting in my office, at work, on the dementia unit when a VERY confused patient walked in. This patient could read signs, but didn't know what they meant. In fact, she would read her own name on her door, and have no idea that it was her room or even what she was saying. But on this morning, she walked into my office and when she saw me sitting in my chair she said, "Oh!" as if I had startled her. Then she smiled, walked over  a few feet to me, patted me on my head and said, "Fasting is good. The good Lord watches both of you and them. It's all up here (while patting my head)" I was so stunned, I about fell out of my chair. She turned and walked out of my office and continued on her wanderings. I knew that I had just heard the voice of God speaking through a person to me.

Just October, I was feeling very discouraged and that my prayers were hitting the ceiling and bouncing back to hit me in the head. I just felt depressed. I decided to write a letter to God. So I got a very fancy parchment paper and wrote my sorrows and complaints out to the Lord. I didn't feel any better, but I went on to bed and slept just the same. 

The next morning, when I got to work and began checking my emails, there was an email from someone I had only met once at a seminar, about six months before and had exchanged emails for networking purposes. She had emailed me to tell me that God had placed me on her heart and she had been praying for me and wanted to let me know that. I knew that it was an email from God and that His Presence was near me. I closed my office door and cried like a baby.

This past week has been very difficult. I have been trying to live by faith, but my faith has been so weak. Yesterday, was probably the lowest point I have been in in many, many years. I cried and cried. I complained to God, I wept, I sobbed, but didn't feel any better. This morning, I was on my way to a friend's house to take care of their dogs, when I saw an old man that I have seen several times, asking for money. Fortunately, I was at a stop light and in the closer lane to him, so I rolled down my window. He hobbled over to me and took my change, then asked, "Man, I'm sorry to ask, but do you have any Tylenol or Ibuprofin? My back is killing me." I told him I did in fact have Ibubrofin, but that I also wanted to pray for him. He agreed and I reached out and took his hand and said a quick prayer. Then the light turned green and I had to pull away. Just as I made the turn, and old family friend messaged me on Facebook. I was unable to read it right then, but just saw the heading, "Just wanted you to let you know you are in my thoughts and prayers this morning."  Again, I knew it was the Lord sending me an email. 

He promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. He is God and He is our Father!!!

Heavenly Places Praise and Worship CD

For the past couple of months I have been working on recording some of the spontaneous praise and worship songs I have been given over the years. Hopefully, in the next week it will be ready to sell. FYI, I produced it myself, so - far from professional.