Look and See!

This verse jumped out at me today and made sense. Isn't it interesting how God will allow you to sit somewhere looking on something happening without really seeing it for what it is. Then one day, in the fullness of time, the scales fall from your eyes and you see things for what they really are. Exodus 2:11 says

"One day, after Moses was grown, it happened that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of [Moses'] brethren".

Moses was 40 years old at this time. I don't believe that this was the first time he saw the oppression of the Hebrews, but that day when he went out to his brethren he did not just look at them generally, he looked at their burdens. He looked at the yoke that was laid on them and for the very first time in 40 years he saw!

I believe that God kept his understanding clouded on the issue because there were things he needed to learn while there and also because the fullness of time was not yet. When the time came for God to draw him near to himself he called him away by causing the incidents that followed after he finally understood just how oppressed his people were.

I am going through such a time as well where God has opened my eyes to see somethings I had never seen before. But I also believe that all this has happened to provoke movement and change of direction in my life to the glory of his name. May I only walk towards his will for me to the fulfillment of my destiny and never away. We serve a good God oh!!!

What do I still lack?

The story of the rich young ruler is told in the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The fact that it is repeated in 3 out of the 4 gospels tells me that it was a very important lesson that we need to learn. This young ruler came to Jesus asking him what he must do to have eternal life. I find it interesting that Jesus told him to focus on the basics as listed in the 10 commandments. The young man said that he observed all these things. It is clear that he felt that he was not yet there as he asked the Lord "...what do I still lack?" Jesus told him to sell his material goods, give the money to the poor and follow him.

Now, I don't believe that Jesus wants us all to take the vow of poverty. On the contrary I believe that God wants to put wealth into our hands. However, I do believe that God does not want that wealth to have our hearts. This young ruler, although he was doing all the right things like many Christians today, was held in the grip of materialism. In today's world he would have been saved like you and I. He would have been a tither and give both mandatory and free will offerings. We would have looked at him and would have thought that for sure this guy had attained eternal life. However, his heart did not belong to God. It belonged to his wealth.

The Bible records that he went away very sad and Jesus made the comment that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. So what is the antidote for materialism. How can we avoid the fowler's snare that this young man found himself in?

1. God must be the center of our lives. We cannot look to the left or to the right. We must let God be all in all. Our eyes must be on him alone. I have resolved that when I am in his presence I will focus on him. I will not ask him for material wealth but will thank him for his provision because his word says that if we seek him first, all these things shall be added to us.
2. We must evaluate our lives honestly and see what has our hearts. What is it that I am not willing to do without? What would I begrudge God, should he tell me to give it away? The Isaac test was for God to be sure that Abraham's heart was in the right place. Would you give away your Isaac?

I think about Hannah. She begged God for a son, crying as if her heart would break. Then God gives her this child and tells her that she must then be separated from him as soon as he is weaned. If you were Hannah, would you give God your son? What is that one thing that you want for yourself so badly? What have you been crying out for? What have you travailed for and finally received? If God asked you for it, would you give it back? Sela!

The Final Battle

According to Revelation 13:16 the last battle that man and the enemy are going to engage in will be fought out in the marketplace. I had never seen this before until I realized that in order to buy or sell anything you will have to bear the mark of the enemy. This tells me that the economic world is crucial for the devils end time agenda.

I have heard that drug dealers, in a bid to create a market for their product, will offer it for free to a person and once they are hooked on it and cannot do without it, they then withhold it from them unless they can pay for it. In their desperation, the drug addict will do anything to secure another hit. They will steal, kill and prostitute just to get the next hit. This is the devil's strategy for us as well where the economic world is concerned. He has created such a "need" for the things of this world that even the Church has been caught up in a materialistic frenzy of epic proportions. In many churches today, the minor things have become the major things, while the major things have become the minor things.

Anything that has your heart, if it is not God, is an idol to you. If wealth has your heart it is an idol to you. In many churches most of the sermons are about money. The manipulation has become ridiculous. It almost feels like if you do not give a certain amount God will not look at you twice. Yet our God is not like that. The spirit of materialism has so pervaded the church that it is now on the altar and has become an idol to be worshiped by the people. An abomination that causes desolation. The sermon's are watered down. The people are stuck in their sins with no help. The sick are still sick. We see no miracles, signs or wonders to confirm the word of the Lord. Why? What has changed?

We have majored on the minors. It is about souls. It is about God. Let him be on the altar. Let him be worshiped. I have been hearing God say to me this year, "go back to the basics." Love your neighbor. Honor your Father and Mother. Bring all your tithes and offerings to the house. Forgive those who trespass against you. Be holy for I am holy. Do not abuse Grace. Sit here and stay right with me. These are the things that matter to God. I hate to say this, but ambitious church programs will not get it done. Having a church full of people and not teaching them how to walk right will not help them. If all they can think about, pray about, wail about in their homes is "God give me more money so I too can live well, eat well, drive the best and go on holiday to some exotic location" there is a problem. If the measure of whether or not you are blessed is how much wealth you have, then there is a problem.

I am not against living well. I believe as children of the King we should live well. However, that is not our goal in life. Our testimonies cannot be just about how God increased our income or how we have a new car. We need to have testimonies about how many people we spoke to about Christ. How many people we have prayed for and seen the manifestation of God in tangible healing and deliverance. If these were the testimonies we heard in church, how many people would be saved?

My heart breaks when I read the last verses of the faith chapter, Hebrews 11:35-38

"...Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted,were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, indens and caves of the earth."

Those described in this passage endured hell and held on to the Lord. They never had a good house, they lived in caves and dens and holes in the ground. They were destitute for this gospel. They were afflicted and tormented, mocked and whipped to a bloody pulp. They were tempted being promised all the wonderful material things we crave if only they would recant. Yet for this gospel, the true gospel of Christ, they refused to give in. The world was not worthy of them.

In the final marketplace battle this same scenario will be repeated. How many of us will be willing to walk away from all that we have to live in a den or a cave because of the gospel. I dare say that the addiction strategy of the enemy is such that he has many Christians hooked to materialism. Many would accept the mark and sell their souls instead of giving up their material comforts.

Who or what has your heart? No, really, who or what has your heart? Meditate on that and let the honest answer come to you.

Marked with God's Mark

On March 2nd the Lord began to speak to me about marking me with his mark. As I was praying that morning his presence was heavy on me and I could almost feel him place his mark, his seal, on my forehead. On March 3rd I felt the need to study this marking and why the Lord would mark his people. Turns out that on various occasions, when the Lord was about to bring judgement he marked his people to exempt them from the coming upheaval.

1. The first incident I noted of a marking was in the book of Exodus where he tells the Israelites to put the blood of a lamb on their door posts. That way when the angel of judgement came, he would see the blood and pass over them.
2. The second place I saw this was in the book of Ezekiel 9:1-6. In this passage God is about to release his army for judgement. However, he asks them to wait until those who are his have been marked. The army of the Lord is then given instructions not to harm anyone with the mark of God on them.
3. Revelation 7:1-4 is another such passage. Once again God holds his troops until his own people have been marked on their foreheads. The troops are then commanded not to touch them as they execute the orders of the Lord.

One thing we do not understand is that we are in the Last days and in this last days we are going to bear a mark of ownership whether we like it or not. You are either going to be marked with the mark of God, or with the mark of the devil. Revelation 7 talks about the seal of God that bears his name. Each one who is a bond servant of our God will have this mark. Revelation 13 talks about another seal. The mark of the devil that bears his name or the number of his name, the famous 666. Based on where we are in history the question becomes, "Which mark is going to be on your forehead?" We get to decide based on the way we are living our lives today.