Isaiah 45:1-6 is my word. My personal word from the Lord. It is the word that lets me know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was created for greatness. This phase of my life has now began. I have entered into a new season. My season of greatness. When seasons change, most of the time it is quietly. Without much ado. But then we begin to see the subtle differences and then gradually it becomes evident that things have changed. My season has changed. Previously Isaiah 45:1-6 was a promise. I have began to live it out. I will never forget the Passover season of 2010. The season I began to walk in the reality of the promise.
The Lord has summoned me by name and called me to fulfill my destiny. He has called me to give me a title of honor. To give me the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places. Today he has taken hold of my hand to subdue nations before me. To unarm and ungird the loins of kings to open doors before me, so that gates will not be shut. Jehovah himself goes before me to level every mountain. To break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
The Lord will strengthen me all for the glory of his name and that I may serve his children. It is all for their benefit and his glory. I cannot explain what is going on within me right now. I just know that I will never be the same again. Never again!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Celebrate the passover
This is an excerpt from Elijah list. You can find the full article here http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/8617
The Timetable of Passover
It's interesting to compare the timetable of Jesus' crucifixion with the Passover celebration. According to the Torah, at the time of Passover a number of events had to take place in a specific order, and at very specific times.
1. The Passover Lamb had to be selected on a specific day. Exodus 12 instructs that the Passover lamb be chosen on the 10th day of 1st month. By the time of Jesus, only lambs from Bethlehem were considered eligible to serve as Passover lambs. So the lamb born in Bethlehem was chosen and brought into Jerusalem from the east (down the Mount of Olives) and entered the city through the sheep gate. On the 10th day of 1st month Jesus, the Lamb born in Bethlehem, came down the Mount of Olives and entered Jerusalem through the sheep gate. (This is called His "triumphal entry.") As He entered, the people waved palm branches and shouted "Blessed is he that comes in the name of the LORD! Save us, Son of David!" By mass acclamation Jesus is designated as Israel's Messiah! The crowds had chosen their Passover Lamb!
2. The Lamb then had to be examined. The Torah instructed that once the lamb was chosen, it had to be carefully examined for blemishes. Only a perfect, spotless and unblemished lamb would suffice for the Passover. After arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple to teach. While there, He was approached by the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians and the teachers of the Law. Each group posed difficult questions, trying to trap him. Essentially, they were looking for any blemish which might disqualify Him as Messiah. But no one could find fault with Him. He was without blemish.
3. The Leaven (impurity) must be cast out. Torah instructs that before the feast, all leaven (impurity) must be cast out of every Israelite home. Each mother took a candle and searched out impurity, removing it from her house. This regulation is still observed today. Passover is a time to cleanse every house. Every observant Jewish family carefully cleans their house before Passover. Every trace of impurity is removed. After Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, He entered the Temple and cast out the moneychangers. He was following the Biblical instruction to prepare for Passover by cleansing His Father's house.
4. The Lamb is taken to the altar for public display. On the morning of the 14th day of the 1st month, when all has been set in order, the lamb was led out to the altar. At 9 a.m. that morning, the lamb was bound to the altar and put on public display for all to see. On the morning of the 14th day of the 1st month, when all had been fulfilled, Jesus was led out to Calvary. At 9 a.m. that morning, just as the lamb was being bound to the altar, Jesus was nailed to the Cross and put on public display at Calvary.
5. The Lamb was slain at a specific time. At exactly 3 p.m. the high priest ascended the altar. As another priest blew a shofar on the temple wall, the high priest cuts the throat of the sacrificial Lamb, and declared, "IT IS FINISHED!" At 3 p.m. on that high holy day, at the moment the Passover lamb was killed, Jesus cried with a loud voice, "IT IS FINISHED," and gave up His spirit. In Greek, "It is finished" is tetelistai! It means, "The debt has been paid in full!"
The Timetable of Passover
It's interesting to compare the timetable of Jesus' crucifixion with the Passover celebration. According to the Torah, at the time of Passover a number of events had to take place in a specific order, and at very specific times.
1. The Passover Lamb had to be selected on a specific day. Exodus 12 instructs that the Passover lamb be chosen on the 10th day of 1st month. By the time of Jesus, only lambs from Bethlehem were considered eligible to serve as Passover lambs. So the lamb born in Bethlehem was chosen and brought into Jerusalem from the east (down the Mount of Olives) and entered the city through the sheep gate. On the 10th day of 1st month Jesus, the Lamb born in Bethlehem, came down the Mount of Olives and entered Jerusalem through the sheep gate. (This is called His "triumphal entry.") As He entered, the people waved palm branches and shouted "Blessed is he that comes in the name of the LORD! Save us, Son of David!" By mass acclamation Jesus is designated as Israel's Messiah! The crowds had chosen their Passover Lamb!
2. The Lamb then had to be examined. The Torah instructed that once the lamb was chosen, it had to be carefully examined for blemishes. Only a perfect, spotless and unblemished lamb would suffice for the Passover. After arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple to teach. While there, He was approached by the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians and the teachers of the Law. Each group posed difficult questions, trying to trap him. Essentially, they were looking for any blemish which might disqualify Him as Messiah. But no one could find fault with Him. He was without blemish.
3. The Leaven (impurity) must be cast out. Torah instructs that before the feast, all leaven (impurity) must be cast out of every Israelite home. Each mother took a candle and searched out impurity, removing it from her house. This regulation is still observed today. Passover is a time to cleanse every house. Every observant Jewish family carefully cleans their house before Passover. Every trace of impurity is removed. After Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, He entered the Temple and cast out the moneychangers. He was following the Biblical instruction to prepare for Passover by cleansing His Father's house.
4. The Lamb is taken to the altar for public display. On the morning of the 14th day of the 1st month, when all has been set in order, the lamb was led out to the altar. At 9 a.m. that morning, the lamb was bound to the altar and put on public display for all to see. On the morning of the 14th day of the 1st month, when all had been fulfilled, Jesus was led out to Calvary. At 9 a.m. that morning, just as the lamb was being bound to the altar, Jesus was nailed to the Cross and put on public display at Calvary.
5. The Lamb was slain at a specific time. At exactly 3 p.m. the high priest ascended the altar. As another priest blew a shofar on the temple wall, the high priest cuts the throat of the sacrificial Lamb, and declared, "IT IS FINISHED!" At 3 p.m. on that high holy day, at the moment the Passover lamb was killed, Jesus cried with a loud voice, "IT IS FINISHED," and gave up His spirit. In Greek, "It is finished" is tetelistai! It means, "The debt has been paid in full!"
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Scholarships from Heaven
It's not all bad. A bad situation can somehow give rise to something good. God has aw way of taking the bad times and getting some advantage out of them. Today the Lord pointed out that he gives full scholarships to his children and he told me to look at Daniel. I had never seen it this way. Daniel Chapter 1 talks about 4 guys who got a full scholarship to the best school in the world at the time. Who knew?!!!
3And the [Babylonian] king told Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring in some of the children of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility--(B)
4Youths without blemish, well-favored in appearance and skillful in all wisdom, discernment, and understanding, apt in learning knowledge, competent to stand and serve in the king's palace--and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
5And the king assigned for them a daily portion of his own rich and dainty food and of the wine which he drank. They were to be so educated and so nourished for three years that at the end of that time they might stand before the king.
They got a free ride. Everything was paid for. Tuition, books and stationery, living expenses were catered for and in all this they got the best. It's important to note that their training was so that at the end of it all they would enter the Kings Service. I believe they did not just enter the service of the earthly king but of the Heavenly King as well. Why I'm I so sure? Because verse 17 says: "As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all [kinds of] visions and dreams." God had an agenda!
At the end of it all the King spoke to the young men and he was amazed at the wisdom they had. None equaled them. And so they entered his service and the service of the Almighty God. In every matter that needed wisdom and understanding the king found them 10 times better than all his wise advisers, magicians and enchanters.
I believe that God poured out on them his Holy Spirit described in Isaiah 11:2-3
"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him--the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord--
And shall make Him of quick understanding, and His delight shall be in the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord. And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, neither decide by the hearing of His ears;"
How wonderful is the Lord?! I pray that he will pour out that same Spirit on me as I look forward to studying my masters and after I am done, I will enter the service of my King in a new capacity.
3And the [Babylonian] king told Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring in some of the children of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility--(B)
4Youths without blemish, well-favored in appearance and skillful in all wisdom, discernment, and understanding, apt in learning knowledge, competent to stand and serve in the king's palace--and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
5And the king assigned for them a daily portion of his own rich and dainty food and of the wine which he drank. They were to be so educated and so nourished for three years that at the end of that time they might stand before the king.
They got a free ride. Everything was paid for. Tuition, books and stationery, living expenses were catered for and in all this they got the best. It's important to note that their training was so that at the end of it all they would enter the Kings Service. I believe they did not just enter the service of the earthly king but of the Heavenly King as well. Why I'm I so sure? Because verse 17 says: "As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all [kinds of] visions and dreams." God had an agenda!
At the end of it all the King spoke to the young men and he was amazed at the wisdom they had. None equaled them. And so they entered his service and the service of the Almighty God. In every matter that needed wisdom and understanding the king found them 10 times better than all his wise advisers, magicians and enchanters.
I believe that God poured out on them his Holy Spirit described in Isaiah 11:2-3
"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him--the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord--
And shall make Him of quick understanding, and His delight shall be in the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord. And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, neither decide by the hearing of His ears;"
How wonderful is the Lord?! I pray that he will pour out that same Spirit on me as I look forward to studying my masters and after I am done, I will enter the service of my King in a new capacity.
Transition
Since yesterday I have felt this need to get on the move. To get over the time of grief and get on with life and God is the one pushing me. He just made me laugh today because I can just hear him saying "Dad's fine, move along now." Turns out I was not the only one it happened to. Joshua 1:1-2 tells of how the Lord got Joshua moving after the death of Moses.
"...Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites." I can almost hear him saying "Yeah, yeah, get over it already!" I'm so tickled! I bet God looks at us and thinks, "What's all this crying? They are in a better place you know?"
The weird thing is that I feel a whole new season of my life coming on. Like Dad's death marked the end of one phase of my life and the beginning of another. Just like it did for Joshua. He was no longer Moses' personal assistant but the leader of a tribe of people. He was the one who took them through the transition from former slaves wondering in the desert to land owners, possessing the land with every step they took.
I have wanted to get my Masters for a long time but I have never found anything that I wanted to Master in. Weird if you know me. I tend to be very decisive and can't remember any other occasion where I did not know exactly what I wanted to do. On Monday for some reason I started researching Universities and different courses of study. I also started to look up scholarships and fellowships as I am not particularly interested in struggling to pay my fees. From nowhere, I began to find all these funding opportunities that I was actually eligible for. How weird! I had never found any before. Some of the sources of funding I thought were from organizations that I had never considered before but the Lord urged me to apply. He said that in the Bible the Babylonians funded Daniels education and he outshone them all.
"...Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites." I can almost hear him saying "Yeah, yeah, get over it already!" I'm so tickled! I bet God looks at us and thinks, "What's all this crying? They are in a better place you know?"
The weird thing is that I feel a whole new season of my life coming on. Like Dad's death marked the end of one phase of my life and the beginning of another. Just like it did for Joshua. He was no longer Moses' personal assistant but the leader of a tribe of people. He was the one who took them through the transition from former slaves wondering in the desert to land owners, possessing the land with every step they took.
I have wanted to get my Masters for a long time but I have never found anything that I wanted to Master in. Weird if you know me. I tend to be very decisive and can't remember any other occasion where I did not know exactly what I wanted to do. On Monday for some reason I started researching Universities and different courses of study. I also started to look up scholarships and fellowships as I am not particularly interested in struggling to pay my fees. From nowhere, I began to find all these funding opportunities that I was actually eligible for. How weird! I had never found any before. Some of the sources of funding I thought were from organizations that I had never considered before but the Lord urged me to apply. He said that in the Bible the Babylonians funded Daniels education and he outshone them all.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Praise Him you his saints!
This word shared by my newly found friend Cathy has really blessed my heart. Romans 4:18 - 22.
"[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be.(A)
He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah's [deadened] womb.(B)
No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,
Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.
That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God)"
One of the main feelings assaulting me in this time of grief has been loneliness. An acute feeling of being all alone in the world. I have prayed to God over and over again about marriage and children in this season. Yet he has not answered in any tangible way. It is wonderful to know that just like me, Abraham had a promise. Yet there was no indication of the fulfillment of the said promise. In fact, everything looked dead. He was impotent and Sara's womb was dead. But he continued to keep his gaze on the Almighty God.He took note of his condition, but chose to dwell on God's ability instead of his own dead state.
BTW whatever God did to get rid of the impotence had long term effects on Abe. In Genesis 25 we read that he took another wife when Isaac was all grown up and Sarah had passed on, and she bore him 6 children. Nothing can beat God's viagra!!
Abraham was empowered by Faith as he gave praise and glory to God. Looking at the greatness of God and the ability of God he was able to have faith that God would do it for him. What a mighty God we serve!
Let us not look at our limitations but see God who is limitless. Nothing can stand in his way. We must keep praising him for who he is, regardless of the situation until he comes and delivers on his promises to us. He is a good God.
"[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be.(A)
He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah's [deadened] womb.(B)
No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,
Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.
That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God)"
One of the main feelings assaulting me in this time of grief has been loneliness. An acute feeling of being all alone in the world. I have prayed to God over and over again about marriage and children in this season. Yet he has not answered in any tangible way. It is wonderful to know that just like me, Abraham had a promise. Yet there was no indication of the fulfillment of the said promise. In fact, everything looked dead. He was impotent and Sara's womb was dead. But he continued to keep his gaze on the Almighty God.He took note of his condition, but chose to dwell on God's ability instead of his own dead state.
BTW whatever God did to get rid of the impotence had long term effects on Abe. In Genesis 25 we read that he took another wife when Isaac was all grown up and Sarah had passed on, and she bore him 6 children. Nothing can beat God's viagra!!
Abraham was empowered by Faith as he gave praise and glory to God. Looking at the greatness of God and the ability of God he was able to have faith that God would do it for him. What a mighty God we serve!
Let us not look at our limitations but see God who is limitless. Nothing can stand in his way. We must keep praising him for who he is, regardless of the situation until he comes and delivers on his promises to us. He is a good God.
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