The Presense of Yahweh (1/30/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Psalm 89:14-18.

We Christians start out our life with Yahweh at a great advantage. He already lives inside of us. What we need to work harder at is abiding in him. As we become more faithful in learning how to abide in the presence of our loving Father, it's important to understand that we must overcome our human limitations. Our spirits are made alive in Christ, but we struggle to sense things in the spiritual realm. The presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit is always with us, but sometimes we're too fleshly-minded to recognize their closeness.

Yahweh has given himself to us in full measure. Yet the level we partake of him from day to day can vary based on the level of seeking we do. He's given us full access to himself, but we need to know and understand that we determine the measure by our actions each day. Our Father knows that we can only handle a small portion of his fullness, and won't allow us to get in over our heads. Allowing us more than we can manage is like giving power tools to toddlers. It's dangerous and likely to end up in a mess. He will entrust us with as much of himself as we can contain based on how much we hunger and thirst for his presence and the level of our spiritual maturity.

Yes, occasionally Yahweh will totally overwhelm us. He'll short-circuit our human senses and leave us stunned and utterly amazed. But more regularly, the level of contact is determined by us. It's great to be "slain in the Spirit," and have an intimate encounter with our Father. It's great to be brought to tears when our Savior blesses us. It's great to get goose bumps when the Spirit's presence manifests. But don't come to depend on those times as the determiner of when you've truly encountered your God.

Bill Johnson said: "One of the conflicts we face in learning to host the presence is sometimes found in the very lessons we learned from previous seasons. Believe it or not, those principles sometimes war against the actual presence of the Lord upon us. We are to use principles to plan by, but we must learn to live from the presence. If there's a conflict between the two, presence always wins out over principle."

We sometimes miss out on fresh and new revelation because we're stuck in the revelation of the past. We may misunderstand a new encounter with Yahweh because we try to view it through an old encounter. We need to be ready for a lot of "I've never heard or felt or seen that before" because our God is always fresh and new. Yahweh is a God of the new. The Bible speaks of this many times. And the words used are mostly pointing toward something that's refreshed or restored rather than brand new. The truth Yahweh has used in the past is still true today, but we may need to hear it in a new way.

Lam 3:22 says, "Yahweh's compassions never fail. They are new every morning." This is the new that's referring to refreshed, renewed, or restored. Whatever we wasted of his goodness yesterday doesn't matter because he'll provide afresh and anew today. Even if we wasted his goodness yesterday, he gives us another opportunity today. He reestablishes his goodness each new day.

Col 3:10 instructs us to "put on the new self." This is the Greek word NEOS. It also means a fresh, new start. It's connected to the word neophyte, which refers to a newly converted person, or new growth on a plant. Our new self isn't brand new, it's refreshed and restored. But like a neophyte, if we want some of that new growth to be sprouting on us we have to seek and pursue more of the presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit. We can't allow the "busyness" of today or the distractions of yesterday to hinder our forward progress.

We're supposed to be well-grounded in what Yahweh has said so we can continue to discern what he's saying right now. If we determine everything on old revelation, we can't move forward with our Lord. If we make our determinations based on old revelation, we may end up in conflict with the Holy Spirit. If we're rightly hosting the presence of Yahweh we won't get caught up in the past, but will move steadily into the future with him. Yahweh is the God of Today. What he did for us in the past is fantastic, but we're not there anymore. What he's going to do for us in the future is also fantastic, but we can't walk with our head in the clouds without tripping.

If Jesus were with you physically 24/7, would your life change? What would you do differently? What would you leave the same? Would your Lord want to hang around with you? I think we'd all hate to have to answer those questions. None of us maintains such a steady intimacy with our Lord. We may attain to it from time to time, but we all need to keep working to draw closer to his side and remain there.

If we work at abiding in the presence of our Lord and Master we'll begin to move away from the way of sinners. Think back to the beginning of your Christian walk. Did some of your old friends reject you? Did some of your family members work at avoiding you? Did you notice that your thinking about what was enjoyable was changing? When we moved away from our old sinful lifestyles to draw closer to Jesus, we lost some relationships.

Psalm 1:1 warns us against joining in with scoffers. We need to hate the awful condition of lost sinners. We can't sit where they sit or think like they think or do what they do. We're not like them anymore. Our Savior has set us free from the bondage they remain in. Young Christians, and some old ones too, must learn to avoid the places where ungodly things are prominent.

Yahweh is supposed to be our passion. whatever we truly delight in is our passion. There are those who love music or sports or working with their hands. We love to do many things. But our first love is supposed to be our Lord Jesus. Our life should revolve around thoughts of him. Our desire should be made known by how much we want to be where he is. Just like starstruck lovers, the look in our eyes should be a sign of who we long to be with.

Matt 6:21 says, "Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will be also." People know what you really have a passion for by watching and listening to you. Whatever it is that stirs your heart will bubble up in your conversations and will be seen in what you pursue. Whatever our passion is will become obvious to anyone who spends enough time with us.

Yahweh is supposed to be our point of focus. Everywhere we turn something in our world is trying to grab our attention, to get us to focus on their product, to get us to buy into their system. They want us to concentrate on being good consumers of their products, or believers in their way of thinking, or followers of their style of leadership. In Psalm 119:97 Yahweh points out that we should be meditating on him all day long. If we center our concentration on our Lord and Master, the world won't be so overwhelming.

Yahweh desires to spend quality time with each and every one of us. He hungers for intimacy. What he gets from each of us is what we individually allow. We sing about wanting him more, but then we pull back and deny him. We sing about being sold out and committed and surrendered, but then we keep our Father out of certain portions of our lives. We put him in a compartment labeled "God" and then get upset when he doesn't intervene outside of the place we assigned him to. Our Creator gave us free will to decide for ourselves how much he'd be allowed into our lives.

We just need to quit being so human. Our inherent selfishness keeps us from enjoying the splendors of soaking in the presence of our loving Father. What's it take to immerse ourselves in the presence of Yahweh? I wish I could give you a nice and easy checklist to follow. But each of us has to deal with the different aspects of our personalities and attitudes for ourselves. We'll give a wonderful testimony of how great it felt when our Lord touched us in a special way, but then we won't strive to remain in that place. We all need to strive to discipline ourselves to maintain a close relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit.

In spite of all the "how-to" books you can find about living the solid Christian life, there are none that work for everybody. Each of them offers help based on the author's personal experiences or maybe just their research. My advice to you is to write your own book. Seek godly counsel from your Christian friends and trusted leaders. But most of all seek the presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit for yourself. Know that if you truly hunger and thirst for his presence he'll meet with you in a very special way.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

The Measure of Faith (1/23/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Rom 12:3-8.

We need to begin by saying that faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We've all heard some people brag about their faith, meaning they've attained to some high level of faith through their personal efforts.. Some "faith" teachers even try to convince us that we can create faith, somehow tapping into a great reservoir of supernatural powers. We need to be aware of 1 Cor 4:7. "What do you have that Yahweh hasn't given you?" If faith is a gift from Yahweh, how can we get puffed up as if it's our own doing which brought about our spiritual ability?

Faith is of the Holy Spirit, and according to Rom 14:23, "whatever is not of faith is sin." There's nothing of the Spirit which is accomplished by the efforts of our flesh or mind. Only the Holy Spirit can produce the gifts of the Spirit within us. We can't somehow work up more faith by our personal efforts. We must be obediently following our Lord and Master before we can expect to grow in faith. Yes, our efforts to be obedient will help us grow in faith, but it's more about our Father's faithfulness than our human efforts.

According to verse 3 Yahweh has given all Christians an adequate measure of faith. Measure means "what is apportioned." We each receive an adequate measure, a due portion from the hand of our Lord. All individuals in the Body of Christ have a measure of faith which is adequate and sufficient to meet our every need. It's not necessary for us to generate more faith. What's required is that we access and use what's already been provided to us.

We need faith to live properly in this world. Thanks to our Creator, we've all been given enough faith to please him and serve him. The most common teaching about the measure of faith is that it's the amount of faith necessary to get saved. This teaching states that everyone gets the same amount of faith to enable everyone to get saved. The problem with this definition is that we're all individuals and we need differing amounts of faith to account for these differences. Different people have to come through different circumstances and situations than others. And this teaching only refers to the measure of faith given to help the lost understand the Gospel, where Paul is applying it more to the maturing walk of Christians.

A better definition is that the measure of faith is the amount of faith necessary to do whatever Yahweh expects us to do. How can we be held accountable for something Yahweh hasn't given to us? Jesus could ask the disciples, "Where is your faith?," because he knew his Father had given them the necessary amount (Luke 8:22-25). Somehow they'd misplaced it or laid it aside or placed their faith in something else. If we're walking in right relationship with our Lord and Master we should always have the measure of faith necessary for the situation we're in.

And because we can't build up our own faith, there should be no comparing ourselves with other people. Faith is the power of Jesus at work in you and through you. It's not about what other people are doing, or how they do it. We need to ensure that we're responsibly using the measure of faith which our Father has given to us. There's no contest to be won for having the most faith. There are heavenly prizes to be won for being obedient in using the gifts provided for our Kingdom work.

The measure of faith comes when we hear the Holy Spirit speak a word to us right now. If you've been reading your Bible, listening to good preaching/teaching, and seeking the will of your Father in heaven; you should be able to fully understand these timely instructions from the Spirit. Rom 10:17 tells us that "Faith comes from hearing the message of the Word of our Messiah." If we want more faith, we need to have more of Yahweh's Word. There are numerous admonitions within the Bible telling us to hide the Word in our hearts or learn its precepts. So why do we insist on other ways of acquiring faith?

This passage from Romans is written to Christians, part of our instructions for right living. The measure of faith we should be concerned with right now is the one which gives us exactly what we need to accomplish the tasks our Lord assigns to us. All of us, all born-again believers, have already received the measure of faith necessary to believe in Jesus as our Savior. Now we need to access the measure of faith necessary to be good workers in his Kingdom.

What happens to the measure of faith given to us is fully dependent on what we do with it. Little faith means we used less than the measure provided. If Jesus were to ask any of us, "Where is your faith?," it would be evidence of the fact that we've failed him somehow. It also points out that we didn't use the measure of faith provided for whatever Jesus is speaking to us about. Like the disciples, we most likely doubted it was good enough to do the task or we set it aside and didn't have it available to complete the task.

Faith doesn't become strong or great until it becomes NOW faith. NOW faith does what it should right now. We often ask for more faith for the future. We should be asking for more faith right now. We should be wanting to affect our world right now. We should be desiring to do miracles right now. Trying to build up a reserve for the future is the wrong way of doing this faith thing. Applying what's been provided in the moment is how we'll learn to handle more of what the Holy Spirit's trying to share with us.

Our problem really isn't that we don't have enough faith, but more that we don't access what's been provided. If we've been assigned to do something for our Lord, we've already been given the adequate amount of faith to complete the task. Just being assigned to do something should bless us. No matter what we think about our abilities, our heavenly Father believes we're ready for the task. We need more trust and obedience, not more knowledge or understanding or faith.

In spite of the fact that we don't like to hear this: Strong faith is built in Christians through tough experiences. If something is easy, the level of faith necessary will be equally small. If something is more difficult, the level of faith required rises as necessary. The ability to handle the amount of faith necessary to take on tougher tasks is built into us through our experiences, through our efforts, through our ongoing attempts to pleasingly serve our Lord and Master. The only way to increase our faith is to use it as it's provided, so we can learn to handle ourselves in ever-increasing levels of difficulty.

Faith is always good for one more time. You know there's no anointing for parking yourself and avoiding the tough traffic of life. Don't expect the Holy Spirit to work through you until you get your motor running and put your engine in gear. The measure of faith is already available. There's enough fuel in your tank to finish your task, or more will provided when required. Quit trying to tell Yahweh how to do his business. He knows each of us well enough to know what we're capable of doing. We need to trust that he's not leading us into failure.

Don't forget yesterday's encounter with Yahweh. Expect it to help you deal with your next situation. Learn from your experiences, the mistakes and the triumphs. What you've already faced has prepared you to take your next step, to go to the next place, to deal with the next person. Your Master is teaching you how to be more like himself. You're his apprentice, learning his ways for an eternal purpose. And he has great and amazing plans for all of us.

Too often we waste time speaking evil over situations. We're filled with doubts and misgivings about these situations. Look to Jesus and find his source of faith. Find the measure of faith which has already been given to you to overcome this situation instead of wallowing in emotional weakness. Encourage yourself and others by your words and actions. Believe what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, and faithfully speak encouragement to yourself. Don't let the counterfeit lion, the devil, make you lose sight of the Lion of Judah.

Keep growing and learning. Our education in Christ our Lord never stops. The restoration of spiritual fullness to true followers of Jesus never stops. None of us should come to the place where we don't understand what others are talking about when they're discussing Kingdom business. None of us should be lagging so far behind to be clueless about our Father's business. Don't be lagging behind by your own lack of personal effort.

Each of us has the measure of faith necessary to move to the next spiritual level, and the next level and the next level. If you feel you're being left out, access what's already in place for your use. Do what you're able to do through the measure of faith your Lord has given to you. That measure of faith is always sufficient for the task at hand, if the task is Spirit-led.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Understanding the Bible (1/16/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Luke 24:13-32.

Two disciples are walking along the Road to Emmaus talking about the recent events concerning Jesus. Jesus walks up to them, but they are "restrained" from recognizing him. This word is interesting. Its root is power and strength, but in this particular instance it refers to taking into custody. It appears that Jesus took away their ability to discern who he was. Whether he clouded their minds or limited their capacity to clearly see him, it doesn't matter.

After listening to these men give an account of the past few days in Jerusalem, Jesus rebukes them. He calls them thoughtless and slow of heart. Thoughtless means foolish and unthinking, and it includes the very Jewish expression OY!. Slow of heart means slow to recognize core heart issues, the basics of life. He was basically telling them that they were too caught up in foolish worldly speculation and therefore unable to rightly discern what had happened.

Then Jesus takes the time to explain the Scriptures from Moses through the prophets. We're not told at what point Jesus joins the men on the 7 mile journey from Jerusalem, but it must have been fairly early. Jesus had to listen to their report, and then have the time to relate the prophetic word from basically the whole of the Old Testament. I don't want his rebuke, but it would be great to listen to Jesus share the prophetic word. We should all long for such and experience.

There is an important word used three times in this chapter. It's used twice with these two men and once concerning the disciples. In verse 44 Jesus says he spoke words from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. This would be the whole of the Old Testament as we know it. In verse 45 we're told that Jesus "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." Opened is exactly what we think it is, and it includes the means of opening. Jesus is that means, his spiritual power passed to these men to give them understanding.

Jesus directed the disciples back to the Scriptures, because all the answers we need are in there. Yahweh gave us the Bible so we would have the answers to life's questions. If we have spiritual discernment: we know who Yahweh is, we know why we're here, and we know why we need Jesus. Sadly, if we don't have spiritual discernment, we can own a Bible without understanding how basic it is to life. Anyone like that is unable to discern or recognize Yahweh's presence. The image they have of Jesus is distorted by their human perceptions and ideas. What they do know is tainted or blurred or confused by humanistic thinking.

Most of us have a drawer full of operating manuals, and we hardly ever open it. The answers to our questions about the piece of equipment we're struggling with are found within the pages of these manuals. But if we don't spend the time researching the manual, we'll never find the adjustment or fix already printed within its pages. The Bible is the manual for good and right human life. Just like our lack of knowledge concerning the full capabilities of some of our products, many people are unaware of some of the incredible things Yahweh has made us capable of. There's a lot of talk in our world of helping people attain their potential, but without knowing how our Creator designed us, we'll always fail.

The Bible will inform us of who we are and what we can accomplish. It shows us how we can accomplish amazing things with our Lord's help. We can talk directly to our Creator, the one who designed the universe. We're not too small and insignificant for him to spend time with us personally. We can live in peace and hope no matter what sort of things are happening all around us. Not that we're naive to the real danger in our world, but that we trust in our Lord's protection. If we're walking in faith and trust we can do miraculous things. All we have to do is ask for guidance and the wisdom to understand his Word.

These two disciples on the Road to Emmaus had heard about the resurrection from the other disciples, but because they weren't personally there to see the evidence, or they lacked spiritual understanding, they were somewhat afraid and discouraged. They had decided to return to their old way of life. They'd given up on Jesus because they couldn't understand and interpret the Scriptures correctly.

Many people in our world give up on Jesus when they encounter difficulties understanding the Bible. Many of us all too easily allow the devil to confuse our thinking, and then we fail to seek Yahweh's answers with all our heart. That's why Jesus called Cleophas and his friend "slow of heart." The devil is in the business of "blinding men's eyes so they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Messiah." If we choose to try to discern things with our finite minds, we'll always be left wanting.

Jesus hadn't given up on these two men though. He doesn't give up on any of us. Jesus knew their need to have the Scriptures revealed to them. He knows our need for the very same thing. There are plenty of admonitions for us to do a lot of searching and seeking for truth. I found 51 instances where searching and seeking are called for in the Bible. And the best part is that our Lord promised us that searching and seeking with all our heart will bring about finding. Our Father says if we honestly search and seek for him, he will be found.

They were discouraged because they didn't know the spiritual significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. They were worried about the future of their group. They were afraid the authorities would track them all down and arrest them. They were looking only at the worldly problems. They weren't thinking about what Jesus had spoken throughout his ministry, especially how he'd taught them the prophetic word about the Messiah. Just like these men, when we focus on our worldly problems, we don't see Jesus, even though he's right in our midst.

So we have these two men walking away from the fellowship of the disciples. They were leaving the group in Jerusalem and going home to resume their old way of life. As they were walking away, Jesus came to them. Even though they were walking in the wrong direction, Jesus came to them. Even though they had allowed their doubts to turn them in the wrong way, Jesus came to them. And after Jesus revealed the Scriptures to them, and himself, they were excited enough to make the return trip to Jerusalem. The 7 mile journey wasn't an issue because they wanted to share their testimony with their brothers.

We all face disappointments from time to time. There have been times when we prayed and prayed and didn't get an answer, or maybe the problem got worse. Sometimes we lose hope and begin to doubt. But none of that means that Yahweh has left us. It only means we've lost our focus, that our spiritual vision has become blurred and indistinct.

Yahweh will never abandon or forsake his children. Don't believe that lie which originates in the pit of Hell. Our precious Lord will draw near to us and walk with us. He'll help us understand the Bible, his Words of life and hope and peace. He'll talk to us and open our understanding just like he did for these early believers. The only way we miss out on this sweet fellowship is to consistently push our heavenly Father away. Know this: if you don't want him to spend time with you he won't. If we habitually push him away, eventually he will stay away.

So be very thankful that our Lord and God is willing to keep trying to reach us. He's looking for a friendly welcome, and wherever he finds one he'll stick close. When we feel most like being left alone is most likely the time we need his presence the most. When we face problems and struggles we need to call out to our Lord and Master for help. His great love will bring him to our side to soothe and comfort us.

The two men in this passage were stirred to do something against their better judgment after their encounter with Jesus. They traveled the 7 miles back to Jerusalem in the dark. They didn't fear any roadside attacks because they had seen Jesus. Their short time of direct fellowship with Jesus gave them peace, hope, and encouragement. We all need to get some of this good stuff. We all need to overcome our human fears and doubts, and be excited about what our Lord and Savior has done for us. We all need to encounter the Risen Savior so he can open our minds and hearts to understand his Word.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Secret & Hidden Wisdom (1/9/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 1 Cor 2:6-13.

There are two ways of looking at the world and the events which have occurred and continue to occur within it. The first view is the humanistic and worldly viewpoint. It consists of the following points. 1) Mankind wasn't created but evolved over a period of billions of years. 2) There is no God, or if there is he isn't concerned with what happens in our world today. 3) If there is a God, and he really is a loving God, then all honest and sincere attempts to reach heaven will be honored. Isn't it interesting that points two and three aren't contradictory to the secular worldview?

The second perspective is the one gained by trusting in Yahweh's Word. 1) We believe that all things are created by Yahweh. 2) He remains fully and intimately involved with the day-to-day events in the lives of people. 3) There is only one way to heaven and that's through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. There is a distinction between being religious and truly seeking for biblical religion. Sincerity is good, but it must be guided by biblical truth.

For some reason the world has come to hate the name of Jesus (Isa, Yesu, Yeshua, etc). In the public arena it's OK to mention God or Lord, but not the name of Jesus. It's OK to say 'God bless America,' but not 'America bless God.' For a believer to use the name of Jesus in public is offensive to many secularists. We're told we're being intolerant and exclusive of other belief systems. The Bible clearly spells out that we should have some of that kind of critical thinking without animosity against other beliefs. There are clear differences between true biblical Christianity and other religions or philosophies. The words of 1 Cor 2:6 don't offer us the modern view of tolerant speaking. "We do speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing."

This passage clearly points out that the world is limited in its spiritual wisdom. Yahweh has secret and hidden wisdom which isn't available to all people. Not even all Christians understand everything, but consider that unbelievers can't see or understand these things at all. Salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus doesn't make any sense to a worldly mind. The riches of the Fruit or Gifts of the Spirit don't make any sense to them. The Trinity of the Father, Son, and Spirit don't make any sense to worldly knowledge.

Secret means veiled mysteries. These are heavenly things which humans naturally wonder about, but Yahweh has designed things so only the spiritual mind will be able to discern them. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit a true believer can and will understand more and more of Yahweh's mysteries as they mature in their faith. But the immature or unbelieving can't figure out these secrets.

Hidden means concealed. Yahweh has kept certain things hidden on purpose. He doesn't want men to know all truth, because we don't have the capacity to handle most of it without doing damage to ourselves and others. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Our natural curiosity has done a lot of damage down through the ages. And most humans have a desire to know secrets only so they can control others.

The rulers of this age are both the spiritual entities controlling cities and other geographic regions, and the people in control of our governmental structures. What a Christian clearly understands about Jesus is veiled and hidden from these demon princes and human rulers. The problem we face in this is that many of these humans are being influenced by these demonic forces. One of the strongest influences is the push to slight Christians. Ever notice how many unbelievers don't appreciate your faith?

The wisdom of this age says that when we face final judgment, God will weigh our good against our bad to make his determination and decision about our eternal future. That's partially true, but most humans don't believe that their bad will ever outweigh their good. Without spiritual wisdom they don't know that one sin breaks the whole code of Yahweh's Law. It's pointed out that if the rulers of Jesus' time had understood godly wisdom, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of Glory. If humans had honest-to-goodness godly wisdom, we would have accepted Jesus without his having to die on the cross. Now human wisdom tells us the cross is too gory. It prefers that we talk about Jesus the good teacher or the meek and mild man of God.

Now we get down to the root cause of the world's problem. They can't see spiritually because they're anti-God. As much as they would say they're not against him, their lifestyles and actions show that they very clearly are against him. Believing that he exists is no big deal (check out James 2:19). trying to live by the Golden Rule isn't enough (Matt 5:20). Not believing that our Creator exists doesn't make his disappear. Denying his justice doesn't mean you won't eventually stand before him to give an account of your life. Without the veil being lifted through surrender to Jesus, there is a barrier to understanding and accepting Yahweh's Truth and Yahweh's standards for right living.

unspiritual minds. Our Father has graciously taken the lid off the box for true believers, enabling us to see what he wants to reveal to his children. Just remember that we'll gradually understand more and more of his truth, that we'll have to work our way to the bottom where the deep secrets are.

The world system is committed to at least four major issues. First, money. The world system is driven by money. It feeds on materialism. Of course, humans are even messing that up by accepting socialism as a guiding principle. Second, fame. That's another word for popularity. Fame is the longing to be known, to be somebody special to other people. Third, power. This is mostly about having influence. Humans love to maintain control over other individuals or groups. It includes the desire to manipulate and maneuver things for our personal pleasure. Fourth, pleasure. At its basic level pleasure has to do with fulfilling our sensual desires. You know, "If it feels good, do it."

It's very difficult for the world to accept the Christian worldview. Many think that there's too much to lose by giving themselves over to religion. They look at what they need to give up to serve Yahweh instead of seeing what they'll gain. They deny themselves the ultimate in joy and peace and hope and grace because of their fleshly lusts.

Think about how the Gospel message is so misunderstood in our world. Why is it so hard for humans to understand that all people are sinners and need a Savior? Mostly because they don't want to admit their need, their spiritual filth, their inability to save themselves. That's why there are so many works-based religious systems. I don't want to submit to a Master. I want to do this myself. Why is it so hard for humans to believe that their Creator would demand they come to him according to his prescribed plan? Again we go back to our natural selfishness. I want to do this my way. I don't want to be told how to live my life.

Unbelievers don't have the spiritual wisdom or insight to understand how much Yahweh loves all of his creation. There's no paradox about his punishment, it's called justice. Yahweh doesn't want to punish anyone for their sin. He wants all people to repent and seek his help to cleanse themselves. If we don't receive his grace, he must punish us to be just to those who have accepted his plan of salvation. How is it just that everyone gets into heaven no matter how they lived their lives?

Heaven is a free gift because of the sacrifice of Jesus. His perfect sacrifice made it possible for all human sin to be forgiven. Humans can't figure this out. They are often blinded by their own self-deceit because they refuse to admit their own hearts are inherently evil. Too many are only interested in being given a list of don'ts. Just tell me what to avoid and I'll be able to stay clean. The problem is that there is also a list of do's. If we don't do what's right we also sin (look at James 4:17).

Yahweh doesn't really want us to be religious, at least not in the way most humans understand the word. He wants to have a relationship of love and service with every individual. Just watch a news broadcast and it becomes quickly evident that the world system is failing to fix the problems of our world. Our world leaders or brilliant scholars or modernists don't have the answers. For example, we have a problem with debt so the human solution is more debt. Legislators continue to make more and more laws to help correct problems, and all they're doing is creating more problems.

But the true Church of Jesus Christ does have answers for the problems. We must remain faithful, seeking followers of our Creator to see the solutions. Yahweh promises us that we'll have solid vision, revelation, and wisdom if we'll seek him with our whole heart. To unlock the secrets we need to press into his presence and learn directly from him. To find the hidden wisdom he withholds from us for our good, we need to mature in our faith. Our Father won't give dangerous things to his immature followers. He's a good Father. Trust his wisdom in leading you and you'll begin to uncover amazing truth.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Jubilee: What A Concept

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Lev 25:8-24.

Jubilee is the Hebrew word yobel. This means the blowing of the ram's horn or trumpet. On Yom Kippur of the Year of Jubilee, a great shofar or trumpet blast was to be sounded all through the land of Israel. This was a proclamation of liberty. A portion of Lev 25:10 is carved into the Liberty Bell. "Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants." It's good that the early Americans recognized the presence of Yahweh, but these words are speaking to the ultimate return of Jesus and his crowning as the true Liberator of all mankind.

The Jubilee was never properly celebrated or practiced by the nation of Israel. But it remains as a powerful model to us as Christians in the formation biblical ethics. How we treat one another, how we value property, how we uphold families, and other ethics are found in what Yahweh prescribed to his people. Imagine what a blessing it would be if we could establish the Year of Jubilee throughout our world. All servants would be set free. All debts would be forgiven. The land could be reset to its original condition if we obeyed our Creator's directive. Yahweh is a God of redemption, and if we would rightly trust him we could be set free from our sinful greed and hoarding.

As we look around our world we clearly see a debt crisis. People and corporations and nations are drowning in debt. Imagine what could happen if leaders around the world decided to cancel all debt. Instead of wondering when everything would eventually crash from the weight of our debts, we could be setting people free from their burdens. But just setting people free from debt wouldn't be enough to really cure our problem. Unless the majority of our world turned to salvation in Jesus, we'd just fall back into the same pattern of borrowing and eventually face the same crisis.

The Year of Jubilee signaled a time of freedom, dignity, and equality for all people. If a father had squandered his property through bad decisions and choices, the land would return to his family. The family wouldn't be left without hope or stuck with continuing debt. Someone who'd had a calamity which caused them to have to become someone else's servant would gain the opportunity to go back to their chosen profession. No rich person could grab up excessive portions of land. No greedy person could oppress the people because of his wealth or impose his will over those less fortunate than himself.

The Year of Jubilee had economic, social, and theological significance. Remember, the Year of Jubilee was proclaimed on the Day of Atonement. Every person was set free from their sin on that day, and Jubilee cancelled all debt and bondage. This imagery points Christians to the return of Jesus. We have a future hope of being set free from all debt and bondage. But to apply the model of Jubilee requires that we face the sovereignty of Yahweh.

We must recognize that Yahweh is absolutely in control of all things. To enjoy our Jubilee we must trust in Yahweh's provision. As our Creator he's the one who supplies all that we need. We must also recognize that this is an example of how he wants us to live. We must practice his justice. Just as we receive redemption, we must share it with others.

Economically, the Jubilee was based on a fair distribution of land. To prevent land barons from accumulating excessive amounts of land, Yahweh set up rules for the proper redistribution of family property. Not everyone had the same amount of land or property, but what they had was kept within their families. In verse 23 Yahweh proclaims, "the land is mine." It's not ours, but his. Psalm 24:1 includes the whole earth in this proclamation. "The earth is Yahweh's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." The principles of Jubilee are meant to apply to all of humanity. We don't own the land, Yahweh does, and he allows us to manage the portion he assigns to us. No human is supposed to maintain ownership of property that wasn't allotted to them or treat people as if they actually own them.

What Yahweh set forth as a requirement for Israel is what he desires for all of humanity. There's no forced redistribution of wealth to equalize everything. There's an honest assessment of ownership and resources which would be reset every 50 years to keep us from reaching the point of oppressing others to keep them under control or to overdo personal accumulation of wealth or property. The Jubilee says land barons are wrong in their massive accumulation of property. It also says socialism with its large-scale nationalization is wrong. The Jubilee was meant to emphasize the sense of personal and family ownership of the resources and land Yahweh had provided for each and every person.

Socially, the Jubilee is primarily concerned with the family unit. For Israel that meant the extended family. The "father's house" included up to three to four generations. This was a sizeable group of people, and was the focus of identity, status, responsibility, and security for all of Israel. This was what the Jubilee aimed to protect, and every 50 years would restore if necessary. It's not about morality, pointing out the evils of breaking up families or exposing our human weakness. It was a set of specific mechanisms to regulate the economic effects of debt. Morality is often cast aside when economic forces overwhelm families.

The Jubilee aimed to restore social dignity. Participation in the great release was a means of restoring the economic viability of every family. The economic collapse of a family in one generation didn't condemn all future generations to the bondage of ongoing indebtedness. Our overwhelming welfare state is an indication that we need a Year of Jubilee. The principles and objectives of the Year of Jubilee would provide all people with the means to be solid participants in the joys of capitalism. We wouldn't need legislation to fight socio-economic problems if we'd trust Yahweh and his plan.

Theologically, the Jubilee is a strong affirmation of faith. By letting the land lay fallow every 7 years, and then for 2 years when the 50th year arrives, the people of Israel would overwhelmingly show their trust in Yahweh's provision. Letting the land have a Sabbath year of rest proclaims the sovereignty of Yahweh over nature and time. Obedience to this requirement means full submission to our Lord God Almighty. Yahweh told Israel not to worry about what they would eat during the sabbatical years. He told them they would have plenty to eat and also enough for seed the next year. To obey this principle meant absolute trust in what can't be seen. It takes faith to live this way, and Yahweh still asks that of us today.

The most difficult part of this right now is that applying theological principles to our economy and society would be very difficult. To use Yahweh's instructions for dealing with these areas would offend some, and others would claim it to be unfair because not everyone is a Bible believer. I can only hope and pray that more people would consider this approach. It may seem radical and against much of what is established. It is. Man has rejected the wisdom of their Creator and chosen to do things his own way. That's why we have the world-wide debt crisis.

The Bible has some very plain and direct instructions for right living. Jesus told us to give up houses, land, possessions, and even family to rightly follow him. If we're overly attached to the things of this world, we're not rightly attached to our heavenly Father. We're to reckon ourselves as dead to this world's influence and alive to the invisible world of our Lord. And that includes the conviction that Yahweh will visibly care for our needs even if we let our gardens go fallow or we release our claim against those who are indebted to us.

Learn more about the Year of Jubilee to see what Yahweh wanted for his people, freedom to enjoy all that he's provided for us without worrying about greedy land barons or oppressive slave masters. And remember that the more you consider yourself to belong to this world, the more you make Yahweh a stranger and alien. If we want more of his presence in our lives we must let go of what we can see with our eyes and grasp tightly to those things we see by faith.

Christians need to ensure that we live our lives in accordance with Yahweh's Jubilee even if no one else will. Do you trust him enough to let him determine your economic future? Do you trust him enough to cancel debts others owe you if he says you should? That's where we need to live until Jesus comes and establishes his Kingdom on this earth.

Now one thing I found in my research into the Year of Jubilee is something I already mentioned partially. Verse 23 says, "the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants." Aliens are strangers, people who are just passing through like a visitor or tourist. Tenants are settlers, like residents or citizens. How can someone be both a visitor and a resident of a place? How can we be strangers and citizens at the same time? How are we passing through a place we're said to dwell in?

Rabbi Yaakiv Krantz from Lithuania (1740-1804) once related this comment to Yahweh. "If you see yourselves in this world as strangers and remember that you are here only for a short visit, passing through the hallway of this world, then I will settle among you. However, should you see yourselves as settlers of this world, 'owners' who are here to stay, then I am a stranger among you. Either you are the settlers and I the stranger, or you are the stranger and I the settler."

Think about it. Yahweh settles among those who are aliens and strangers in this world. Those who who settle here, who lay claim to this world, cause Yahweh to be a stranger. That's a strong point about the purpose of Jubilee. If nothing actually belongs to us, it's much easier to let go and allow Yahweh to provide for us. When we want to control the land and its resources, we're left to provide for ourselves through long and hard toil or labor. The Year of Jubilee, when lived out, proves that everything belongs to Yahweh and that we trust him as the Great Provider.

Mark 8:35-36 tells us, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the Gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Believing and trusting in a Sovereign God is a struggle for many people. But as the Designer of our world we can trust him to know what's best. Consider the great needs around our world and imagine how they could be overcome using Yahweh's principles.

Blessings & Peace, Mike