You and You

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing...

...that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ...  (Philippians 1:1-6)

For those of us who both give and receive encouragement from God's Word, this last verse: that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it... has probably been heard time and again to refer to the INDIVIDUAL WORK that God is doing in every Believer by the Power of His Holy Spirit.  The transformation that is taking place in each Christ-follower amazingly declared in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 and the Final Fabulous Work of Art that is revealed when each one who has "fought the good fight of faith" (Matthew 10:21-22; 2 Timothy 4:7-8) fully embodies the beauty and likeness of Jesus Himself (1 John 3:2)...Wow!

But it occurred to me that this hope-filled reminder may not have been originally meant to embolden and give heart to separate people like it is typically used for today; but it was given by the Apostle Paul to a BODY of Believers who, in this case, were living together in Philippi:  that He who has begun a good work in YOU (the GROUP of Believers, operating together as One, as Jesus prayed for in John 17:20-23) will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 

So why is this important?

Several reasons. 

First, although this verse is definitely a tremendous encouragement to an individual Believer, especially when he or she is weary, or feeling hopeless, or wondering if things are ever going to get better (the good work will be completed); the fact that it is used these days almost exclusively for that reason instead of being taken into consideration for the Church (entire Body of Believers) as a whole I believe actually tragically reflects the individualism and isolation that has been sneakily spreading through the Church (thanks to the world, flesh, and satan) for many years.  The demonically-narrowed focus that It's all about YOU: what YOU can get from Jesus, what YOU can give (individually) to others and the (institutional) church, YOU, YOU, YOU.  This earth-bound frame of mind can tempt the still-existing old (selfish) nature in a Believer to think mainly about him or herself and contributes to a sense of disconnectedness that I believe (too) many people in the Body are experiencing these days (what Body?  what Family?).  Another prime example of a verse that was not originally intended for an "individual you"-focused, audience-of-one is Jeremiah 29:11:  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.   No doubt this is a WONDERFUL declaration to an individual Believer, particularly when things in his or her life aren't quite making sense, seem random, out of place...BUT, the fact of the matter is that in context, this statement by God was being directed to a group of His People who had been taken captive and were now living away from home in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1, 4-11): the plans He had for them together.   

For the second reason why this distinction between the "you" (individual) versus "you" (entire Body of Believers) is incredibly important (1 Corinthians 12:12-14), one just needs to go back and read Jesus's prayer in John 17; the part that talks about those who follow Him being "One" (v. 20-23):  

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. and the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

But now look at the RESULTS of that glorifying Oneness, once it becomes a Reality: 

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. and the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Although one Believer can certainly be enlivened by the Holy Spirit to offer Life-giving words to an unbelieving individual, to then cause them to  "see" Jesus through him or her, it was never intended that an individual-you be the PRIMARY source of the Holy Spirit's Presence to a lost, exponentially decaying world.  According to Jesus's prayer (as well as the majority of times that Paul's "you" was meant for the Holy-Spirit united Church and not any one particular individual within it), it apparently was meant that the BODY of Believers, as a WHOLE (and the Love of Christ reflected through that union:  John 13:34-35) would be the Living Megaphone of God's Presence with us, and of the urgent, eternal decision of whether to accept His Son's Reality and Rescue...or not (Isaiah 61:1-3; John 3:16-18).  What an AWESOME responsibility and assignment...

...but the question is...

...is that actually happening...?

...or is it at this point a bunch of individual "you's,"  (and I'm as guilty as the next; perhaps more so at times due to my draw toward solitude) coming together in a building called "church," yet each trying in his or her own power (and often unsuccessfully) to draw people to the Love of God, while all along there is very little (if any) of God's Love and Oneness amongst all of the individual "you's" within?  If that's the case...  

It won't work.  It's not working...

"...A new commandment I (Jesus) give to you, that you (plural, the Body of Believers) love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

By THIS all will know that you are My disciples...if you have love for one another...

(Perhaps THIS is at least a part of the "good work" in Philippians 1:6 above that God hopes to complete in US/His Body, cultivating that Love, before the Amazing Return of His Son).  I hope so. 

God bless you (individually or together). 

Terri 

He knew...

"And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  (Mark 12:33)

Have you ever read parts of the Old Testament that repeat over and over all of the animals and food that God required of the Israelites, His chosen people, to bring to Him?  Just go to Numbers 29, for example, and you will see that in just one month alone, they were told to sacrifice bulls and rams and lambs and bring grain and drink offerings, all as a "soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord"  (Numbers 29:6).  Bring them on the first, the tenth, the fifteenth days of the month (Numbers 29:1-16).  The second, the third, the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth days as well (Numbers 29:17-38).  And not just one or two sacrifices....but hundreds, THOUSANDS... and even MORE ON TOP OF THESE (Numbers 29:39-40)... bring all of these and hand them over to please the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...the God of the living...the One True God (Matthew 22:32).  

YOU SURE HAVE TO LOVE AND RESPECT SOMEONE TO KEEP DOING THIS DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY ....

Now granted, it was during this particular month that the Israelites were to celebrate the God-ordained Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year); which traditionally has been said to commemorate "the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the believed realization of humanity's role in God's world."  But wow, to have to bring all of these animals and grain and drink and fire and...again I say:

YOU SURE WOULD HAVE TO LOVE AND RESPECT SOMEONE IN ORDER TO DO THIS...and do it consistently, without complaining, without giving in, without giving up.

But God knew. 

He knew they would tire of these ceremonies ("This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me" - Matthew 15:7-8).  He knew they would turn and worship other persons, places, and things (e.g., Judges 3:7, 8:33, 10:6).  He knew that His people no longer loved Him enough to continuously come before Him, not so much with items in their hands to give Him, but with a sacrificial (soft, broken) heart that loved Him and that would do anything to stay close to and glorify Him.  Why else would King David, a man called BY God "a man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 16:6-12) (in SPITE of his many sins), have proclaimed:

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.  (Psalm 51:16-17)

But God knew.

And He also knew from the beginning that ultimately HE would have to be the One, in order to RESTORE that Love Relationship with not only His "chosen people" but with ALL of us, to bring HIS sacrifice to us - WITH THAT NECESSARY LOVE FOR US EXPLODING FROM HIS HEART - lay it on a cross-shaped altar, and hope that many...that all...would believe that He would do this for us. 

Because He did:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)

He knew we wouldn't come (Isaiah 53:6). 

He still knows. 

That's why He sent His Son...to draw us back to Him again.

‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I may return to you,” ...  (Zechariah 1:3)

In His Love,   

Terri 

Who was (IS) bigger?

How true God is and how deceiving our flesh and satan are.

It's the "story" (real event) of the twelve spies, sent out by Moses to explore the amazing and abundantly-supplied new land (Canaan) God wanted to give His people (Numbers 13:1-16).  That "land flowing with milk and honey" (13:27) which has become almost like a folklore saying, but which really existed (now, whether a dairy product and a sweet syrupy substance actually dripped within it, we don't know...but it was certainly going to be a God-protected place of peace, provision, and ultimate satisfaction).  

But OH NO!  Despite the fact that all twelve of these spies observed the overflowing richness of the terrain (13:27), ten of them chose to focus on the very large, muscle-bound (strong) people who already dwelled there and the fact that the walls of the city appeared almost impenetrable (13:28-29).  They were DOOMED and could not possibly move into this home that God had PROMISED to give them ("The Promised Land") (10:29; 13:31-33).  Surely the inhabitants there would CONSUME and DESTROY them.  Definitely God's people would be SQUASHED when trying to pick away at the STRONG GATES!   (But hadn't God PROMISED to give it to them...?!)

So most of them refused to go.  Because of this "bad report" from ten of the spies (13:32), the Israelites instead of believing God's TRUTH, selected to listen to the spies' "sentence"; their flesh's fears; and ultimately, satan's lies.  And boy did they miss out (to say the very least: 14:20-23, 26-34). 

And guess WHAT?  THEY (the ten spies and the congregation of Israelites) WERE WRONG!  Flash forward a bit to when two new spies were sent out by Joshua (one of the original twelve spies who actually believed God: 14:6-10) to go check out again the new territory that God wanted to give His people (Joshua 2:1).  He even instructed them to stay with a prostitute (goes to show you how we have no right to judge anyone by our own standards: 2:1; Matthew 21:31-32)!  And it was this very harlot, Rahab, who revealed what the truth actually was about the TERRIFYING PEOPLE and IMPOSSIBLE-TO-GET-THROUGH WALLS of the new land...take a listen:

Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, "I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you (those who dwelled there were actually scared of them!).  For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan.  Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.  And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath...".  (Joshua 2:8-11; parentheses mine)

...for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath...

So who/what was bigger...and was the TRUTH?  The spies' observation of the gigantic people and the looming land...the peoples' scared hearts...satan's whispering, hissing corroboration of both...

...or God (John 14:6)? 

I think it was God...

(and just a "tidbit" to add to this whole situation:  in order for Rahab and her family to be SAVED when God's people took over the land, she had to place a scarlet [red] cord in their window...and then the destruction would pass over them [Joshua 2:17-19].  In order for the Israelites to be SAVED from God's wrath on those in Egypt who were holding His people hostage, they had to place a lamb's blood over the doorposts of their homes...and then the plagues of God would pass over them [Exodus 12:1-13].  And now, in order to be SAVED from God's eternal condemnation of sin-drenched man...that is, US...we too must have something red "hanging from our window"..."covering our doorposts"...living and breathing in our own hearts...and that is the blood of the TRUE Passover Lamb: Jesus Christ, the Son of God...[John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:17-21]).   

Thank You, God, that You are bigger and that You are the Truth. 

"Voice of Truth" (by Casting Crowns)

God bless you all.

In His Love, 
Terri 
  

Behind the Veil

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.  Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  (Mark 15:37-38) 

And the veil was torn 

So we could have this open door
And all these things have finally been complete  ("This Man," Jeremy Camp, from Restored, 2004)

Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  (2 Corinthians 3:16)

Oh how I love those days...those moments...when the veil is taken away...

Several weeks ago, during a children's Bible study class, we were sharing about Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection.  The talk turned suddenly to the event that occurred moments after Jesus's death, that of a veil being ripped from top to bottom: amazing in the physical realm and centrally symbolic in the spiritual.  But this was not just "a veil"; this heavy piece of linen, woven of purple and gold, was said to have been anywhere from 20 to 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 4 inches thick (Biblehub.com, The Tabernacle Place).  I challenge you to tear something that enormous!  But even more eye-opening to those back then and for us to this very moment is that this revered curtain was known by most to be that which separated everyone else but the high priest from a place called "The Holy of Holies."  This location in the tabernacle was where only the God-selected representative of the people could go only once a year to come before the Presence of God.  Non one else was allowed!   Here, he would offer a sacrifice to make up for ("atone" for) the peoples' sins (Hebrews 9:7).   But it never lasted very long.  He had to do it again...and again...and again...and again...But now that Jesus had offered His body on the cross once and for all there was no longer any need for the priest, for the sacrifice, or for the veil.  We could now all have the chance, through Jesus, to enter the Holy of Holies...into the Presence of our Creator...our Father...into the Presence of the Living God (Hebrews 9:11-12).  

(Stop and really, really THINK about that before going on...)

But another symbol of the veil came to mind as well (can you think of it?).  Here comes the bride, all dressed in white...Traditionally, what piece of material did the bride wear that would cover her face until the moment she and her beloved became one for the rest of their lives?  YES!  The veil.  In doing a little research, I found that this was/is, in fact, an earthly tradition, with no biblical precedence found.  BUT, on that same children's Bible study day, it too came to mind as a more gentle "parallel" to the veil being ripped from the Holy of Holies.  It is at that moment that the husband (bridegroom) lifts the veil from the woman's (bride's) face that he can look directly into her eyes and see her (and her him) clearly: they can see each other "face to face".  What a beautiful picture of being able to now come into God's Presence...of being "married" to the Bridegroom of our souls (Jesus)...of having Him (can you picture it?) come tenderly to us, wanting to lift the film of the world, the lusts of our flesh (1 John 2:15-17), the lies of the enemy (John 8:42-44; 2 Corinthians 11:14), the worry (Matthew 6:25-34), the weight, the oppression (2 Corinthians 4:16-17)...to lift the veil from our face, look into our eyes, and tell us "You're mine; I have come to be with you forever...I have come to set you free."  That's what He wants to do for us individually...that's what He does do for His Body, the Church, corporately (if we would only come back together...but that's a whoooole other story...1 Corinthians 1:10-11; 11:17-19; Ephesians 4:11-17) (Ephesians 5:22-32).   

 

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  (2 Corinthians 3:16-17)

So if the veil has been taken away...gently lifted...RIPPED in two...so that we can now sit at the feet of Jesus and come into the Amazing Presence of God, then why is there so little joy at times, so little peace, so little love (Galatians 5:22-23), more a feeling of imprisonment than a sense of freedom?  Because in the spiritual sense, we can become covered by - or enshroud ourselves with - a "veil" that tends to obscure or entirely block out our True Love's face...the Presence of God...just like a cloud covering the sun.  If you would (even if you have to split this devotional in two), take a moment to read this from Hannah Hurnard's amazing allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places (1975): 

                                             
                 It was not, however, that the sun always shone, even there on the borderland of the High Places.  There were days of mist when all the gleaming peaks were completely blotted out by a curtain of cloud, so that if one had never seen them it would have been impossible to be sure that they really existed and were round about, quite close at hand, towering high above the mist and clouds into the clear blue sky above.
                Every now and again, however, there would be a rent in the veil of mist, and then, as though framed in an open window, would appear a dazzling whiteness.  For a moment one of the vanished peaks would gleam through the opening as if to say, “Be of good courage, we are all here, even though you cannot see us.”  Then the mist would swirl together again and the window in heaven would close.
                 On one such occasion the Shepherd said to Much-Afraid, “When you continue your journey there may be such mist and cloud.  Perhaps it may even seem as though everything you have seen here of the High Places was just a dream, or the work of your own imagination.  But you have seen reality and the mist which seems to swallow it up is the illusion.
                 …“Remember, Much-Afraid, what you have seen before the mist blotted it out.  Never doubt that the High Places are there, towering up above you, and be quite sure that whatever happens I mean to bring you up there exactly as I have promised.”  As he finished speaking another rent appeared in the curtain of mist, and one of the peaks of the High Places framed in blue sky shone down on them.   (Pp. 188-189).

It is far too easy for even those who believe that the tabernacle veil was torn in two and who have had the supernatural veil lifted from their faces to "see" Jesus their Bridegroom to go back to living in "the mist"...to have the veil descend over the face once again and to believe that is the reality.  But like the Good Shepherd (Jesus) above said, Remember...what you have seen before the mist blotted it out (the Reality of Jesus and His Kingdom...the "High Places")...before the veil comes down again.  And how to do that?  Sometimes it is God Who will lift that veil gently, giving us a way out of temptation to stray from Him (1 Corinthians 10:13 - although sometimes it's not such a gentle endeavor to accept the way out if we want to stay in!).  Other times He will need to rip it in two through discipline; through consequences (Hebrews 12:5-7, 11).  Very often we have to participate in lifting that veil through quiet prayer (Luke 11:1-4 ); or ripping through it by force (Matthew 11:12), like Paul who "died daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31) and with all of his might "pressed on" in order to continue following Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14), or like Jesus Himself Who, through his own agonizing prayer in Gethsemane to live in His Father's Reality and not in his own desire (Luke 22:41-42), sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:41-44).   Whichever way, it is critical to not live as if the mist...behind the veil...is the ultimate reality.  Because it's not. 

 

...because on the other side of that veil

 ...is the "High Places"

...is the Presence of the Living God

...is Jesus...our Savior, our Lord, our Friend, our Bridegroom  

 

And whatever happens...you...I...don't want to be left out of that Wedding Feast! ***  (Revelation 22:16-21)   

But [in fact] their minds were hardened [for they had lost the ability to understand]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [only] in Christ.  But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom].  And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

(2 Corinthians 3:14-18)

*** Please listen to the link/song above.

 

In Jesus Name (and Love),

Amen. 

 

 

 

               

​

Grave-clothes

"Now when He (Jesus) had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth!'  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Loose him, and let him go.'"   (John 11:43-44)

There is SO much that can be said about just this one amazing passage describing the miraculous yet very real resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus.  And this was proven true through an incredibly powerful message given last week by a woman guest speaker at the church I am attending (Highway of Faith Tabernacle in West Palm Beach, FL -- yes I wanted to honor them by mentioning it!).   Oh how I wish all of you had been there...

But as I was praying toward the end of the gathering, I believe I heard the Holy Spirit say to me specifically: "you need to take off the grave-clothes."  Wow.  And of course that made me want to come home and look a little more deeply into what grave-clothes were historically and how they were being referred to in this particular verse.  

"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,  and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him..."  (Colossians 3:8-10; see also Ephesians 4:20-24)

There IS a new creation that is birthed in someone who receives Jesus and is then translated into the spiritual family called the Body of Christ (or "Church" - but not as in "the building" church) (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 1:12-13; John 5:24-25; Ephesians 2:1-6).  Often in God's Word this "new creation" (also known as being "born of the Spirit" - John 1:13, 3:5-8) is referred to as the "new man," which somehow, in his or her supernaturally-imbued way, is able to more and more walk in and reflect the very characteristics of Jesus Himself...wow (Galatians 5:16-25).

It was incredibly eye-opening to find out when doing a little research that it is in this passage only (John 11:44) that this particular definition of grave-clothes is used: "...the bands or straps by which the linen sheet was fastened to the body, and which kept the spice from falling out" (biblehub.com; see also classic.studylight.org). 

But I'm not (nor are you) dead yet...so why would God tell me or any one of us to "take off our grave-clothes"...?!

It's because once we are "in Him" (born again of the Spirit), there still remains in us that "old man" that is for whatever reason...self-gratification, fear, control, etc., etc., etc...warring to stay alive: like it reveals in Galatians 5:17, there IS a battle going on within (also Romans 7:15, 19, 21-24)!  And it is critical to note that these "grave-clothes" are not just bad habits, mean ways, or not-so-likable parts of ourselves that we would like to improve (on our own or with earthly help): these "bands" that bind us are that very "old man" that is becoming more and more corrupt (Ephesians 4:22) and also fighting within us to rise up (often with demonic coaxing) and remain alive!  But even more importantly (and read this carefully), by being kept or choosing to remain "bound" by the "straps" (aka "grave-clothes") of this old nature, we are also keeping in (or holding back) the "sweet spices" of the NEW nature...NEW creation...the NEW man that is birthed within us by the Holy Spirit once we receive Jesus into our lives.  We are being kept or keeping ourselves in bondage to walk ("the walking dead") more as the old, decaying man (yes, with its bad habits, mean ways, etc., etc. - Galatians 5:19-21) instead of as the resurrected NEW man who is meant to walk in all the fruit of the Spirit (of Jesus) Himself (Galatians 5:22-23)....AND...IN...FREEDOM!   (Can you IMAGINE?!  FREEDOM!  John 8:36).  Again: WOW.     

But as is also revealed in the opening passage, we cannot disentangle ourselves from that old man...those "grave-clothes"...it has to be Jesus Himself, the Son of God, Who calls us forward to be freed.  But we have to be willing.  And here is where I KNOW that God was speaking to me personally about being released from my grave-clothes/old man...because I have been (and maybe still will...Lord help me) clinging onto them sometimes as much as they are wrapped like bands around me!   But Jesus does not want me...or you...to stay in this state.  So like last Sunday, He (yet again) called MY name: "Terri, come forth; be freed from your grave-clothes!"  as I'm sure He was calling many others' names who were in attendance at that service. 

Is He calling your name...?

Is He wanting you to come forth from your grave, to be released from your grave-clothes...to enable your (as a Believer) resurrected new man to walk freely in love (yay), joy (oh to have it all the time), peace (sigh...), patience (yeah right!), kindness (a lost art), goodness (dying in this world), faithfulness (beautiful), gentleness (also wonderful), (and) self-control?

ONLY He (Jesus) can do this...ONLY ONLY ONLY Him... 

"O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"  (Romans 7:24-25)

"'Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live...'"  (John 5:24-25)

"'Lazarus, come forth!'"

In Jesus Name.

Terri   

(And I'm certainly not the only person who has been tapped on the shoulder about removing grave-clothes.  This link is an entire spiritual counseling site that discusses this very real process.  I found it while researching the devotional, but didn't actually read it until after the devotional was done!  http://www.wholeperson-counseling.org/freedom/graveclothes.html )