Did you ever read a book that you could not forget? Such is the case for me with a fiction story that had a plausible plot. The hero of the book worked for the federal government on their main computers in Washington D.C. He gave one of the computers the task of bringing peace to the earth. It determined that the only way to accomplish this task would be for it to take over the world. It began to hypnotize many key people so that they would obey its commands. Country by country succumbed to its power. After multiple struggles, the story's hero was able to overcome the computer.
The remembrance of this story came to my mind as I read Jonathan Cahn's word called "The Rise of the Machine Master" in his August devotional. He reminds us that America has been in the process of paganization for the last 60 years and that one of the main characteristics of this culture is the worship of idols. He defines idol worship as worshipping our own creations. The prophet Isaiah describes what this looked like in his day: "Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made." (Isiah 2:8) The apostle Paul used the Greek word "techne" when he spoke to the people in Athens, Greece, about their idols. (Acts 17:16-34) This is the word from which we derive the word "technology." Is it not technology that we serve today? We are being "mastered" through our I phones, computers, and I pads. I notice how many of our teenagers lack social skills. Could it be because they have been taken over by technology? Jonathan Cahn suggests that when we serve idols (technology) we become like what we serve, and they become more human. Psalm 115 warns of this: "But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands...Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." (Verses 4 and 8) A recent subject of frequent discussion is that of artificial intelligence. Here we have computers taking over the function of thinking or being able to simulate human intelligence to perform tasks or solve problems. Because computers can analyze large amounts of data in a short period of time, they can make decisions like the human brain, but in shorter periods of time. Scientists have warned that artificial intelligence is a dangerous technology. The question is being asked: "Could this lead to the destruction of humanity?" God forbid! We must become aware of the idols that we serve so that we can break the bondage that they place us in. Christ came to the earth to bring us freedom and set us free from these bondages. Remember, whatever consumes our thinking will become more powerful in our lives. Let's be sure to use our time wisely and take the advice of Paul when he says, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things...and the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9 - NKJV) "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) I can testify to the truth of this Scripture. God knows what is in our hearts, and He cares about what we carry there. For years I have carried the desire to visit Alaska in my heart. He knew it and put together a plan that would allow me to realize this desire. Along with my husband, I spent the middle two weeks of July in an environment that stunned us. Author of the book Alaska - Saga of a Bold Land, Walter Boreman, describes the landscape this way: "What you notice first, and what remains with you long afterward, is the scale. Here is a land where superlatives abound, and comparisons are few. Here is a land that dwarfs almost any wilderness you have known...Alaska is 615,230 square miles of rugged mountains, grinding glaciers, seemingly endless tundra, broad rivers, and rushing streams--larger than all but 17 of the world's countries..."
When I look back, it is hard for me to select a favorite location in this land of "Wows!" Our first stop in Fairbanks, Alaska, contained several treasures, my favorite being Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. Here we found a huge field covered in the yellow flowers of the mustard plant. The majestic scene was framed in the back by mountains. We were entertained by a flock of Sandhill Cranes as we took in the landscape before us. From Fairbanks we made our way southwest to Denali National Park that holds the crown jewel of mountains, Mt. Denali (or McKinley) with a height of 20,320 feet. The snowcapped peaks remain that way year-round, and on a clear day you can see them from miles away. We were told that only five percent of the visitors to Alaska get to view the top of the mountain as it is usually shrouded in clouds. On our day in Denali Park we started with clouds, but by mid-day they were lifting, and we had a glorious view of the snow-capped mountain. Another treasure of the Alaskan wilderness is its many glaciers. We were able to see three of them in Glacier Bay National Park that can only be accessed via boat or plane. As we slipped into the Bay, mountains came down to meet the tropical-colored water. Since we came so close to the glaciers, we could feel the cool breezes from the ice. Over the years, these glaciers have advanced and then retreated again. Margerie Glacier calved (released a wall of ice into the water) as we were there. My favorite glacier, however, is Mendenhall Glacier, part of the Juneau Icefield. It sits at the back of Mendenhall Lake in Tongass National Forest. The blue spectrum of the rainbow appears in all the cracks of the glacier. That, against the white snow, makes for a magnificent landscape. I have shared only a portion of our trip that has given us memories for a lifetime. But one cannot take all of this in without giving glory to the One who created it. I know from Scripture that God created the heavens and the earth with His spoken Word. I am overwhelmed with the scale and majesty of it! I want to leave you with verses from Psalm 65. "Praise awaits You...You who answers prayer, to You all people will come...God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth...who formed the mountains by Your power...The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders...The grassland of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing..." Our hearts are full of awe as we have experienced such an awesome part of God's creation. It causes us to bow in worship, because not only has He made this, but has given us a new-found respect for Him that compels us to worship Him forever. It is common for different emotions to partner with one another. For example, Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that, "The joy of the Lord is our strength." When we have joy based on the truth that the Lord is our salvation, refuge, and guide, an inner strength grows in us. On the other hand, when we look at negative emotions, fear frequently travels with doubt and unbelief. This combination was a major problem for the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt. God made promises to all of Israel that have become known as the "Five I Wills." (1) "I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians." (2) "I will free you from being slaves to them." (3) "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment." (4) "I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God." (5) "I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession." (Exodus 6:6-8)
God proved His faithfulness to the Israelites by bringing plagues upon the Egyptians that did not touch them. In addition, He brought them out from under the yoke of slavery with plunder. In a mighty show of power, the Lord opened the Red Sea for all of Israel to walk through and then drown the armies of Egypt. In celebration, the Israelites sang, "The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation." (Exodus 15:2) Guiding His people with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, He was with them every step of their journey. He healed the bitter waters of Marah, so that they could have drink. He brought them manna daily. He helped defeat the Amalekites. At Mount Sinai, they were given God's commandments to follow, and they made a covenant with God. "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey." (Exodus 24:7) When the Israelites reached Canaan, at the Lord's command, Moses sent twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel into the Promised Land to investigate. After exploring for 40 days, they returned with a report. Ten of the leaders spread a bad report and doubt that led to fear concerning God's promises arose. Psalm 78:11 says, "They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them." Psalm 106:13 reports, "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His plan to unfold." The bad report from the explorers caused the people to lose faith in God. They doubted their ability to occupy their God-given inheritance. Unbelief and fear overrode faith, and they refused to move forward into the land that God had promised them. According to Rabbinic tradition, the children of Israel refused to enter the Promised Land on the ninth of Av. This refusal set into motion yearly disasters, including the destruction of the first and second temple, that all occurred on the ninth of Av. The writer of Hebrews describes God's decision concerning the future of the children of Israel who were rescued from Egypt. "So, God swore an oath that they would never enter into a calming place of rest all because they disobeyed Him. It is clear that they could not enter into their inheritance because they wrapped their hearts of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:18-19 - TPT) The month of Av begins this week; the ninth of Av is on July 27 this year. It would be beneficial for us to remember His faithfulness in our lives, and to meditate on the promises that God has given us. If we find doubt or fear arising, we must resist it and, by faith, claim His promises. It is faith that conquers doubt. Although the Jews mourn on this day, they also proclaim God's greatness. "You turn my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever." (Psalm 30:11-12) As I walked down the driveway to my boss's office, I saw something that looked impossible. In a small crack between the foundation of the building, the driveway, and the sidewalk there was a stunning, deep pink petunia blooming as though it was living in perfect surroundings. Apparently, a small seed from the pot of flowers that sat on the front stoop of the house the year before had blown into the crack and lodged itself there for the winter. Its perseverance paid off, and when the warm weather began, the seed shell broke open, and roots grew. Those roots produced the petunia plant and the beautiful flower.
This amazing picture gave me great hope as I began to think about other seeds that have been planted. In Scripture, the word seed has different definitions. If we go back to the days of Abram in Genesis, we see that the Lord referred to Abraham's descendants as seed. "Yahweh brought him (Abram) outside his tent and said, 'Gaze into the night sky. Go ahead and try to count the stars.' He continued, 'Your seed will be as numerous as the stars!'" (Genesis 15:5 - TPT) Not only can seed refer to descendants, but it can also refer to the Word of God. The seed is planted in the "ground" of our hearts. God designed all of us to produce fruit when His Word is planted and germinates. He also expects us to partner with Him in seed sowing. "Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening, let your hands not be idle." (Ecclesiastes 11:6a) The apostle Paul explains to the church at Corinth that we are servants of God, each with a task. "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow." (1 Corinthians 3:6) May I encourage those of you who are praying for prodigals to come home? When I think of them, I think of the seeds that they carry. I am well aware that parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends intentionally plant seeds in their loved ones who have left the faith or who never fully embraced it. Let us remember that once a seed is planted, it does not go away! In the natural world, the shell of a seed must be broken before it begins to root. When I think of the petunia seed that brought forth the beauty held within it in an almost impossible situation, it reminds me that the seeds planted in hard hearts of God's children will also beak forth and produce fruit. Jesus, when he told those He ministered to not to worry, He pointed to the flowers. "...See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." (Matthew 6:28-29) Perhaps our prayers for the prodigals in our lives should include asking the Lord to break open the shells surrounding the seeds that are already in their hearts. Then, let us pray that those seeds planted by our prayers are used to soften our loved ones' hearts. When the ground around a seed is soft, we have optimum conditions for growth. As the seeds begin to break and root, God will help them to grow. Be encouraged! God is a gardener. The first family was placed in the Garden of Eden. God continues to place each of us in ideal growing conditions for the fruit that He desires to harvest. He is all about collaborating with us to break up the hard ground so that the fruit of righteousness is forthcoming. July 4, 1776, 247 years ago, our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence with two main objectives: (1) A declaration of independence from Great Britain, and (2) a declaration of dependence upon Almighty God. Its writers used the Bible as their example. I wonder how they would feel about the chaos that has ensued in our country. It seems we have endless battles between Christians and non-Christians whose opinions are opposite when it comes to the evidence of a Creator and creation. Moral absolutes are being challenged by those who say there is no such thing. Yet, on the day of America's birth a bell was rung that had a Scripture inscribed on it from Leviticus 25:10. "Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof." That bell remains as a testimony to the foundation from which our nation was established--The Bible.
Our 30th president, Calvin Coolidge (who was born on July 4, 1872), said it well when he looked into the future of our nation. "The foundation of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country." Sadly, I see these words beginning to bear fruit. Let us not forget that the Bible was the foundational book used in our schools at the dawning of America. Those of us who hold to the truths upon which our country was established must come into agreement with our forefathers. Dutch Sheets, in a post written on June 22 entitled "God Needs Our Agreement," confirms this. He reminded us of the importance of agreeing with previous generations. Dutch shared interesting information about the foundations of our schools. He wrote, "One hundred six of America's first one hundred eight colleges and Universities were founded on the Christian faith. Students at Harvard and Yale were required to read Scriptures twice daily. Harvard's founders stated: 'All knowledge without Christ is vain.' Its motto was 'For Christ and The Church.' Yale's founders stated that 'Every student shall consider the main end of his study is to know God in Jesus Christ...' Princeton's motto was 'Under God's Power She Flourishes.'...Noah Webster, who published the first American Dictionary of the English language in 1828 said, 'Education is useless without the Bible.'...Webster also said, 'The principles of genuine liberty, and of wise laws and administrations, are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man, therefore, who weakens or destroys the divine authority of that book may be accessory to all the public disorders which society is doomed to suffer.'" There is a remnant of people in the United State who understands and believes in the foundational truths upon which our nation was established and on the precepts and commandments that are the underpinning of our Constitution. We must declare these truths in agreement with the generations that came before us. We cannot allow the loud voices of descension to override truth. The future of our nation depends upon us. In a post from June 21, Dutch Sheets reminded us of the powerful hymn written by Martin Luther titled, "A Mighty Fortress is our God." I would like to highlight a line from the third verse. "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed HIs truth to triumph through us..." Triumph occurs through our declaration of truth. We must take every opportunity God gives us to make truth known. We can take heart from the words of Scripture: "Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." (Proverbs 30:5) A significant event occurred during the fourth month on the Hebrew calendar that should be a warning for all of us. The event broke the first commandment given by God to the Israelites. "You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) While Moses was on the top of Mount Sinai receiving God's commandments, God's people neglected to remember and review the miraculous events of the past 2-1/2 months. They closed their eyes to the truth and said to Aaron, the priest, "...Make us a god who shall go before us..." (Exodus 32:1 – The Hebrew Bible, 1945) They collected their gold earrings to use in the making of an idol cast into the shape of a calf. Then they told themselves a lie: "This is thy god, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt." (Exodus 32:4 - The Hebrew Bible, 1945)
Does this behavior seem familiar? In my opinion, the Church has allowed our country's leadership to rewrite history. We have forgotten that our nation was founded upon a Judeo-Christian foundation. We now worship the idols of money, sex, self-indulgence, laziness, and materialism, to name a few. Our golden calves, so to speak, have taken over our lives, and we worship at our human-made altars. We can learn much during this fourth month called Tammuz. The religious Jews of today are particularly mindful of the sins of their past and the repercussions that have ensued. They have designated the three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av (the fifth month) as a time to fast as they recall the tragedies that beset the Jews because of idolatry. These three weeks of sorrow are called "bein ha-Metzarim" or "between the straights." On the web site, "Hebrew4christians.com" there is an explanation of why the fourth month is called Tammuz. Apparently, this is the name of an idol that was worshiped in the Ancient Near East. They write, "Sages tell us it was deliberately chosen (the name Tammuz) to remind the Jews of the judgment that comes from idolatry. It eventually led to the destruction of the Temple." Idolatry led to the destruction of the first and second temples on the same day (the ninth of Av) in different years. Here is a lesson for all of us. As we worship idols, we destroy our temples. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) We should use this month of Tammuz to recall the goodness of God throughout the years. The antidote to idol worship is the worship of our One True God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us step away from the idols that ensnare us and join together in a chorus of blessing to honor our Lord. Can we agree that God used King David to inspire several generations? He continues to touch generations through the Psalms that he has written. I wonder, however, if he had in mind saving the Psalms as an encouragement for his children and a legacy for generations to come. Although most of them demonstrate praise and worship, there are also those that talk about pilgrimage, petitioning God, or confessing a lament. They are a picture of David's relationship with God that shows us transparency and honesty. Psalm 139, for example, was written when David was contemplating God's love for him in the way he was made. He expressed contempt for God's enemies, and yet realized that he could have had sin in his own life. So, he invited God to search and know his heart. "...Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way of everlasting." (Verses 23-24)
When David was coming to the end of his life he appointed his son, Solomon, to be king over Israel and to oversee the building of a temple for the Lord. He gave a charge to Solomon: "...Be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to Him, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep His promises to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their hearts and souls, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'" (1 King 2:2-4) In David's desire for his son to succeed, he spoke words of advice directly to Solomon and left the Psalms for him to read. Because he asked God for wisdom, Solomon became the wisest man on earth; however, he had a soft spot that would become his undoing. 1 Kings 11 tells us that he loved many foreign women. "They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, 'You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.' Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love." (1 Kings 11:2) The Bible reports, "So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely as David his father had done." (1 Kings 11:6) Solomon's behavior was so offensive that God raised up adversaries against him so that the end of his life was fraught with battles. When he died, his son, Rehoboam, was appointed king. What kind of legacy did this father leave for his son? There is the written legacy through the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, but his actions did not agree with his written words. His legacy was one of idol worship; the demonstration of his love for God was not obvious to Rehoboam. When he began his reign over Israel, the Kingdom was torn from his hands because he followed the wrong path of leadership. Rehoboam lost the loyalty of ten tribes of Israel. Idol worship became the trademark of his day. We could continue to look down the family line of David to see how each successive son behaved. Needless-to-say, the legacy of a father can impact generations for good or bad. Our prayer for our fathers and men who have influence on subsequent generations should be for them to develop a heart like God's. The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians, "For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His Kingdom and glory." (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12) Paul's heart toward those he visited was like God's heart of love toward us. All of us can develop this kind of heart as we connect with the Lord in greater intimacy with Him to leave a legacy of love. What we believe is directly related to how we behave. That is why, in my opinion, one of the most important Scriptures in the Bible comes from 2 Corinthians 10:5. We are told by the apostle Paul, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ." (NIV) The language in The Passion Translation is much more graphic. "We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One."
Of course, those from the demonic realm understand the importance of the above Scripture and attempt to place false information into the minds of Christians so that they act in a way that confirms agreement with the wrong kingdom. Satan wants us to believe that we are in chains. Those chains can look like the inability for us to get out of the cycle of addiction, illness, poverty, or shame, to name a few. In essence, when we are caught in an ungodly cycle of belief, we will not take the steps necessary to release the chains that bind us, so we are free. How many of us honestly believe the truth of God's promises and act accordingly? I will confess this is a challenge for me, and yet, I am determined to declare God's truths and walk in them. An exercise we are encouraged to do in the inner healing ministry I belong to is this: Draw two boxes. In the first box write any lies or ungodly beliefs that you may have. Draw a wide frame around this box and write in it the behaviors that have resulted from the lies you believe. In the second box, write the truths that God has given to you. Draw a wide frame around it as well and write the behaviors that result from the truths on it. What is written in the second box is God's desire for your life. Now, I would like to share some truths and promises from Scriptures for you to meditate on. All of these are from the NIV. John 8:36 - "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Ephesians 1:4-5 - "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." 2 Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" Colossians 1:13-14 - "For He has rescued us from the darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Deuteronomy 28:13 - "The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom." Romans 8:37 - "No, in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." The above truths will help establish a good belief system in our minds. Remember, if we believe that we do not have the power to break the chains of the enemy, we will continue to live in those chains. The truth is what sets us free. As we meditate on these truths, we unlock freedom, joy, and power. "Timing is everything!" This phrase has been spoken to me multiple times by the Holy Spirit. The truth of this statement was played out for us last week. We visited a peony farm in Long Valley, New Jersey that is only open two to three weeks a year. The owner of the farm has this short span of time to harvest his flowers and prepare them for shipment to florists in the New York City area. How delightful it was for us to walk through the rows of plants and feast our eyes on the various shapes and shades of red, pink, white, coral, and yellow peonies! Many were still in bud, but even these golf-ball size buds attracted our attention. Workers in the fields were carefully cutting stems to be taken to the refrigerator.
We learned that the ants attracted to the peony buds actually assist in their opening. The stems are cut when the bud feels like a marshmallow or when it is just beginning to show a small amount of color. After being cut, the flower buds are dunked in buckets of water to remove the ants. Then the stems are bundled together, wrapped, and placed in the refrigerator. They can stay there for as long as a month. Our visit to the farm was not complete until we purchased a bundle of peonies in white, pink, and rosy red. What amazed us the most about our peony excursion was the dramatic transformation of the stems after they were plunged into water. I recut the bottom of each of them at an angle so that the stems could absorb a maximum amount of water. Three hours after the peonies were placed in the water, the flowers were open. The next day these gorgeous heads were fully open, and we were enjoying their sweet scent. Life was quickened in these peonies as their cells were filled with water. We, like the peony stems, will also come to life and reflect the beauty of God as we take in what Jesus calls "living water." In John 4 Jesus is having a conversation with a Samaritan woman who came to collect water from Jacob's well. He told her that He would give her living water. (Verse 10) He further explained, "If anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never thirst again and will be forever satisfied. For when you drink the water I give you it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, springing up and flooding you with endless life." (Verse 14 - TPT) Again, at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus explains that the Holy Spirit is like water. He said, "'All you thirsty ones, come to me! Come to me and drink! Believe in me so that river of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like Scripture says!' Jesus was prophesying about the Holy Spirit that Believers were being prepared to receive." (John 7:37-39 - TPT) The Lord has made the Living Water/Holy Spirit available to all who believe in Him. His desire is for us to grow and blossom and spread His fragrance wherever we go. Micah 3:8 makes a declaration that we should confess: "But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord." We can expect that we will grow in the strength and beauty of the Lord as we remember that we are filled with His Spirit—that Living Water that continuously flows within us. The mention of fire in the Bible brings to mind images of light, cleansing, and power, and frequently represents God. In Deuteronomy 4:23-24 we read about how Moses warned the children of Israel. "Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that He made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." If we look back to the days when God called Abram to the land of Israel, we see that He made a covenant with him and came as fire in the process. "When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. (of the animals for sacrifice) On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram..." (Genesis 15:17-18) In Abram's day it was a custom to light a torch when a covenant was being made. God was making a promise to Abram to give him the land of Israel as an inheritance. The fire moving through the pieces of the sacrifice represented God.
The glory of God was manifest through fire during all of Moses' visits to Mount Sinai. Exodus 19:18 tells us, "Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire." During one of his visits to The Mountain of the Lord, God gave Moses instructions for Aaron and his sons regarding the tabernacle altar. "The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out." (Leviticus 6:13) It was the fire that consumed the sacrifice. The prophet Elijah demonstrated the power of the One True God to the prophets of Baal and all the people of Israel. A bull was placed on the altar of the prophets of Baal and one on the altar of Elijah. Elijah declared, "The god who answers by fire—he is God." (1 Kings 18:24) A pillar of fire guided the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land. This pillar of fire also gave protection to the Israelites when the Egyptian army pursued them. "Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from the front and stood behind them." (Exodus 14:19) The familiar image of fire from the Old Testament is repeated in the New Testament. Before Jesus left the earth and returned to His Father, He instructed His disciples not to leave Jerusalem. He had a gift for them. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) Jesus knew that many people would be coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot. His followers had been counting the weeks from Passover to the celebration of the wheat harvest and the giving of Torah. Another aspect was about to be added to this festival. As the disciples waited in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:2-4) Fire came again, as it did throughout the history of the children of Israel, to deliver them from fear and to empower them to move into God's mission to build His church with both Jew and Gentile. Today is that day when the Church celebrates Pentecost or Shavuot. We have also been given the gift of power through the Holy Spirit so that we can carry God's Spirit to the world. Let us keep the flames of the Spirit burning through our humility and worship of the One True God. Pray, "Lord, set our hearts on fire so that we become blazing torches to bring the nations to You." |
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