If anyone knows Melissa…

Leviticus 7:28-9:6; Mark 3:31 – 4:25; Psalm 37:12-29; Proverbs 10:5

Prepare Your Heart for the Harvest
“Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” – Mark 4:3-9, 13-20

“And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.” – Mark 4:24-25

Harvest is a scriptural term and an agricultural term. And we understand seedtime and harvest. There is a time to plant a seed and a time together what the kernel has produced – harvest. That is the way we get our food. So if you are a farmer, when you put the seed into the dirt, you want it to yield fully to its full potential. So Jesus is talking here about different kinds of soil.

The kind of soil we plant in dictates the type of harvest we get. The seed can be excellent but planted in not-so-awesome soil, it will not produce a great crop. But the good seed planted in good soil does bring forth a great harvest.

Jesus was teaching in parable form, and this is a famous parable. It is pretty easy to understand because Jesus interpreted His parable.

We all want the hundred-fold, bountiful harvest. We don’t just want to see it in others. We want it in our own lives. Maybe as we think of gardening and the harvest, we should focus less on missionaries, church outreach, and sharing the Gospel. Those things are wonderful and essential, but first, maybe we need to worry less about whether someone hasn’t heard us because of the condition of their lives and turn to see the state of our own heart. See our hearts as a field of soil. So I ask myself, what kind of soil is in my heart? Whatever type of soil is in my heart will dictate the harvest, no matter how good the seed is.

God nourishes us through His Word every day. His Word is a good seed. But is my heart good soil for His excellent seed? If the seed falls and cannot take root, then it is just going to lay there on the surface, and it is going to get snatched away.

If my heart is hard and stony and difficult, then there is nowhere for the seed to take root. If I am distracted and anxious and full of worry or if I am distracted and chasing other things, other desires, then the soil of my heart is thorny, and it is going to choke the seed out.

We’ve all seen rocky and thorny ground, and we can visualize and understand how difficult, if not impossible, it is for a bountiful harvest to grow under those conditions. In the same way, if our hearts are in that condition, we will not yield that harvest we long to gather.

God is going to do His part. But we each have our part. I have a role to play. I have some gardening to do. It is time to dig up the stony ground and do away with any thorn bushes that I have allowed to grow and overtake. It is time to make my heart fertile and ready for anything God wants to bring into my life today.

Prepare Your Heart for the Glory
And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you. – Leviticus 9:5-6

Prepare Your Heart for the Famine
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. – Psalms 37:18-19

Prepare Your Heart to Gather
He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame. – Proverbs 10:5

Jesus, thank You for this wisdom. You have made it abundantly clear what You desire and the path I am to take. I. know many of the hard places in my life. Reveal others, Lord, that I may work on the soil. Reveal the thorny area and the shallow spots. I need Your help, Lord. I need You to guide me and show me how to become good soil. So come Holy Ghost as I meditate on and consider this, I invite You to come in and take over. Have Your way, Father. I ask it in Jesus’ Name. Amen!!!!

One-Year Bible Passages – Leviticus 6:1-7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 10:3-4

Keep the Fire Burning
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. – Leviticus 6:13

In this passage, we read about the fire on the altar never going out and burning continually. A plume of smoke rose from the altar day and night. The children of Israel could always smell the burning of the wood and the sacrifices. It was a sweet aroma to the Lord, but it was also a sweet smell of sacrifice to the Lord that reminded them of God who saved them and the one true and living God they worshiped and served.

Our prayers in Revelation are compared to the smoke of sacrifice mixed with the atoning work of Jesus and rising as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God. Shouldn’t we be preparing for that day even now by keeping the FIRE burning through worship, prayer, and knowing our God!!!

And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. – Revelation 8:3-4

A House Divided
And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: – Mark 3:22-29

Jesus healed a blind and dumb man, and the scribes and Pharisees used the miracle to attack Jesus. They called Our Lord by the name “Beelzebub,” which is another name for the devil and means “master of the house.”

Jesus took that opportunity to teach them a thing or two. He said if it was by the power of satan that He cast out demons, then satan was fighting against himself. That would mean that satan’s kingdom was divided and on the verge of collapse. The devil held this demon-possessed man tightly because he doesn’t ever want to lose any territory. He seeks to kill, steal, and destroy as many as he can. But the fact that Jesus delivered this man was proof that He was and is stronger than satan and that satan could not stop Him.

Jesus went on to explain the seriousness of what they had let come out of their mouths. Our words reveal what is in our hearts and what is in our hearts determines our character, conduct, and destiny. What we say can be very costly. Jesus warned these leaders that they were in danger of committing an eternal and unforgivable sin. They were in danger of blaspheming the Holy Ghost by attributing to the devil the Holy Ghost’s works.

I believe we need to take His warning to the religious leaders to heart when we judge what we think is the work of the enemy because it doesn’t exactly fit our doctrine. It is one thing if it does not line up with Scripture, but if it just doesn’t line up with doctrine, we need to be careful. While it may well be of the enemy, we should first take it to God in prayer and let the Holy Ghost direct us. Take it to God and the Word and then act or speak – we can’t go wrong there!!!

Stop Being Envious of the Wicked
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. – Psalms 37:1-9

Here it seemed like the wicked were prospering, and God wasn’t doing anything about it. So David gives four assurances to believers who question how God is running His world. The first one is part of our reading for today.

1. The Lord can be trusted.
   David gives several instructions in the first nine verses about being assured that God can be trusted.

• Fret not
  Fret – to burn, to get heated up.  When we see evil, we should feel holy anger at sin, but to be jealous of wicked people only leads to fretting, and fretting leads to anger that isn’t holy. The wicked will not always be here. One day they will  be gone, like the grass that either fades away or is cut down and burned.

• Trust in the Lord and do good
  When you fret you are not trusting God. Trust God and wait on Him for what He will do in your life and in the lives of others. While you wait,  do good things, because faith and works go together.

• Delight in the Lord
  Delight – comes from the root that means “to be brought up in luxury, to be pampered.” If you delight in the Lord, you will want to know Him better. The Lord will surely satisfy that desire!!!

• Commit your way to the Lord
  Commit – to roll off your burden. God doesn’t take our burdens away so we can sit around and do nothing. He takes them away so we can serve Him better.

• Rest in the Lord
  Rest – to be silent; be still.  It describes calm surrender to the Lord

Unless we learn to wait silently before God, we will never experience His peace and His joy. Peace and joy and fretfulness cannot coexist. For us to get upset because of the evil schemes of the ungodly is to doubt God’s goodness and justice and when we choose that path we forgo His peace and His joy.

Your Soul Will Not Suffer
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked. – Proverbs 10:3

Suffer – to tolerate or allow; to undergo or feel pain or distress; to sustain injury, disadvantage, or loss.
Famish – to suffer or cause to suffer extreme hunger; starve

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your Word and that it is living and active in my life. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. Thank You for piercing and causing me to look deep within my heart by looking deep within the scriptures. I ask You to empower through the power of the Holy Ghost to cast out any trace of envy in my life. I want nothing of it, Father. Please help me in that area. Lord, would you continue to do work in my life to keep the FIRE always burning. Help the FIRE You have ignited in me to burn brighter and brighter each moment. Thank You that You provide for my every need, and I can cease fretting and wait on You, trust in You, and rest in You. Thank You that You give me the desires of my heart because You have given me YOU, and You are allowing me to know You. I love You, Father. I love You, Holy Ghost. I love You, Jesus…and I pray that all I do today will glorify YOU. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen.

The Father sends the message, the Holy Ghost teaches it, and it all glorifies JESUS!

If you are familiar with my blog you will see today’s writing is different. The Holy Ghost sent me from the message of the book of Leviticus to what Leviticus has to do with the season some call Lent, which traditionally begins today. God is doing a great work in my heart these last days and this falls right in line. I hope this blesses your heart as much as it has mine.

SIN AND LEVITICUS
There are plenty of definitions out there for sin. From a Biblical perspective, sin is doing what we know we shouldn’t before God. Maybe a good practice would be to ask ourselves, could I do this in the Name of Jesus? Could I do that representing the King and the Kingdom? That might put some light on it.

God has an order to things. We see that in the Bible, but we see that also in our natural world. This perfect order, according to God’s will, is known in Hebrew as Shalom. Perfect Peace. So in effect, sin is willfully interrupting Shalom, whether in our own lives or the lives of others.

Sin is destructive and leads to destruction because it separates us from God. Living perpetually separated from God is the worst possible scenario – hell. So, any sin is a big deal.

SIN – A Toxic Poison
Sin is like a very toxic poison. If you are a parent, you don’t let your child play where you store poisonous things. No, and you impress upon your kids that that is off-limits. If they persist toward the “poisons,” we will punish them in some way so that they get the point. Why? Because if they get into that cabinet and don’t catch it and drink that poison, it will destroy them. That is a picture of sin.

SIN – The Price
There is a price of sin, and that is the message of the book of Leviticus. When the Children of Israel sin, they must bring a sacrifice to the Altar to pay the price for their sin, whether intentional or unintentional.

In our time and culture, we truly have no way to relate to animal sacrifice. At this point in One-Year Bible reading, many begin to question what it has to do with their life. It is repetitious and sometimes feels boring – laws, rules, customs that nobody lives by now. So we skim it and glaze over it, saying we don’t have to sacrifice animals because Jesus is the last sacrifice, and we brush the whole thing off.

But if we allow that state of mind every time we read Leviticus, we will always miss what is going on here, and it is something profound. God is discussing the results and price of sin.

SIN – Your Prized Sheep
Imagine you were one of the Israelites, and you sinned. What if you had sheep or goats, and they were part of your life and family? What if you had one special one, a perfect one that provided milk faithfully for your family and your little children? What if, because you sinned, you had to go and select this one (because it was perfect) to take to the priest? What if you had to kill that loved sheep before the priest and drain its blood for your sacrifice? That perfect sheep that gave you milk for your children and was perhaps their playmate over these last years?

SIN – Sacrifice is a Reminder
If you had to sacrifice your lamb, it would be a reminder that your own sin costs you something. Your sin costs!!! Sin will end up costing something beautiful. After all, sin’s price requires a perfect sacrifice, a beautiful sacrifice with no flaws or imperfections. In that culture and time, the animal served as a stand-in for what you deserved. You should have been thrown on that altar as the price, but your perfect sheep paid your price instead.

Oh, but hear this, we have a God that wants and has always wanted His people to clearly and completely understand what will destroy us and separate us from Him.

As the perfect lamb was sacrificed by first having a blade to its throat, sin is the blade at your own throat. It kills. The book of Leviticus is like a deterrent, a road-closed sign warning – don’t go down this path!!! It leads to destruction!!!

This book is not dull or only a list of laws, rules, and customs. It is LIFE!!!

WHAT DOES LEVITICUS HAVE TO DO WITH THE SEASON SOME CALL LENT?
Today is known by some as Ash Wednesday and begins what many people call the Lent season, which is the season 40 days before Resurrection Day. You say wait – Easter is April 4, 46 days away, so shouldn’t Lent start next Wednesday? In the Jewish tradition, Sundays are days of celebration and are not part of the 40 days of fasting. There are 6 Sundays during Lent. (There, so now you know)

Repentance and Lamentations
I didn’t grow up learning about Lent, but I do observe it now and have for the last decade. I don’t observe it in the tradition of some churches, but I have added it to my life as a necessary time, and I keep it because of what it stands for to me. I observe it in ways the Lord impresses me personally to.  Lent is a season of repentance and lamentations. It is a time to consider deeply where your sin is leading you.

No one would have ever had to sacrifice if there was no sin, but we all have sinned. And so that is the work of Jesus Christ.  We think of animal sacrifices as barbaric, but then we can somehow read through the Gospels about the crucifixion of Jesus with almost no real feeling.  Has the Cross become so familiar? Look at it again now through the lens of Leviticus. Jesus was the Lamb in your(my) place. Jesus was the last sacrifice for your (my) sin. My sin (your sin) cost the life of our precious beloved JESUS, our Savior! His BLOOD was spilled for me (and you).  

We should think on, contemplate, and meditate upon His sacrifice and not skim over our sins that put  Him on that Cross.  It is a time to consider that Jesus became our final sacrifice, once and for all. But the choices I make to sin today – they cost.  

Fasting
For centuries, people have entered into this fasting and prayer season and repentance as we do today. 

Maybe you didn’t know the reasons behind Lent, but you’ve heard discussions of what others are giving up for Lent. What are you fasting for Lent? Some fast things like – chocolate, soda, tv, social media, certain foods, certain behaviors. I am not knocking that!!! Hear me. I am not knocking it at all. Why???

One good reason to fast something we crave is that every time we crave it, it is a reminder of the sin in our lives, and it brings our minds and hearts back to Jesus and the Cross.  (There are many reasons and ways to fast during this season. We will leave that for others to share – at least for today)

Resurrection Day
This season begins with our sin and His price and then leads us right into Resurrection Day. Resurrection Day represents all things being made new. All things being made new within us again. The resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead restored us to God.

This season called Lent is a time of quiet consideration about what it took to give us life. Lent allows us to sit and see where we actually are so we can embrace the Hope for where we are going!!!

Open Your Hands and Lay it ALL on the Table
So to embrace God is to put everything on the table – not just candy or tv. To put it all on the table with open hands and say, I embrace this season, Jesus, because I embrace YOU. Make all things new in my life, Lord. I remember that sin leads to death, and I want LIFE, so I open my hands.  Reveal what is in my hands separating me from you that I may walk away from it. Show me even the things I thought were good that are distracting me from embracing YOU.  Put into my life anything that needs adding. I want to align my life with You and follow You fully.

My Prayer
Father, thank You for sending Your beautiful Son into this world to save us and to be the sacrifice for our sins. Help us not to skim over this act of love. Jesus, thank You that You sacrificed Yourself willingly for each of us. Thank You and help us not skim over these truths or this season, thinking we will wait until another day to repent and lament our transgressions. Holy Ghost, help us as we go through this season. Help us to yield as You do Your work in each of our lives. Fill us afresh, strengthen us, and guide us each moment of this precious season. I love You, and I want to show my love to You and those You love today and every day. Please help me, Father! In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen!!!!

And to think I started this blog and was going to define all the different types of sacrifices. BUT GOD…

Today’s passages from the One Year Bible – Leviticus 4-5; Mark 2:13-3:6; Psalm 36; Proverbs 10:1-2

One Year Bible Passages for today – Leviticus 1-3; Mark 1:29-2:12; Psalm 35:17-28; Proverbs 9:13-18

A Remnant Goes to the Priests
And the remnant of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. – Leviticus 2:3

Remnant – A remaining, usually a small part; a fragment or scrap; leftover

Salt of the Covenant
And every oblation of thy grain offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy grain offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. – Leviticus 2:13

What is the Salt of the Covenant? My Bible note says that this most likely means that the covenant is perpetual because salt was used as a preservative.

Perpetual Statute – No Fat or Blood
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the Lord’s. It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood. – Leviticus 3:16-17

God does not forbid eating all fat. There is though a specific type of fat that HE wants us to avoid.

Leviticus 1:8 –  And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar.

If you look at the Hebrew word translated as fat from this verse, it is “peder.” According to Strong’s Dictionary this means – “from an unused root meaning to be greasy; suet. The term “peder” was only used three times in the OT and it was consistently used in relation to animal sacrfices. “Peder” means greasy and it refers to the HARD FAT in the animal, usually located around the kidneys, loins, and liver. This is all supported by the following verses:

Leviticus 9:10 – But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the Lord commanded Moses.

Leviticus 3:4 – And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.

All of the fats and organs God speaks of have the purpose of either holding, filtering, and/or storing waste products and toxins that can be harmful to the body.

Caul above the Liver – the liver-net, or stomach-net, which commences at the division between the right and left lobes of the liver, and stretches on the one side across the stomach, and on the other to the regions of the kidney.

God knows their purpose because He created them and so He knows that they are unfit for human consumption.

Be Thou Clean
And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. – Mark 1:38-42

Lord, Would You have mercy on my husband today? Would You put forth Your hand and touch him and cleanse us both that this deafness would depart this household from this day forward. Would You heal Him, Father? Would You cast out devils or show me so that I might cast them from my home? Would You open his ears in the physical and spiritual? In Jesus Name. Amen!

Let Them Be Ashamed
Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me. Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long. – Psalms 35:26-28

If I rejoice (even in my heart) or feel prideful when someone else suffers, the Psalmist has prayed that I will be brought to shame,  confusion, and dishonor. We should rejoice when someone prospers and be filled with joy and gladness that our righteousness may be a testimony and that we all might magnify the LORD.

Foolishness Leads to Hell
A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, To call passengers who go right on their ways: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell. – Proverbs 9:13-18

Oh Lord, Guard us against being foolish and making decisions that are foolish or lead us to folly. You have warned us that folly and foolishness lead to death and hell. Please help us, Father!

Folly – the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense; a costly and foolish undertaking. Unwise investment

Foolish – resulting from or showing a lack of sense; ill-considered; unwise

One Year Bible Passages – Exodus 39-40; Mark 1:1-28; Psalm 35:1-16; Proverbs 9:11-12

Become – to come, change, or grow to be; to be suitable or necessary to the dignity, situation, or responsibility of.

Becoming a Levite
And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he. – Exodus 40:13-16

Aaron was a Levite. From my early days as a Christian with a very specific call into the ministry of prayer and as a prayer leader within the church I attended, I have identified myself as a Levite.

Levites have no earthly inheritance because the Lord Himself is their inheritance. That spoke to me!!!

My dad died, leaving no inheritance or blessing. He was a minister, a man of God. But when I was fourteen, he decided to end his life, which became my identity and what I was left with. Once I was born again, I didn’t want that as my identity or inheritance, and I asked God to take my history and make me “new” there as He had in so many other areas. It didn’t really seem possible but I asked and it didn’t happen immediately. But, one day in the prayer room, the Holy Ghost fell on me as I read Joshua 13:33. I felt that quickening; that knowing. The old grief and longing lifted as I felt my Father reveal to me that my “new” and true identity in Him is as it was before He laid the foundations of the earth. I was a Levite and though I didn’t fully understand at the time, I believe God anointed me that very day as He did Aaron’s sons.

But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them. – Joshua 13:33

Does that mean I am anything extra special? Not at all. We each have a call and an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. I don’t even feel I am all that good ministering. As it regards prayer, I am awkward at times, and so often, I stutter and stumble over my words… but I am driven to pray and passionate about the place of prayer and taking my place in it. I love to minister to the Lord and His people in that way.

Some may not get it or recognize it; some may not understand what I have written here at all, but that is okay!!! I am proud of my God-given heritage. My inheritance is the God of Israel Himself!!! What more could I even want or need!!!

Becoming a Fisher of Men
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. – Mark 1:17

What stood out to me in this verse is that He will make me to become a fisher of men but there is a prerequisite. I must “come after” Him. I must follow. To follow Jesus means not only walking where He walks but doing the things He does. Keeping my eyes on Him; my ears attune to His voice, my mind meditating on all He has said to me as we walk, and my heart pure that I can even walk after Him without stumbling. Then He will make me to BECOME what He desires…and He desires me to become a fisher of men.

Becoming Faithful: Finish the Work
And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. – Exodus 40:33-34

God loves and honors faithfulness. We often start something, and when our recognition for what we do wanes, we slow down and then quit. God gives assignments, and He wants us to finish them…for His glory! Finish because we are faithful to Him. Is there something He has commanded you to do that is half-finished and laid down in that state? Pick it back up and be faithful to finish. The glory of the Lord is at the finish line.

Becoming Pure
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother. But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not: – Psalms 35:13-15

David prayed and fasted for his enemies as though he were praying for his friends when they faced adversity. But his enemies rejoiced when misfortune came to his life. God had me turn this around in an interesting way today.

The Bible tells us to love and pray for our enemies. Through this verse, God asked me today, do you pray for your enemies with a pure heart, or do you do it for others to see but secretly harbor an attitude of happiness and arrogance when they fail?

God is dealing with all the impurities in my heart and revealing them to me one by one.

Becoming Wise
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. – Proverbs 9:10

I am reminded that If I choose to live wisely, it is going to benefit me. If I decide to live foolishly, I will have to deal with the consequences of my decisions. My decisions do not change God, but they change the path I take in life and the rewards or consequences I reap.

I can choose to live a joyful life that honors God or a miserable life that takes me nowhere.

I can take the impurities that God has revealed in the verses from Psalm and foolishly deny they apply to me and reap the consequences. I can deal with them, repent and surrender to the Father’s correction reap the benefits of living in wisdom.

Exodus 35:10-36:38; Matthew 27:32-66; Psalm 34:1-10; Proverbs 9:7-8

Fear the Lord
O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. – Psalms 34:9-10

The Veil Was Made
And he made a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work. – Exodus 36:35

The Veil Was Rent
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. – Matthew 27:50-54

“When I take my first step beyond the veil, I will only have just begun Life With The Father.” ~ John G. Lake

Rebuke a Wise Man
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. – Proverbs 9:8

An Encounter with God
When I got out of bed this morning and left the room I was sleeping in with my grandkids, II forgot to take my eyeglasses. Because of that, I couldn’t see. I could listen to the Daily Audio Bible but had difficulty reading the text, even enlarging it.

I began to scroll through Facebook and for some reason landed on a “live” video of someone I have never listened to for over a few minutes. I tried to listen to her but she was going in all different directions and I said out loud – JUST GET TO THE POINT! I was annoyed, and as I had done many other times on this particular person’s feeds, I started to get off and move on, but for some reason, I couldn’t. It was the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost let me know loud and clear that He wanted me to stop judging people in the natural and by things like dress or speech patterns and stuff like that. He wants me to go deeper. To learn to hear with spiritual ears and see with spiritual eyes. He let me know that I had to be open to hearing many others and that He would teach me how to discern what I needed to listen to and what was false by checking to see if they lined up with the Word of God. This woman said these things, but the Holy Ghost was having every Word bear witness in my heart. And He began right then and there to teach me in a way that left me in awe.

The first thing He taught me was this. As many have been preaching and the Bible says, there is gross darkness covering the world, but in those moments, He was most concerned about the gross darkness surrounding my heart. In a Word – Jealousy. Bitterness. Offense. I am tired of what these feelings are doing to my life, and He is even more tired of it!!!

God had taken this woman to heaven, and she was talking about your spirit “talking” there – without words to others. That this was possible because hearts and thoughts are known there.

Something “clicked” in me. It wasn’t words that she spoke, but words that the Holy Ghost planted within.

If God knows our hearts here and brings conviction on us and we don’t yield and repent, we won’t be in heaven. Why? Because hearts and thoughts are known in heaven. But those thoughts of jealousy and bitterness and offenses can’t be there. They are wicked. Those seeds we secretly hold on to might be able to remain hidden from others on earth, but you can’t hide them in heaven. Your hearts and your thoughts are known in heaven. No sin is in heaven. This filled me with holy fear. I want to be in heaven with my Father. He wants me there with Him but I am the one who has to make a choice to be obedient to His directions and warnings. He said in the first scripture I posted – there is no want to them that fear Him. Thank You, my GOOD, GOOD FATHER.

Oh yes, the Holy Ghost rebuked me this morning and brought great and life-changing conviction to my heart. And it is true, I do love Him so.

Oh Lord, forgive me for harboring jealousies and offenses. Thank You for bring them to me so vividly this morning. Help me now to rebuke and turn away from these wicked ways each and every time these demonic spirits raise their voices to try to destroy me. I tired of living this way Father and I know that just as You routed out the fear in my life, it is Your desire to root these things out. Oh Abba Father, thank You for loving me enough that as I have sought You in new ways this new year, You have allowed me to find You in new ways. Take me Lord deeper in You. Cause me to crave You more than I crave the things of this world or people in this world. Set me on FIRE, FATHER!!!! Let Your FIRE cleanse and purify me. I want to be holy, like You! Help me Lord…I ask in Jesus Name. Amen!!!