Discernment is scarce in the Church today. And people who lack discernment usually think they have it. But let’s say you are a person who has diligently studied the Bible, and you have honed the skill of discernment. You recognize false teaching when you hear it because you know the truth of God’s Word well.
Now what? How does one use that discernment in a Godly way? It isn’t as easy as it sounds. The following words from Hannah Anderson spoke to me as I contemplated…
Abram (#Abraham), continued passing through the land and came to the mountain on the east of Bethel where he pitched his tent. With Bethel on the West and Ai on the East Abram built an altar to the Lord and called on His name. I would imagine at the point Abram called on the Lord Yehovah, he was worshiping, offering praise and thanksgiving, since, the words the Lord had spoken were coming to pass. But, Abram continued the journey toward Negev, which is the south country of Judah before heading into Egypt temporarily due to a famine in the land.
When he and his wife Sarai were about to enter Egypt they had a conversation and Abram asked Sarai to tell the Egyptians that she was his sister. Abram believed the Egyptians would kill him and take his wife Sarai who was a beautiful woman. Just as Abram had suspected that’s exactly what took place. But it wasn’t just the people who noticed Sarai’s beauty, it was also the Pharaoh’s princes who praised Sarai to Pharaoh. No surprise Pharaoh decides to take her into his harem (house) for the purpose of marriage. Since they believed Abram (Abraham) was Sarai’s (Sarah) brother they treated him well and he secured sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels and servants.
It’s at this point everything takes a turn. The Lord punishes Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai. How Pharaoh knew all these plagues were due to Abram the Bible doesn’t say. But, Pharaoh called to Abram wanting to know why Abram didn’t tell him Sarai was his wife, but instead, claimed she was his sister. Remember, Pharaoh had taken Sarai into his harem and planned to take her as his wife.
So what happens to Abram and Sarai?
Pharaoh gives Sarai back to Abram and sends them away. In other words, Pharaoh wanted them escorted out of his area he didn’t want to lay eyes on either of them. So, Abram, his wife Sarai, Lot (his nephew) and everything he acquired in Egypt, left and headed toward Negev (the South country of Judah). Think about it, the whole time Abram was in Egypt he had acquired wealth in the form of livestock, gold, silver and servants.
Which meant Abram had alot to contend with on his journey out of Egypt back to Negev. He journeyed as far as Bethel to the very location his tent had been at the beginning between Bethel and Ai. And, it was at this first altar Abram originally built that he called upon the name of the Lord.
Considerations
This story gives us an inside look into what happens when we put our belief and trust in the Lord. One may think at first glance, it had to be extremely difficult for Abram knowing that another man had taken his wife, not to mention, the Pharaoh of Egypt. And I’m sure Sarai was in a constant state of distress not knowing what would happen to her. But, there are signs to indicate the Lord was protecting Abram and Sarai during this time. The talk Abram and Sarai had prior to entering Egypt instructing Sarai to say she was Abrams sister, Pharaoh treating Abram well providing sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, servants, silver and gold. The Plagues sent by the Lord Yehovah to punish Pharaoh, and after Abram received everything he needed to sustain his family during the famine the Lord had Pharaoh give Sarai back to Abram and escort them out. While we may not understand the difficulties we’re currently going through, as long as we keep our focus on the Lord, trust and believe in him, we’ll see his blessings grow. And if we look back during those difficult times we may realize just how the Lord’s blessings sustained us even when we couldn’t see the way.
Next, Abraham and Lot
Hey Friends, I’m super excited to be talking about spiritual keys to open doors!
For starters, doors are mentioned in the Bible numerous times—some doors appear as merely physical structures used as literal entryways.
However, I’ve found that doors in the Bible also carry symbolic references to greater spiritual truths.
This article will go in-depth (like for real) to explore the various types of biblical doors and their meanings.
I’ll discuss:
P.S. The inspiration for this blog post is the 5784 Jewish Year of Open Doors post! I’ll also write another post about prayer points based on this theme soon!
Ready? Let’s go
In the dictionary, a door is defined as an entrance or exit point between two areas, typically used to separate spaces.
So let’s move on to the purpose of doors…
Have you ever really thought about the story of Abram (#Abraham), spoken in the Book of Genesis? When you read the story of #Abram you realize just how many amazing works the Lord performed. For instance, after Abram’s father passed away in Haran the Lord spoke to Abram and instructed him to leave the country, his relatives, his father’s house and go to a land that the Lord would show him. The Lord goes on to tell Abram He will make him a great nation, He would bless him, make his name great, those who bless Abram the Lord would bless and those who curse him, the Lord would curse. But the Lord also says; “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
So what does Abram do?
At the age of 75 Abram was faithful, obedient and trusted what the Lord told him. He packed up his wife, Sarai who was barren, his possessions, his servants and his nephew Lot and set out for the land of Canaan. He didn’t need time to contemplate it, he didn’t say to the Lord, I’m too old to make such a journey, no, Abram was faithful. He listened to the Lord, trusted and obeyed what He said.
After arriving in Canaan Abram went through the land as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. Then the Lord appeared to him and told Abram, I will give this land to your descendants. So, Abram built an altar to honor the Lord who appeared to him.
Considerations
As Christians we need to ask ourselves, how many times has the Lord reached out to me? Did I choose to ignore Him and His instructions? Did I question His motives or make excuses? Was I unbelieving when I heard His voice? Because, we’re living in biblical times and just as Abram was faithful, trusting and obedient to the Lord, we need to ensure we’re doing the same.
Next, Abram Journeys to Egypt
The eyes of the Lord are
on the righteous, and His
ears are open to their cry.
Psalm 34:15
Last night as I was reading the Book of Psalms I came across this scripture which reaffirms that God sees all and hears all. He looks to those who are righteous, those with moral courage and spiritual integrity. God wants His people to boldly stand firm in the face of adversity and in His truth. We’re not called to be spiritually deficient in His teachings, but rather, to be of good moral character and living a lifestyle that is pleasing in His sight.
My Prayer
Lord God Almighty, thank you for Your eyes being on the righteous and Your ears open to our cry. As a believer I want to stand up for what is right, good and acceptable and live a life that is filled with spiritual integrity. Strengthen me in your word, in the faith, in your teachings and in your love so my light shines brightly in the darkness. Let the Holy Spirit guide, teach and correct when I have difficulty understanding. I Praise you my Lord God and I hope the words of my prayer are pleasing to your ears. These things I pray in Jesus name…Amen
Staying in peace and quiet can be hard sometimes. I know the Lord has told me so; Exodus 14:14 in my circumstance. For the most part I have and then sometimes the worry and what if’s come in, and that is where I lose my peace not to mention saying something when I need to just be…
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of…
Do you sometimes feel like you don’t fit in? You may need to remind yourself that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, this world is not your home. Your home is in heaven and you are an ambassador for Christ in a foreign land.
In continuation, to be holy as He Is holy series and HE IS HOLY. ~because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE
Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
It’s intesting how sister Michele of Ride the Heavens interpreted a past dream I had on her blog post entitled, Finger Power, and accurately interprets a situation I’ve been wrestling with, and over, for the past several days. What I’m referring to is the act of finger pointing.
As I read the scriptures I see over and over how Jesus WAS and IS love. He demonstrated His love through every single act whether it was healing the sicking, restoring sight, raising the dead, teaching, or feeding the hungry, every act was done out of love. With the ultimate act of love being His sacrifice on the cross.
Jesus wasn’t about pointing fingers and calling out a person over their sin, there was no need, the person themselves knew they were doing wrong. Instead, Jesus taught a better way, we are to love one another as ourselves. You see, the Pharisees and scribes always used finger pointing to convict people of their sins. In the story of the woman caught in adultery, the scriptures read;
Now the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the center of the court, and they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women [to death]. So what do You say [to do with her–what is her sentence]?” They said this to test Him, hoping that they would have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and began writing on the ground with His finger. However, when they persisted in questioning Him, He straightened up and said, “He who is without [any] sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He stooped down again and started writing on the ground. They listened [to His reply], and they began to go out one by one, starting with the oldest ones, until He was left alone, with the woman [standing before Him] in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She answered, “No one, Lord!” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” John 8:3-11
In true fashion, Jesus didn’t point fingers at this woman over her sin as the pharisees and scribes did, instead, He showed her a better way. He showed her it’s better to love than to create animosity, it’s better to extend kindness than to rely on mankind’s judgment, and it’s better to let love convict one’s heart.
It’s time believers teach the TRUTH, stop judging non-believers, stop finger pointing and accusing them of THEIR sin, and let the Gospel do what it was intended to, convict those whom God has called!
Over the past couple of weeks my schedule has changed and I’ve found myself in bed by 9 or 10:00 pm. It doesn’t happen every night at this time but it is happening more frequently. This allows me to get up early and enjoy some Bible reading on my patio before it gets too hot or an unpredictable rainstorm comes in. I really enjoy and look forward to this time of solitude.
Of course, last night didn’t go as planned and the last time I remember looking at my phone it was 4:00 in the morning. I was working on a combined project with my husband before realizing it was extremely late, or, early depending on how you choose to view it. But I told myself I still wanted to do some Bible reading even if it’s only one chapter. I love reading the Bible before I lay down because it helps to keep my focus on Yeshua (Jesus) as I fall asleep.
While reading the Bible before I laid down I came across a scripture that really made me stop and think. You see, for awhile now I’ve had such a burdened in my soul for those who are lost in this world so when I read this scripture I felt that familiar conviction. The scripture reads;
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL REPAY EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perserverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life; but to those who are self-serving and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indigation. Romans 2:5-8 NASB
Normally, I’m not a fan of the modern translations but I was really impressed with how the New Living Translation worded this scripture. In their translation it reads;
But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But He will pour out His anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. Romans 2:5-8 NLT
For me this is a very scary scripture because what I see happening in our world today has a direct correlation to people with an unrepented heart and a stubbornness that is unreasonable, irrational and extreme. But the Bible is clear, those who refuse to seek good and live lives obedient to Christ will receive the full force of God’s anger and wrath.
Our world is falling deeper and deeper into descent, and while many claim that the “right president” can turn all this around in the US, I believe, it’s a call for the antichrist to step up and take center stage soon. Keep your focus on Christ Jesus (Yeshua, the Messiah) because it is written;
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:42 NASB
I decided to do something a little different than normal so instead of writing about a subject that’s on my mind and I’ve been reflecting on for the past couple of days, this evening, I was lead to just open the Bible and select the first scripture my eyes focused on. The scripture my eyes fell on reads;
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1 NAS
I see this more as a personal message for me. But to fully understand this particular scripture and how it may hold a message intended for me I decided to compare this scripture to my Amplied Bible. And this is the interpretation, which reads;
Arise [from Spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brillance of the Lord]; for your light has come, and the glory and brillance of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1 AMP
When I read the Amplified Bible’s version of this scripture it really jumped out at me. And I knew the Holy Spirit was definitely sending me a message I needed to hear. Because today I took care of some household chores, watched a movie while playing an online game on my phone but once the movie ended I felt….bored…..listless. Guess I didn’t realize at the time but I was battling spiritual warfare, however, the Holy Spirit knew. It’s like He said,
“I gave you time to take care of your household chores, now, it’s time to get up and focus on the Lord.”
While I had no clue I was battling spiritual warfare, the Holy Spirit did so He sent this message in a way which I have never experienced before and one which I would understand.
As I journey through the scriptures, one of the parables which Jesus spoke while speaking to the Priests and Pharisees during His time in Jerusalem has really made an impression on me. It’s the story of a landowner who planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then the landowner leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.
What I found so interesting about this story is what comes next when Jesus said;
At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.
“Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
“But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.
“When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”
The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”
Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’
Why am I so intrigued by this parable?
I can easily see the story of Jesus wrapped up in this one parable. Because I associate the landowner with God, the land with Israel, the tenant farmers with the priests and pharisees, the landowner’s son as Jesus and the punishment the tenant farmers receive will be horrific because of their wicked treatment to God’s Son and God’s servants.
And when Jesus says the Kingdom of God will be taken away and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit, it reminds me of the reign of Christ Jesus when He sets His Kingdom in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah, Christ will reign in Jerusalem! The King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Scriptures takes from Matthew 21:33-43
There are many scriptures in the Bible which are very enduring to me, but as I continue my journey through the scriptures I have also found those that are very frightening to me. There’s only a couple which truly scare me, but, the one I want to share with you today is the one which says;
Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; LEAVE ME YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS. Matthew 7:21-23
See what I mean? Scary right?
So I thought about this and started wondering, if those who cast out demons, performed miracles and prophesied in His name was told them to leave by Jesus, I needed to understand why. Because I know Jesus is loving, compassionate, merciful and forgiving, but, I also know He is righteous.
But it’s 2 areas within these scripture Jesus tells us the reason “why” He’s pushing them away when He says, “YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.”
What is lawlessness?
Jesus was very precise when He made this statement, because, if you look at the definition of lawlessness it means, a state of disorder due to a disregard of the law. And notice what else Jesus said, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
What is the will of His Father?
From the very beginning after God created Adam we were to be obedient to God. But instead of being obedient, mankind is in constant rebellion. And that’s exactly what lawlessness is, rebelling against God and practicing wrongdoing. Another scripture which is very telling is when Jesus quoted the words of the Prophet Isaiah, which were;
This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.” Matthew 15:8,9
So God told the prophet Isaiah, these people worshipped Him in vain because of their hearts. You see, since their hearts weren’t right with God they could never truly worship or honor Him. Now if their hearts were right with God they would have taught the commandments of God, instead of the commandments of men. And Jesus backs this up and explains it when He says;
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other sexual immoral acts, thefts, false testimonies and slanderous statements. These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person. Matthew 7:18-20
Just because a person goes to church doesn’t make them righteous because the statics prove that OVER half the men who go to church are into pornography. But it’s not just pornography, it’s all wrongdoing.
Why do I believe this is happening?
Because mankind has lost their LOVE for God and have NO FEAR of Him. And since they have NO FEAR of God they teach false doctrines and twisted scriptures instead of teaching God’s will. Because Jesus said when asked;
Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:36-40
Because if you think about it, if one truly loves God and his neighbor the way this scripture directs us to, there would be is NO ROOM for LAWLESSNESS….
It’s time to repent of lawlessness and get back to LOVING GOD!
Jesus the Righteous Path 