Secrets Revealed in the Book of Numbers.

Secrets Revealed in the Book of Numbers.

Wisdom and revelation aren’t there to make you smarter but to open your eyes to the unseen realities and knowledge of God. The bible is like a locked file in your computer; you can’t open it unless you have the right key. You’re only given the right key as you study more deeply into the word of God. The more you study the word, the greater your appetite becomes, as it leads you to search out the hidden matters of God. 

Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, to search out a matter is the glory of kings. 

As we are king’s and priests in the order of Melchizedekian, it’s up to us to search the scriptures for those concealed gems.  

Supernatural reality further opens itself up to you in greater measure when you take the time to be with God. If you’re inconsistent, the bible won’t reveal the hidden secrets. For those close to God’s heart, you will know divine encounters as they open up to you. To someone else, a divine encounter may appear as a wisp of smoke, blown away by the breeze. To you though, it will be chariots of fire on the hillside. 

The other day as I read my bible a new word opened up to me as I questioned the relevance of Numbers. It’s quite a boring book; the son of… who is the son of… who is the son of… and X amount of people in the tribe, who offered this and that to the Lord; on repeat.

I questioned why it was here but didn’t ponder on it too long. I thought it was just about genealogy, so we know who came from where and when. I started Numbers 4 days ago and questioned it at this time. Questions come to mind when reading the bible but often without any substantial thought behind them and often those questions are quickly forgotten. At the time I questioned it, I answered my own question; “Oh, it’s just to show genealogy.” I didn’t think anything more of it. 

Today I was listening to a message on Melchizedek and right at the end of the clip the teacher spoke on why the book of Numbers was written as it was. This brought back to me my questioning of why Numbers was written. He concedes it can be a boring book, that is, until you realise for every name and number there’s spiritual meaning behind it. 

Knowing this, Numbers has now become one of the most fascinating and favourite books of the bible that I’ll read. Take Issachar for instance; Issachar meaning rewarded, or recompense. The sons of Issachar; understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do. Reuben; son of vision. Gershon; to drive out. The list goes on.

And with numbers; 6 carts and 12 oxen for example, where 6 relates to human weakness, whereas 12 symbolises God’s power and authority. 

If one could take the time to learn the meaning behind every name and every number in the Book of Numbers, one could glean a lot of information. My point being; I just found another hidden gem in the word of God, another key to seeing what was shrouded as He opened up more of His secret world to me and I found it completely fascinating. 

Forgiveness.

We often doubt that God loves us, or we feel God is angry with us, however God extends the gift of forgiveness the moment we confess and repent and He does so because He loves us so. There are times we ask for forgiveness over and over again, but God’s not deaf. He heard us the first time we asked. It’s the enemy who tries to steal our identity and we have to block his tactics.

We’re not perfect. We're never going to be perfect. We are going to make mistakes and we are going to need to ask God’s forgiveness; many times over, for we will need Hs forgiveness right throughout our lives.

Every morning is a new day; a new day to love, a new day to stand in His presence and a new day to move forward should we have messed up yesterday. If you’re constantly feeling guilty for past sins that you’ve repented of, you’re not giving God His right and just place. 

Jesus died for you and to not accept His forgiveness, He may as well not have gone through that tragic and painful ordeal. It’s a slap in the face to Him when you don’t allow His healing balm of forgiveness to work in your life. 

You’ll never be able to fully live within God’s plan for your life while you’re rejecting His forgiveness. Constantly reliving past sins keeps you locked within them. God’s mercy and grace are extended to all. It is unearned merit and favour. 

Just as God extends mercy and grace to us, we too must extend the same to those who’ve hurt and mistreated us. Does that mean we have to stay and endure more of the same? No. We can forgive and sometimes we must move on and let go. What we must not do, is harbour resentment, for resentment leads to bitterness and bitterness causes illness to the mind, body and soul. 

Jesus spoke often of the need to forgive and that’s because it’s just as important to us as it is to the one who hurt us. Forgiveness is an unnatural act, after all, you never see other animals doing it and in the act of forgiveness prison doors open, so ask Jesus to help you attain forgiveness. 

We’re not perfect. No one around us is perfect and the mark of a man/woman of God is the speed at which they forgive. If you’re finding it difficult to forgive, ask God to extend His grace that you may do so.

The New Commandment.

The New Commandment.

Love; one of the greatest qualities in the world and one which is impossible to adequately express in words.

God is love. He can be nothing but love. As God is perfect and perfect love casts out fear. God pours out His love upon us, flooding us in the liquid sweetness of His embrace; His affection, devotion and adoration. In this He is showing us to live in courageous love, perfect love, love that knows no bounds.

The devil would like nothing more than to separate us from the love of God and he strives diligently to achieve that end. The devil confuses and deceives us into believing we have to strive to attain God’s love. He tells us we aren’t doing enough, being enough, giving enough. He points out each mistake we make and engulfs us in guilt and condemnation and I believe, these feelings of guilt and condemnation are greatly enhanced through the devil and his wily ways.

Because we are imperfect beings, we will make mistakes. God, in His love, will correct us. He will bring a check to our spirit. At this time we must repent and ask forgiveness. In not doing so we open the door to the devil and his schemes.

God doesn’t hold our transgressions before us. He casts them into the sea and remembers them no more. It’s only through the work of the devil that our faults are carried before us, slinging them as mud to dirty the connection we have between ourselves and the Father.

God doesn’t love you because you are perfect and good. He loves you because He is love and He can do nothing but love.

We all carry scars in life and with those scars come deep chasms of pain. When transplanted in God’s love, when rooted and grounded in Him the burnt ashes of satan’s condemnation drift away on the breeze. Then we’re able to heal, become whole and help others in similar situations heal and become whole, as we become the hands of Christ in this hurting world extending that love to all.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3; Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand the mysteries and all knowledge, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Life isn’t about what we accomplish or what we own. Life is; who did you love? There is nothing greater to the unchurched world than that we show God’s love. Without love, people can’t hear your message, the message of salvation. A meal for a homeless man, a pair of socks on a cold day, a gentle touch in a time of need; that is the hand of love at work.

In fact, Jesus commanded us to love one another. John 13:35; A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Love is a universal language that everyone understands. Freely we have received and so freely we give. Everyone desires to be loved and so love lavishly, love unconditionally, for it is the nature of love to do so.

People today are impatient. The everyday pressures of life impinging on our peace, contentment and joy, but love is patient; patient with family, friends and frailness. Patient, even with oneself. Love also forgives. It’s not vindictive, grouchy or resentful.

God gives us the choice; forget the offence and let it go or hang onto it and let it fester. Forgive quickly, before the offence takes root and grows. Don’t try to manipulate or control others. There’s no personal satisfaction in forcing someone to bend to your will.

In love is respect and freedom, peace, joy and happiness. Add a sprinkle of love to everything you do and to everyone you meet every day. Give a smile, or a kind word, drop a dollar in the busker’s hat, have a conversation with an elderly person. Be the hand of God in a world full of pain.

Depression!

Depression!

I’ve heard it said that there’s as many depressed Christian’s as non-Christians in the world today. Now some may have good reason to be depressed, however if you’ve been battling depression for a long while, perhaps it’s telling you something.

Depression is an indicator that things aren’t going the way you’d like. Being depressed during a major upheaval is one thing, carrying depression year after year; that’s something else entirely. The bible tells us in Psalm 147:3 “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” If you’ve not recovered from something which broke you, I’d imagine you haven’t been reading your bible. You can’t read your bible and still be depressed, because all the hope you wish for is in there.

Enjoying life is a decision made outside of our circumstances and the bible explains how to do it. It’s called faith. When you tap into faith without wavering your hope is stirred up as you look forward to better days and your spirit and soul are lifted. The heaviness you carry will fall away but only if you’re consistent. You can’t be hit and miss with bible study and expect great results.

Doubt, unbelief, sadness, pain, are all present in life and we can choose to fight against those or fall in a heap. While the gospel is easy, it does come at a cost and that cost is the time it takes for you to read and understand what it is you’re to do.

We all make mistakes and regret transpires because you’re looking behind, rather than looking ahead. Regret is the thief of joy. There’s not one thing you can do to change the past, so let it go and begin to focus on a brighter future. It was Paul who said we are all pressing toward the mark. What mark? The mark of excellence. We all fall short of excellence, but that doesn’t mean we can’t strive towards it every day.

Paul made major mistakes in life, killing Christians while believing it was the right thing to do, but he was able to let his past go and move forward, becoming one of the main authors of the new testament. How well do you think he could have done if he’d have held onto his past failures rather than moving forward and leaving them behind?

Make a decision today that you’re not going to allow any further depression in your life. Make that decision. Commit to it and as you look forward to the new day, look in anticipation of wonderful events emerging. And you might be asking right about now; “How?” How do you commit to not falling into depression? Apart from the bible itself, there’s many books on the topic of overcoming depression. Both are a great place to start. Don’t listen to depressing music or watch depressing movies. Look for humour. Proverbs 17:22 says; “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” You see, these bible verses, they’re all there for a reason and we can draw from them at any time.

Allowing negative thoughts and feelings into your life will fill you with dread. You get to choose. God always give us the choice. We can choose good or evil. The devil has no power over the Christian life, unless we hand it to him, unless we choose darkness over light.

When in a negative state, stay calm, let go of frustration, think thoughts of peace and joy. Philippians 4:8; “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 regard, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.”

There will always be a new obstacle to overcome and your job is to get beside God, work out with Him what it is you need to be doing and then do it. God wants you to turn to Him. He wants to hear from you and He wants you to hear from Him. It’s called conversation and you can only have dialogue if you have relationship. Spend time with Him. Get to know Him. And if you can’t think of anything to say to Him, just sit beside Him. He longs to spend time with you.

The lack of joy and peace in the world today shows just how many people aren’t turning to God to allay their fears. When your priorities align with His, your life will run much smoother. One of the greatest benefits to spending time with God is a satisfied life. When you dwell in His presence and your priorities are straight, you’ll find worldly possessions aren’t what’s needed. What’s needed is righteousness. When you see righteous isn’t the result of what you do, but what Jesus has done, a burden is lifted and peace is gathered. Peace, joy and laughter is greatly beneficial to our health and it extends through not only the physical but also the mental.

The bible speaks of a peace that surpasses our understanding, because when we’re in tune with God, it doesn’t matter what’s going on in our lives’ or with the world itself, that peace will sit with us and we shall be content.

The Representative Ruler.

The Representative Ruler.

After a lifetime of organisation, I’ve come to the conclusion having a scattered mind isn’t such a bad thing. I’m so focused and driven, when God talks to me, at times I don’t hear it or act on it. I don’t easily become side-tracked. I have a plan in my head and nothing deters me from the plan. For those of you with erratic, choppy, random thinking, knowing a scattered mind isn’t such a bad thing might be a wonderful relief.

Today, as I was working through my daily to-do-list a whimsical thought drifted across the forefront of my mind; to look up dogs in the bible. I’ve had this thought before. God – dog, the inverse of one to the other. What’s the connection? At this point, I wasn’t going to be side-tracked from the work I was undertaking, especially as I’d already done a study on the matter presented. Still, I kept the thought in my head and as soon as I finished what I was doing, I turned my attention to dogs.

The reason I kept the thought in my head was because I’ve obviously not learned the lesson, or God wouldn’t be bringing it before me a second time. Rather than allow it to rest and continue on with what I was doing, I made a mental note to come back to it.

There are a number of inverse actions in our sphere of influence in this world in which we live. Hot planets in the universe are noted as blue while cold planets are red, whereas here on earth, we use red for hot and blue for cold.

When a polarized lens is placed over certain stones, such the type used on the Aaronic breastplate, they sparkle exquisitely with different lights and colours, whereas diamonds go black under a polarised lens and yet people place more value on diamonds than other gem stones.

So, to have dog a reverse order of the spelling of God, there has to be a connection and I’ve missed that connection in my earlier study. Now we are looking at the English translation of the word dog. Other nations call dogs by a different name so they aren’t going to have that reverse order of the word. Italians say ‘cane’ for dog. French use the word ‘chien’ and the list go on for all the different nations. The biblical meaning of the word dog, however, doesn’t change.

Job 12:7 But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you…

Dog’s teach us humility, bonding, faith, obedience, loyalty and companionship, compassion and caring. Known for their unwavering devotion, faithfulness and vigilance, protecting owners and property, all of which align with the biblical ideas of steadfastness and commitment.

And while the bible does impart negative connotations around the animal, this too is used. It’s to teach us to be discerning, avoiding contrary biblical behaviours. Moreover, dogs in the old testament were seen as unclean. As we move into the new testament, dogs are depicted as more friendly and loving, perhaps showing a change in the way dogs and people interacted over the generations.

We are here as stewards of God’s creation and dogs are a reflection of the responsibility of that stewardship. As we commit ourselves to a pet, we need to ensure we’re taking good care of that pet. Genesis 1:26 tells us we have dominion over the fish, birds and the cattle. We have dominion over all living things, but we are not to make God’s of them. And that’s the trap we can fall into, as we worship the animal more than the God who created it.

I do believe it’s reasonable to assume God made dogs to work alongside us, to be our friend and a companion to the lonely. Dogs sense when we’re down and are a great comfort at this time. Dogs help calm us and centre us, lifting our depressed mood or anxious state. And I believe, God’s showing us; what a dog is to their owner, God can be for you and for me.

Dogs accept us, whether rich or poor, pretty or pretty ugly, dogs accept us just as we are. Whether high flyers in society or the outcast, I believe God’s showing us through our beautiful canine friend; what a dog can be to you and me, is just what God wants to be for us - if we’ll only open our hearts and let Him in.

Jesus said the last will be first and the first will be last. Another inversion to worldly views. He asks that we humble ourselves and repent, which means to turn around, to turn from your evil ways; a reversal of one’s thinking, or a change of mind.

The message highlights a serious point - one of ethical thinking – the value we place on both humans and animals. On what it means to be human and how to treat other human beings; the duties, the obligations of taking care of that which we own. It highlights the differences between not only people, but also animals, as thinking caring beings. And most importantly, a special dignity towards a relationship with God, through Christ.

Mankind, under the Headship of the Great God Almighty. Mankind, bearing Christ’s image and likeness; a representative ruler over all of creation.

Holy, is the Lord God Almighty.

Holy, is the Lord God Almighty.

I was listening to you tube. It was a clip called ‘Dethroning Principalities,’ by The Deep End and I was 57 minutes into the clip of 147 minutes long. So, I'd reached around about half way point of the clip. I was listening to one man relate a true story, with two commentators listening and asking questions. I was thinking how bright these three men are. They have an enormous amount of experience between them and I fall so far short.

As the talk progressed, I became drowsy and just as I started to nod off a thought came to mind; “Watch Mark Overview.” By now all I wanted to do was stay comfortable and drift into slumber. I fought it for a moment and then had to do it. I had to be obedient to the prompting of God. I turned on my light, grabbed my phone and computer and opened the internet search browser to; The Gospel of Mark Summary - A Complete Animated Overview.

Have you ever seen the Overview series? 7 to 10 minutes of cartoon-like depictions on each book in the bible; just an overview, or a summary, if you will. A quick capping of an overall story.

With much effort I pulled myself out of my sleepy state and switched from the you tube clip to the Overview clip and I was blown away. How could I have come up with that comparison? I could never have put two and two together. This was definitely a prompt from God. The story the man told; it was like listening to a rerun of Mark - only in today’s time-frame.

When God speaks to you, it’s only a moment in time. To try to rewrite what He’s said, sometimes it would take hours. I wish I could convey what I learnt in this moment. I wish I could convey what God was showing me but it’s too detailed and too extensive. In not writing it down, I still hope to never forget this teaching and this short note is the reminder to the whole incident. An incident of a moment in time, which took the man giving the talk a life-time to process and one in which I was made aware in a twinkling by comparison.

And as I was contemplating how I fall way short of their experience, as I was thinking “how could I myself come up with this comparison,” it just goes to show; when God wants to reveal something, when you have a revelation from God – it’s never you but always God! And even the man giving the talk discussed his weakness in being able to handle the situation put before him. We all fall so far short in our perceptions of ourselves, of life and of God Himself.

When the angels in heaven cry, “Holy. Holy. Holy, is the Lord God Almighty,” they do so because every time they look up, they see a different facet of God. Tonight, God showed me yet another facet of Himself, in the revealing of the biblical over the mundane and normal.

I’ve already written two blog pieces called “The Many Facets of God.” Dare I add a third? One so incomplete as this and yet so full of meaning to me? Facet, being defined in the dictionary as; one part of a subject, situation, etc. that has many parts. Perhaps not. Perhaps I shall title it; Holy, is the Lord God Almighty!

Where I finished with the clip at the 57-minute mark, is also where the overview clip finished. I later continued watching Dethroning Principalities and it went on to discuss other matters. I can’t emphasise strongly enough how I would never have put two and two together without a prompt from the Holy Spirit. There was nothing in the clip to lead you to that conclusion.

One other thing I did learn through this was; the best knowledge you can gain is knowledge that comes with experience. All of this was given to me in the form of a scene played before my eyes and that’s the experience I gained. I didn’t have to go through it myself. Holy Spirit took me through it, as though I was in it and I have a deeper revelation and understanding of compassion, empathy, walking in the spirit, hearing and seeing in the spirit through the leading of the Lord.

My bible study today was Revelation 19:8-10

This passage speaks of being clothed in fine linen (8). It talks about the preceding words (8) being ‘true’ sayings of God (9). And finishes up speaking about Jesus; the spirit of prophecy pointing the way to God (10).

The fine linen in this passage is not clothing itself but the righteous acts of His bride; acts done in correlation with the invisible faith to the outworking righteous acts of that faith. Jesus is the source and the common theme pointing the way to the Father, in whom we are to worship, just as Jesus did.

That God will take His word and sit you at the cusp of His revelation for your life, then enter you into a deeper relationship with Him through that very word, as He leads you with aim and purpose in the right direction - this is truly a thing of magnificent excellence and one we should marvel before as we give all honour to the Father, through the Son, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Worry and Anxiety Serve No Purpose.

Worry and Anxiety Serve No Purpose.

Anxiety and worry accomplish nothing in life except to make you stop and assess your circumstances. In actuality, anxiety and worry are detrimental to our health. It has been said that stress will eventually cause Alzheimer’s. Instead of carrying the weight of tension, we should give God all of our worries and let Him ease our burden. 

God’s message is straightforward; grace. If you have fellowship with God, He will grant you His grace. Grace can take many different forms. The greatest act of grace, in my opinion, was when Jesus brought our freedom by spilling His blood. This grace cannot be purchased. This grace is not ours to earn. It is God’s unmerited gift. We are powerless to alter the situation.

God’s grace is necessary since we cannot change things on our own. Since we all have bad tendencies, our weak attempts to effect change frequently result in dissatisfaction. However, if you cannot triumph on your own, you can approach God in prayer, humility, and gratitude for a change in your circumstances. You must have the King of kings working for you. Our souls shift from resentment and despair to thankfulness and love when we depend on the blood of Jesus. The law, not grace, is the source of principles and formulas. Moses never entered the promised land. He viewed it from afar off, because the law is too difficult to keep, too hard to follow. It was completed and abolished once the Israelites entered the promised land.

Grace is given freely. The adversary wants to trick you into believing that you may earn what you desire by doing good works, praying more, worshipping more, studying the bible more, etc. Grace lies in our relationship with the All-Powerful Great God, not in the act of accomplishing more. Be mindful of your motives. They must be pure. Spend time with the Lord just because you want to have a relationship with Him. God will grant your heart’s desires when you have a right relationship with Him.

Give Him all of your affection. Prioritise seeking Him and His righteousness. When God sees you as one of His close confidants, doors will open for you if you’re wanting breakthrough. God does not grant your every want like a magician brandishing a magic wand. As the King of kings, He longs for a connection with you to Himself that is pure. When you seek Him and His righteousness first, everything else will be added to you. Everybody has mountains to climb, obstacles to conquer and overcome. Our mountain can appear so enormous at times that we believe we’ll never be able to move them on our own. The mountain is moved on our behalf by God. God isn’t searching for complete individuals. He’s seeking companions with whom He may spend time. People who will step out in faith and act on His behalf, after learning what He wants for them.

God doesn’t choose the most intelligent, wise or well-educated person. Those who are available to listen to Him and carry out His work are the ones He selects to minister to His people. God cares about every aspect of your life. You can talk to God about anything and He can help you get better in every way. But you have to be receptive, open, willing and eager to hear what He has to say.