Signification of the Death of Jesus
Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2TLV
One day, we too will be faced with death.
nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Luke 17:21 NKJV
The death of Jesus made a way for purification of man. Not only did His death make room for us to be made whole through the process of restoration, but the fallen nature of man needed a Redeemer to change the stasis of the world.
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free:
John 8:32 TLV
The death of Jesus brings spiritual life to the believer. Jesus died for us to be reconciled with God. His death signifies the eternal life that we can possess through purification of the forgiveness of sins. As we look at the crucifixion we can begin to look beyond the physical death while focusing on the spiritual intendment. Looking with this new lens, we begin to see what the unfolding of an individual personal relationship with God truly looks like.
Transformational power occurs when we awaken the man of who Jesus was, and is now within and through us. This occurs when we become the mind of Christ through transformation of the natural mind becoming a new expression of the Christ truth.
But first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness , and all these things shall be added to you
Matthew 6:33 TLV
The spiritual understanding of the death of Jesus starts within. It is a process that is worked out through the seasons of life. That is why it is called a “journey.” Much of this walk takes place within the mind of man. It is the state of the mind that becomes transformed. Humanity has been in a fallen state since the beginning of time. This was not the original intentions of the Lord. When we grow in wisdom and stature through searching for the Lord in prayer, scripture and fasting, we can begin to set the mind right through the spiritual understanding of the Word of God. When recognition of this understanding begins to form within man, demonstration will come next.
After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions;
Joel 2:28 CJB
The transformational progress will lead to the demonstration of God’s ideas through us. This is the great “I Am” within man awakening from the slumber of the world of sleep. Our regeneration from the Cross becomes an inward journey of man. This is what is called “Stepping through the door of Salvation.” The process involves stripping the self of what the world has shown us to be true and going within to become the manifestation of God within.
“Wake up, O sleeper!
Rise from the dead,
and Messiah will shine on you.”
Ephesians 5:13TLV
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Isaiah 60:1 TLV
Being made in the image of God, therefore the light of God shines within our hearts. We see the glory of the Father through Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. It is in Him all things were made. It is time to awake––We are the light of God!
For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of the body—though many—are one body, so also is Messiah.
1Corinthians 12:12 TLV
In the image of the Father, we take on fractals of who He is. When we awake and move through the door of Salvation we can begin to demonstrate the ways of God. The transformational power begins when we lose the will of the outward man and obtain the will of God. May His will be done!
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 NKJV
Called to Intimacy
Now without faith it is impossible to please God. For the one who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6 TLV
The joy of the Lord reflects through the intimacy we acquire in knowing Him. Without believing in the Maker of heaven and earth, we cannot obtain the relationship that God has always intended us to have. Faith is the substance that connects us to the Father.
God’s original plan was for fellowship. We see this in the following scripture.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8 KJV
We see from the above scripture that after creation, God had directives for man (us–humankind) to abide by. He says for us to be fruitful and multiply, replenish the land, subdue and have dominion over the earth. In this we can see that God created us to watch over the earth. What a gift that He has given us! What have we done with this gift? He gave us authority over creation. He wants us to be the farmers, the ones who tend the earth. How has this been forgotten? At what point in time did we stop relying on God and start relying on ourselves? Have we forgotten our own history?
Enoch was seventh in the line from Adam and the Bible states that he walked with God and “was no more.” We see this in Genesis 5:24. When we look at this scripture our minds cannot fathom the meaning of “was no more.” However, because of his faith, God once again found favor and fellowship in this man. Enoch is an example that by faith we too can have this same fellowship with the Lord. All of this is dependent upon our will. The question becomes, “How far are we willing to go to surrender ourselves fully to the Lord?”, and in the surrender, “Are we willing to ignore by what the world thinks to fulfill the purpose of God”? It is in the yielding that we completely learn to trust God to guide us.
Without the Lord we cannot thrive. We see this in John 15:5.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5 KJV
Alignment occurs when we live according to the Lord’s design for us. Only then can the purposes of the Lord come upon our vessels to function. To do this we must learn to abide in Him. Remaining in the Lord reveals God’s true nature. Our eyes have become veiled due to the fall of mankind. The way to get back to the Lord is through learning the intimacy of the Lord. This can only occur through the burden to want to know Him through reading His word and communing with Him. Without this intimacy, we will never know God or His ways to the full measure. It is through our faith that an activation occurs, along with signs that will follow. John 15:5 tells us that a life led through Jesus we will give us so much more. Our intimacy with God comes through the expression of fellowship. Why is it that we often only see this on Sunday at church service? Our intimacy is not based on an event or transaction but a continual in and out pouring of the anointing that God has over our lives. This can only come into fruition when we choose to make Him a part of our everyday lives.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV
Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Isaiah 43:7 KJV
The Great Commission is about the plans God has stored up in heaven for us. He has called us to be lovers of Him and to draw people to Him in union through our example. We are His army generals. We have been made for His glory! The Bible is THE manual for life as we know it. God designed us to be in union with Him. The closer we get to God, the more we learn who He is. It is through our hunger that the mysteries of God will be revealed to us, and all that we are will be transformed into His design, for His purpose. Only then will we be able to partake in the unveiling of our senses, an awakening of our spirit to finish the call of God over our life. This happened when our spirit connects with the Spirit of God. This is where the activation occurs, and we begin to transform inwardly and outwardly in His image. This takes provision, the act of looking to God and relying on Him for all our needs to be met. First, we must answer the call and then we must continually strive forward in knowing Him. When our eyes become fixed on Him, we will do the impossible, defying all natural laws and will not be able to be moved. We are supernatural spiritual beings created for His glory and in this nothing is impossible.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Matthew 10:30 KJV
This scripture confirms that God has an intended plan for us and that He will never leave or forsake us. He knows everything about us. He always gives us the utmost attention. Do we give Him the same? Daniel is a great example of the faith that one should have in the Lord. We see this when we visit Daniel 2:17-20 KJV. He depended on God for everything and when God revealed answers to Daniel in a dream, it only increased his faith. He knew the direction he was to go and in return he praised the Lord. Today, that is one thing we do not do enough. If God sent His only Son to earth to die for us, our sins and our transgressions, then do we not owe our entire life to Him. Do we not owe Him all the glory, honor, and praise? Our God is the absolute King of Kings, Lord of Lords! He is sovereign above all. We see this throughout time. He will never leave or forsake us.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27 KJV
Being made in the image of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, shows us that we have been made to be an expression of the Lord, fashioned to His liking. This is a huge advantage that we have over the fallen world. This is a sign, a promise from the Lord that He has plans for us when we choose to admire Him. The Bible says that when we hunger for more of Him, God becomes joyous (Zephaniah 3:17 KJV). This is when the Lord reveals more for us to take on. He gives in measure and the giftings He blesses us with are to be used for His glory–to lift Him up and exalt His name on high. When we use these giftings prophetically, we can lead others back to their path, confirm their way, lift them up and encourage them and bring them into a higher level of faith. The giftings that God gives saves lives! Are you ready to receive what God has for you? Are you ready to work for the kingdom? Often, we call the prophetic, reading their news. It is essentially the same as our relationship with God. As we tether to the Lord, revelation results to push all of humanity forward.
If we believe what the word of God says––that He is all knowing, everywhere and that He laid the foundation the earth (Isaiah 48:13)–then why would we not want to know Him and do His will even more? If we believe in God and want to go to “heaven,” then why would we not investigate Him and do the work He sent us here for? His goal is to restore the earth. Our calling is to fulfill the assignment. Have our eyes become so veiled that we have begun wasting time running to and fro like a mouse on a wheel? I would say that mankind has lost sight of the Lord. Restoration starts at intimacy through love and fellowship as sons and daughters. Our purpose, paths and journeys can only be found through a restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ the Messiah. We are called to step from salvation into our inheritance.
The next time you’re at church and your singing something like–“Christ is my firm foundation, the rock on which I stand” or “Our cornerstone,” I challenge you to meditate on what the words are speaking. Allow the worship to resonate deep within your spirit. This is the age of awakening; eyes are being unveiled. The unseen is becoming more visible each day. We are in a time when we need God our Father more than ever. It’s time to repent, surrender to His provision according to His riches and glory!
We were created for the Lord and it’s time we return to him to fulfill the prophecy of Scripture!
May God Bless you
The Provision of the Lord Stands at the Door
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:20 TLV
Provision––the act or process of providing.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/provision
My heart has been burdened sometimes for those who have chosen Jesus as the doorway to God but have become stuck at the opening. I am referring to those who have wholeheartedly believed they’ve been set free and been given a chance to leave all the baggage from seconds before to get the opportunity to start again. Yes, accepting Jesus is the greatest gift ever to receive. Yes, at that moment we become a new creation. Even better yet, a transformation begins at that moment within us that carries us throughout the remainder of our lives. My heart aches for those who stand at the door waiting to receive next instructions. It is in those moments that many turn their backs on this choice they just made and walk away from the Door. I often ask myself “why?” “What happened?” There are many reasons why we are quick to turn our backs on the choice that we just committed to. For some it may be fear or unbelief in what they did. For others it may be their expectations, impatience, not knowing what to do next and so on. There are too many reasons to write. This is not only the most important decision that we make in our lives, but it is also the pivoting moment where we have given God the permission to work once again with us just as He did with Adam in the garden.
God has an intention for each of us. He has had a plan all along to restore mankind back to Him, and it started with the Seed of Promise in Genesis 3:15. The fall of humanity in the garden led to the Adamic Covenant in Genesis 3:16-19. Jesus was foretold in this scripture as One who would be wounded while destroying Satan. Today because of the blood that He bore to save us from the world, we too are part of the New Covenant. Through Jesus, the Father has chosen to restore us by forgiving us of our sins. This restoration is what brings us back to the original intention of God. This is the first step in becoming whole. This is the beginning of aligning our body, soul and spirit to the Spirit of God. When we say yes, we are giving God the okay to pour His Spirit into us. When Jesus was baptized and came out of the water, the sign of the Holy Spirit was the dove. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit to be able to function in this world, carrying out His duties for us to carry on what He left behind. Scripture tells us He had much more to do to prepare for us. We see this is John 14:1-3, where Jesus says in His Father’s house there are many mansions, and He must go to prepare a place for us. So…where does that leave us?
It surely does not leave us at the door of salvation. The key to this answer lies in Genesis 1:26.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness! Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the flying creatures of the sky, over the livestock, over the whole earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the land.”
Genesis 1:26 TLV
We can see since the beginning of time that we have been created to be made in the image of The Father, The Son and Holy Spirit. This activation happens when we are willing to rely on God to provide everything for us and trusting Him is the key. Our Father providing our every need is what provision is. He is the supplier of our needs, but we must choose to submit to Him in the process. I am sure that there have been different circumstances throughout life that have caused you to realize that you did NOT have control over them but in faith you prayed it would all work out. I have a million stories that I can relate provision to. Provision is not something physical. It is 100% spiritual. We have been made in the image of the Father, and the Father is not physical. Therefore, we are spiritual beings. Provision deals with surrender and forgiveness. Through salvation we can ask and receive forgiveness of what was, while surrendering it all to God.
Surrendering and asking for forgiveness are things we will do throughout our entire lives. It is because of Jesus that we receive the mercy and grace to go directly to God and repent, and it is the mercy and grace that cleanses us again. This is a spiritual transaction that occurs when we choose to come into a relationship with the Father. We can’t take steps outside of the door of salvation until we choose or hunger to know Him at a more in-depth level. It is through wanting to know the Lord that we can come into our full inheritance that Scripture talks about. Too many times we spend our lives trying to figure out our purpose or the path we should be on without even acknowledging our Maker. We think it is all of us but we fail to see that God is our provider. We must learn to yield to Him for all things. At salvation we are a new creation, but when we take steps in choosing to know God and invite Him into our daily activities, a true supernatural transformation occurs. This transformation takes place within us and may not immediately be seen on the external surfaces. It is through the love of the Father while leaning not on our own understanding but on the power and authority of God that we can be a light on our path for all. If God is love and we are created in His image, then we are also love and we too can shine. This is part of the Great Commission. None of this can occur until we choose to flip the switch and activate the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Our hunger draws us closer to the Lord and in that He reveals more of who He is to us. The more we see Him in His glory we align with Him and see our purpose clearly.
We must learn to get outside of our heads and the physical realm. We tend to become grounded in the world and miss the awe of God within it all. When we have a bad day or something happens, we pray. This is not how God intended it to be. He needs our participation just as much as we want His. He has a calling over our lives and it comes in the form of assignment after assignment. We must be willing to me moldable for God. We must see ourselves as the vessel that carries His Spirit.
One day we will return to Him. Our bodies will die but our spirit will live on for eternity. If we cannot grasp the fact that it is not us but the provision of God that moves us, then we will remain lost in a broken, hurting world. Through God, all our needs are met (Philippians 4:19). He is the great Provider. He gives us rest and provides us with peace. His Spirit provides us with the direction we need. By learning to hear Him we know which way to go. He brings people along our paths to help us. He watches over us. He says He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). His mercy and grace endure forever. He is what gets us up in the morning. He gave us our first breath and continues all the days of our lives. His written Word is filled with promises for us for our lives. When we choose to read the Bible and apply it to our lives, we are allowing God to nourish us, and this is provision. We are surrendering, believing in faith that God will provide for all our circumstances while clinging to these words. He gives us encouragement and lifts us up in times of need. All of this and much more is available to us when we choose to look to God for all the things we need for life. When we understand the provision of God over our lives, we can then move into not worrying about ourselves but applying what the Lord has done in our own lives to the one in front of us while giving God all the praise, honor, and glory.
He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords! His kingdom has no end!
May the Lord reveal to You who you are in Him. May His provision be an act of surrender in your life. In faith may you flourish for all the things that God has for you through the door of Jesus. May you continue to step forward chasing the prize of the kingdom. May you take up the power and authority vested within you from God as sons and daughters, saints, priests, and kings to be the best you can be, fulfilling all your assignments here on earth. May your vessels be cleansed through the mercy and grace of the Lord in forgiveness and may you shine like a light for the one in front of you. May your spiritual senses awake and may the activation switch ignite the Holy Spirit within your life.
May God Bless you
My Writing Journey
I feel as if I have many “stories” but the one I want to share today is about my story that led me to writing.
I worked in the dental field for eighteen years. I also worked overseas on the mission field in dentistry. I have always had a heart for missions and in fact I always wanted to be in the Peace Corps, but my life had different plans for me. This story that I am sharing will reveal the power of God and how His inner workings seem to always get us back on the blueprint design He has for us. I am a firm believer that everyone can have many stories in life and through each setting more of who God has made us to be is constantly being revealed. These experiences we travel through in life is what gives us the necessary tools to help us move forward in the kingdom of God. Our assignments we complete from God make us who we are. These parts of us not only strengthen us and give us more faith in who God is, but by releasing our stories to others, we are helping God in building up His body. This is the Great Commission that Jesus calls us to do. Each person’s individual testimony will be unique and different because God gives us according to what we need, all for His glory.
Getting back to my story…while I was on a church mission trip in the Dominican Republic many years ago, I was offered a position at my local church as a Global Mission and Local Outreach Director. I knew immediately that my time in dental would be rapidly coming to an end. I knew this was the Holy Spirit preparing my next venture and out of obedience to the Lord I would not think twice about jumping in. So… I took the job. Wow! It sure was a 180 turn from the dental field! I was now working for God in His setting within the church. There was so much to learn and in all the inner workings of “church life,” God was doing a “thing” in me. He was preparing my way for what would come next. He knew what I needed to continue to step forward in my destiny. The fact is, we all have destinies. The Bible says that we all have a book (Luke 10:20). It is up to us if we choose to step and walk into what is being put in front of us. All our paths look quite different. Scripture tells us that the body is made up of different parts and each part is needed (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).
During my years working for the church, I began to hunger for more knowledge and began to search for schooling that would quench my thirst. The opportunity arose for the exact type of schooling I was looking for. Little did I know this schooling would take me to a deeper depth of knowledge of who God is that I could have ever thought. I have been in this schooling about seven years now and have completed my associate’s, bachelor’s and will be graduating this year with my master’s in biblical studies! Who would have ever thought that God would capture my heart and just keep going! I wanted to share this part of my writing journey because it gives great insight into my journey and to where I am as a writer today.
One night while I was home alone with the Lord, the Holy Spirit dropped in my spirit the words “Close the door.” I instinctively knew that it was time again for a change. I know the Holy Spirit well enough that when these things happen, I must obey because I am a firm believer in the written word of God and when God says move, I move. I am not going to tell you that change isn’t scary–it is! But new life is also fun and exciting. Not knowing what lies on the other side is somewhat exhilarating to me.
I had never written a letter of resignation. And it seemed ironic to try to explain that the reason for leaving this great job where I was working for the Lord—was because the Holy Spirit told me to “close the door.” Some of you may think I am crazy but as you continue to read, I think you will begin to see beyond my choice and get a glimpse how God was working and continues to work in my life.
Three months later to the day, a dear friend contacted me and said she had a dream– the Lord spoke to her saying I needed to come to Russia with her. Wow–the Lord never ceases to amaze me! I knew immediately within my spirit that I needed to go. I had been waiting three long months! Sometimes we need to learn to be still and know that He is God. This scripture has been a truth for me for years and I am not proud to say it, but it still is something I am trying to learn. The nearly yearlong planning soon began, and the Russia trip came quicker than expected. One month in Russia was a game changer in my life. I realized that God needed to take me away from my mundane life to instill in me the next part of my journey. My friends and I traveled throughout many areas of Russia and with our own eyes witnessed miracles that were provided through the Lord. Those miracles are for another time…another story I will tell.
I came home on a different level of elevation than what I left with. I was confident that God wanted to do something through me. The problem was that God became quiet. My apotheosis was not the same as what God had in mind. At that point I sort of fell in the dumps, became a bit lost, and my expectations of what I thought would happen left me deficient in the courage area of my life. Gradually, I came to learn that I lacked patience in the work God was doing in me. I was able to learn to be still and know who He is while listening and pondering on all that I had been through. I was so quick to want to release it to the world so that everyone could see the wonderous miracle-working Father! I was upset because I was jobless and left with too much so-called time on my hands.
So, what did I do? I continued my schooling. That was the one stable thing that was going for me and was the thing that fired my hope in what would come next. These lowly times don’t always have to be seen as depressing. These are the times where God is doing big things in our lives. I am a testimony of witness to the “valley days,” because I have gone through them. Being still and taking time to learn is a must to hear the voice of the Lord. My schooling also led me to another change, which was to begin attending the place of worship where I was going to school.
During this time of stillness, the Lord began nudging me through my dreams. Either I was not still enough to hear Him through the day, or the scripture was right on (Job 33:12-14, 15, 18)! I began dreaming of Bible verses and talking in my sleep. My husband would wake me up and tell me that I was quoting Bible scriptures. I knew that I must begin to write them down. I had no idea why. Nearly 14 weeks later, I wrote and then started the publishing process of my first book: Behold! God Is Speaking To Us, a fifty-two-week-Old Testament Devotional. After that I was on Fire again! I began to realize that God wants to release things through us all, but it is not on our timing, it is on His. I soon began volunteering and sharing my message to others. Before I knew it in 2020, COVID happened. We were all pretty much quarantined at home. Local eateries had closed their inside seating and we were forced to stay home. COVID had a positive outcome for me because I was able to stop all my daily activities and sit down and write. I was able to be still with no other agendas. Nothing was keeping me from the hunger within me. I soon began to receive downloads from the Lord and within in two weeks God did it again! I wrote my second book: Ancient Paths, Navigating the Ways of Old To Bless the Days of New. God really does have a path for us to follow, but it starts with getting to know Him on a deeper level. It starts with the hunger, the burden or feeling that you have to go deeper. 2 Peter 1:3-11 is a perfect scripture to understand what I am saying. As we get to know the Lord, He gives more. We were always meant to co-labor with Him through our relationship with Him. He has so much to offer. There is a whole other side we cannot see in this life that God is waiting to explore with us. We must be willing to step outside of fear while taking the first step into the unknown. His Word tells us that He has plans for us to prosper and that He will never leave or forsake us. We must believe that and have faith in what is to come. This is part of my testimony because if I had not chosen to leave the dental field, I may still be trying to find my God purpose in this life. I may have lost time. I thank God each day for all He has done and continues to do in and through me. I praise Him and have such feelings of excitement within myself for what is to come. Nothing is impossible with God on your side!
I am happy to share that I have published two books. I have two audibles along with a website. Years ago, I started blogging whatever God had placed on my heart and continue to this day. My blogs are on my website, michellegehrt.com. My books are in stores locally in Ohio and can be purchased online through major stores. I ventured off with a close friend and became members of a world-wide Christian writing group and have been able to sharpen my writing skills with the help of the diverse literary writers within the group. I am just finishing up with my master’s degree in Biblical Studies. This year (2023) the Lord has divinely awakened me to start my own local writing group. This again was another “Godwink” experience that I had. I received two confirmations to do this within ten minutes of each other. I immediately began creating my business plan to make this group come alive.
This is my writing journey. It may have been long, but I hope you are inspired by it to chase after the purpose God has for you. I pray this story ignites a flame to make a new transformation in 2023. I pray an impartation of activation will occur within your soul and that all fear will be released so that you can step deeper into your God-given destiny. I pray you may start a new endeavor or a more in-depth of what you are already doing. I pray your inner voice will emerge and that you will begin to move in bold confidence chasing after the prize that God has set before you. May the power of the Holy Spirit guide you into your next assignment.
God bless you
Manifesting Jesus Through the Spirit of Prophecy
And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10 NKJV
We have all been called accordingly through God. His purpose for us started before time began in a book. Through accepting Jesus at salvation, our restoration back to the Father begins. He knew us before we were in the womb, and He has great plans for us.
The resurrection of Jesus is a testimony, but is also where our authority lies as believers. This authority can only be found by receiving spiritual revelation. God is spirit and He wants to reveal more of who He is to us. God wants to show us the One true way. His nature is truth and when we come to Him through the Son, we are sanctified and made right before Him. God’s true nature in us is what sets us apart from the world and sets us free. Jesus positions us to receive all that God has for us as we walk in the wilderness of the world. Just as the Israelites’ identity was revealed in the wilderness, our identity is revealed today in life when we choose Jesus. Without this insight we too will continue to walk in the wilderness of life. God had a reality for us that He wants us not only to see but to live out in the remaining days of our lives. This reality is starkly different from what our natural eyes can see. Jesus calls us out of the wilderness by delivering us from the evil ways of the enemy.
The wilderness does not always have to be portrayed as a place of hindrance. It can also be a time for growth and acceleration in the Lord. It can be a place of ridding ourselves of the world and a time to grow close to the Father. God gives us time to come back to Him, and it often occurs in our wilderness moments in life. Many times, when we seem to be stagnant, God places others with us to comfort us. I like to call these people who come along our paths, “flame carriers”. They provide light and lead us along the way. Life is our own pilgrimage but God provides us protection, strength, and courage often through the one alongside us. It is usually the one we least expect. God is always giving us time to return to Him because we are His children, and He is our God (Jeremiah 24:7).
The Israelites had to learn the hard way. They were blinded because of their own unbelief and disobedience to God. God cursed them because of their bad behavior. Because they did not believe, they were kept from the Promised Land. This dry and barren land was the place where a generation that would come after them would experience who God is through the testimony and witness ,how they would be restored into the land of milk and honey that God had kept for them all along (Exodus 3:8). The Israelites were held in bondage for forty years because God knew that the next generation would be a believing generation. The original people complained. Today we all go through these same wilderness times but through Jesus we can be saved from the ways of the world. God wants to restore us now.
When we accept Christ, we become one with Him and are seated at the right hand of the Father. The right hand signifies authority and honor. This is proof that we are in the same ranking as Jesus, because he is now in us. The written word of God tells us that we are to become the mirror image of Him (Philippians 3:12-14). There is a faith that ignites when we are about to receive Jesus. Our belief comes alive, and we are ready to receive directly from God. We are ready to be forgiven, healed, restored, delivered and more. But then what happens after we receive Jesus? In most cases this is where we see the stagnancy of life enter in. This is where most Christians get stuck. What is missing is that there is a requirement of all new believers at that moment at the cross. We are assured to be forgiven and to be transformed into a new creation but under many circumstances, our chains are broken only to be held back into bondage. Little do we know that our journey is just beginning.
Understanding our spiritual authority through Christ will help us to walk out the original design that God has called us to from before we existed. To do this, we must continually take steps forward from salvation growing into a deeper relationship with God. In this our spiritual eyes will open allowing our eyes of understanding to be enlightened. Luke 24:48, Acts 1:8 and 4:39 reveal how we connect with the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. At salvation we receive all that God has for us. When we say yes to Jesus, all that He had and has done on earth is transferred to us. That includes the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the vehicle in which we can operate. The Holy Spirit is how we can see into the spiritual realm. This is where we can hear from God.
The Holy Spirit is the activation that is needed for us to come alive from the dormancy of the mundane life we live. It’s like a light switch that when turned on reveals all things into being that were held captive in the darkness. God is light and His spirit in us lights our way on the path of life. This light also helps us in times of need and guides us into our destiny. This requires our obedience and a great surrender of our total being. We must learn to lay it all down on the line to see the great rewards that God has for us. This process is often called “sanctification”. It happens throughout the course of our lives. There is always going to be a struggle for our flesh just as Ephesians 6 speaks of, but as we feel the resistance to come closer to the Lord, it is through our choices that we will be able to pick up our cross daily and fully receive the gifts and blessings that God has for us to complete the mission. Part of our calling is to learn how to move with the Holy Spirit in us. We are the vessel to be poured out for the one in front of us.
The scriptures are filled with the gifts we have available to us through the authority we have been given through receiving Christ. It is our responsibility to act on the written word of God. The Bible is our living manual for this life. As we grow closer to the Lord, we supernaturally begin to activate God’s spiritual authority for our lives, and we begin to move in it. This is what we call alignment with God. For more information on this, I recommend reading the book of Ephesians with your spiritual eyes. By now you may be wondering what it is exactly that God wants from us? The true nature of God is revealed to us as we surrender to Him. We were made to co-labor with Him but sin got in the way. The world has kept us from God’s original intentions and that is why the greatest miracle ever provided was what God had planned for us through His Son Jesus. He wanted to restore us from the sin of the world and bring us back to Him. He is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). We were created for His anointing. He has a perfect plan for us because He is perfect in all ways. Therefore, His plan is to perfect us as we align with Him. He wants us to turn our hearts back to Him. It is through life’s refinery that we will learn the truth of the Lord. Love conquers all. God is love… Therefore, we being made in His are also love. It is God’s nature for us to receive eternal life. As we grow old and pass on from this life, our spirit never dies, and God wants us to receive our full inheritance in Him. Through following the Lord, we begin to gain an understanding that surpasses the knowledge of the natural world, and we transform into being fearfully and wonderfully made in His image.
How we respond to the calling of the Lord is the key to what our future will look like. God has made us for His anointing. As we act on next steps, God will provide increase for us as we obey Him. He does this through the prophetic. As our spiritual ears and eyes adhere and open to the spiritual realm of God, a standard is revealed as our new natural way to hear from Him. This can only happen through the effort to which we choose to know Him. Reading scripture and prayer helps us with this.
As we are learning to hear from God, the spirit of prophecy can be used to lift up, comfort, encourage and strengthen the one in front of us. We must learn to unveil this gift and put it to use. God provides great rewards for us along the way. Some of these rewards come in the form of giftings mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12. These giftings are provided for us to show who God is and to release the testimony of the spirit of prophecy to others. This release gives hope to the hopeless and increases faith and belief in others. It may be the use of our giftings to heal or encourage one another or it may be to give a word to help the hurting. Whatever gift God bestows upon us is to be used supernaturally to show who God is and bring His children back into communion with Him. Some believers release prophetic words from the Holy Spirit into the life of another. These words give hope and are meant to be kept and looked back on to see what God has been and is doing in their life. The prophetic words that are spoken over our lives are connected to the destiny that God has for us. God reveals all things in His own timing, and it is up to us to be obedient to His true nature. God has fashioned us for good things. He wants us to be successful and prosper. He also equips others as the flame carriers we talked about earlier who come along our paths to give us what we need to continue on. God is always sending confirmations to us. He sends us people who we know and sometimes even strangers along the way. He confirms to us when we open our Bible to the exact scripture that we needed, and He even comes to us at night in dreams and visions. God has deposited great things into our lives. It is up to us to see these transactions that God is making in our lives. As we grow in Him, we become naturally prepared and ready to receive these blessings to continue along our paths. These are just some of the ways that God gives us insight and points us in the way we should go.
Psalm 1 tells us that the disciples only asked one time for Jesus to teach them something. They asked Jesus to teach them to pray. This is huge because when we receive Jesus, we become His students. We become His disciples. The Merriam-Webster defines a disciple as “One who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.” A disciple is a student of the Lord. When we choose Jesus, we must commit to learning all the ways of the Lord, and this can only come into fruition through knowing the Lord. Prayer creates a direct line of communication to the Father which allows our relationship with Him to grow at greater depths than we can imagine. The disciples knew how important this would be if they were going to leave all behind and follow Jesus. This is what we are choosing when we say “yes” to Jesus. This is not a one-time fix, but saying “yes” is a lifetime covenant with Jesus. It provides restoration over and over through grace and mercy that cannot be won but only given by the Father. God provides great rewards for those who come to Him!
When we carry out our calling, we are choosing to walk out the 2 Peter 1:3-11 mission over our lives. God has given us everything for living a godly life through Jesus (verse 3). Only when we choose to align with the Father can we truly understand the authority we have in Christ as believers. This positioning happens through our hunger, faith and hope. So much is given to us when we begin to understand the advantage we have over the enemy as a believer. A great book of the Bible to read that goes into more detail of this is the book of Romans. We become righteous and justified through uniting with Jesus and then will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out the John 14:12 calling. (“Amen, amen I tell you, he who puts his trust in Me, the works that I do he will do; and greater than these he will do, because I am going to the Father).
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20 NKJV
Our Father is the Everlasting unchanging God who is always present in our lives. As we look back and reflect upon our lives, we can see the inner workings of who He is and how we have been grafted into Him. It is in His will to make us the best we can be each day. We are perfected in Him. As we see God in a more intimate way, we will begin to understand our spiritual authority as a believer. When we choose Jesus and begin to co-labor with Him, God brings new life to us.
I bless you to begin to hear the voice of God and to walk out the calling over your life as a son, daughter, saint, priest, royalty–an heir to the kingdom of God. May you hear the voice of God and His promises for you. May you never quench the spirit of God but act upon who He is and what He has prepared for your life. May you take up your seat at His table and learn to dine with Him in His presence. May the mantle of Jesus become visible over your life and may you move in spiritual power in authority. May you reign all the days of your life and may your light show who God is. May the one in front of you hunger for this same God that you portray in your life. May you bring life to the broken and hurt and may you lift up the one in front of you. I bless you to receive the Isaiah 58:11 promise for your life and that in it you will always be refreshed, restored, and filled with God’s anointing oil. May you have the strength of Ezekiel and the heart of Jeremiah. He is with you always.
Come Holy Spirit
Potato Latkes: Celebrating the Miracle of the Oil
Recently, I was at an annual lunch with a doctor and staff who I worked with for years. While chatting and catching up with everyone, Dr. E. turned to me and asked if I could make potato latkes for his upcoming Hanukkah party. To be honest, I was caught off guard, but if you know me, I could not say anything other than YES! I have never made a potato latke in my life, nor did I have any understanding of the significance of this potato pancake that I would be making and how it would signify the miracle of the oil in the Menorah.
After settling in back home, I began to research traditional Jewish recipes for making Potato Latkes. In exploring these ingredients, I came upon this traditional Jewish dish, and I was astonished! You see, it was not just the story of the latkes that I found but it had to do with the oil in general. Over the past week, while in prayer, I began to ask the Father what it was that I needed to balance my body. I had been researching different supplements and the Holy Spirit directed me to essential oils. Specifically, frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon. Throughout the Bible we find that frankincense was used in the temple and added to burnt offerings while myrrh was one of the oils used in the anointing oils of the Bible. Both oils were used for divine blessings. All three of the above ingredients were used in the holy anointing oil. This oil along with cassia and olive oil compounded together make the holy anointing oil that was used to anoint the Tabernacle of God. This oil was used for many things including sanctification– to set apart. It was also used for priests, kings, people and objects.
I believe God was leading me up to discover more of who He is through a journey using Dr. E, Hannukah and the use and purposes of the oils of the Bible. He knew I would go down the “rabbit hole” to see what He had for me to discover! Today these same oils play key roles in our lives when we are in need. They also remind us of our Omnipotent God! I am learning that when God wants to point things out to us, He will use all things to get our attention.
Along the way I discovered how important the menorah is and how this miracle lighting signifies how through the Holy Spirit that we receive and pass on what God is doing in us to others. The lighting of this candelabra, the menorah, has much symbolism and imagery attached to it. It has a story of its own. God’s faithfulness shows up everywhere if we focus our eyes to see. The story of Hanukkah shows us in detail about the “silent years” in Biblical times: a war, a rededication to the temple after it had been upheaval, and the lighting of the menorah. The menorah is a multi-branched candle holder used in the temples in Jerusalem. The Hanukkah Menorah has 9 candles on it. There are 8 that symbolize the amount of days that the light blazed, and the ninth holder is used to light the other candles.
After the restoration of the temple, the Jewish people were ready to light the menorah but only had enough oil to last for a single day. The oil required in the temple was a specific, sacred, pure oil. There was a process involved to get this oil. This is much like our own lives today and the process we go through, being refined in the fire to become pliable or moldable to the Lord. Not having enough oil did not stop the Maccabees from lighting the menorah. They decided to let this candle burn as long as it would and through their faith, God performed a supernatural miracle. The oil that was left to light the candle for one day burned for eight days! The potato latkes that are eaten during Hanukkah signify the miracle that occurred all those years ago. The oil that the latkes are fried in signifies the miraculous oil God supplied! This miracle is what Hanukkah is all about. The miracle was a sign from God saying I am here… I will never leave or forsake you…I am always in your midst! Today, this celebration is called “The Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah.” It is also known as the “Festival of Lights.”
For all Christian believers who have received Jesus at salvation, the Holy Spirit is symbolic of this flame. This is how God imparts His Spirit to us and how we impart to others. We are the vessel, the menorah that carries the Spirit of God within. We are never alone. The fire will never go out from us and will continue to burn until we fulfill our destinies here on earth. The Holy Spirit keeps us kindled. We have been set aside for the Lord’s use. Christ is the central candle of the menorah, and we are the recipients. This is a reminder of the promises of God. He never changes.
This journey has shown me the importance of knowing God at a deeper level. He wants us to explore Him. We must get to know Him intimately to receive a deeper insight into what the Holy Spirit wants to release to us. This is how we connect to the heart of God. This is how our candle keeps burning. This is how our desires change and more truth is found. This story of Hanukkah promotes a new hope in us to seek and find the Lord. The story shows us that this same oil is available to us today who hunger for more of Him. We are the light of the world.
So…I bet you all are wondering how the latkes turned out. Well, after talking to Dr. E., and getting specific instruction on what they traditionally should look like, I began preparing the recipe. They were a lot harder and time consuming than I expected. I guess I did not know what exactly I was getting into.
The first thing I had to do was peel a bag of potatoes and then hand shred each potato. Even though my arm and hand were getting very tired, I was so excited to be able to partake in this Hanukkah party. Not only was I able to help my dear friend, but it felt good to be of service to him. Let me back up a minute. A couple of days prior while at my husband’s Christmas party, I met a coworker of his that was Jewish, and I believe this was a divine encounter from God. From that moment I knew we had something in common! She was Jewish and I was making a Jewish dish! I knew that God sent her to my rescue because I was a bit nervous that these little potato pancakes would not turn out. I explained to her all about my journey of making the potato latke for a Hanukkah party and she gave me one key thing to do that would make my latkes turn out perfect! She told me that after shredding the latkes, I needed to squeeze all the excess water out of them with a paper towel. Wow! She was right! Had I not squeezed the water out, they wouldn’t crisp or take color.
My new friend Karina not only shared with me how to make the potato latkes but she shared with me all about her upbringing, traditions and holidays. I was fascinated and felt as if the Bible was coming alive to me in a more relative way. I was caught off guard when she told me that she thought it was great that I asked so many questions about the Jewish culture and wanted to learn all about it. This confirms that God knows what we need when we need it. I am always in awe of how the Holy Spirit moves in my life! All my confidence is in who He is and what I can do to show more of Him.
If you have interest in trying out potato latkes, the recipe is below.
“Michelle’s Miraculous Latkes”
Ingredients
- 2 pounds baking potatoes—peeled, halved and sliced on a turning slicer or shredded, place shredded potatoes in a paper towel and squeeze out all excess water
- 1 medium onion, coarsely grated
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Directions
In a bowl, mix the potatoes, onion, flour and eggs; season well with salt and pepper. In a skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the oil until shimmering. Drop about 1/2 cup of the latke mixture into the skillet and spread it slightly. Repeat to make 2 more latkes. Cook over moderately high heat until browned on the bottom, about 7 minutes. Turn and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel. Make 6 more latkes, using the remaining oil and potato mixture. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.
May God Bless you
A Righteous Mouth
Recently, I was reading Rob McCorkle’s latest book Life & Death– The Power of Words and as I read chapter after chapter, I found myself being able to identify with each heading. I could associate myself with them all, but after completing the book, I knew in my heart that the chapter on “A Righteous Mouth” was the one on which my spirit stuck to..
If I am being totally honest, I can say that I must continually work at chasing after a righteous mouth. Overcoming emotions is hard and if you run on them, then a righteous mouth is not something that comes easily. I must laugh at what I just wrote but I believe it is true. Only God can change us and only we can choose to want to change and work towards having a righteous mouth. Thank God for grace and mercy! We live in a world of unrighteousness, but through Christ we are called to live at a higher standard. God wants to do so many things through us and that is why He chose to purify us at salvation. The plan for Jesus to die for our sins was so that we could continually go back to God and ask for forgiveness. Being right with God starts at repenting for what we produce from our mouths that is not right. As we graft into God through building a relationship with Him, we veer away from what the world says about us, and we become the righteousness of God. This is shown by what comes out of our mouths. Our eyes will be unveiled to see the ways of the world, then we will strive to become who God has already prepared for us to be and it will feel right! This all takes time and a growing up spiritually. Internally the change happens first at salvation and then what we produce from our mouths will be seen externally by the ones in front of us. We will be giving life to others by the words we speak, and those words will dramatically transform the ones in front of us for God. Righteousness is so important in understanding when we become members of the body of Christ. Many who receive salvation do not understand what it was exactly Jesus did for us so we could get back to God’s original intentions for us. He has a blueprint design for our lives, not just for us to get cleansed through Christ. On the other side of that moment in time when we say “yes”, we are opening ourselves up to the spiritual world that God has prepared for us all along. This is the side of salvation that we begin to walking out our inheritance. God made our adoption possible through His Son so that we could once again be connected with Him for eternity while laboring for Him on earth.
When we chose Jesus at salvation, we received our very first deliverance. At that moment we were cleansed and made new. Like the process of how gold goes through the fire to separate the impurities to be refined. At salvation, we begin the refinery process. Sanctification is another name for this action we chose through Jesus. This process will carry us through life.
Through our decision to say “yes” to Jesus, we have chosen to make things right. This is the first step in obtaining righteousness. Jesus begins to transform us at the cross and in turn we are given power and authority to be the mirror image of all that Christ did when He walked the earth. God did all of this to save us from the enemy. He has a destiny for us and has predestined us to be sons and daughters to carry out His mission on earth.
Being made right before God and learning to walk in these ways helps us to produce righteous fruit from our mouths––that is when we gain an understanding of who God is through acquiring an intimate personal relationship with Him. In this, all our human traits and qualities will slowly dissipate, leaving only room for God’s goodness to exude from us. The first change that people will notice will be the way we carry ourselves, and that starts with the mouth. This transformation begins with the hunger to see a change and the choice to come to Jesus. In faith it continues, and our craving for more of God only deepens as we are strengthened and equipped by prayer and the power of God’s word.
Rob McCorkle shares that a “righteous mouth flows with wisdom.” As we continually keep our eyes upon God and walk in all His ways, we learn to hear His voice, and mature. From the moment we said yes to Jesus, God began imparting His attributes in our soul. The Holy Spirit in us partners and equips our soul to bring forth a righteous mind, so that we in turn can lift and encourage the one in front of us. A righteous mouth comes from being led by the Holy Spirit through alignment with the Father. This began the day we said “yes” to Jesus.
A righteous mouth is key to becoming eternally whole in God. Part of our maturity is to recognize when our mouth is trying to get us into trouble. The mouth either produces blessings or curses (James 3:10). When we are producing God’s goodness the world forces of evil are bound by the light of God within us. Evil wants us to expel negativity, but through keeping our eyes on God and listening to the Holy Spirit within, only blessings will manifest out of our mouths. This is where we supernaturally begin to align our mouths with the word of –thus becoming wholly righteous, being aligned with the Holy Spirit and bearing favorable fruit. We cannot produce the “good fruit” if our mouths are not producing life to the one in front of us. As we mature in stature and grace through God, our lives begin to look different. We begin to naturally shift through salvation to acting upon the transformation of God within us through Christ to start taking responsibility for what we produce out of our mouths. We begin to lose the ways of the world and become ingrained into the ways of the kingdom of God.
There is action needed on our behalf to bring God’s plans into fruition for our lives. We are called to not just accept Jesus at salvation but push forward and learn to walk in the ways of heaven. This can only take place if we choose to develop a relationship with our Father. In hungering for more of who He is and what He has to offer us, our mouths will align with Him and bring forth right words to shift the earth. A righteous mouth begins with being able to give gratitude to our Father for what He is doing in and through us.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 NKJV
Delays
As I mature in my walk with the Lord, I am beginning to see the burden that the Lord has placed upon my shoulders. I am seeing so many people receiving salvation and being baptized, only then to go about their earthly lives. They are essentially stuck in baptism. For many reasons known and unknown they do not understand that life has taken a 360° change. This beginning, or this becoming a “new creation” in Christ, has not become recognizable to the new Christian. Therefore, they do not understand who they are or the potential they have in being a child of God. This is the unfortunate core of the Christian Salvation experience we often see today in the church, and the devil loves it!
We will encounter many delays and challenges in our walk with the Lord because we are not of the world and at salvation, we have chosen to leave the corruption of the world behind and look toward our new life. This encompasses that we begin to take an initiative, be diligent or shall I say, “go to work.” It was God who called us to salvation. We supernaturally answered the call. That was the beginning of our faith. There was something there that changed within us. Perhaps it was a hunger or a knowing that there was something more. Maybe it was an escape from pain, strife, or anything else that the world had thrown at us. Whatever it was, the choice was made to change or start the transformation process.
After reading the book Living as Salt and Light by Derek Prince, my eyes have opened to the importance of transition in the life of the believer. The burden placed upon my heart is from the Lord showing me the lack of or shall I say the tragedy of the gap. When I say gap, I am referring to the in-between place of getting saved through Christ followed by baptism and then only to be stagnant. This is where either delay is caused by unseen evil forces, or the powers and principalities of God are working in the life of the believer. Is this a choice? Have the saved really turned their backs on the corruption of the world, or have they not yet learned compliance to be able to accomplish greater things? What is the missing link? Because of lack of understanding, we can become fruitless and turn back to what we know best, the natural world. This is what weighs me down. This is what breaks my heart. I feel that I have a deepened responsibility to walk with new believers as an example, showing them that through Christ they have been restored to the original position God has marked them for. I too was where the lost are at one time in my life. I have a testimony of the goodness of God that I can share, and I am sure others like myself can also testify to what transformation looks like when we choose to get to know God in a personal intimate way. I believe that this is part of my assignment on earth.
Delays are inevitable, but it is the hunger to push through salvation and begin to really get to know God in a more intimate personal way through prayer, reading scripture and listening to God that truly changes us, making us hunger for more and becoming the salt of the world. In all of this we can receive all that God has for us. But it takes the initiative and a continual attempt to work on the qualities God has for us. These characteristics that God supplies us with will allow us to obtain the promises of the Lord. Only then will we be able to leave the corruption of the world while dominating the forces of evil that are contained within it. Abundant life starts at baptism, and my prayer is that men and women would begin to dream and envision the inner workings of the kingdom of heaven. Delays are inevitable, but there is victory for all Christians who are in the gap!
Demonstrating the Manifold Wisdom of God
The question is: “What is our purpose for being in the world?”
Jesus clearly states in John 6:38 what His purpose is: to do the will of God. I believe this question is something that most people at some point in their lives ponder. It breaks my heart to think of the number of individuals who have given their lives to Jesus but are still asking this question. It makes me think that when God called them to salvation, they answered the call but continued to be lost in the natural world. The transformation that was just beginning has suddenly been caught in between a life-changing moment within the person’s spirit and the ever-changing world at hand.
To even answer the call to salvation is huge! This is the most important step in the life of a Christian. This step opens the door to more than we can physically imagine. But sadly, this is where most people get stuck. Salvation is where we decide that we want to live a life free from the bondage of the world. It is where we are forgiven and given grace and mercy. The new beginning of becoming a new creation is where we develop a hunger for more of God. It all started with the need to be forgiven and to want to live a life that the world cannot offer. This is where our hope comes in. We believe there is more than what we see or where we currently are. This is where our faith activates, at this very moment. But what we don’t see or understand is that we have work we must do after our salvation experience.
So, what are we missing out on when our Christian growth gets stuck in between the world and the heavenly kingdom? For starters, we begin shortly asking ourselves questions like what I opened this blog with, “What is my purpose for being in the world?” When we choose to be obedient to this call through faith and through hungering for more, we begin to move from the in-between into the heavenly kingdom of God. God begins to open our eyes through our faith, and the scriptures begin to reveal our unique purpose. Wisdom and discernment are learned through this process, and more is given to us. Our choice to choose Jesus opens the door to work alongside God, choosing Him to lead us in this life through His Spirit. In this journey, we learn many things about ourselves, the world, the enemy and his evil schemes. When our focus is on the Lord, we have no time to look back, fear, or worry, because we are now looking forward and achieving the qualities the Lord has placed upon us. In achieving these qualities, we are given God’s precious promises that His Word speaks of (2 Peter 1:3-11). We become disciplined and obedient to the written Word of God, and with that we grow into the mirror image of Christ. Just as Jesus did the will of God, we begin to mirror this. In doing this, people begin to see God in and through us. We acknowledge that just as Jesus was sent to save us, we are now commissioned to share the gospel with others, all the while saying that it is not our will or us but Christ through us. All of this takes place through the knowledge of who God is. Reading scripture, prayer, listening for the still small voice of God, and being led by the Holy Spirit helps us to become more like Him and creates in us all the original intentions of God for our life. This is the transformation process. We become the vessel for the Holy Spirit to work through.
Salvation is the first step in the transformation, and through the hunger of wanting to know Him more, the baptism of the Holy Spirit provides us with the ability to be led, filled, refreshed, renewed, and healed. Because of our new understanding of God, we are gifted with the ability to war and fight battles in the spiritual realm through prayer. We are also able to help others by being able to go into the throne room of God and contend to be sealed up—just as we were at Salvation—to stop the enemy from having any access to us or the ones we are contending for (Daniel).
All of this and so much more is what becomes available to the one who accepts Jesus. This is the beginning of demonstrating the manifold wisdom of God. Ephesians 3:6 says: “This mystery is that the Gentiles are joint heirs and fellow members of the same body and co-sharers of the promise in Messiah Yeshua through the Good News” (TLV). Through Jesus, God has given us favor and He has given us authority to exercise His power on earth as co-sharers of the Good News (Eph. 3:7 TLV). Our purpose is to make God known to all who cross our paths. We have been tasked to keep with the eternal purpose that was carried out in Jesus (Eph. 3:11 TLV). This all comes about through our faith and trust in the Lord.
There is no need to ask the opening question of “What is our purpose?” if and when we choose to act on our hunger. God will continue to provide for us to always know our purpose: becoming the image of Christ through loving the one in front of us. In knowing all this, we begin to realize that our purpose is not about the natural but all about the eternal. God is doing a transformation in each one of us who choose Jesus. We must learn to not allow the carnal mind to step in and confuse us. This is where the enemy lies, in the mind. This is where if we are not careful, we can get stuck. We must allow the transformation process to take root and begin to grow from the cross. We were meant to bloom and to believe through faith and hope that we were destined for more than this world offers. The battle is in the spiritual realm, and it is a real battle for our souls. Through keeping our eyes on the eternal prize of life in the kingdom, we will overcome battles that cause us to question our purpose. We were always meant to dwell in the house of the Lord, right by His side. We can choose today in faith to acquire a personal, intimate relationship with the Lord—allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us into our God-given destinies.
God gives us all assignments here on earth and as we grow closer to Him, He adjusts the assignment based upon the measure that He gives us. Our assignments are always changing because we are vessels for Him to use and He is the Giver and Equipper of the call. We partner with Him to see it through. We can view assignments the same way we think about our purpose. I feel as if my purpose at this time is to help others who are presently stuck in between salvation and their God-given destinies. I feel as if I am to help them get over this gap so that they can truly understand what freedom is all about and so they can start living out the eternal kingdom of God within. Everyone has a unique assignment on earth, and some even have many different ones. I feel as if part of my assignment is to help see this through.
May the peace of the Lord be with you, and may your love of God abound in you, casting down all anxieties and fears of questions such as, “What is my purpose for being in the world?”
May God Bless you!
The Blessing of the Laver
Laver
A vessel for washing; a large basin; in scripture history, a basin placed in the court of the Jewish tabernacle, where the officiating priests washed their hands and feet.
— KJV Dictionary
Laver is a word we don’t use much these days. It was a fundamental piece of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was a sacred tent that housed the presence of God in the Old Testament. You can find many parallels to the Tabernacle dating back from the Garden of Eden to today’s world. As I have been studying about this “meeting place,” I am finding that this Tabernacle, or “meeting place,” seems full of mysteries. In my exploration of the book, I discovered that the items constructed within the Tabernacle, also known as the Tent of Meeting, appear similar in fashion to what our Christian walk looks like today. The artifacts held within this meeting place symbolize our paths of becoming redeemed, righteous, and justified through Jesus. Simply put—to be forgiven, cleansed, restored, refreshed, and renewed. This mobile shrine built by Moses under the instructions of God was His way of allowing those of old to be near Him. Today through Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, we become the Tabernacle—the place that houses the presence of God.
Of the seven furnishings within the Tabernacle, one of the most valuable pieces of equipment was the Laver. The Laver is one of the preparational ways within the tent to draw close to God. It served the purposed of washing away the contamination of the priests, for preparation of the sacrifices offered up in exchange for worldly sins committed. This was the way of Israelites of the Old Testament. Today through Jesus, the One Lamb that was slain for all, came as a one-time atonement for all our sins.
God instructed Moses to use alloy bronze—a material made up of metals including copper and tin—to construct this basin. Bronze acts as mirrors do for us today. When light hits this precious metal, a reflection is seen. In the case of the Tabernacle, when the priests were preparing for a sacrifice, they would first need to come to the Laver for cleansing. They could not prepare the sacrifice nor enter into the presence of the Lord without being clean. This ancient “sink” consisted of an upper and lower bowl. As the priests approached and were greeted by their reflection, it is possible that it reminded them of the sins for which they and all the people needed atonement.
As I have studied the Laver, I am stunned to see how similar the ancient Laver is to how we prepare ourselves today to come to the Lord. The water is a cleansing agent. When we choose Jesus as our Savior, one of the first steps of obedience is to be baptized. Baptism is the outward illustration of our belief of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection—dying to ourselves as Jesus takes on our impurities, to purify and prepare us in becoming mirror images of Him. Even as we approach coming to Jesus when we make that choice, we recognize our sins just as the priests saw their reflections and were reminded of the year of sins. Through this engagement, we have the opportunity to reflect and repent.
In the Old Testament, the priests were the only ones given permission to prepare and make the offerings along with entering into the Holy of Holies to meet with God. They were not only responsible for their own sins but for the sins of the Israelites too. The only way to be forgiven back then, was to meet at this sacred place once a year and atone for the whole year! We, through Jesus, are forgiven one time when we come to Him and after that, we have the opportunity through our new relationship to approach Him, asking for forgiveness as we desire, even in our daily convictions. It is the greatest gift of all! None of this can take place until we make the choice to be forgiven and to be pardoned for our sins which starts with the ceremonial washing. It is all a process that does not stop at the Laver. Each day is a new day offered up to us as we have sacrificed our old lives to live a new life in God. We could never get to this place without stopping at the Laver to be washed.
Christ was the spotless Lamb, and in our daily walk, we are all called to resemble the One who gave His life for us. The difference between the Laver of the Old Testament and the Laver of the New Testament is that in the old days, one day each year was set aside to make amends for all the sin that occurred throughout the year. That day is called Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement. We who have chosen Jesus are no longer slaves held captive to the act of the Old Testament Laver. We have been made to be New Testament priests through the tearing of the veil in the inner room, the Holy of Holies. Before Jesus, only a Levitical priest could make a pardon for the people. They were considered holy. Jesus died for us today to grant us direct access to God, making us all holy. He opened the way for us to exercise our new identities as part of His order of New Testament priests. To be a priest in the kingdom of God we always have a direct line of communication with our Father. There is no longer a process to be forgiven for our sins. This connection through being forgiven and washed allows us to walk out our lifeline in direct communion with God. The Laver is no longer a step to move forward in the Tent of Meeting, but an eternal purity within us to draw near to God. God’s word becomes the Laver when we accept Jesus. He continually cleanses us so that our fellowship with Him will never be hindered.
To enter into the Presence of God we must be clean. When we become washed by the water of baptism, we learn a new way of living that removes the contaminants from our lives to be able to move in the way God has always intended for us. When all the distractions of the sin in our lives are removed, we can enter in to the Holy of Holies and be consumed by the atmosphere of heaven. The tabernacle begins within us when we choose Jesus, and is shone like a beacon of light to the world through us. With clean hands, hearts and minds, we can receive all of the living water that God has for us through His Spirit. Only then will it come alive in us when we truly understand the blessing at the Laver.
May God Bless you!