And With My Song...

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. Psalm 28

Such a little phrase, "with my song I will praise Him," but oh the wealth that lies behind those seven words. Behind them is a God so full of Majesty that the expanse was created with a "Let there be" and there was. And yet, with our song we can praise Him.

Just think about that for a while. We can praise this King with our song? So simple. So full of wonder. So kind is this God. I am in awe that a God so big would accept praise from my song.

Some Insights on Prayer

As I set my heart towards prayer this morning, this is what the Lord showed me. No wonder there is so much to hinder us from prayer. If we really understood…

Prayer takes courage. He who prays engages a world unseen. For angels and demons alike come, listening to the praying saint. God encounters this one who prays. They engage in battles and wars; they experience victory, they experience some defeat—though never defeated. If one could hear this world there would be the sounding of clashing swords, breaking chains, fearful demons, opening of prison doors. There would be cheers and encouragement from those who have gone before. These saints on their knees—these champions of God—most likely will never be seen as heroes this side of eternity, but they are God’s champions nonetheless.

What's Next?

What's Next?

Is God silent?

I have often heard people counsel others that when God is silent, for whatever reason, to just go back and do the last thing they heard from Him. But, this may not, and probably is not, the best advice.

Think of road detours. Detours never take you back to where you began. Detours take you around something and then you re-enter the road at another point further up the road.

Numbers 13 and 14 is the account of the 12 Israelites spies going in to spy out the Land of Canaan. There are many angles of discussion that apply to these two chapters. The angle from which I will draw upon has to do with the Israelites’ response after they realize they have sinned against God. Instead of doing what God was currently saying, they went back to do what God had initially told them to do. The time, however, for that word had passed. It was no longer what God was saying.

Though this is a very sad part of Jewish history, it was still written so that “we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” God says through Paul in Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” They were written to lead us into HOPE.

Another example from scriptures is in 1 Kings 17. Elijah had been told by God to go to the Brook Cherith; there ravens brought him food. After some time the brook dried up.

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Then the Lord again speaks to Elijah giving him direction. This time to go to a widow in Zarephath. There was a widow there who was to take care of Elijah.

What if Elijah had not gone to the brook when the Lord told him to? But then later, after the brook dried up, he went instead? Elijah would have ended up at a dried up brook. He would also have missed the timing of the widow; she would have been dead, actually. See, the widow was to provide for Elijah, but first a miracle through Elijah was to come to the widow. Had Elijah missed the timing with the brook, then acted upon it after the time had passed, he would also have missed the widow. But, let’s say he missed the brook, but obeyed what the Lord said about the widow from Zarephath—he would be right on track. I think it’s pretty much like that for us.

God wants relationship with us. He is not a formula or an algorithm where input = output. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” The Greek bears out “but by every currently proceeding word…” 

So, if God is being silent, either because you have been away from Him for awhile or for some unknown reason, take some time to just pray. Re-establish your relationship with Him. I don’t mean calluses on your knees type prayer. I mean get back into relationship with Him. Whatever that relationship means between you and God. Ask Him where His wind is blowing in your life. Ask Him for fresh direction. Then do the best you can to obey His leading.

Today my personal studying took me into Psalm 23. Verse 3 “He restores my soul,” melted me pretty thoroughly as I read it. I encountered God in those four little words. I looked up the Hebrew on “restores.” “Restores” means to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point). Barnes commentary says this phrase literally means, “He causes my life to return.”

So, God causes our life to return, but not necessarily to the starting point or the point of detour. It is comforting to know that God can get us back on His road to a place—as if we had never left to begin with. Yep, He is that Awesome.

The Procession

Yesterday at a prayer meeting the Lord gave me a revelation of Jesus walking in a procession with His people. As I was watching He said, “If you want Me then you must take My people too, for I am with My people.” He then spoke this scripture in 1 Peter, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love [philadelphia] for your brothers, love [agape] one another deeply, from the heart.”

 

I admit I was pretty floored. I was stunned. See, loving Jesus is easy. He is perfect and always acts in perfect love. He always has all our best interest at heart, even when He doesn’t act the way we think He should. But, His people—sometimes not so easy to love.

Don’t get me wrong. Affection for the people of God is pretty easy for me. The part that’s hard is believing they really have the best interests of Jesus in mind and heart, and therefore, my best interest, as well. Before you get too critical with me please understand that I have seen a lot of abuse in Jesus’ beloved church. Many times at the hand of those who maybe thought they were doing things Jesus’ way, but then again, maybe not.

So, when confronted by the Holy Spirit with this revelation, my response was, “Oh no!” because I knew what He was getting at. I know it is biblical to love the body of Christ, it's just the people that we sometimes have a hard time with, right? To have the appropriate doctrine is relatively easy, too. To live it out isn’t as easy. Jesus is looking for believers who will actually, through loving God with all their capacity, live in community with each other and love one another deeply from the heart. Even when that means overlooking an offense and believing the best. Part of Love's definition from 1 Corinthians 13. 

As I was relaying to my husband, George, the events of the prayer meeting, I shared with him the above revelation. As I did I added more detail that, to me, didn’t seem significant at the time. The procession was shaped like a “V” with Jesus at the vertex. Then His people were following behind Him. George reiterated what I had described asking if that was what I saw. I responded that it looked like geese flying in a “V.” George said, “Berta, you realize that means it’s aerodynamic.”

I had missed a huge meaning to what the Lord was saying. When we are in proper relationship with the Lord and with each other, then we are able to accomplish so much more, so much easier. It is as if He gives us wind under our wings, lifting us up higher to soar. Sure this is a metaphor, but there is a reason why geese, as they migrate, fly instead of walk.

None of us are perfect and yet, Jesus is delighted to hang out with us anyway. I want a community. I want a family of believers that I can do life with and do Kingdom with. I'm ready. I'm hoping. I'm believing. 

John 16:33

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Do you abide in Christ? One way to know is if you have peace in the midst of tribulation. Jesus’ promise here of tribulation in the world is countered with, “In Me you may have peace.” That is, “may have peace.” This peace Jesus provides is for those who are “in Him.” Not for all who have received Him, but for those who are abiding in Him. Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation,” but you are not of this world even as I am not of this world. If you will abide in Me then you too will walk in the peace that I Myself walked in and purchased for you.”

“This peace is not an absence of circumstances, whether fierce or foe. This peace is in Me. If you would have My peace, abide in Me. And what is the victory that has overcome the world? Yes, it is your faith. Your faith in what I have spoken. My words, which draw you into that place where I am. Where My victory has overcome on your behalf. Have faith in what I have said. That faith is a shield, quenching all the fiery darts of the evil one. It brings you into that secret place of the Most High where you abide under the shadow of My wing.”

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5  

The Ox and the Promise

The Ox and the Promise

I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit the other night. It began with Proverbs 14:4, “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.”

Our assembly has been meeting in a large facility, which people refer to as a barn. The meetings are casual and children are free and encouraged to participate in worship. Often the child-like noises of the children are heard during worship and the message, and sometimes the pitter-patter of their feet sound like drums accompanying worship. Moms and dads look nervous as their children act—well, like children. But we all love it.

Back to Proverbs 14:4. The point of Proverbs 14:4 is that some places are messy, smelly, and require hard work, but God likes them that way. It means they are healthy and fulfilling their purpose. A manger is where animals eat their food. So—slobber and snot. I have horses and there is nothing like the smell of a barn. No it doesn’t smell like a garden or look like a 5-star hotel, but then it isn’t supposed to.

Unlike what some may think, God likes noise—even in church. He is noisy and Heaven is a very noisy place, except that one ½ hour. God likes His “messes” too. Ever notice in the Bible when the Holy Spirit showed up things kind of changed? God brought His order to what we thought was order. Jesus’ order was to cause disorder to the money changers in the Temple or the religious by healing on the Sabbath. I like that.

During the 1990’s renewal God busted into our paradigm and pretty much messed it up. He brought repentance through laughter—which thoroughly messed up some people, and for many He recentralized their focus to the Presence of God and His Anointing, me included. The importance of the Anointing became central. During this time God visited a little church out in the middle of nowhere named Providence, and brought His order along with His visitation. It is a small church, but a big God came to visit. When the building was full, people backed their cars up to the windows of the church, while others sat in pick-up beds or just stood outside to hear the message and receive ministry from the Holy Spirit’s outflow.

Another church during this same time grew from around 60 people to near 400 in three years. How? Because God visited and the leaders chose to do things His way. Often people were laid out all over the floors under the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. There were some who seemed disturbed by God’s seemingly disruptive moving upon and in people as they responded to Him with outbursts of laughter. But, it was God’s order. His ways brought His order. It was messy. It was great!!

This is what was going through my mind when the Lord spoke, “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean.” As I continued to ponder this scripture from somewhere deep within my spirit I began to crying out for oxen, knowing full well that this meant, “We want Your Spirit”; “We want Your moving”; “We want Your ways”; “We want Your mess.”

The Holy Spirit then changed the scene to another manger—the manger where Jesus was laid as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. Jesus was likely born in a cave-barn among all the animals, their noises and their smells. Think about it—Jesus, the Son of God, was laid in a manger where animals feed.

God then spoke to me saying, “I birth promises in the midst of messes.” Jesus Christ, the ultimate Promise to mankind, was born in a messy, smelly, noisy place among animals.

If you find yourself in the midst of a mess—self-imposed or not—look for God to birth a promise right where you are. He is not limited by your mess. He delights in taking what, to us, looks like a mess and birthing His promises and order in the midst of our mess.

Take some time to reorient yourself in the reality that God is not in the least bit taken off guard or at a loss as to what to do in your life. He delights in speaking Light into darkness and creating order—His order—out of our mess. Even yours. Even mine. 

Sound, Quantum Physics, and Ephesians 4:14

Sound, Quantum Physics, and Ephesians 4:14

So much noise (ha!) in the Charismatic world these days about quantum physics and the importance of sound regarding the supernatural working of the Kingdom of God. I hear about it almost everywhere I go. I went to a three day Prophetic Round Table where the opening word, which set the stage for the three days, was a vision someone said they received. The vision was of circuits—circuits beyond what could be counted, laid out next to each other like a deck of cards prepared for the game of match. There wasn’t a power source, so they were all inactive. (This is a paraphrase, but closely encapsulates the vision.) The interpretation, though I thought it represented churches not being hooked up to each other and the power of God, went along the lines of sound waves and quantum physics. The “visionary” got out the white board, drew parallel sound waves—like a music staff. I spent the whole three days kind of in a blur, wondering how they could get from that vision to that interpretation, and somehow accuse God of it. That was the beginning of my adventure in what I believe to be a wind of doctrine.

 Since the Round Table experience I have heard quantum physics come up at conferences and in sermons. The correct terms would be variations of resonance anyway. (Thank you BL & SR.) Resonance phenomena occur with all types of vibrations or waves. With this in mind, let’s search out some of the scripture texts I have heard regarding the misused term, “quantum physics,” considering whether or not it would it matter anyway, if the terms were correct. As a side note, if you feel compelled to use these physics terms in the context of scripture, it would do a great service to your hearers to takes some advanced physics classes first, so as not to give Christianity a bad name through your ignorance. 

Following are some of the proof-text for messages I have heard on this subject. Using each of these Biblical accounts, people have focused on the importance of the sound in each one. As if the sound was the focus and not the act of God, Who used seemingly foolish means in each. As you read through these scriptures consider what the outcome would have been if everything was done as it was, though only through natural means, as if God was not involved. (Another side note [Thanks Bryson]: Sound is important to God—God spoke in creation, Jesus is the Word of God, instruments' sounds invoke emotions and communicate things like love and battle cries ["For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?" 1 Corinthians 14:8].)

·      Gideon and the defeat of the Medians

·      Wall of Jericho falling down

·      1 Chronicles 25:1-7

·      Ezekiel and the Dry Bones

·      Pentecost

Gideon’s defeat of the Midians —Judges 7

Was it Gideon’s approach and the sound produced that conquered the Midianites or the power of God working through Gideon’s obedience to what God said? From Judges 7, “Then the LORD said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.”” The Lord said, “I [the Lord] will save you.” It was not the sound of the pitchers breaking or the sounding of the trumpets—it was God Who caused the chaos in the Midian camp by using Gideon and the 300 soldiers who did it His way.

* See Below

 Joshua and the Wall of Jericho --Joshua 6

What if Joshua had just decided to march around Jericho and blow trumpets without God’s direct involvement? Just wondering. Would the Wall of Jericho have still fallen down? If the Lord had not said, “And the LORD said to Joshua, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand...do this...”” (Joshua 6) would the sound of the marching, the trumpets blasting, and the shouting have caused the Wall to fall? Interestingly, Rahab’s house, which was on the wall, didn’t fall.

1 Chronicle 25:1-7

I have heard teaching that the instruments actually create things in the atmosphere as they prophesy. Were the instruments actually prophesying in 1 Chronicles 25, as stated in messages I have heard, or were the people prophesying while they play instruments?  The three main people mentioned in 1 Chromicles 25 are Asaph, Heman, and, Jeduthun (Ethan), and their sons. These men wrote some of the psalms—many psalms are prophetic in nature. 1 Chronicles 25:1, “Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy [<05012>: To prophesy under influence of divine spirit; <05030>: spokesman, speaker, prophet. Both words are written in the Hebrew text of 1 Chronicles 25:1. It reads prophesy prophet…] with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was…” “[7]So the number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the LORD, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight” Notice verse 7 says, “…who were instructed in the songs of the LORD.” This brings clarity to any ambiguity verse 1 may have. 

Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain], 

via Wikimedia Commons

These sons of Asaph, Heman, and Juduthun were prophesying with their mouths, as they played musical instruments, singing the songs of the LORD. Furthermore, the word “prophesy <05012>” is used 102 times. Every time it is of someone speaking and not once is it said of an instrument.  Also, how would the players have known they were giving thanks and praise (1Ch 25:3) if it was the instruments prophesying? “Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied <05012> with a harp to give thanks and to praise the LORD.”

The interaction of the prophetic and music is easy to see from Scripture. Following are two examples. However, many of the Psalms are prophetic themselves, tying music and prophecy together.

1Sa 10:5-6 has parallel terminology with the Spirit of God coming upon people [Saul] when instruments played, leading to prophesying. “After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying <05012>.Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy <05012> with them and be turned into another man.”

2 Kings 3:15-16 [Elisha speaking] “But now bring me a harpist.” While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha and he said, “This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches…””

The Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37 and Pentecost in Acts 2

Both of these were mentioned in passing, emphasizing the importance of the sound in each. “There was a noise, and suddenly a rattling” when Ezekiel began to prophesy to the dry bones. I actually love that when God moves there is often noise and rattling. Heaven seems to be a pretty noisy place—except that ½ hour in Revelation. But, this has nothing to do with the need for noise or sound, or quantum physics for that matter, and everything to do with God, His Word, and the reaction of the natural world to His Voice. Sound waves are a product of God, not a substitute for God.

Pentecost had a sound as of a rushing mighty wind. I kind of like that the Holy Spirit can be noisy. I am noisy. He is noisy too. I know that must sound juvenile, but come on people, does there have to be some extra quantum sound associated with the Holy Spirit being poured out? Think about it…Here it is at last—Pentecost’s fulfillment, I think God wanted to make a little noise. When Passover was fulfilled the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. I think that was noisy too.

* I, Svickova [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons