Old And New

Everyone has heard about the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The books in each of these covenants is us what make up the full Christian Bible of those who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.  The religion of Judaism does not have the teaching of the New Testament but have many of the books of the Old Testament, though not all.  The Jewish religion teaches the Torah but has other Rabbinical teachings also.  The Islamic religion teaches from the Koran and also from the writings of their prophets.  The Mormon religion teaches from the Bible and from the writings of some of their prophets.  There are other religions that teach from other manmade writings.  There have been writings and teaching from man for thousands of years.  How do we know which are divine revelations from God the Father?  The One True God?  The only God?  I AM?

When Jesus was on earth and began teaching the Jewish people in Israel he told them,

Matthew 5:17 (NIV) - “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."

Jesus was Jewish and practiced Jewish laws.  There were no Christians until after his resurrection when the other Jews who had been his disciples/apostles began preaching to the Gentile peoples in the areas they traveled to.  Many of the religious Jews hated him for what he was teaching the Jewish people which is why the religious leaders had him killed. He could have stopped his death at any time but because he came to save the lost souls from all people groups he had to die and pay the sacrificial price for all who would come to him and believe in him as God. He was the sacrificial lamb who would be slain.  

Today we live in an age where man is still fighting against the teachings of Jesus.  Many are saying the Old Covenant is no longer valid and that it has been replaced by the New Covenant.  They base this lie on the verse by the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 8:13 that says;

'By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.'

Paul goes on to teach them about animal sacrifices no longer being necessary as the Lamb (Jesus) was the final sacrifice.  As usually man reads the parts they want to believe and toss out the parts they don’t want to follow.  

Yes, the new church is under the New Covenant but the Old Covenant has not been buried.  Parts if the old laws have been done away with but the history and lessons of the Israelites are still valid today under the New Testament.  By the power of the Holy Spirit these are reveled to us as faithful and true.  The new church has not replaced the place of honor God the Father bestowed on Abraham and his descendants.  Only numerous sacrificial laws of the Jewish religion have been made obsolete.  You are no longer allowed to stone another person for adultery.  You are no longer allowed to cut off the hands of the thief.  The Ten Commandments still stand right along with "Love your enemy."

The first covenant was made by God for the Jewish nation.  The second covenant was made for those who chose to believed Jesus Christ was the Messiah prophesied about in the Old Testament writings.  The Messiah who would come to establish a new kingdom.  A kingdom far different than this earth kingdom. The church is the Bride of Christ Jesus.  She is pure and holy and new.  She is born again and faithful and under the New Testament teachings of Jesus the Teacher.  She is not the Nation of Israel. She is not under the old laws.  Those who come to the knowledge of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit understand the Israelite's and the Gentiles are two different people groups who can come together as one under the name Jesus Christ the Messiah. The apostles that Jesus chose for his ministry were Jews who came to Jesus.  They were not called Christians at that time, they were called people of the Way or Christ Followers but they still practiced Jewish traditions as laid out under Old Testament law, though they no longer sacrificed animals or burnt offerings.  

Parts of the Old Testament are now obsolete under Jesus.  The lion and the lamb can be friends.  The Jew and the Gentile can be friends.  They can all eat at the same table with no unclean foods.  The poor and the rich can laugh together.  The sinner and the saint can be friends.  There is no condemnation in doing good for others.  There is new law in replacement of old laws that are obsolete with Jesus as the new sacrifice for sin. 

But as for the nation of Israel the covenant that God made with them as his chosen nation still stands. He will redeem them one day just as he has redeemed the new church, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that Christ has built since his resurrection.  

Man can try to change what God has planned but in the end it will be only God's word that will stand.  Man can try to say, "This is what God meant in that scripture writing" but only God's truth will be revealed to those who diligently seek truth.  No one will be deceived if they keep their eyes and ears open to the word of God.  All of those chosen by the Father to be in his kingdom will be with him one day. 

Isaiah 45:22 - 25 - "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, 'Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. In the Lord all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.'"

A wise man once said,

Ecclesiastes 1:9 - What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Psalms 33:4 - For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

WORDS

It's now been 23 months of searching for the new me in this life of widowhood.  Daily I come before the Lord and seek Him first and then ask what it is He wants from me for the rest of my life.  It could be only until tomorrow or if could be a decade or two. Only He knows but in the meantime I have to be doing something for Him.

Yesterday the Power of Twelve Wednesday Weekly Word was HARVEST.  The Scripture verse was Galatians 6:9.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

The point is to not give up.  The point is to seek Him.  The point is to tell others.  The point is to do good and use our words.  Many people know me and know that my words are rarely few and usually many.  Sometimes too many and sometimes not the words the Lord would have me saying.  They are words from my own selfishness and my own opinions and sometimes they are destructive.

Bright and early this morning I was writing to a friend who I was having a written conversation with.  I wrote the following:

'In the meantime I want all my family members on that same path and those I care the most about to know and love him. We will be known by our fruit. He told us the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Arguing about scripture verses, opinions, politics, and all those type of things only brings division in many cases. Pride keeps so many people in bondage. Our world is such a mess because so many cannot keep their tongue silent. I’m to blame in some cases but I daily try to not say everything I think.'

I adore the Lord and it blesses me so much when He gives me confirmation that what I am thinking and feeling is from Him.  Holy Spirit is speaking and I am listening.  I checked my email an hour after writing the above only to read the following from Lana Vawser the only prophetess I follow as she was instrumental in the confirmation of the forming of Power of Twelve and has had prophetic words for me in many situations in the past 6 years.

"It's time to stand and to stand strong in My Word, and allow My fire to baptise you afresh with a roar of no toleration. The pressing is coming hard against you, but push deeper and harder into Me and My Word, and know that you are moving into a place of faith and strength in Me — in the overcoming that is going to equip and arm you for the days ahead.

For distraction is coming hard against you at the gate to attempt to fill your head with noise and chatter, so you will not hear My Word, but I say unto you: bind the spirit of chaos that is attempting to come and steal the quiet space from you to hear and listen to My Word and to My strategy that I am arming you with.

Give your eyes ONLY to Me and to My Word, and My Rhema word and divine insight that I am releasing. There is a battle over your eye gates, there is a battle over the gate of your heart: and I say unto you, STAND FIRM upon My Word and saturate yourself in My presence through prayer and meditation upon My Word. 

My people, watch your words at the gate. Allow MY WORD and MY RHEMA WORD to you to CARRY YOU through the gate, and walk upon My Word as you move through the gate. For many of you are giving your tongue to careless words as you have stopped at the gate — looking at the turbulence and warfare and battle surrounding you — but I say unto you SPEAK AND DECLARE YOUR WAY THROUGH! Watch your words and speak only that which I am speaking: and know that as you speak your way through, My Spirit is paving the way for a new day that you are moving into with Me.

My people, don't stop at the gate: SPEAK YOUR WAY THROUGH and walk by FAITH and NOT by sight."

These kind of things are not a coincidence.  When we are seeking God and asking Him to show us the way He does.  It is up to each of us to read and hear the signs.  It is up to us to slow down, sit, and listen.  Too many in the world today are fighting for just a few minutes of peace.  They are being pulled into a million directions by all of the distractions.  Turn off the TV set.  Set down the cell phone.  Turn off the radios.  Lock yourself in the bathroom or the basement or your bedroom for 15 minutes.  Ask the Father to speak to you and refresh you with His words of love.  He told us that if we seek Him we will find Him.  The choice to seek Him is ours not His.  He is not going to run to you.  You have to run to Him.  Then you have to listen to the words He places into your spirit and mind.  He is a very loving and personal Father to His children when they take  a few minutes and stop running around in circles.  

Psalms 46:10 - “Be still, and know that I am God;"

Living Grief

It never really occurred to me that grief is a living thing.  It breathes in and out.  It moves within us and then move out of us only continuing to do so day after day.  Living grief knows no time.  It does not have a daily calendar or a clock hand moving and ticking seconds away.  It appears like the birth of a newborn baby and lives on until our own death silences it.  It lives as long as we live.

Two years ago when my husband passed away I thought I was strong and brave and able to face anything the Good Lord placed before me.  I was built of pioneer stock and had been ground in my faith in Jesus for close to 50 years.  I had always been able to roll with the punches and get back up.  Today I sit in my home day after day not wanting to see other faces or be a part of much of anything. Hiding at home is easier than facing the world or the people in the world.  

It was September when he died at the age of 81 after many years of medical issues.  His body could not take any more surgeries or drugs to fend off the severe Rheumatoid Arthritis.  The Lord called him home and I knew he was safe with Jesus.  For the next eight months until May when his Memorial Service would be held I made plans and bravely endured my first winter season alone along many trips to the woodshed to keep the woodstove he loved so much blazing away.  I endured and lived through a chimney fire with the help of the local fire department.  The big beautiful flowering golden chain tree blew down into the road and the neighbor had to push it with his tractor into the lawn.  But I made it through winter number one without my helpmate and husband and I did not burn down the house. Praise the Lord!

After the wonderful celebration of Jerry's life I knew it was time to move on.  But the big question was, "Move on to what?"  The children and grandchildren lived in other far away cities.  Most of my closest friends were married and working full time jobs. Leaving home to do errands was a chore.  Leaving home to go to church and sit alone was a chore.  Planning trips to see the children and the grandchildren was a chore.  Life alone was one big chore so I stayed home.  I called my home my sanctuary but it had really become my prison.  I told myself that keeping the house work done, paying the bills, reading books and watching movies, mowing the lawn and getting out of bed every day was enough for now.  The first year of his death came and went and the second winter brought 21 inches of snow at my home and 13 inches of snow on the beaches of Oregon Coast but no chimney fire.  Progress!

As I write this the second anniversary of Jerry's death is coming in a month.  Hardly anything has changed in the past year especially in my learning of the power of living grief.  I am not one to episodes of depression and I do not sit and cry for hours on end.  But is it depression when I still do not want to be around crowds of people?  Is it part of depression to not want to make the effort to get all cleaned up and go out to church or the grocery store?  Is depression learning to live alone at the age of 70?  Is it depression to think nothing is going to change for the rest of my life on earth?

I suppose living grief is a type of depression.  Though there are some joys that appear in each day it is a very quiet day when no other human being is in it. Jesus made it a point to be with others but he also went for periods of time into the wilderness to be alone.  He spent time with the Father seeking answers and speaking with Him. I wonder if he cried with anguish during some of those conversations?  I daily spend time in the word of God seeking answers and trying to gain wisdom into this new way of life. A life of living grief breathing in me. I want to hear what the Lord is speaking and I want to do His will for my life but I hold back the things I feel are still too uncomfortable to look at right now.  I have told others to look at me as they would a twenty-three month old child.  At 23 months the little toddler is just learning how to speak.  They still cannot dress themselves, many are not potty-trained. They still have a hard time eating with utensils but they have learned the word "NO".  Yes, I am a 23 month old child.

While I write this I continue to hear the Spirit of the Lord tell me that I am doing fine for this period of time in my new life of living grief.  He encourages me to keep moving, keep seeking, keep growing and keep watching.  Changes are taking place but it is a slow process of becoming a new me. At age 70 I feel it is okay to take it slow.

Psalms 46:10 (NIV)

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Monday, August 12, 2024

3:38 AM

Unforgiveness is the opposite of forgiveness.  Both are a choice we make when others hurt us or wrong us.  There are times it is very easy and there are times it is very hard.  Sometimes it can take us moments to forgive and sometime we harbor the unforgiveness for a very long time.  Sometimes it can take a lifetime to forgive.  But it is always our choice to forgive or not to forgive.

Today I know that I have to and need to forgive someone who has stolen money from me.  I have harbored my unforgiveness long enough and it has weighed me down for over half of a year.  For my own peace of mind I have to let it go.  There are many reasons to hold on to this but I know there is no way I will ever be compensated for my loss.  He has nothing to give.  He has taken from others before and never made it right.  He is the one who has to live with his theft.  I, on the other hand, have the choice to let it go and move on with my life and this lesson I have learned about trusting another person.

Throughout life we wonder how someone can forgive the person who took the life of someone who was loved.  What about those who take the innocence of a child through lust?  What about those who cheat on their spouse?  What about those who lie over and over again?  The list goes on.  Sin is hard to forget about especially when that sin affects us on a personal basis.

In Mark 2:17 Jesus told the religious leaders who questioned his habits of being with sinners and tax collectors.  He said to them;

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." 

Over and over while Lord Jesus walked this earth he healed the sick and the sinner.  He told them to sin no more.  He told them to repent from sin.  He hung on the cross dying and said,

"Forgive them Father for they know not what they do."

In his last dying breath he forgave those who killed him.

When we offer forgiveness we release that person from our heart and mind and give them to God.  God knows what happened.  God knows everything and God has the final judgement on each one of us for the sins we have committed.

Matthew 9:13 Jesus says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

The mercy we extend to others is what frees us from the bondage of unforgiveness.  They choose to be repentant for their sin or not.  But we are free from it and the Lord will bless us for the mercy we give to those who still walk in darkness.  Forgiveness is very hard to give sometimes but the unforgiveness will harden our heart.  A hard heart is not pleasing to our Lord especially since he bled and died for each one of us to save us from our own sin.

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.