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GENESIS 32:24-30
Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”
But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”
And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
For at least a week — maybe 10 days now — I have had a song running through my head. If I could find a recording to play to you I would do so, but there is none available that I can find. However the words are...
I will not let you go until You bless me
I will not let you go until You bless me
Bless me, oh Lord, bless me, oh Lord
I will not let you go until You bless me
Rend the veil of the flesh in me
Rend the veil of the flesh in me
Face to face I would see Thee
Rend the veil of the flesh in me
The song is of course based on the story of Jacob wrestling with what? Often described as an angel, we see that the actual expression used is a man, but could also be translated as ‘another person’, and my understanding of this is of a wrestling in the Spirit — a determination to get hold of God.
In verse 22 we see that [Jacob] arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. ‘Jabbok’ means ‘emptying’ and we remember that Jesus emptied Himself...
In verse 22 we see that [Jacob] arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. ‘Jabbok’ means ‘emptying’ and we remember that Jesus emptied Himself...
Instead he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human.
PHILIPPIANS 2:7 [TPT - The Passion Translation]
That emptying is important. It means the ‘death to self’ which is so rarely preached today, but is actually an essential in fully knowing Christ. The actuality of it is also much misunderstood. For Jacob to experience a profound change spiritually, leading to that determination in getting to grips with God (literally) — and seeing Him face to face, there has to be that emptying of self, for only in that way can we know Christ within you the hope of glory.
We still possess our individual character and personality, our relationships to family and friends, but it is now hitched essentially and eternally to Jesus Christ.
The ‘crossing over to the other shore’ is something we all must do to get to know Him in His fullness, and The Lord makes that way for us, just as He did for the Israelites fleeing the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea; just as He did when they were shown ‘The Promised Land’, and just as He does now for each one of us. There is a crossing over to be done, a transaction with The Almighty, that brings us into His fold.
“I will not let You go until You bless me!” In a sense it is commanding God to act for us, which seems wrong in His order of things, but the reality is that it is what Our Lord desires of us. Turn it around and look at it from His perspective. “I will bless you if you do not let me go, if you cling to Me forevermore!”
Don’t see it from Jacob’s (or our own) point of view — look to see what The Lord is doing now! Jacob had his nature changed in the wrestling. No longer Jacob [supplanter], but now Israel [God prevails*]. I pray that this be so for each one of us.
We still possess our individual character and personality, our relationships to family and friends, but it is now hitched essentially and eternally to Jesus Christ.
The ‘crossing over to the other shore’ is something we all must do to get to know Him in His fullness, and The Lord makes that way for us, just as He did for the Israelites fleeing the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea; just as He did when they were shown ‘The Promised Land’, and just as He does now for each one of us. There is a crossing over to be done, a transaction with The Almighty, that brings us into His fold.
“I will not let You go until You bless me!” In a sense it is commanding God to act for us, which seems wrong in His order of things, but the reality is that it is what Our Lord desires of us. Turn it around and look at it from His perspective. “I will bless you if you do not let me go, if you cling to Me forevermore!”
Don’t see it from Jacob’s (or our own) point of view — look to see what The Lord is doing now! Jacob had his nature changed in the wrestling. No longer Jacob [supplanter], but now Israel [God prevails*]. I pray that this be so for each one of us.
- *Jacob’s new name acknowledges that his hip is out of joint. Basically, his strength, his power as a man has been taken from him, replaced by his new name — the change in his nature — God has prevailed and He is now the source of Jacob’s (Israel’s) strength.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not,[I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]
HEBREWS 13:5 AMPC
YOU NEVER LET GO — Matt Redman
PRAYER REQUIRES WORK…
THANK GOD FOR all the marvelous organisation there is in Christian work, for medical missions and finely educated missionaries, for aggressive work in every shape and form; but the key is not in any of our organisations, the key lies exactly to our hand by our Lord's instruction, "Pray."
[from ‘If Ye Shall Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT … #527 A SOFT ANSWER TURNS AWAY WRATH
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ISAIAH 49:25-26
But thus says the LORD:
“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
And the prey of the terrible be delivered;
For I will contend with him who contends with you,
And I will save your children.
I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh,
And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine.
All flesh shall know
That I, the LORD, am your Saviour,
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Verses 25 and 26 of Isaiah 49 were sent for us by a dear Spirit-filled friend, and like any word that The Holy Spirit speaks into a situation, it is an arrow that hits the very centre of its target…
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
HEBREWS 4:12
In many cases, a word shared (as this one was), is meant for a specific situation and need not be broadcast, although the import of these words can and should be made plain to all. Thus we will not tell of the reasons why these words from Isaiah were exactly what we needed to hear, but we will say why we all need to pay attention to The Lord when He speaks.
It can easily be inferred from the context that we were in a situation of contention — something we all find overwhelms us on occasion. It can be none of our doing — perhaps a misinterpretation of something said clumsily, or maybe a clash of points-of-view, or sadly something of malicious intent by another.
It is hard work to rectify a situation gone wrong. Hurt is caused and felt on both sides, driving division and exacerbating the problem. We can overcome any difficulty if there is willingness on both sides to resolve a problem, but often our efforts only make matters worse. Our situation was of that sort. No matter how we might try, the eventual outcome would not be good, unless..
Unless we look to our Lord and Saviour, who knows all things. He can perform what we cannot, precisely because He has the complete view, while we can see only in part. We know that when we are in a state of weakness, He is our strength, and these words from Isaiah 49 show us clearly that He is our strength, for He will step in and fight the battle when we are incapable of any such thing. We should seek Him first while He may be found instead of calling upon Him to remedy a situation gone awry.
There is an enormous reassurance in the knowing that our Lord is beside and within us fighting those battles for us. That is ‘The Comforter’, but armed and protective. It is ‘The Shepherd of The Sheep’ who does not want us to succumb to the enemy’s attack, but…
But there is another purpose that He has in this, for He desires that we come up higher and be overcomers in adversity. Remember Job? Father God allowed the devil to do as he pleased to Job, except take his life…
It can easily be inferred from the context that we were in a situation of contention — something we all find overwhelms us on occasion. It can be none of our doing — perhaps a misinterpretation of something said clumsily, or maybe a clash of points-of-view, or sadly something of malicious intent by another.
It is hard work to rectify a situation gone wrong. Hurt is caused and felt on both sides, driving division and exacerbating the problem. We can overcome any difficulty if there is willingness on both sides to resolve a problem, but often our efforts only make matters worse. Our situation was of that sort. No matter how we might try, the eventual outcome would not be good, unless..
Unless we look to our Lord and Saviour, who knows all things. He can perform what we cannot, precisely because He has the complete view, while we can see only in part. We know that when we are in a state of weakness, He is our strength, and these words from Isaiah 49 show us clearly that He is our strength, for He will step in and fight the battle when we are incapable of any such thing. We should seek Him first while He may be found instead of calling upon Him to remedy a situation gone awry.
There is an enormous reassurance in the knowing that our Lord is beside and within us fighting those battles for us. That is ‘The Comforter’, but armed and protective. It is ‘The Shepherd of The Sheep’ who does not want us to succumb to the enemy’s attack, but…
But there is another purpose that He has in this, for He desires that we come up higher and be overcomers in adversity. Remember Job? Father God allowed the devil to do as he pleased to Job, except take his life…
And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”
JOB 1:12
Satan is allowed by God to do as he pleases, but he cannot harm the life that God has created; only we can exercise our free will to agree with Satan, or go with God. We see in Isaiah 49, verse 4, that the choice for God has been made, but that there is still struggle and suffering, and fears arise that God has abandoned His people. The Lord then speaks to make it clear that He will contend with him who contends with us.
This blessed assurance that He will faithfully contend — that is to say, stand fast, wrestle with, pit Himself against any who come against His anointed people — is affirming His guarantee, His covenant, His blood bond that I, the LORD, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
This blessed assurance that He will faithfully contend — that is to say, stand fast, wrestle with, pit Himself against any who come against His anointed people — is affirming His guarantee, His covenant, His blood bond that I, the LORD, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness;
yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver,
for they are nothing.
For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake,
because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.
Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you;
but I will teach you the good and the right way.
Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart;
for consider what great things He has done for you.
But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
1 SAMUEL 12:20-25
YOUR FAITHFULNESS — Brian Doerksen
PRAYER REQUIRES WORK…
WE HAVE NOT the remotest conception of what is done by our prayers, nor have we the right to try and examine and understand it; all we know is that Jesus Christ laid all stress on prayer. "And greater works than these will he do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do.”
[from ‘Baffled To Fight Better’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #526 I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNLESS YOU BLESS ME
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PSALM 16:5-8
O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the LORD always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
This line came up in our meeting a short while ago, and we were blessed by The Lord’s leading at that time, but that verse from Psalm 16 stayed with me. What are The lines and where are the pleasant places? We might say nowadays, “I am so lucky”, but somehow that does not carry the depth of appreciation and thanks inherent in ‘The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.’ Perhaps that is because luck has nothing to do with it, nor can it be described as good fortune.
Studying verse 5 reveals that we have three different words which can all be translated as ‘inheritance’, but that would sound awkward to our ears. The lines, which means something tightly wound (as a rope), but also bound by a pledge or promise, leads us to translate this as ‘inheritance’, and thus we see inheritance in three instances in one verse.
Some show these lines as boundary lines, but that can only be so as in being hedged about or shielded by the Lord. What these verses speak to me is Inheritance with a capital ‘I’. This is about where we are headed, where The Lord would have us be, both now and forevermore. Living in the inheritance of The Almighty. For we are to be both His desired inheritance, just as He and His life in us is ours. See that He is always before you and that you shall not be moved from the inheritance which is yours and mine as children of God.
About 25 or more years ago, a dear lady of our acquaintance and a member of the church at which we fellowshiped was diagnosed with cancer and did not have long to live. Despite appalling pain, she bravely struggled on, until The Lord took her home. Psalm 16 was a sustaining word from God for her even to the end. A colourful painting of nasturtiums by my father with a quotation from Psalm 16 was displayed in the church as a memorial to a faithful one in The Lord, but also as a testimony that our Lord carries us through to live in His everlasting inheritance, no matter what may befall.
Studying verse 5 reveals that we have three different words which can all be translated as ‘inheritance’, but that would sound awkward to our ears. The lines, which means something tightly wound (as a rope), but also bound by a pledge or promise, leads us to translate this as ‘inheritance’, and thus we see inheritance in three instances in one verse.
Some show these lines as boundary lines, but that can only be so as in being hedged about or shielded by the Lord. What these verses speak to me is Inheritance with a capital ‘I’. This is about where we are headed, where The Lord would have us be, both now and forevermore. Living in the inheritance of The Almighty. For we are to be both His desired inheritance, just as He and His life in us is ours. See that He is always before you and that you shall not be moved from the inheritance which is yours and mine as children of God.
About 25 or more years ago, a dear lady of our acquaintance and a member of the church at which we fellowshiped was diagnosed with cancer and did not have long to live. Despite appalling pain, she bravely struggled on, until The Lord took her home. Psalm 16 was a sustaining word from God for her even to the end. A colourful painting of nasturtiums by my father with a quotation from Psalm 16 was displayed in the church as a memorial to a faithful one in The Lord, but also as a testimony that our Lord carries us through to live in His everlasting inheritance, no matter what may befall.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
EPHESIANS 1:3-6
O THE DEEP DEEP LOVE OF JESUS — Canticle Trio
AT YOUR RIGHT HAND ARE PLEASURES FOREVERMORE — Esther Mui
PRAYER REQUIRES WONDER…
OVER AND OVER again God has to teach us how to stand and endure, watching actively and wondering. It is always a wonder when God answers prayer. We hear people say, "We must not say it is wonderful that God answers prayer"; but it is wonderful. It is so wonderful that a great many people believe it impossible. Listen!
"Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do." Isn't that wonderful? It is so wonderful that I do not suppose more than half of us really believe it. "Everyone who asks receives." Isn't that wonderful? It is so wonderful that many of us have never even asked God to give us the Holy Spirit because we don't believe He will. "If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." Isn't that wonderful? It is tremendously wonderful.
[from ‘If You Will Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #525 FOR I WILL CONTEND WITH HIM WHO CONTENDS WITH YOU
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SONG OF SOLOMON 5:2 + 6:9
THE SHULAMITE awakes and speaks (5:2)
I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.”
THE BELOVED replies (6:9)
My dove, my perfect one,
Is the only one,
The only one of her mother,
The favourite of the one who bore her.
The daughters saw her
And called her blessed,
The queens and the concubines,
And they praised her.
For me, The Song of Solomon (The Song of Songs) is a book that continually speaks afresh to me. Along with John’s Gospel, these are books that I turn to again and again. Both, I believe, take as their inspiration something of the Tabernacle pattern for our walk with God as was given to Moses in the book of Exodus. (Exodus 25-31 and 35-40)
In Song of Solomon that expression My dove, My perfect one is used twice — the first time by The Shulamite as a voice she reports as having heard, meaning that The Holy Spirit spoke to her, and as she represents those of us chosen by Him, born again, and baptised in the Holy Spirit we can be reassured that it is the call to come up higher and go on with Him unto perfection.
The second time, it is The Beloved who speaks. And what this says to me, is that God calls us His dove, His perfect ones at all times, because that is how He sees His chosen. We are already perfect in His sight. He sees the end from the beginning.
In the first passage the Shulamite’s heart — her whole being, her spirit, her soul is awakening to The Beloved, even while her body sleeps. At this point, she hears His voice as in a dream. He knocks…
In Song of Solomon that expression My dove, My perfect one is used twice — the first time by The Shulamite as a voice she reports as having heard, meaning that The Holy Spirit spoke to her, and as she represents those of us chosen by Him, born again, and baptised in the Holy Spirit we can be reassured that it is the call to come up higher and go on with Him unto perfection.
The second time, it is The Beloved who speaks. And what this says to me, is that God calls us His dove, His perfect ones at all times, because that is how He sees His chosen. We are already perfect in His sight. He sees the end from the beginning.
In the first passage the Shulamite’s heart — her whole being, her spirit, her soul is awakening to The Beloved, even while her body sleeps. At this point, she hears His voice as in a dream. He knocks…
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
[Revelation 3:20]
But then The Beloved repeats His name for The Shulamite maiden — and that repetition, that witnessing, reinforces that this is the name that He has given to His people. This is our new name at the rebirth; this is the new nature that He puts in us by His Holy Spirit, for He can only relate to us if we are like Him. We become the favourite of the one who bore her — the mother church; the Church of Christ Jesus.
My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,
That they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a perfect way,
He shall serve me.
He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.
Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.
[Psalm 101:6-8]
‘Perfect’ here carries the meaning of without blemish, upright, uprightly, whole, sincerely or complete. We are made complete ‘in Him’. Our problem, of course, is that He grants us free will, so that when The Beloved knocks, He May find that we are not receiving visitors. We can go out as well as in to His presence. Pray that we go no more out.
Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more.
I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God.
And I will write on him My new name.
[Revelation 3:11-12]
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ,
let us go on to perfection,
not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead,
and of eternal judgment.
And this we will do if God permits.
[HEBREWS 6:1-3]
FOR ALL THAT YOU’VE DONE I WILL THANK YOU — The Lloyd Family Singers
PRAYER REQUIRES WONDER…
IN THIS MANNER, therefore, pray. How blessed it is to begin at the beginning, spiritual minors, stripped of our rich and verbal devotional language, and impoverished into receptive teachableness. Let our minds, made fertile by reason of genuine humility, receive the ideas our Lord presents in this familiar pattern prayer; receive in wonder and reverence the simple idea of God's personal relationship to us.
Our Father gathers us near Him in the secret place alone with our fears and apprehensions and foolishnesses and aspirations, and He rewards us. When we talk about the fatherhood of God, let us remember that the Lord Jesus is the exclusive way to the Father. That is not an idea to be inferred, but to be received: "No one comes to the Father, except through Me.
[from ‘Christian Discipline Volume 2 by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #524 THE LINES HAVE FALLEN TO ME IN PLEASANT PLACES
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JAMES 1:2-8
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
What is patience? In the King James Version we see it described as ‘longsuffering’. The Cambridge Dictionary describes patience in this way — ‘the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed’. So longsuffering is a part of patience, but so is waiting. When we pray we are often in a tearing hurry, expecting an immediate answer from The Lord, but no matter how urgent we believe things to be, our God teaches us to wait and trust that He is ‘working all things together for good.’
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
[ISAIAH 40:31]
Patience is waiting — and specifically waiting on The Lord in the full expectation of His deliverance from trouble; and that patience and faith produces the strength to be an ‘overcomer’ in the fiery trials that we all experience.
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
as though some strange thing happened to you;
but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed,
you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
[1 PETER 4:12-14]
Revelation 21:7 says He who overcomes shall inherit all things, adding and I will be his God and he shall be My son. This is the ultimate promise, our reward from the author and finisher of our faith, that our difficulties, trials and troubles are integral and essential to our life in Him, honing our natural reborn spirit to reach the perfection of the Holy Spirit.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.
You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.
But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.
Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.
But not a hair of your head shall be lost.
By your patience possess your souls.
LUKE 12:21-18 KJV (see also Matt. 24:3–14; Mark 13:3–13, both NKJV)
You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.
But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.
Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.
But not a hair of your head shall be lost.
By your patience possess your souls.
LUKE 12:21-18 KJV (see also Matt. 24:3–14; Mark 13:3–13, both NKJV)
PATIENTLY ENDURING — Active Christianity
PRAYER REQUIRES … SIMPLICITY
AVOID EVERY TENDENCY away from the simplicity of relationship to God in Christ Jesus, and then prayer will be as the breath of the lungs in a healthy body.
[from ‘Christian Discipline Volume 2’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘Christian Discipline Volume 2’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #523 GOING ON TO PERFECTION
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1 THESSALONIANS 5:23-24
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Let us be clear… we do not start out blameless, and along the way we each make plenty of mistakes, but the Apostle Paul prays ‘may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’. In these few words there is an immensity of meaning and understanding to be assessed and appreciated. So let us consider it, albeit briefly.
What is Paul saying?
He starts by praying that each of us be sanctified completely by the God of Peace. Therefore we need to know that sanctified means ‘to be set apart, consecrated, as holy’. The setting apart is not and cannot be of our own making, it is the sovereign response of Our Lord to our giving of ourselves to Him — a commitment born in us by The Holy Spirit, when our hearts respond to His calling.
…at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
This is an area which is open to much divergence of interpretation. Some attest to this speaking of the time when Jesus Christ will reappear in the flesh to redeem mankind at some point in the future. My own belief is that our Lord is very much of the present, of ‘now’! Thus, His touch to ‘preserve blameless’ is immediate and at once. All we need do is enter into that deep relationship with Him to activate His resurrection life in us, so to speak.
…your whole spirit, soul and body
The work is a complete one, touching every fibre of our being. That completeness is God-given, and is a drawing into holiness, for only in that blessed state can we be blameless. Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13…
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
What is Paul saying?
He starts by praying that each of us be sanctified completely by the God of Peace. Therefore we need to know that sanctified means ‘to be set apart, consecrated, as holy’. The setting apart is not and cannot be of our own making, it is the sovereign response of Our Lord to our giving of ourselves to Him — a commitment born in us by The Holy Spirit, when our hearts respond to His calling.
…at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
This is an area which is open to much divergence of interpretation. Some attest to this speaking of the time when Jesus Christ will reappear in the flesh to redeem mankind at some point in the future. My own belief is that our Lord is very much of the present, of ‘now’! Thus, His touch to ‘preserve blameless’ is immediate and at once. All we need do is enter into that deep relationship with Him to activate His resurrection life in us, so to speak.
…your whole spirit, soul and body
The work is a complete one, touching every fibre of our being. That completeness is God-given, and is a drawing into holiness, for only in that blessed state can we be blameless. Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13…
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Do all things without complaining and disputing,
that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain.
PHILIPPIANS 2:12-16
for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Do all things without complaining and disputing,
that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain.
PHILIPPIANS 2:12-16
NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS — Buddy Greene (Gaither Gathering)
PRAYER REQUIRES … SIMPLICITY
THE TENDENCY IN prayer to leave ourselves all abroad to the influence of a meeting or of a special season is not scriptural. Prayer is an effort of will, and Jesus Christ instructs us by using the word "ask."
"Everyone who asks receives." These words are an amazing revelation of the simplicity with which God would have us pray. The other domains of prayer, the intercession of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Christ, are nothing to do with us; the effort of our will is to do with us.
[from ‘The Moral Foundations Of Life’ by Oswald Chambers]
"Everyone who asks receives." These words are an amazing revelation of the simplicity with which God would have us pray. The other domains of prayer, the intercession of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Christ, are nothing to do with us; the effort of our will is to do with us.
[from ‘The Moral Foundations Of Life’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #522 PRODUCING PATIENCE
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EZEKIEL 37:3-10
And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”
Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.”’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”
Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.”’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Ezekiel’s visions always seem, at least to me, to have a cinematic quality to them. They are visually striking to the imagination and communicate the truth beyond the words in an extraordinary way. What struck me forcibly were the words “Prophesy to these bones…”, that is ‘to speak or sing by inspiration’, by ‘Divine breath’. In this way the dry bones are brought from death to life. Utterly restored.
‘Prophesy’ appears 75 times in the New King James Version [NKJV], and 78 times in the King James Version [KJV] of scripture. These numbers are related — their basis is 70 — signifying ‘perfect spiritual order carried out with all spiritual power‘ [source: E W Bullinger]; 75 meaning ‘all His kindred’ [from Acts 7:14 Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. 78 indicates ‘perfect spiritual order’ allied with new beginning; new life — all of which raises the significance of prophesy to an even greater height, and reveals that even in the God-breathed fabric of Scripture, the nature and purpose of Resurrection Life is being deeply woven.
And He said to me, “Son of Man, can these bones live?”
The Lord God spoke in the Holy Spirit to Ezekiel, naming him Son of Man, which of course is a name which Jesus called Himself. We read this in Matthew 16:13…
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
This leads us to understand that when we are truly hearing from the Holy Spirit, it is indeed just as in the words of the song…
‘Prophesy’ appears 75 times in the New King James Version [NKJV], and 78 times in the King James Version [KJV] of scripture. These numbers are related — their basis is 70 — signifying ‘perfect spiritual order carried out with all spiritual power‘ [source: E W Bullinger]; 75 meaning ‘all His kindred’ [from Acts 7:14 Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. 78 indicates ‘perfect spiritual order’ allied with new beginning; new life — all of which raises the significance of prophesy to an even greater height, and reveals that even in the God-breathed fabric of Scripture, the nature and purpose of Resurrection Life is being deeply woven.
And He said to me, “Son of Man, can these bones live?”
The Lord God spoke in the Holy Spirit to Ezekiel, naming him Son of Man, which of course is a name which Jesus called Himself. We read this in Matthew 16:13…
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
This leads us to understand that when we are truly hearing from the Holy Spirit, it is indeed just as in the words of the song…
If that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead
Dwells in you, dwells in you.
He shall quicken your mortal body
If that same Spirit dwells in you.
Dwells in you, dwells in you.
He shall quicken your mortal body
If that same Spirit dwells in you.
All things in The Bible point to Jesus Christ, and show us that the prophesying words in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the person of Jesus in the New Testament and in His life written in the hearts of those who believe and receive His Holy Spirit to realise the Third Testament, which is His Kingdom on Earth and in Heaven forevermore.
Ezekiel’s message is as relevant to us today as it was when The Lord our God breathed that prophetic vision into being — Holy Spirit to hearing spirit — so that we may be utterly restored. Hallelujah!
Ezekiel’s message is as relevant to us today as it was when The Lord our God breathed that prophetic vision into being — Holy Spirit to hearing spirit — so that we may be utterly restored. Hallelujah!
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
JOHN 11:23-27
Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
JOHN 11:23-27
DRY BONES COME ALIVE — Paul Wilbur
PRAYER REQUIRES… SIMPLICITY
LET THE WORDS come home to us personally in their New Testament setting. "When you pray, do not use vain repetitions." Our Lord prayed the same prayer, using the same words, three times in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He gave the disciples a form of prayer which He knew would be repeated throughout the Christian centuries; so it cannot be mere repetition or the form of words that he is referring to. The latter half of the verse comes home better for personal purposes — for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking — that is, do not rely on your earnestness as the ground for being heard.
[from ‘Christian Discipline Volume 2’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘Christian Discipline Volume 2’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #521 PRESERVED BLAMELESS
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Breathe Your breath of life on me!
Take away the darkness that you see!
Enter into the secret chambers of my soul.
Lord, I want to be made whole!
Take away the darkness that you see!
Enter into the secret chambers of my soul.
Lord, I want to be made whole!
Words of a praise song. Author unknown.
After a previous post (‘Come To The Waters’), Val in our Fellowship said “Thank you, as I started to read your message the words came ‘Breathe your Breath of Life in me, take away the darkness that you see...’” It is beautiful when the Holy Spirit sparks these connections, because it blesses the body of Christ. And it immediately inspired me to look further at the link and connection that Val shared.
And ‘inspired’ I realise is the right word. Our Lord is inspiration, because He breathes His life into us. ‘Inspiration’ means ‘the drawing in of breath, inhalation’, which allows us to see that when He breathes His Life, we must ‘inhale’ deeply, to receive what His Holy Spirit is speaking. Breath, breathing — the very thing which keeps us alive is intimately interconnected on different planes of existence. It works on the natural and the spiritual.
This shows us — as we shall return to in more depth later — that the relationship between body, soul and spirit is not three separate experiences, but rather a singular journey into the realisation of the deepest relationship with Jesus, one that affects every fibre, every aspect, every atom of who we are.
Breathe your breath of life in me, my Heavenly Father; this day and every day… and help me to inhale Your life completely.
And ‘inspired’ I realise is the right word. Our Lord is inspiration, because He breathes His life into us. ‘Inspiration’ means ‘the drawing in of breath, inhalation’, which allows us to see that when He breathes His Life, we must ‘inhale’ deeply, to receive what His Holy Spirit is speaking. Breath, breathing — the very thing which keeps us alive is intimately interconnected on different planes of existence. It works on the natural and the spiritual.
This shows us — as we shall return to in more depth later — that the relationship between body, soul and spirit is not three separate experiences, but rather a singular journey into the realisation of the deepest relationship with Jesus, one that affects every fibre, every aspect, every atom of who we are.
Breathe your breath of life in me, my Heavenly Father; this day and every day… and help me to inhale Your life completely.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
GENESIS 2:7
GENESIS 2:7
BREATHE ON ME BREATH OF GOD — St Laurence’s Church, Chorley
(this is not the song referred to in the meditation.)
(this is not the song referred to in the meditation.)
‘PRAYER REQUIRES SILENCE’
IF WE ONLY take as answers those that are visible to our senses, we are in a very elementary condition of grace.
[from ‘If Ye Shall Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘If Ye Shall Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE
COMING NEXT… #520 CAN THESE BONES LIVE?
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ISAIAH 55:6-7
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
On the first occasion that I was asked to preach, these verses from Isaiah were selected for me as my subject — for He will abundantly pardon. So new was I to such a task, I could not think what to say, and I suspect that the end result had more of me than The Holy Spirit about it.
Do I know any differently now? Isaiah’s words at one level are easily understood and gloriously reassuring, so why do I look beyond what is there before me? After all, this pardon is something that I know that I have received from Him, and in abundance also. As I write, I find myself thinking — ‘Is it because I feel so unworthy of such amazing mercy and forgiveness?’ My guess is that the sense of not deserving His amazing grace is the root of it.
Looking at the original meaning of those words abundantly pardon, and we find that a literal translation is ‘to increase’ and ‘to forgive’, or in better English, ‘increasingly forgive’, or ‘increased forgiveness’. There is also the sense that the forgiveness knows no bounds — that it is beyond the limits of our minds to comprehend.
That is our difficulty. His limitless understanding of us (His judgement) and His unconditional love (His goodness, grace and mercy) is so overwhelmingly outside our natural experience, it is hard to believe.
And yet it is so. Thus we turn to other gods — our own particular golden calf — because it sits before us at our level. Whatever that idol or little god or gods we have chosen (or been drawn to choose), we can struggle to lift our eyes higher and see The Lord.
But by His grace, by His power, by His Spirit, we can seek Him while He may be found, we can call upon Him while He is near — His presence surrounds us, He is ever near, and all we need do is make a conscious decision to reach out and His Spirit floods in as easily as breathing. He does abundantly pardon.
Do I know any differently now? Isaiah’s words at one level are easily understood and gloriously reassuring, so why do I look beyond what is there before me? After all, this pardon is something that I know that I have received from Him, and in abundance also. As I write, I find myself thinking — ‘Is it because I feel so unworthy of such amazing mercy and forgiveness?’ My guess is that the sense of not deserving His amazing grace is the root of it.
Looking at the original meaning of those words abundantly pardon, and we find that a literal translation is ‘to increase’ and ‘to forgive’, or in better English, ‘increasingly forgive’, or ‘increased forgiveness’. There is also the sense that the forgiveness knows no bounds — that it is beyond the limits of our minds to comprehend.
That is our difficulty. His limitless understanding of us (His judgement) and His unconditional love (His goodness, grace and mercy) is so overwhelmingly outside our natural experience, it is hard to believe.
And yet it is so. Thus we turn to other gods — our own particular golden calf — because it sits before us at our level. Whatever that idol or little god or gods we have chosen (or been drawn to choose), we can struggle to lift our eyes higher and see The Lord.
But by His grace, by His power, by His Spirit, we can seek Him while He may be found, we can call upon Him while He is near — His presence surrounds us, He is ever near, and all we need do is make a conscious decision to reach out and His Spirit floods in as easily as breathing. He does abundantly pardon.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
They appointed a leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.
“Even when they made a moulded calf for themselves,
And said, ‘This is your god
That brought you up out of Egypt,’
And worked great provocations,
Yet in Your manifold mercies
You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on the road;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To show them light,
And the way they should go.
NEHEMIAH 9:17b-19
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.
“Even when they made a moulded calf for themselves,
And said, ‘This is your god
That brought you up out of Egypt,’
And worked great provocations,
Yet in Your manifold mercies
You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on the road;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To show them light,
And the way they should go.
NEHEMIAH 9:17b-19
“SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND”
Song: BREATHE — Michael W Smith
Song: BREATHE — Michael W Smith
‘PRAYER REQUIRES SILENCE’
WATCH GOD'S WAYS in your life, you will find He is developing you as He does the trees and the flowers, a deep silent working of the God of creation.
[from ‘Disciples Indeed’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘Disciples Indeed’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE
COMING NEXT… #519 BREATHE YOUR BREATH OF LIFE IN ME
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ISAIAH 55:1-2
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
It used to be a common thing — certainly if you read certain novels of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries — to ‘take the waters’, meaning to visit a spa which had healing thermal waters. Bath in England became renowned as a spa when the Roman baths were constructed and was named Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis), although it is thought that the hot springs were considered a shrine by the Britons long before that.
In Jerusalem the Pool of Bethesda was a place thought to heal the sick and the lame.
In Jerusalem the Pool of Bethesda was a place thought to heal the sick and the lame.
JOHN 5:2-4
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
Isaiah — in the verses quoted — equates the waters with food and drink. In other words, these waters are for the healing of ‘the inner man’; the healing not merely physical but also spiritual, and it is not just our modern knowledge that the two are interconnected. Our forebears’ understanding was every bit as deep as ours is today, even if the detail now seems to us as quaint, strange or fantastical.
The verses chosen end with let your soul delight itself with abundance, so that your cup overflows.
The verses chosen end with let your soul delight itself with abundance, so that your cup overflows.
PSALM 23:5-6
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the LORD.
Again the analogy suggests water gushing out, overspilling, a dam bursting with more than it could contain. That is what The Lord means with ‘come to the waters’. Come and drink, come and bathe, come and be cleansed, healed, restored. And forgiven. All good things from Him rely on each of us having the thirst to come to the waters. Come to Jesus Christ.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
REVELATION 7:15-17
They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
REVELATION 7:15-17
COME TO THE WATERS — Matthew Zigenis
PRAYER REQUIRES SILENCE
ARE WE MOURNING before God because we have not had an audible response? Mary Magdalene was weeping at the sepulchre — what was she asking for? The dead body of Jesus. Of whom did she ask it? Of Jesus Himself, and she did not know Him! Did Jesus give her what she asked for? He gave her something infinitely grander than she had ever conceived — a risen, living impossible-to-die Lord.
[from ‘If Ye Shall Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘If Ye Shall Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]