Song of Solomon 2:12

The flowers appear on the earth once again; The time for singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

Genesis 1:2

Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let everyone who hears this also say, “Come!” Let the thirsty man come, and let everyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.

Come!

The dove in the Bible symbolizes the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove. The holy Spirit also is the one who testifies about Christ. As we study the Bible we see that the Holy Spirit was present at creation in the book of Genesis and is interwoven throughout the Bible till the book of Revelation. The Holy Spirit's cry though the ages is to invite people to partake of God's blessings which are available through Christ. It is a cry of intercession for the soul of man. A cry of adoption into the family of God. The Holy Spirit's invitation in the book of Revelation, is resounding among the nations. Come, you who are thirsty, drink of the water of Life freely. As Christ's second coming is approaching the cry of the Holy Spirit resounds through the earth Come one come all, partake of the Bread of Life, drink of the living water and never thirst again. Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. In the book of Genesis 1:2, we see that the Earth was chaotic and full of darkness when the Holy Spirit brooded upon the water and then God spoke light into being. We look at the world around us in 2020 and we see the earth chaotic and full of darkness. The voice of the dove is heard once again over the land, speaking order to the chaos and imploring people to return to Christ before it is too late. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, He will testify of me. The Holy Spirit is testifying of Christ more so since His return is drawing nigh. Now is the time to come to Christ. In closing an exhortation to heed the voice of the dove, the call of the Spirit to return to Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith. Amen

Luke 23:39-43

One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”40 The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. 41 Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” 42 And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!”43 Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.”

...two hearts

To put into context the verses above were set in Jerusalem when Jesus was on the cross with two criminals crucified on either side. One criminal cried out in pain and frustration with an unbelieving heart. He said if you indeed are the Messiah why don't you get us out of this cross and get yourself down as well. Many people can identify with this criminal. When we are facing what seems to be to us an unjust and painful situation we begin to doubt that Jesus is the Messiah or the Christ and we may say like the unbelieving criminal, get us out of here if indeed you are who you say you are. This is the wrong attitude to have. If we find ourselves in this situation we need to re-evaluate our position and plead to God for a repentant heart. We may look down upon this thief but many a times we are guilty of reacting the same way to trials we are facing. Instead of having a repentant attitude we seem to be shaking our fist at God and saying if indeed you are on the throne why am I going through this tribulation. This is a very dangerous position to be in. This is thinking motivated by the enemy of our souls. Over the course of our lives we may have found ourselves in this position at least once. The second thief or criminal had the correct attitude. He feared God and had a repentant heart. He said indeed I am in this painful situation and that rightly so because I deserve the punishment for my crimes. However, Jesus was innocent and was punished for no fault of His own. The criminal recognized the Messiah, acknowledged His lordship even when Jesus was on the cross, paying the penalty for our sins, and pleaded for His mercy. Once Jesus recognized the heart of the criminal was changed and he repented for his crimes, Jesus immediately opened up heaven's door to him. Repentance is an attitude of the heart. King David, despite his multitude of sins, had a repentant heart. God wiped away his transgressions because of David's constant repentant attitude. Proverbs says Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it proceed the issues of life. Psalms says Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me, cast me not away from thy presence O Lord, take not thy Holy Spirit from me. restore unto me the joy of my salvation. We see David crying out in repentance for forgiveness. That is exactly what Christ is looking for. Not just a mere repetition of David's words, however a transformation of the heart. This attitude of repentance is what secured the second criminal's place in heaven. We may be law abiding citizens however we need to have an attitude of repentance and gratitude to Christ for His sacrifice, in order to have our salvation secured. The first thief probably died without repenting and full of bitterness and ended up in eternal damnation. Whereas, the second thief, probably with the same rap sheet as the first thief, had a repentant heart, and this secured his salvation. Our past actions may have been deplorable, just as that of the thieves, however if our hearts are repentant and we recognize the Messiah, Jesus, and His ability to forgive sins and change lives around, we secure our salvation. The worst nightmare of a religious person is to hear out of Jesus' lips, depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you. This would not happen if our heart's are repentant. To summarize, the two thieves probably had the same rap sheet. However one ended up in eternal damnation and the other in heaven. What distinguished the two was the attitude of their heart and their recognition of the Messiah. We all, even though we are law abiding citizens, have a rap sheet for breaking God's laws. However, our salvation is secured by our recognition of the Messiah and having a repentant heart. As I saw on a Christian T-shirt once: Don't be caught dead without Jesus. Change the condition of your heart and cry out to the Savior for His mercy. He will rescue your soul. Amen

I Thessalonians 16:18 (TPT) (EXB)

16 Let joy be your continual feast. 17 Make your life a prayer. 18 And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.
Always ·be joyful [rejoice]. 17 Pray ·continually [without ceasing], 18 and give thanks ·whatever happens [in all circumstances; in everything]. That is ·what God wants [God’s will] for you in Christ Jesus.

thankfulness

The passage above summarizes what our attitude in life should be. In the KJV it states simply: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks...God wants us happy and in the words of Madame Blueberry in veggie tales: A thankful heart is a happy heart. We can find a multitude of things to be grateful for every day. Sometimes it might help to keep a Blessings Chronicle where we can jot down every day the multitude of things we are thankful for. God has blessed us with each day with a roof over our head, food on the table, clothes to wear and good health to enjoy his many blessings. Even in the midst of facing challenges we will do well to take note of the little things to be thankful for. God's grace and mercy is something we need to be eternally grateful for. Our salvation is another. His hand of protection over our lives and our families. His provision is another thing. Him giving us the grace to live through another day. Regardless of the situations we face each day an attitude of gratitude will take us to the next level in our spiritual walk. The amplified bible version of the above verses is as follows: 16 Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);17 Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];
18 Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]. there are a multitude of ways of looking at the above verses however it all boils down to one thing. Rejoice pray and be thankful. This seems to be the recipe for living a peaceful and contended life. Have an attitude of gratitude. Amen

Matthew 25:14-28

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then[b] you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money[c] back with interest when I returned.
28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents.

reward

The passage above references financial investment however could also be applied to wisely using our God given abilities for His glory. We are each endowed with God given abilities or talents. When we use our talents to glorify God we are in essence multiplying them. There is another passage in the Bible where Jesus multiplies the bread and fishes which were surrendered to Him and used them to feed the multitude. We may think we do not have much talent, however when the little talent we have is surrendered to the Lord, He will multiply it for us, and use this to bless a multitude. The Lord wishes for each of us to use our talents and abilities to His glory. As long as we are busy working and using His talents, He gives us the same reward regardless of how many talents we multiplied. Notice in the passage above the person given the 5 talents and he who was given 2 talents were both equally rewarded. They were both blessed by the Lord saying "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord." Both of them were given the same commendation. I'm sure all of us would like to hear the same thing from the Lord: Well done! Enter into my joy. This will happen as long as we surrender our meager abilities to the Master's hand and ask Him to bless our endeavors. He will certainly multiply what seems like nothing to bless a multitude of people. He is a miracle working God, and all He requires of us is complete surrender to His will. In closing let our prayer be as the songwriter: All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. When that becomes the cry of our heart, He will pour out His blessing upon our lives and multiply our meager offerings. Amen.

Genesis 6:5-8, 13,14

5 The Lord saw that humanity had become thoroughly evil on the earth and that every idea their minds thought up was always completely evil. 6 The Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and he was heartbroken. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe off of the land the human race that I’ve created: from human beings to livestock to the crawling things to the birds in the skies, because I regret I ever made them.” 8 But as for Noah, the Lord approved of him....
God said to Noah, “The end has come for all creatures, since they have filled the earth with violence. I am now about to destroy them along with the earth, 14 so make a wooden ark.[d] Make the ark with nesting places and cover it inside and out with tar.

Genesis 6:17-22

17 “I am now bringing the floodwaters over the earth to destroy everything under the sky that breathes. Everything on earth is about to take its last breath. 18 But I will set up my covenant with you. You will go into the ark together with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 19 From all living things—from all creatures—you are to bring a pair, male and female, into the ark with you to keep them alive. 20 From each kind of bird, from each kind of livestock, and from each kind of everything that crawls on the ground—a pair from each will go in with you to stay alive. 21 Take some from every kind of food and stow it as food for you and for the animals.”
22 Noah did everything exactly as God commanded him.

Protection

We see in the above verses, God regretted creating man because of the exceeding wickedness of his thoughts. However Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Because of Noah, the human race was not destroyed and the ark Noah built served to protect his family and all the animals (a pair of each) from the judgement of God, the worldwide flood. Hebrews 11:7 (Philips)It was through faith that Noah, on receiving God’s warning of impending disaster, reverently constructed an ark to save his household. This action of faith condemned the unbelief of the rest of the world, and won for Noah the righteousness before God which follows such a faith. Noah heeded God's warning and built a boat on dry land. Luke 17:26 And just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the time of [the second coming of] the Son of Man. This is the season of Christ's return and as stated in the Bible wickedness abounds in the land. Just as the Lord spared Noah, and through him the human race, these days God spares us who put our trust in Christ. A call to return to Christ is going out through the land prior to the Lord's imminent return. When Christ returns he will not be a baby in the manger however He will return as the conquering king coming to execute judgement on the earth. Psalm 96:10-13 Tell the nations that the Lord is King!The world stands firm and cannot be moved. He will judge all people fairly.Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be happy!Let the sea and everything in it shout for joy!Let the fields and everything in them be happy! Let the trees in the forest sing for joy when they see the Lord coming!
He is coming to rule the world. He will rule all the nations of the world
with justice and fairness.
The one way to deal with God's judgement is by being found in Him. As we trust our salvation to Christ, we shall be able to withstand the blast of his judgement. Christ is our protection from God's judgement. As Noah was protected from God's judgement by staying in the ark, we as Christ's redeemed are protected from the day of God's wrath by abiding in Christ. Abiding in Christ means living according to His precepts. His ways are not our ways. The Bible states that in the last days what is wrong is considered right and vice versa. However God does not change His laws. What He considered sin then is still sinful. We need to follow God's law no matter what the world considers right. When we do that we enter into God's protection and we are not subject to the judgement which will be poured out on the earth. Of course it will be impossible to be absolutely perfect and sinless as Christ was, however we strive to walk in the path of holiness to escape God's wrath and judgement. In closing a reminder of God's goodness: For the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever. Psalm 100:5 (CEB) Because the Lord is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation. Amen

Exodus 13:16,21,22

16 This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on our hands or on our foreheads; it will remind us that the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power.’”
21 During the day the Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night he went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day. 22 The pillar of cloud was always in front of the people during the day, and the pillar of fire at night.

Exodux 14:21-22

21 Moses held out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind. It blew all night and turned the sea into dry land. The water was divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides.

...through the sea

Reading through the book of Exodus especially chapter 13-14 we see the Lord delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. The Egyptians had oppressed the Israelites for 400 years through slavery. God delivered them out of Egyptian slavery to a Cananland. However, before they could possess the promised land they had to cross the Red sea, with the Egyptian army in pursuit of them. There is a parallel to this account which we need to face in our lives today. Jesus delivered us out of harsh oppression by the devil. However, there are many challenges we need to overcome, prior to arriving at our destiny, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city whose builder and maker is God. The enemy of our souls, satan, is always trying to reclaim our soul and subject us to slavery to his domain again. The key to overcoming satan's oppression is to allow God to fight our battles for us. The account in Exodus shows us the angel of the Lord stood as a pillar of cloud between the Egyptians and the Israelites. This cloud caused darkness on the Egyptians, however brought light to the Israelites. The same cloud blinded the Egyptians however illuminated the Israelites. this is very interesting to note. We need to be redeemed of God to be in the Israelite army. Once redeemed the presence of God will illuminate our lives. Also in Exodus we see that the Red sea parted to allow the Israelites to crossover, however it closed in on the Egyptian oppressors. To bring this into today's perspective, we as people are born under the dominion of satan, who oppressed us through slavery to our carnal nature. Christ, the sacrificial lamb, redeemed us from satan's dominion and set us free to honor and serve Him. However, satan does not concede defeat easily and is constantly on the pursuit to see if he can enslave us again. When the Israelites left Egypt, they were between the red sea and the Egyptian army at one point. However, God split the sea for them to pass through. We may find ourselves between a rock and a hard place many a times during the course of our lives. We need to rely on the Lord to come to our rescue and He will never fail us. Later on in the Bible, in the book of Joshua, we see the Israelites had to fight their battles, under God's command, to overcome their enemies and possess the promised land. Our lives need to be patterned after this. We need to surrender our will to God and He delivers us out of satanic oppression, and sets us free to serve Him. Along the way, we encounter numerous temptations. We, as the Israelites were in the wilderness, may be tempted to return to Egypt, and surrender our liberty. There is an ongoing battle in the heavenly realm over the soul of man. Jesus defeated the enemy by His death on the cross, however, only those who acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior will have their souls saved. The enemy is battling over our joy, peace and well being. We need to fight our battles following the leading of the Holy Spirit. A gospel songs sums this up: I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind, The God of Angel Armies is always by my side. In closing and exhortation to continue to fight the good fight. Stay the course, walk on the narrow path that leads to eternal life. The enemy does not stand a chance against the Lord. Put your trust in the Lord. Do not be tempted to turn back to the oppressor of the brethren. The Lord reigns, blessed be the God of our salvation. Amen

Joel 2:1 (KJV)

Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand—

Joel 2:1 (AMP)

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand—

Psalm 96:13

They will sing before the Lord because he is coming. He is coming to judge the world. He will judge the world with fairness and the nations with truth.

...upcoming judgement

The above verses exhort us to sound an alarm so we as people are prepared for His return and upcoming judgement. The world is ablaze due to injustice and tension between each other. The is a day of reckoning, a day when everything will be set right by God, the ultimate righteous Judge. We however are to be ready and prepared for His return. The Bible states that Jesus return will be unannounced, however He warns us to take note of the seasons. This is certainly the season of His return. We need to "sound the alarm" to alert people of His return so that no one will be caught unawares. This is the time to return to righteousness, to return to holiness and to prostrate ourselves before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God does not want us in spiritual slumber when He returns. We need to ensure that we are in right standing with God. As I have written before, there is one way to get right with God, that is by accepting His forgiveness. We have one plea in the courtroom of God, we plead the blood of Jesus. Jesus, was the sacrificial Lamb of God whose blood was poured on the mercy seat to make an atonement for our sins. This is our only plea. We can commune with God because of Jesus' sacrifice. One of these days He will rule the nations of the world . His word is the final authority. we cannot overrule His judgement. On a positive note He said, In my Father's house are many mansions and I go to prepare a place for you and if I go I shall surely return. To those who have been forgiven by accepting the ultimate sacrifice, this shall be a day of rejoicing. To the others it is a plea to get right before long. In closing remember this, the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever. Call unto Him for whoever calls upon the name of Jesus shall be saved. Be ready for His return. I lift my eyes to the hills from whence cometh mine help, my help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121. Amen

Exodus 10:21

The Lord then said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky, and a darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt.” 22 Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and there was total darkness throughout Egypt for three days. 23 The Egyptians could not see each other, and no one left his house during that time. But the Israelites had light where they were living.

Exodus 9:4

4 I will make a distinction between the animals of the Israelites and those of the Egyptians, and no animal that belongs to the Israelites will die.

Exodus 8:21-22

The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and the ground will be covered with them. 22 But I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live, so that there will be no flies there

Stay Safe

We see in the above verses that prior to being released from Egyptian slavery, the Lord sent plagues on the Egyptians to cause them to free the Israelites. However even though the Israelites lived among the Egyptians, the Israelites were spared from the plagues that were released upon Egypt. As long as they remained in Goshen there were no plagues, such as flies, darkness or their animals dying. In these last days of worldwide pandemic, we can protect ourselves by keeping our lives aligned with the word of God. In the final plague in Egypt, the death of the firstborn son, the firstborn son's of the Israelites were protected as long as they stayed at home with the blood of the sacrificial lamb applied to their doorposts. We as God's children will be protected as long as we are covered by the blood of the Ultimate Sacrificial Lamb, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. Now, more than ever, we need to remain in the will of God, doing what He commanded in His Word. Not that we will never slip, however if we do slip, we can turn back and return to God's will, by asking forgiveness and changing our actions. There is a parable in the Bible where the King sends out invitations to choice guests, however those invited were too busy to respond. the King then invites all the sinners, prostitutes and way standers in a desperate bid to have all who can to enter into His kingdom. However, we need to enter in with clean robes, i.e. having our lives cleansed by Jesus' blood which purchased our forgiveness. There is no other way to enter into God's kingdom, except through Christ. Looking at the way things are unfolding in the earth, God seems to be extending the invitation to everyone, however we need to enter through Christ, with clean robes. The Bible says our righteousness is like filthy rags. We cannot approach the King of Kings clothed in the rags of our self righteousness. We need to be clothed in Christ's righteousness which God imputes to us when we repent and ask His forgiveness. In closing, the King is coming folks, and be ready, like the wise virgins who had oil in their lamps. This is a bad time to backslide. To the backslider I say in the words of Reinhard Bonke, slide back to Jesus. As the Psalmist says, He has prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Also in the words of Solomon: He has brought me to His banqueting house and His banner over me is love. Feast on the grace and mercy offered in the table of the Lord and draw nigh to Him through the blood of Jesus, which was poured out on the Mercy seat, for a remission of our sins. Amen

Genesis 26:1-5 (GNT)

There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. 2 The Lord had appeared to Isaac and had said, “Do not go to Egypt; stay in this land, where I tell you to stay. 3 Live here, and I will be with you and bless you. I am going to give all this territory to you and to your descendants. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham. 4 I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give them all this territory. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. 5 I will bless you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all my laws and commands.”

Genesis 26:12-15

Isaac sowed crops in that land, and that year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had sown, because the Lord blessed him. 13 He continued to prosper and became a very rich man. 14 Because he had many herds of sheep and cattle and many servants, the Philistines were jealous of him. 15 So they filled in all the wells which the servants of his father Abraham had dug while Abraham was alive.

Genesis 26:19-25

Isaac's servants dug a well in the valley and found water. 20 The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's shepherds and said, “This water belongs to us.” So Isaac named the well “Quarrel.”

21 Isaac's servants dug another well, and there was a quarrel about that one also, so he named it “Enmity.” 22 He moved away from there and dug another well. There was no dispute about this one, so he named it “Freedom.” He said, “Now the Lord has given us freedom to live in the land, and we will be prosperous here.”

23 Isaac left and went to Beersheba. 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid; I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my promise to my servant Abraham.” 25 Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. Then he set up his camp there, and his servants dug another well.

Blessings...

In the 26th chapter of Genesis we see that despite there being a famine in the land, Isaac was asked to stay there by the Lord. Since Isaac was obedient, he was richly blessed and reaped a hundredfold despite there being a famine in the land. This angered the philistines who plugged the wells which were dug by his father. In the third passage above we see that Isaac moved several times and dug new wells which were claimed by the philistines. However since the blessing of the Lord was upon Isaac every well he dug brought water. What we can glean from this passage is that since the blessing of the Lord was upon Isaac, despite his enemies trying to claim his blessing he was never forsaken. As it says in Psalm 1. Whatever he did prospered. For us as God's children, living in these times of economic turmoil, regardless of the state of the stock market, the work of our hands will be blessed and like the person in Psalm 1, whatever we do will prosper. We do not look to the stability of the stock market for our blessing, however we look to the Lord our God who is the source of our blessing. In other words, our sustenance does not depend on the stock market, rather our source of blessing is the Lord. as long as we hearken unto the Lord our God and our obedient to His laws we can rest assured that our well being is in His capable hands. We may not have the fancy cars or mansions however He has promised to supply our every need. Once again in the words of Charles Spurgeon, He who created the stars and called them by name is in no danger of forgetting His own children. We trust the Lord for our provision, just as we trust Him with our salvation and our eternal destination. Again to quote the Bible: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and He shall establish your path. Amen

Leviticus 16:15-16

Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

Isaiah53:6

Like wayward sheep, we have all wandered astray. Each of us has turned from God’s paths and chosen our own way; even so, Yahweh laid the guilt of our every sin upon him.

Substitution

To summarize in the passage of Leviticus 16 the sin of the people was transferred onto two goats. One was slaughtered and the other (scapegoat) was released into the wilderness. From the book of Isaiah we see the sin of the people (all of us) was transferred on to Jesus and His death was the penalty exacted for our sins. The Miriam Webster dictionary defines scapegoat as follows: Definition of scapegoat
1 : a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur
2a : one that bears the blame for others
b : one that is the object of irrational hostility
Jesus was the one who bore the blame for all our sins so that we could be justified before the Father. Just as the animal's blood was sprinkled on the Mercy seat, Jesus' blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat to make an atonement for our sin. We can now :Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. Hebrews 4:16 (AMPC). Now, thanks be to God for Jesus' sacrifice, we can approach God's throne room boldly. When Jesus was crucified the veil in the temple was torn in two, making God's mercy available to all. Jesus put himself in our place. 1 Cor 1:30 "But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin]." (TPT: For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. And now he is our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption) Colossians 3:3 Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. (VOICE: because your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God.)On that day when the Anointed One—who is our very life—is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory! Colossians 3:4. To tie together the above verses and summarize this passage. Christ was the scapegoat on whom the sin of the world was unjustly laid. Due to Christ's sacrifice, we now have access to God's mercy and grace and His presence. We can enter into the Holy of Holies as the veil has been rent. Now that we have access to God's mercy and grace, we are to live our lives in light of God's word seeking to please Him in all our ways. We no longer ought to live to please our carnal nature, however, we live to please God. This is aptly summarized in Hebrews 12:1-2 (TPT) As for us, we have all of these great witnesses[a] who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us[b] and the sin we so easily fall into.[c] Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race[d] with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us.[e] 2 We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.[f] His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his,[g] he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation,[h] and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God! Amen

I Corinthians 13:4-8

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not [b]puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, [c]thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails.

...put on Love

Just a quick word to remind us in trying times to stay in love with God and with our fellow men. During this time of confinement, tempers could get frayed and frustrations start setting in. It is always good to pause and thank God for sparing us from calamity. We need to " Set our minds on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" . We frequently need to remind us of the fundamentals of Christianity. In the words of Paul the apostle, Faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love. Our Lord and Savior is the ultimate example of love. As it says in scripture God is love. As the song writer says: the love of God, how measureless and so free. It shall forever endure. As King David says in the book of Psalms: For the Lord is good and His love endures forever. Again in the words of Paul: Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility gentleness and patience. And above all these virtues, put on love. In closing the famous verse John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." Again in the words of the songwriter, In Christ alone my hope is found. In the words of King of Kings and Lord of Lords "Love one another as I have loved you" "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another". Amen

Luke 21:25-28

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh

...your redemption draweth nigh

In light of the worldwide pandemic, we need to remind ourselves of the hope we have in Christ. This is not a time to be in doubt, discouragement or despair. Even as Job said while on his bed of affliction "I know my redeemer liveth and He shall be the last one to stand". King David when all he had was plundered by the enemy "David encouraged himself in the Lord" In the words of the songwriter "Do not despair whatever betide God will take care of you" More than ever this is the time to return to our Christian roots and hold on the the anchor of our faith. The word says " Christ in us is the hope of glory" Although it sounds cliche we need to let go and let God do His work in us and through us. As it says in proverbs "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" God is our Heavenly Father and He will most certainly take care of His own children. "I'm not sure I'm His child" you say. In that case all you need to do is repent of your disobedience and cry out to the Lord to save and protect you. The book of acts says "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved". Call out to him from the depths of your heart and He will certainly hear your cry. You may not hear instantly a choir of angels singing, however there is new life birth in your spirit. Lean on the everlasting arms. I'm no expert on Bible prophecy however it looks like the book of revelation is unfolding before our very eyes. Psalm 121 "I lift my eyes to the hills where does my help come from. My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth" In the words of Charles Spurgeon, a hero of our Christian faith " He who created the stars and called them by name is in no danger of forgetting His own children" Rest assured that His banner over you is love. In closing, in the words of the apostle Paul "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith" and He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it in you" Be sheltered in the arms of God. Amen

Romans 12:1 (AMP)

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship

John 4:24 (TPT)

From here on, worshiping the Father will not be a matter of the right place but with the right heart. For God is a Spirit, and he longs to have sincere worshipers who worship and adore him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.”

...and reasonable service

"Worship is not the songs we sing in Church for half an hour on Sunday, it is the life we live throughout the week" Anonymous. Although it is important to lift our voices and praise God together in songs when we gather together on Sundays, true worship is infinitely more important and is a quintessential part of living a victorious Christian life. As stated in Romans 12:1 we need to surrender to God what we do with our body. A person living a sexually promiscuous lifestyle is not truly worshiping God no matter how beautifully they sing. Our songs and our behavior should match. James 3:10-12 " 10 Blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it just shouldn’t be this way!11 Both fresh water and salt water don’t come from the same spring, do they? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? Of course not, and fresh water doesn’t flow from a saltwater spring either." Another thing we need to watch for is what we say when we are not singing praises to God above. Do we say one thing when we are praising God and the opposite when we are conversing with our friends? This ought not to be. King David said Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer. We have to be careful what we think in our mind, say with our mouth, and do with our body. All three have to line up. Although sometimes our thoughts wander like a runaway train into the enemy's territory, what we spend time thinking about should line up with God's word. 2: Corinthians 10:5 "and every ·proud thing [pretension; exalted opinion; L high thing] that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it obey Christ" We need to capture every thought and make it obey Christ. As for our words we need to ensure we speak out what we would want to happen and not what we fear would happen. As we sing praises to God think upon the words of the songs and make a a sincere cry from the depths of your soul to the only wise God. John 6:37 "Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and I won’t send away anyone who comes to me" Jesus never turns away a repentant soul. Regardless of what we have done or are doing, it is never too late to turn back and cry out to Jesus to deliver us out of the clutches of satan into the hands of a loving Savior. As the old hymn says: Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me and that Thou biddest me come to Thee, O Lamb of God I come I come. Just as I am and waiting not, to rid myself of one dark blot and that thou cleanse me within and without , O Lamb of God I come I come. God longs for the cries of a penitent soul, even though entrenched in sin, for deliverance. Even though Peter cried out when he was drowning the Lord picked him up. We may seem to have gone too far, as the prodigal son, however the shepherd of our soul seeks us out and places us within the Father's house. Song of Solomon 2:4 "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love" In closing: Psalm 100:2 "Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." Amen

Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV)

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee

1 John 4:8 (AMP)

...for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

...this I know

As we start a new decade, let us rest assured in knowing Jesus does indeed love us with an everlasting love as stated in His word. Jeremiah 33:11 ...‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’. God's love for us does not run out. He loves us no matter what. however, this does not mean we are to test the limits of His love by venturing into the devil's territory. When we deliberately do what is forbidden in His word, we will find ourselves entrapped in the quagmire of deceit and sin and the enemy may entrap us in his web of lies and deception. Let this be the year the prodigal children return to the everlasting Father's house to feast upon His table of goodness and mercy. Psalm 23:5 (CEV) You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch. You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows. Come and feast at the Father's table this decade. As Jesus was crucified and gave up the ghost,(as it says in the KJV), the veil in the temple was torn and the Holy of Holies was now accessible to one and all. Prior to that, the Holy of holies was accessible only to the designated high priest who had to pour the blood on the mercy seat, on the ark of the covenant, prior to entering in. After Jesus' crucifixion, the blood of Jesus was applied to the mercy seat. Because of that we all have access to the mercy seat where God chooses to communicate with us. Please review the previous posting about the Mercy Seat where I wrote about God choosing to commune with us at the Mercy seat. Psalm 136:1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever. (AMP): Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever. God's graciousness, mercy and compassion last for all eternity as we see in the above Psalm. Also: Isaiah 55:1-3 All of you who are thirsty, come to the water!
Whoever has no money, come, buy food and eat!
Without money, at no cost, buy wine and milk!
Why spend money for what isn’t food,
and your earnings for what doesn’t satisfy?
Listen carefully to me and eat what is good;
enjoy the richest of feasts.
Listen and come to me;
listen, and you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful loyalty to David.
Come and feast at the table of the Lord. Drink from His fountain of Living water and never thirst again. The Lord will satisfy your hunger with good things. The Lord is extending His invitation to all. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]". The enemy, satan, would like us to be overburdened with the cares of this world, so that we lose focus on the world to come. We are not to fall for this trick of the enemy. Colossians 3:2 says: Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. In closing, rest assured in knowing that Jesus Loves You. He is preparing a table for you. Feast at His table of mercy and grace by returning every one, to the Father's house. Drink of His living water and quench your thirst once and for all. Lay your heavy burdens down and take His yoke upon you. Never forget that God is Love and He loves you very much. Amen

Acts 10:15 (CEV)

The voice spoke a second time, “Never consider unclean what God has made pure.”

Hebrews 9:22 (MEV)

And according to the law almost everything must be cleansed with blood; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Hebrews 10:17

Then he adds, “I will no longer hold their sins and their disobedience against them.

Forgiven

Sometimes the enemy of our souls bombards us with thoughts of unworthiness. We may begin to feel unclean and unworthy of God's love. Although this is partly true, that we are indeed unworthy of God's mercy and grace which was extended to us, yet God in pouring out His mercy and grace has indeed cleansed and made us whole. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross had the power to cleanse our sins and make us clean (forgiven). As Hebrews 10:17 says God will no longer hold our sins and disobedience against us. This does not mean however, that we use our freedom in Christ as a license to sin, or disobey God. It does mean however that in the event that we stumble and do disobey God, we are not to worry, as God has already made a provision for our restoration to right standing with Him. 1 John 1:9 "God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong" We who were once far from the covenant of promise are now brought near to God because of what the blood of Jesus accomplished on the cross. All we need to do is accept what God has offered to us on a silver platter, the forgiveness of sins and adoption into His family as His dearly beloved children. As a song goes, There is one way, and it is God's way, there is one truth, it's in His word, there is one life His name is Jesus, one way one truth one life it's in the Lord. John 14:6 " Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me" This Christmas, accept the gift of forgiveness offered to all through the shed blood of Christ and enter into the family of God. Become part of His sheepfold John 10:27 "The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me." Amen

Exodus 34:14,17

For thou shalt worship no other god; for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,
“Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

Matthew 22:37

Yeshua answered him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

...quite contrary!

Growing up in a Catholic school I saw Mary to be elevated to the position of a "goddess" People praying to Mary (hail Mary) singing praise to Mary (ave Maria) and worshiping her as if she was on par with Christ. Although Catholic tradition focuses on the worship of Mary, we see in the verses outlined above God does not condone the worship of other gods. As it says in Exodus 34:14 We are to worship no other gods except Jesus. Matthew 15:3 Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow those traditions you have?" Although traditions in many cases can be harmless, such as turkey for Christmas or ham, when it comes to worship we are to follow God's instruction to the letter. We do not have the liberty to decide who we worship and how we do so. John 4:24 "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (TPT) From here on, worshiping the Father will not be a matter of the right place but with the right heart. For God is a Spirit, and he longs to have sincere worshipers who worship and adore him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.” also when we pray we are to pray to the Father God in the name of Jesus. We do not have the liberty to pray to whomever we want to. Although Mary was highly favored of God and God chose her to bear His son, she is not to be worshiped as an equal to God. Our prayers need to be directed to the Father and not to the mother of Jesus. As we see in the verses from Exodus above God is a jealous God and does not condone the worship of idols. Since He is the creator of heaven and earth He gets to set the rules and we are to obey them. There is a reason why God forbids the worship of other gods. The other false gods are nothing but demons in disguise. We are forbidden to worship demons, not only because God is a jealous God, also because demons are looking to destroy us. Just as a parent warns a child not to drink poisonous substances as it could potentially kill them, God as our Father warns us His children not to worship idols and other gods because it could destroy us completely. God's word is the ultimate authority and He has the final say in our worship, our prayers and in our lives. I closing in the words of Jesus Matthew 22:37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your mind. The Lord is number one in our lives and there should be no number 2. Ensure that Jesus is enthroned in your heart and mind and soul. Amen