I've been getting up early to hear Joseph Prince on the ABC network. It's funny that I really needed to begin with God and end with God to be able to focus. My sleep. If I decide to sleep is sweet knowing that I have gotten a little bit of His word and a better understanding of Him.
From the first letter of bride and the first letter of bridegroom in Hebrew one gets the word for "power" KOACH (from the Hebrew word "כח", meaning "strength")
Joseph Prince elaborated on the fact that marriage was the beginning of two agreeing on earth. He was telling the story of Isaac in Gen 26. How he had lied concerning his wife in saying that she was his sister. Then he pointed out that after the lie was brought to light and their relationship made right that he sowed and reaped one hundred-fold in the time of FAMINE. We can look to God in this time of famine. The basis of his argument was when they were in agreement they had the power to get wealth.
Prince explained the completeness of a marriage covenant and how two people together on a mission for God cannot be stopped. "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 18:19)
Deut. 8:18
18But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
The word power in the previous verse is KOACH in Hebrew. It is made up of the symbols for the bride and the bridegroom. He used it to explain the beauty of a man receiving his help through his wife. I understood it in the larger sense of Jesus (The Bridegroom) and the Church (The Bride). When we are united; we are unstoppable. Desperate poverty results after people forget God.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Bride and The Bridegroom
Friday, May 22, 2009
My Thoughts on Higher Education
Ecclesiastes 1:18 (KJV) For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
She got a doctorate to mock it. She wanted to be measured by her level of abundance of resources not her level of education, yet she knew that she would be measured by both. Getting the doctorate was most painful because she understood that genius was not found in the classroom and that wisdom was not something that could be taught.
She knew that genius was a result of spending time with something and a gift from God like wisdom its comrade. But, she got the doctorate anyway because you were watching, because it seemed like the respectable thing to do and because it was somewhat difficult.
All the while she was thinking of her friends that left college prematurely to follow their desires that could not be taught. Higher education seems to ignore the matters of the heart. There's something unrepentantly stale about it. And while the learners are alive at the start, she knew that a complete digestion of all the said theories inextricably resulted in death.
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Is it onward to her death in the name of a degree or shall it be a costly game that she can play 'til its conclusion? One thing she's learned on the journey is what many theorists and philosophers know; it is this fact that causes sorrow. In the revelation of new things is the realization of how little can be truly known and how much territory still lies uncharted.
We have covered the world, or have we? We have mapped outer space, or have we? We have determined who should be paid the most for their knowledge of a subject, or have we?
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God only knows how much work or how little I am putting into this process, and He will determine how I am rewarded. Shall I join the many voices that have uttered, "How long Lord?" Remember the day begins in darkness and what appears to be light on the other side is but a variation of obscurity. The conclusion, God holds the true light, knowledge, and abundance, and whatever measure of it we think we attain always falls short of His perfection.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Luke 3:16 & Luke 12:50
He answered the question by saying to them all, "As for me, I am baptizing you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose very sandal-strap I am not worthy to unfasten: He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire. Luke 3:16
These two scriptures recently have captured my attention because I've been going through a period in which I have been stripped of everything that is precious to me. My friends, respect, order, job, social status...I could go on, but the point is that Jesus had a baptism to undergo that cost Him His life.
And so I must be in that vital stage. I sang "Lord I give you my all." Now comes the process.
I believe that being baptized with the Holy Spirit is wonderful. The Holy Spirit is nearer to us than our own breath, but what of the baptism of fire? Is the burning of something ever a wonderful experience? Fire disintegrates things. Only the essence of things survive. I don't know how much more falsehood needs to go in me, but being in this fire feels like a near death experience. And I can't wait until it is complete!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
conversations with God
I have been learning a lot about changing the person you are being in order to experience different results, and as I lay on my bed this morning two very distinct thoughts were given to me about the true nature of things. At some point we have to realize that this page, computer, house or where ever you are is temporal. That is widely accepted and recognized in Christendom. But what about...
Thought 1: Who you are is a lie; it changes.
Thought 2: The truth is that you are.
The point being that you will wear many hats during this lifetime and you will be thought of in many different ways. None are true because they are passing. But, the fact that you are remains. You will be for all eternity. Does that change the way you play your cards?
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Genesis 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-8
I was given the opportunity to compare these two passages for a class I'm taking on Second Language Acquisition. I was amazed. I think I made a post earlier about the Tower of Babel and why God chose to scatter the people and confuse their speech. It seems even more interesting that He gave His Holy Spirit to make the people one again.
The Holy Spirit is important in the sense that He brings unity and common understanding of who Jesus is to the body of Christ.
I cannot explain the feeling of awe that overcame me when I was presented with the two passages side by side. God is amazing.
I have meditated on that passage a lot about the Tower of Babel. I have to say, I thought that the diversity of language could only be punishment for the evil thoughts of man. I have often thought of how although we are one people in reality, we can still think of others as “other” or “not a part of us” because of language or appearance. These thoughts create disunity. I think of the statement Jesus made in Mark 3:24, “A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” As long as all humanity continues warring because of differences we cannot build a better world together.
