Doctrine Shmocktrine

Recently I had a conversation with my pastor. I don't quite remember the origin or it--I think it was rooted somewhere in a discussion around evangelism. He began to tell me the differences in two doctrines: Calvinism and Arminianism.

Essentially, Calvinism purports the idea of predestination and total depravity. The short version of that is that God elects some to be saved and those who are chosen will turn to him because all of us are dead in our sin. Therefore, those who were elected before the beginning of time will be saved unconditionally. Those who are not chosen are UNABLE to turn to him because of sin. There are legitimate scriptures to back this idea up. You can look here for more info: https://www.gotquestions.org/calvinism.html

Arminianism, on the other hand, agrees that we are all lost to sin, BUT God gives everyone just enough grace to turn if they will. In contrast to total depravity, they believe in partial depravity and free will. The idea is that we have the free will to accept or reject Christ and that our salvation can be conditional if we choose him and then later reject him. Go here for more info: https://www.theopedia.com/arminianism

So while both of these ideas have scripture to back up their tenants, they are in direct contradiction to each other. No wonder people struggle with Religion!

Most days, as an assistant principal, my job is to listen to two sides of the same story and come up with the truth because it usually lies somewhere in the middle. I often ask the Lord for wisdom so that I can discern the truth in the midst of all the information I am given. When I heard these two arguments, I asked to Lord to show me the truth because they can't BOTH be right. Even within the two camps, there are those who argue the validity of all the ideas.

As God does, he took me to some scriptures. There about 15 and those reminded me of others. After reading and meditating on them I came to a revelation.

Doctrine is man's way of explaining God, but why do we feel the need to explain him? If we are in a RELATIONSHIP with Christ, then we are supposed to get to KNOW him.

So let's take a moment to look at some scripture that reveals WHO the Lord is, instead of WHAT people are supposed to believe.

Ezekiel 22:30-31 says, ""I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.""

This scripture demonstrates that God looks for people to intercede on behalf of others. His heart is not bent toward destruction, instead it is inclined toward salvation, but he longs for someone in the earth to care about his creation as much as he does. There are at least 18 verses in both the old and new testaments in which he tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves, one is Galatians 5:14, "For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

It also reminds me of 2 Peter 3:9 that says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." In this scripture, it is evident that God wants  EVERYONE to come to repentance. In 2 of the gospels, Luke 15:4-10 and Matthew 18:12-14, we can read that God's heart is for the lost. In Matthew we read, "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."

There are numerous scriptures about praying for each other, such as James 5: 16 (Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective) and even those that tell us to pray for our enemies as in Matthew 5:44 (But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you)!

As I search out the truth among the doctrine, what I find is that God has predestined us to live eternally with him, but we have been separated from him because of sin. Those of us who have entered into a relationship with Jesus are not supposed to just be like, "awesome, we are chosen, so sad for your bad luck." Instead, we are supposed to begin to pray for those around us that need to know him. As we call upon him on the behalf of others, he will answer and begin to draw them to him. Acts 16: 31 says, "They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household." 

It's so simple, but really that is the command of the Lord in Matthew 22:36-40, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” I'm not really sure why we try to complicate it and make it more than it really is. 1 John 4: 8 says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

While there are tons of other scriptures, I leave this post in an effort to inspire you to get to KNOW the person we claim to be in a relationship with and with whom we plan to spend eternity. I certainly hope that we learn to receive his love so we can share it with others so they too will be drawn to him.

So, today the revelation about Jesus walking on the water came to me, and I just wanted to share it with y'all.

 

Supernatural broken down etymologically is super+natural.  Super means “above,” therefore, supernatural means above the natural.  When Jesus walked on the water, he was giving the same message to his disciples that he gave the woman at the well.  He was saying that "I am the water that is above the natural water."  When the natural water is in a form of chaos, the Living Water is at peace.  And the Living Water can tell the natural water to look like Him. 

When we are facing storms in life, we need to look at the Living Water and see what He looks like.  The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:1 that “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” He is SITTING!!!!  Christ is sitting because He is at peace—he is ruling and reigning over his creation because He has been given dominion!!!  He is walking on water because it is a demonstration of His power to rule and reign over creation! 

John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus is the TRUTH!!  The water under His feet comes to rest at peace as He is at peace.  The natural is supposed to reflect the truth!  The Truth in every situation looks like Jesus! When we look to Him in our storms—He calls us out on the water with Him so that we might also understand that we have dominion with Him!  We must have the faith to believe that and then to call to Him to allow us to share in his dominion.  Again, Colossians 3:1 says that “If ye then be risen with Christ {called out on the water with Him}, seek those things which are above,{supernatural} where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” In other words, because we are risen with Him, we have access to the supernatural TRUTH and can call it down to Earth.  And the Stormy sea will fall placid and peaceful!

 

Be blessed and call your peace down!

Rina

24th Anniversary

Although today is the day AFTER our anniversary, we have set out on a 3 day trip to enjoy each other (now that the kids are older). In addition to having fun, we have challenged ourselves to find 24 things that remind us of our history. Let the fun begin!

Ed and I are off to find 24 places that remind us of our 24 years together. 

Stop 1, Grand Prairie Verizon Theather, getting concert tickets to Third Day. Ed was the first person to take me to my first concert. He surprised me with tickets to Randy Travis during his Always and Forever tour. Ed, I'm gonna love you forever and ever Amen!

Stop 2, GP @ Dallas Tortilla & Tamale Factory,  the most Mexican eatery we could find over by the old Mexican flea market we used to frequent every weekend. They sold goats and chickens, Aguas and Snap On tools. Ed got his first real Snap On wrench set there. We were uptown!!! Also nearby was the Yellow Belly race track. Ed and Craig Price brought me there when I was in high school to watch regular people street race.

Stop 3. Kemp City Park, sort of. This is a Calaboose which is what small towns had instead of a jail. Calabozo is a Spanish word first used in 1792 meaning dungeon. One horse towns had this single cell and in THIS cell, Bonnie Parker allegedly spent some time.  While Ed and I have never been incarcerated nor have we ever been to Kemp, we want to be a famous couple, not one recognized by the world for our dastardly deeds, but one recognized by God for walking in His power and authority.

Stop 4. The Dark Years. Remember the for better or worse part of the vows? Well, though we have never visited Palestine, TX, this place represents our worst (no offense to anyone from here intended). What we noticed about this city is that there are lots of great old buildings, yet none are used as they were intended and as a result have fallen to ruins or to incomplete reuse--nothing reflecting their intended glory. Our marriage had times like that too. Where we weren't walking in what God had called us to, where we didn't understand covenant as it is meant, where our marriage was incomplete, because we thought it was to please ourselves alone. Thank God for His goodness and grace though. So we drove around the city speaking LIFE to return ;) I love that we're crazy, crazy for Jesus! 

Stop 5. Jasper, TX, as the sun is setting. Eating at this fancy little Asian bistro. In college, Ed and I both had Vietnamese friends named Son and another named Nicole Pham who introduced us to REAL vietnamese cuisine which remains a favorite!! 

As a bonus, this elderly couple from Oregon that loves to travel to China, sat with us and we had a great time talking and eating! They were at least 20 years older, but had only been married 4 years. We have been married 20 years longer. How cool is that?

Stop 6. About to get lucky! Buying lotto tickets in the home town of 2 of the dearest people we know: Mary C Hayes & Franklin Hayes. They were our first married couple friends when we were newlyweds in Dallas. We have a lot of wonderful memories with them and of Sean & Paul too! Wish we would had met the girls! Love them so much!!!

Stop 7. Bed. Calm down y'all ,we're married.  But seriously,  for the greater part of the last 24 years I've gotten to fall asleep with and wake up with my best friend! Not to mention, the "in sickness and in health" part of the vows applies to a marriage bed too. For almost 2 years, our bed was a sick bed and even death bed for Ed, but God is kind and restored him and I get to keep waking up beside my BFFFFFF!

Stop 8. They say marriage changes you. Well, that's true. I haven't seen these friends very often since we got married, had kids and built careers. Back in high school, I used to iron mine and Ed's clothes for the week. Doing his laundry and his ironing was just something I did for him when we were dating. Wow--that flashback shocked me a little!

Stop 9. So for Ed's 21st birthday I surprised him with a chartered bus tour to this place. We were young and poor. My mom kept Grey and this was our first weekend away together with no kids. We didn't have "gambling money" so we took our car payment and decided to test the odds. Well, Ed lost his wallet, his buffet coupon and ultimately our car payment. Needless to say, today this stop is from a distance. We are wiser and our gambling happened last night with our 2 $1scratchoffs.

Stop 10. It seems over the years, Ed and I have developed a love for trying new foods as we travel. This stop represents such an adventure. Our friends from Dequincy turned us on to Cajun food and man, good thing we don't live here, we'd weigh 500 lbs each!!!. Our kids love Cajun food too! 2 summers ago we went to a Cajun seafood festival somewhere along the coast here.  And to think, it started a Popeye ' s in Arlington, TX

Stop 11. What a fun little place with lots of reminders. First of all this is the frog capital of the world and all over the city are these cute frog statues painted to match the businesses they sit in front of. As Ed and I have become travelers, we love to stop and see crazy places and oddities. Which brings us to the second thing, the cemetery in the back faces North and South NOT East and West (read sign), and I like it because it's defying rules of the dead--just like Ed did by dying 3 times and being alive to enjoy this trip with me. And finally, this church is called St. JOE'S, the first church we attended together as a family and thanks to Joanne Marziani and Father Nick Marziani found Jesus in a way we didn't know He even existed. He finally became real and not just a name on a page or a porcelain figure glued to a wooden cross.--

Stop 12. 25 years ago Ed started watching this crazy guy on TV who cooked with an attitude and has been hooked on cooking shows ever since. Back then I wanted to take him to the guy's restaurant in New Orleans, but we've gotten busy with life. But here we are 24 years later, the dream realized. The food was amazing and Ed can definitely recreate this dishes at home!

Stop 13. US 5th Circuit Court Of Appeals. Our anointing calls us to intercede for the Lord. Stood outside and prayed for life to be released through these courts! Took authority over the enmy and mopped Magazine street with him.

Stop 14. Bourbon street. Walking around the city of new Orleans taking territory away from hell and releasing the kingdom of Heaven. Ed and I are called to be scouts for the kingdom of God. We go in and pray and walk the city laying a foundation. Watch New Orleans I see a change coming!!! And when we do it, it always rains--thank you Lord for your prophetic cleansing!

Stop 15. Omni Royal Orleans Hotel.  When Ed and I started traveling, we stayed at motel 6 and econolodge, however throughout the years and after some really bad experiences that include bedbugs and such, we have decided no hotels below 2.5 stars allowed. In fact, we love to find great deals on 5 star hotels. Tonight we sleep in an $800 room for about only 15% of that. Now that's favor!!!! And now to wear our complimentary robes, watch some TV and drink some $7 bottled Italian water :) 

Stop 16. The French Quarter in the fog. This stop reminds us of all the fun vacations we have taken. America has a lot of cultural history and we love to bring history alive! We enjoyed looking at the amazing architecture and French and Spanish influence in this city. Yes we are really nerds at heart.

Stop 17. The lower 9th ward in New Orleans. The hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. The poorest neighborhood and therefore, the slowest to rebuild. This reminds us of the years we spent rebuilding our devastated marriage. Like these pictures represent, sometimes when devastation comes, the best thing to do is tear it down and start over with the Lord's help. These people lost everything, but Love came in and helped many of them rebuild and the result is better than before. Our marriage was like that. After all was said and done, except the walking away, we put our trust in Jesus to repair what we couldn't. It was slow because we were poor in spirit. We were new to trusting Him with everything. We had been "saved" but didn't personally know the Savior.  Our only choices were to walk away or trust His goodness. He resurrected something that we never could have done ourselves and it's better than we could ever have imagined.

Stop 18. Restore by habitat for humanity. There's something intriguing about recycling. If only these objects could talk, what stories would they tell? As Ed and I have grown older, our need for new stuff has ebbed and our desire to reuse things and appreciate a second life has grown. I guess it's because we love the thought of second chances, and history, and a new and unusual use for something that others have decided needs discarding. I can't wait to see what he's going to make me with this window!

Stop 19. Jesse Duplantis Ministries Headquarters. Ed used to watch this crazy Cajun Christian all the time with his dad (back when he was alive) and they got me hooked. We love him because He chooses to believe that God is funny and good and a personal God. I think JD is one of the reasons Ed and I know God the way we do.

Stop 20. Walmart. As badly as I hate to admit it, Walmart is a huge part of "US." When we first got married, we had no money so we would walk to walmart and dream of all the things we would buy one day. Now, we own everything in Walmart, but we still like to browse for sales to buy gifts for others. I remember when Ed was in the hospital, I had this thought that we would never walk Walmart again. Silly I know, but I continued to pray and believe God for his healing. Now when we walk around, I am thankful that it's possible and such an example of the value of little things that make intimacy part of a relationship.

Stop 21. Cajun Landing. Another local favorite. Ed and I (and the kids) eat out so often that we are sick of all the chains. This place represents our adventure to find places off the beaten path and break free from the conformity of "Eating at Joe's."

Stop 22. The Cajun Pawn Stars shop. Unfortunately, it was closed, but this represents one of our favorite pastimes when traveling. We love to go to pawnshops and flea markets in different places looking for unique items and of course, cool guns. Also, we like to visit TV related places. A few years ago we went to Detroit to visit Hard Core Pawn's shop. Lots of fun!!!

Stop 23. Arlington & Grand Prairie are like one place to us because we lived on the border and spent time in both cities. I went to UTA, he went to LTI in GP. In the 10 years we lived here, I worked in both cities and so did he, we attended church in both cities. Our kids attended day cares in both cities. We started our family here, were educated here, found Jesus here, said goodbye to my mom here, made lots of friends here. And finally said goodbye to here, but still consider it an old friend worth visiting.

24. Final stop for our 24th Anniversary trip. HOME!! We have lived here for 12 years, raised our kids here on a farm and watched our dreams come true! Can't wait til next year!! Happy Anniversary, Ed!

God is a God of Restoration

This last weekend has just blown my mind.  I mean really, mind = blown!

I can tell you right now that I will come back and edit this, but I want to get it down on paper . . . uh digital paper as it were.

There is so much background that I am just going to skip momentarily because I am still picking up pieces of my blown mind--which is actually a good thing!

It started on January 15 of this year.  My cousin texted me and said that she and her sister wanted Ed and I to come out to their ranch and help with a project.  Every couple of weeks, she would send me a teaser, or a clue, to help me try to figure out the project and also to create excitement in me . . . well, it worked.

By the time we made the trip to the ranch on February 27, I knew that they wanted our help in trying to move an old church to the property.  And when ice and snow covered the roads the entire day were had to take the trip, I knew that God had ordained it because the enemy was trying so hard to prevent it.

After all the schools in the county closed, except mine, we planned to head out on the 2 1/2 hour trip knowing it might take a bit longer.  Here are some pics of our journey:

Obviously, the traffic was terrible on the highway because of wrecks and frozen roads, so we took the back roads.  Well, they were definitely less traveled but that meant they were SOLID ICE!  We had to have the heater and defroster on full blast so we opened to moon roof the not suffocate--nothing like snow and sleet falling on you while your body temp fights cold and hot.  Sigh . . . Texas weather.

Well, after 7 hours, we finally made it.  A miracle in itself since my cousin lives atop Straley MOUNTAIN!  But, as God is faithful, he kept us on the road, led us along a safe path and got us to our destination--praise the Lord!

The next day, my cousin was so excited to take us to Byrds, Texas to show us the church she had found.  But before she took us, she told us the story of how she found it.  To keep it brief, I will say that she took a trip to Content, Texas, after hearing there was a church for sale there.  She took her neighbors along for company but came home after realizing that wasn't the church she wanted.  Her neighbors ended up locking themselves out so they had to call a ranch hand to let them in.  When he found out my cousin had taken them to look at a church, he said he knew of one that someone was GIVING away.  My cousin was so excited and set up a trip to Byrds, Texas.

Upon arriving, she spoke to a man who said that he had been trying to give the church away for 2 years, but in the last 2 days, 2 people wanted it, so my cousin went home disappointed.  On the way home she thought maybe God had gone ahead of her and the man had already given it to us.

Her sister, meanwhile, looked up Byrds, Texas on the internet and found out that the church had been located at the cemetery there which was actually located on land donated by OUR FAMILY in the 1870's!!!!

Turns out, the church, dating from 1902, was our family church--WOW!!!  Look carefully and you will see that they church is beside the cemetery.  This was customary back in the day to have a cemetery located right outside the church.  Well, a few years ago, THEY (whoever that is) decided that the church was an eyesore and needed to be torn down.  An amazing lady, my mind is blown on this, refused to let THEM tear it down, so she paid $2,500 to move it about 50 feet across a fence to save it.

Church as it sits now--notice cemetery is in the background about 50 yards away.

House of the amazing lady who saved the church from destruction.

Now, as you can see, the church has deteriorated some, it's paint is well worn, the doors are falling off, windows are broken, the wood is falling away, and when we walked inside, it was filled with junk and in need of major restoration and repair.

So we decided we needed to pray over the place and well, wow, that's when God really blew my mind!

This is the revelation He gave me:

See when He finds us, we are far from home, we are well worn, falling apart, dirty and filled up with junk, just like this building.  Everything is out of order and seems like it's not worth saving.  But, like the amazing woman, He sees value in us, and will not allow us to be destroyed.  He will pay whatever the price necessary (which was His life) to make sure that we are saved.  He loves us and it is His delight to restore us to the Father . . .  to find us in the muck and the mire and pull us out and restore us.  I imagined when this building is finally moved and sitting back on family land, it will be painted and restored and lovely and beautiful.  It's walls and floors will be sured up, the doors and windows will be replaced and solid, it will be cleaned and once again filled with laughter, love and unity of family.

This restoration project is not about a building, it is about restoring a family, it's about personal restoration, it's about the loving heart and the power of the Savior.

Mind over Matter Matters

Proverbs 23: 7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

I think it’s fair to say that most of us think with our heads, not our hearts.  Or at least we believe that.

The way most of us process information is as follows:

We perceive something that occurs through one of our five senses, usually eyes or ears. E.g. The doctor tells you have have some dreaded disease.

We use our other senses to confirm this.  We LOOK in a mirror, and come into agreement.  We FEEL badly and come into agreement.  The doctor runs tests and we HEAR the results and come into agreement.  You get the picture.

Then, our minds process all these facts, usually fueled by fear (how many WebMD doctors do we have out there?) and decide, logically, that this must be the truth. A + B must certainly equal C!  

And so, that truth settles into our hearts as we come to grips with it and sure enough the dreaded disease is part of us.  How often do you hear, “I’m battling MY cancer, MY alllergies, MY pain, MY divorce, MY fat …”  Listen … you will hear that … A LOT!!!

Notice, we have to “come to grips” with these things—that means it’s a struggle to accept them—why?  Because they don’t belong to US!!!!  Don’t Claim them, they are not yours!!  These are things that came with the curse at the original Fall of Man.  As a Christian, you have been delivered by the blood of Jesus, get on the blessed side of the cross!!

Easy to say, I know, but that’s what I’m saying here.  The way we process information is the problem.  It enabled man to be cursed in the Garden, and to date, it continues to enable us to be cursed even if we are covered in the blood.  It is NOT how God designed us, it is the power of the enemy’s deception at work.

Let’s look at Genesis to see what happened.  We see the serpent deceiving her in Chapter 3 and then finally in 3:6 we see how his deception worked. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate [emphasis mine].”

Notice that the woman first SAW with her eyes.  Then she came into agreement and THOUGHT that it was pleasant.  Then she DESIRED with her heart and finally she ACTED by eating and giving.

Prior to the fall, man was created in the image of the God (Genesis 1:27).  So their thought process must have been the same.  It’s impossible to know how God thinks because he is infinite, but we can get a glimpse by listening to Jesus—who was God thinking with a man’s brain … and heart.

Take a look at Mark 11: 24.  Jesus says, “Therefore I say to you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.”

Let’s look at this scripture and see where the thought process begins.  Where do we DESIRE things?  In our Hearts—the Kingdom thinking begins in our hearts and we know they are God’s will if we have the mind of Christ!  Next we ACT by praying and believing that we receive—in other words, we are to agree with our heart and imagine that what we have asked for is already so—this can only happen in our MINDS.  Finally, we shall have them, which means that we finally SEE them come to pass!!!

In the Kingdom, we first perceive with the heart, then our Mind agrees that it is the truth (because we have the mind of Christ), and then our eyes see it.

Remember the Word says in Revelation 12: 11 that “they overcame by the blood of the lamb, AND by the word of their testimony.”  That means they gave their testimony BEFORE they actually overcame!!!  Get this about Kingdom thinking—its powerful revelation!

Through the redemptive power of the Blood, we are no longer under the curse and have access to the same kind of Kingdom thinking that Man was designed to have …  and with that comes DOMINION over the natural.  That’s where the word supernatural comes from.  It means ABOVE the Natural.

So the fallen model is this: Eyes—Brain—Agreement—Heart—Truth

The Kingdom model is this: Truth—Heart—Agreement—Brain—Eyes

Your five senses are a gift, my friends, God designed them so the we might perceive what He has already done, not giving credence to the works of the devil.  1 John 3: 8 says, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

Satan’s only work was to teach us to put our brain before God’s heart that we might believe our own truths and disobey Him.  

Don’t be deceived any longer!  Be blessed, my friends and choose Kingdom thinking—with your hearts!

Thanksgivukka

I love God—He’s so smart and He’s so fun!  Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”  So this year the world is a buzz because Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah lined up for the first time since 1888 and won’t happen again until the year 77,094!  For those of us who find it fun to search the matter out, I would like to offer my thoughts on this phenomenon.

First of all, let’s think about the similarities of the two holidays.  Thanksgiving is a time when the pilgrims shared with the Indians and gave thanks to their new friends who taught them how to find provision from the land.  These travelers had come from afar to find freedom (from tyranny and religious persecution), and they found a wilderness; however, through grace they found provision and a new freedom they had never experienced.  Thanksgiving is about being thankful to a God who provides and who loves freedom!

Hanukkah, despite what we may have thought, is not a Jewish holiday found in the Bible. The origins can be traced to the writings of Josephus (a most renowned Jewish historian) and in the Apocryphal books of Maccabees.  In the story, the Greeks had overtaken the region, and many Jews had assimilated to their way of life.  Temples were defiled and the leader Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus where pigs would be sacrificed.  This created a revolt and some brave Jews led a rebellion.  Once the temple was liberated, they only had enough oil in the temple for one day, but the oil miraculously lasted for eight days which was just enough time to prepare new Kosher oil for the rededication of the temple.  Again we see a people grateful to their God who provides and wants them free from tyranny!

Now to look at the numerical significance: November 29, 1888.  11/29/1888.  So take a look at this 11:29 scripture: Hebrews 11:29 (KJV): “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.”  Hmmm.  Another example of a people who gave thanks for being set free and crossing into a land of provision—flowing with milk and honey!

And the 1888?  Lets look at gematria for that.  Like the Romans, the Hebrews didn’t have numerals separate from letters.  So for instance the Roman 1 is the letter I.  The Roman 5 is the letter V.  Similarly, the Hebrew system uses letters to represent numbers.  The 1 in 1888 is the Aleph which means 1000.  The letter is silent and represents the mysteries of God; the name of the letter means “Master” or “Lord.”  If you look at the Glyph below, you can see how this makes sense.

                                                 

The ancient glyph is that of an ox which was strong, yet often used as a sacrifice.  When writing the letter, you first make the diagonal line which is the Hebrew letter vav and is a picture of a nail.  The two marks surrounding are called yod which are pictures of hands—one reaching up to the heavens and one reaching toward the Earth.  So looking at it as a whole, because of the nails through the hands, Earth and Heaven can be connected!  Wow!!  The 888 is the gematria value of the name Jesus!  Also, when you look at all the words in the Bible with the gematria of 1888, there is only one, and guess what the word is —Bingo! It’s “SALVATION!”

Fast forward to 2013—these events of the past are not so different for our America.  The secular world has bled over the Christian foundation on which this country was founded.  Read the news—constant evidence that tyranny is on the horizon if we remain complacent.  Have not fear, rise up and declare your love of the Lord.  Set your face like flint to see that you rededicate your lives, your homes, your families to the Lord—for we are now his temples!  Have no fear because I see the same God, who was, who is and who is to come, telling us that HE WILL PROVIDE and HE WANTS US FREE!!!!

Then there’s the whole matter of Jews and Gentiles being in unity in Jesus …  but that’s another blog entry for another day :)

God bless you and Happy Thanksgivukkah! 

Ready to Break your Chains??

The Lord shared a wonderful revelation with me that I want to share with you. All of us have chains from which we want to be free—addiction to one thing or another, bad relationships that we know we need to leave behind, but just can’t, habits we can’t shake …

As a hobbyist horse trainer, the very first lesson I teach a horse is” the rope is greater than you.” I have to make sure that the horse understands that the rope will hold him and he must submit to its authority. One way to do this is to put a halter on a horse and tie him up to a tree and leave him. He fights and resists, but soon learns that he can’t go anywhere. Now I had one stubborn horse that broke the ropes, so I had to tie the rope up high putting him in an uncomfortable position where the rope had leverage instead of him—he learned it. All of them must … if you are going to make them lead on a rope. Once they learn this lesson, you can time them to a milk crate and they won’t go anywhere, not because they can’t, but because they think they can’t because “the rope is greater than he.”

God showed me that before we began to follow God, life taught us that the rope is greater than we are. Circumstances teach us that we can’t overcome poverty because of this or that, we can’t get an education because of this or that, etc. See, Satan has used events and everyday life to tie us to a lie that holds us in a place where we don’t belong. We have to understand our identity in Christ!

A 1,200 lb horse can easily break a well tied lead rope and/or a halter if he knows he can—even if it’s tied to a stationary object. How much easier is it for him to walk away if he’s tied to a light object? I once watched a spooked horse drag a basketball goal 300 yards in a matter of seconds—these animals used to be used to pull great weight—remember those days?

What is your identity and how do you get free?

There is another way to train horses—it’s of relationship. Certainly, you have heard of a horse whisperer—well that simply is a person that uses trust, love and relationship to train a horse. Funny thing about these horses, they don’t need a lead rope—they follow their trainers—because they trust them and know that the trainer will never demand anything from them they cannot do or that will hurt them. (Check out this link to see an amazing display of this type of horsemanship: Awesome Horsemanship)

This is the good news—Jesus came to set you free—and the way to do that is to follow him. He says in John 10:27 ”My sheep HEAR my voice, and I know them, and they FOLLOW me.” That means that He is talking to you and leading you … just follow Him. As you do, you will notice that whatever lie you were tied to is no longer holding you. Sure, it might get drug along behind you for a bit, but keep following and you will see it either break off or Jesus will come over and remove it himself. He is good like that :)

So get free my friends! God Bless!