Category: Worshiping Heart


Say Goodbye to Desperate Loneliness

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August 21, 2011

Do not be afraid–you will not be disgraced again; you will not be humiliated.   You will forget your unfaithfulness as a young wife, and your desperate loneliness as a widow.  Your Creator will be like a husband to you–the Lord Almighty is his name.  The holy God of Israel will save you–he is the ruler of all the world.  Isaiah 54:4-5 Good News Translation

          If you consider yourself a religious “outsider”, or one who has no background (or an unhappy background) in religion, we would like to give you some good news.  What you have heard about God being angry with you and wanting to condemn you forever to some fiery place of unending torture–it’s no longer true, if it ever was true (and we don’t believe it ever was).

          Oh yes, you probably have good reason to be afraid, disgraced, humiliated and lonely.  But you see, dear reader, it is not up to you, and it never has been.  The religious “insiders” are quite adamant about man’s free will (they are right, man does have free will and so do you) and they are also quite adamant about consequences for wrong-doing (what they call “sin”, and they are right, there are consequences).  But you probably already know all too well about those consequences–you didn’t become afraid, disgraced, humiliated and lonely because it was in some water that you drank.

          But here is what the “insiders” tend to forget–Father has a will also, and it was His will to give all authority in heaven and on earth to Jesus the Messiah.  You will never guess how Jesus chose to use that authority–He took all of the punishment for all wrong-doing of all people for all  time upon Himself!  As a result of that, God is no longer counting the wrong-doing against you (or anyone else either, for that matter)!  If that seems incredible, click on the above link, and read it for yourself.

          When God concilated the world to Himself through the blood which Jesus gave on the cross, He made possible something even more wonderful (if that is possible) than removing all of your wrong-doing.  It is now Jesus’ will to pursue you like a young man pursues a maiden that he wants to marry.  Thus we come to the wonderful prophecy from Isaiah which began this post.   Do you see, dear reader, that even though you were “unfaithful” once upon a time, Jesus promises that you will “forget” it.  And not only that, but your “desperate loneliness” will be forgotten as well.  It is exactly the loneliness felt by a widow, which is of course the reason Isaiah said so.

          In legal terms, you once belonged to Jesus because He created you.  But He gave you the freedom to use your will, which separated you from Him.  (Most of us will agree that we left His ways and His paths, not the other way around.)  Having now died and raised out from the dead, Jesus is free under God’s law to marry you.  That is to say, He wants to enter into a loving relationship and one-ness that is the reason He created the husband/wife relationship in the first place, as a picture of what He intends for you, dear reader!  It is a simile, and one that is used often in scripture, to depict the loving one-ness of Jesus and those foolish enough to cast their all upon Him–all your fear, all your disgrace, all your humiliation and all your loneliness.  You see, He cares for you.

          You may be saying:  What is my part?  What am I supposed to do?  Here is the simple answer, and it is no more difficult or simple than this:  Believe it!

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”   Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”  John 6:28-29 English Standard Version (ESV)

          This amazing passage has a number of marvelous truths within it.  Do you see that even during Jesus’ time, men wanted to DO SOMETHING to be right with God?  But Jesus pointed out it is not DOING but BELIEVING, and even the believing is not of yourselves–it is the work of God.  But if you can cooperate with Father in this work, the promise of a new life is for you.

          Nevertheless, we can confidently say that if you are even an occasional reader of this blog, Father is working to prepare your heart to be wooed by Jesus.  Our advice:  Give in!  Fall in love with Him and forget your unfaithfulness and say “goodbye” to your desperate loneliness.  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  You are alone no more. 

Blessed are You, O Lord.  Our wonderful God, You are the King of Forever!  Pour out Your Spirit upon all mankind as You have promised, and end the terrible emptiness of lives being lived as You never intended.  May Your kingdom come, and with it the marriage of Messiah, the lover of our souls.  For a brief, brief moment did You turn away, but now with great chesed (lovingkindness) will You come and gather us.  Baruch ata!

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When We All Get To Heaven

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July 23, 2011

Let not your heart be disturbed.  Believe in God, and believe in Me.  In My Father’s house are many abodes; yet if not I would have told you, for I am going to make ready a place for you.  And if I should be going and making ready a place for you, I am coming again and I will be taking you along to Myself, that where I am, you also may be.  And where I am going you are aware, and of the way you are aware.  Thomas is saying to Him, “Lord, we are not aware whither Thou art going, and how can we be aware of the way?”  Jesus is saying to him “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one is coming to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.  And henceforth you know Him and have seen Him.”  John 14:1-7 Concordant Version of the New Testament

          It is the prevailing view in the United States, that if one is “good” he will go to “heaven”, and if one is “bad”, his ultimate destination is “hell.”  Each sect and/or denomination has its own definitions of “good” and “bad”, as does each un-churched person.  And the general consensus is that “heaven” is a desirable but largely-unknown utopia, and “hell” is an equally unknown very bad place.  However, anyone with an open heart and an open mind can, with a little study and effort, quickly determine that the origins of each of these propositions is pagan from ancient times.  After the edict of Constantine, when all the pagan temples became Christian cathedrals and all the pagan priests became Christian priests by fiat, the Church incorporated these pagan ideas into mainstream Christianity as doctrines where they have remained firmly entrenched to this day, and scriptures (such as the above passage from the gospel of John) are mistakenly interpreted to justify these wrong ideas.

          Hear the Lord’s words:  don’t trouble your hearts with notions of streets of gold and whether there are golf courses in heaven (as we have heard one man say), or with fears of torture and burning and other ideas associated with that hideous doctrine.  Believe in God and believe in Me. 

          We are not intending to prove the falsity of that which is false, but instead to lift up and magnify that which is true.  So, open your hearts and minds, and ask the Lord Spirit to reveal the truth of these matters to you.  Believe Him, not us.

          The word “abodes” in the above translation is alternatively rendered “dwelling places” (NASB), “mansions” (King James Version), “homes” (Amplified Bible), “rooms” (New International Version), and “dwellings” (Wycliffe Bible).  The problem, however, is NOT with the translation of “abodes”; instead, the problem begins with assuming that “My Father’s house” is in heaven.  The Lord Jesus has never said that His Father’s house is in heaven, nor has it ever been His goal to bring a select few, chosen or believing (according to the Calvinist view or the Arminian view), into heaven and leaving the large majority of humanity behind to endure their “just” reward of “great tribulation” as a preview of eternal torment in hell.  Rightly decide the location of “My Father’s house”, and the Lord’s meaning of what He said above becomes clear and simple.

          Beloved of God, if you are wondering, “Well, where is God’s house?” you are not alone.  Do you notice that Thomas didn’t get it, either?  Let’s begin by speculating what was going through Thomas’ mind and see if it sheds some light for us 2,000 years later.  Notice also how the Lord had previously used the phrase:

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  Luke 2:19 English Standard Version (ESV)

And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”  John 2:16 ESV

          And so we can see that Thomas believed, like so many since that time have believed, the word “house” referred to Herod’s temple in Jerusalem, or some other man-made structure.  Thomas was naturally curious about where Jesus was referring, if not to Herod’s temple, to which the Lord had previously referred when speaking of “My Father’s house.”  Later, the Holy Spirit began to reveal that God had chosen to place His name not in a structure made by man, but in another place of His own choosing.

          When  Stephen was brought before the Jewish religious judges (the Great Sanhedrin) for allegedly speaking words “against Moses and God“,  he spoke prophetically of God’s ultimate rejection of Herod’s temple, noting that King David had asked to build God a dwelling place but that Solomon his son had carried it out, and that arrangement was not intended to be permanent.  Stephen quoted the prophet Isaiah’s famous passage about the Kingdom of Heaven:

However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:  Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet; what kind of house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what place is there for My repose? Was it not My hand which made all these things?  Acts 7:48-50  New American Standard Bible (NASB)

          The Lord Jesus had implicitly and explicitly stated that Jerusalem would be destroyed, and the implications of such destruction were revealed by the Spirit to Stephen and others, such as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews.  Many years later, but again prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the author to the Hebrews discussed the obsolescence of the temple and sacrifice system (the “old covenant”) and its replacement with a new covenant.   He clearly states that the new covenant is based upon the blood of Jesus and a temple “not made with hands”.

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete.  But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear…Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary…But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;…  Hebrews 8:13-9:1-2, 11-12, and 23-24 NASB

          We have quoted from this passage at length because some say the place being prepared is in the heavens, where Christ made His offering.  But we wish to point out that the author is referring to “the holy place”, not to “My Father’s house”.  We do not dispute there are heavenlies and that Christ entered there–we contend that Father prefers things that are not “made with hands” and that heaven is not the believer’s final destination.  Instead, “My Father’s house” is the New Jerusalem, a spiritual temple, coming down out of the heavens and ultimately filling the entire earth.  It is a living temple, not made with hands, but made with living stones.  Each stone is an individual who has tasted the kindness of the Lord and whose heart is a dwelling place, an “abode” for Father and the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

          Christ in you, the hope of glory….a mystery now revealed, the promise of the Father, that He would indwell each believer, was the “place” referred to by the Lord Jesus in our opening scripture.  And yes, there are many of them.  Later on in the same chapter of John, the Lord said:

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you (all)…If anyone loves me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.  John 14:18, 20, 24 NASB

          Every one of these “abodes” has been prepared by Jesus, just as He said.  It was the purpose of His going, as well as the destination of His going.  It is a part of His promise that He would come again and receive each one to Himself.  Thus, those who believe that heaven is the ultimate destination point to passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, contending that the Lord will return, rapture the believers in the air, and proceed directly to heaven. 

          We will indeed “meet” the Lord in the air, just as the scripture says, but the word “meet” in Greek is apantesis, which means to meet a visiting dignitary on the outskirts of town and accompany him back to the visited city, NOT to accompany the dignitary back to the origin of his journey, as is evident from the other two passages in the New Testament using this verb.  (See Matthew 25:1-10 and Acts 28:15-16.)  For example, when Paul was being delivered to Rome for his appeal to Caesar, the brothers came out from Rome some considerable part of the 112 miles to Puteoli to meet Paul and escort him back to Rome.  They did NOT meet Paul and escort him back to Caesarea!  Respectfully, in the same way, we will not meet the Lord in the air and escort Him back to heaven.

          Isaiah also prophesied that Messiah Jesus would be like a nail securely driven into a “place” and it would be a glory to His Father’s house.  Take a look at this remarkable scripture, and understand that it refers to your heart, dear reader.   It is the place where God has caused His name to be remembered and the place which God has chosen.  It has always been His plan, a mystery which was hidden from past ages and generations, to present every man complete in Christ!

          Messiah Jesus intends to take up His throne in the earth, at which time the prayer which He Himself instructed us to pray, will be fulfilled:

Pray then this way:  Our Father who is in heaven–hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Matthew 6:9-10 NASB

          Could there be a prayer that the Lord would teach us to pray, for which Father’s answer would be “No”?  We think not.  Dear reader, if your heart is troubled, or you are searching, look no further.  Your redemption is drawing near–call to Him, He will answer!  Why wait?  Ask Him to make ready your heart NOW.

Blessed are You, O Lord, lover of our souls.  Blessed are You for you have promised better things to come and to prepare the places in our hearts, and if there weren’t MANY, You would have told us so.  How great is Your love and how unfailing is Your purpose! Complete Your preparation in every man!  Make our hearts ready to receive you.  We say Amen to all Your ways. 

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Notes on the Sacred Gift of Greeting

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April 17, 2010

Now if a sacred gift of greeting is his near-offering; if it is from the herd that he brings-it-near, whether male or female, wholly-sound he is to bring-it-near, before the presence of YHWH.  He is to lean his hand on the head of his near-offering, and he is to slay it at the entrance of the Tent of Appointment, and the Sons of Aharon, the priests, are to dash the blood against the slaughter-site, all around.  Then he is to bring-near from the sacred gift of greeting, a fire-offering to YHWH:  the fat that covers the innards and all the fat that is about the innards, the two kidneys, and the fat that is about them, that is on the tendons, and the extension on the liver–along with the kidneys he is to remove it.  And the Sons of Aharon are to turn it (all) into smoke upon the slaughter-site, along with the offering-up that is upon the wood, that is upon the fire–a fire-offering of soothing savor for YHWH.  Leviticus 3:1-5, The Schocken Bible (sacred gift of greeting, marg. note for “slaughter-offering of shalom“)

          The sacred gift of greeting is the very first of the sacrifices for which Moses received specific instructions from YHWH.  As such, it is of primary importance, both to God and to man.

          Most bible translations poorly translate in “peace offering” the literal words used by the Schocken Bible, “slaughter-offering of shalom”.  The common rendering trivializes and minimizes the prophetic significance intended by YHWH.  Without a proper translation of the type, the comprehension of the fulfillment is all but impossible.  Conversely, when the translation reveals YHWH’s mind, His thinking, and His purpose, the Holy Spirit will open to the searching believer the fulfillment of the prophetic type in the believer’s life.

          The translation into the ubiquitous “peace offering” has resulted from a mis-translation of the Hebrew word “shalom”, which can alternately mean well-being or wholeness, peace, and also greeting–as in “hello”.

          Used here, it cannot mean “peace” because in no way have we or the Israelites of old offered YHWH peace–rather, He gives it to us.  Likewise, it cannot mean well-being or wholeness, because we cannot offer to Him what we don’t have and what He doesn’t need.  So the meaning of “greeting” or “salutation” is correct, and we see immediate confirmation in the correct (Hebrew) name of the book of Leviticus:  “Vayikra”, the first word of verse 1 of the book.  Translated into English, it means, “Now He called”.

          Yes, YHWH-Jesus has called (and continues to call), and if you can grasp that the first offering, the sacred gift of greeting, is intended to be every man’s response, the beautiful picture of fellowship with Him in the worshipping heart, where He has chosen to place His name, can joyfully begin to come into focus.

          Each part of the instruction given to Moses gives a clue to the fulfillment intended for mankind universally.  First, there is the emphasis on nearness.  “Come to Me,” Jesus said, “all ye.”  And again, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me.”  And again, “I will draw (lit., “drag”) all men to me.”

          Next, note that the offering can be either male OR female.  In every other instance except one (the red heifer), the animal sacrifice was to be male.  But here, the sacred gift of greeting is welcomed by YHWH-Jesus, from man or woman.  This is the offering Paul was referring to in Romans 12:1, when he said:

I exhort you therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves for a sacrifice, living and set apart for God.  This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you.  Complete Jewish Bible, David Stern

          Then, we may see from the organs chosen, and from the setting apart of the fat, that it is believers who are signified in the offering.  The giving of the fat, the liver and the kidneys are highly symbolic, which other verses (were they fairly translated would) make immediately obvious.

          Fat always denotes surplus, extra, extravagance.  It is the equivalent of the alabaster vial and the very costly perfume in Matthew 26.  When offered by the believer, it is an acknowledgment that “my cup overflows” because of You, Lord.  The believer’s extravagance here is almost always viewed critically by others:  “Why this waste?” 

          See and understand; it is a perpetual statute:  the fat belongs to YHWH-Jesus.  Do not eat it yourself, for you are not to be God.  Instead, give it to Him.  Be extravagant in praise; be extravagant in love.  Don’t be stingy in thanksgiving or worship.  “Waste” it on your Lord, if you can.  Let your words create a pleasing fragrance, an aroma of worship, to be savored by the One who called you.

          The text is clear:  God wants all of the fat (not just some of it) around the innards.  He is not referring to an acceptable amount of fat, from this or that area of our lives, in the way we would say, “I need to lose about 10 pounds.”  No, He wants it from every area of our lives, and He wants all of it.

          Keith Green put it this way, in his song “To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice”:

I want more than Sundays and Wednesday night.  But if you can’t come to Me every day, then don’t bother coming at all.

          We should note at this point, in conjunction with the instruction that He wants extravagant giving of each area of our lives, that He wants our very lives as well.  This is the point of slaying the animal and the instruction “to dash the blood against the slaughter-site, all around.”  We know He is not pleased with the blood of bulls and goats (Hebrews 10:4), and so there must be some point to the creation of such a big, bloody mess.  Here is that point:

This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.  Exodus 24:8, Hebrews 9:20

The life of the flesh is in the blood,…  Leviticuas 17:11

          The next symbol we note is the giving of the kidneys.  Here again, we are indebted to Dr. Stephen Jones, who noted that the Hebrew word for “kidneys” is also the word used for “reins”, as in the livery used to steer a horse.  The kidneys are representative of inward guidance, even as reins are used for external guidance.  Here are some of the mis-translated examples we referred to earlier:

Psalm 16:7  I will bless YHWH who has counseled me; indeed, my mind (lit., kidneys) instructs me in the night.

Psalm 26:2  Examine me, O YHWH, and try me; test my mind (lit., kidneys) and my heart.

Psalm 73:21-22  When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within (lit., in my kidneys), then I was senseless and ignorant; I was a beast before You.

Isaiah 11:5  And righteousness will be the belt about his loins, and faithfulness the belt about his waist (lit., kidneys).

          Isaiah’s inward/outward comparison to faithfulness (inward) and righteousness (outward) demonstrates most clearly the role of the kidneys as a conscience.  Much more could be said about the kidneys and the liver.

          The function of the liver is to cleanse the body of germs, toxins and foreign matters that cannot be removed from the body any other way, or when the other discharge systems of the body are not working or unavailable.  The liver takes in the sickness and removes it from the blood, or to say it another way, from the life.  This is its function.  When it is offered with the kidneys, the blood and the fat, the believer is saying, “I was a dirty rag of filthiness, but You took my sin upon Yourself, and cleansed me.”  In the liver is the reminder that though your sins were as scarlet, now they are white as snow.  The cleansing of the liver never stops.

          Thus the sacred gift of greeting Jesus is extravagance of love, freely poured out upon Him.  It is a cleansed life, now free to serve Him, and the submission of our inner man to agreement with His will, in essence handing Him the “reins” of our lives.  YHWH-Jesus promises, by covenant, that this male or female of His flock “shall have no defect.”  Praise You, Lord!

          The fire represents purification, not destruction.  It is a false witness of the most serious degree to equate God’s fire with punishment.  The purpose of fire is always commendable.

Blessed are You, O Lord our God.  Shalom! and welcome to Your resting place, Your throne, high and lifted up in our hearts!  Your throne, O God, will last forever!

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Notes on The Temple of the Worshiping Heart

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April 12, 2010

It shall be, in the place that YHWH your God chooses to have His name dwell, there you are to bring all that I command you:  your offerings-up and your sacrifices, your tithings and the contribution of your hands and all your choicest vow-offerings that you vow to YHWH.  Deuteronomy 12:11, The Schocken Bible

          This verse is one of 18 places in the book of Deuteronomy, beginning in Chapter 12, identifying for the first time the location of the place of worship to fulfill the many instructions given to Moses by YHWH about worship.  It is, simply, where He chooses to have His name dwell.

          Commencing at Sinai, and during the time of wilderness wandering, YHWH had never specifically identified where He would dwell among men.  In Chapter 12 He starts to emphasize (and prophesy) that He, and not men, will choose the location.

          That the sovereign Lord has the right to choose His own dwelling place and, having chosen, the right to change His choice, cannot be seriously disputed.  It also cannot be disputed that His early choices were not permanent and were made with a view to the unfolding of His plan for Israel and all mankind.

          Meanwhile, the mind of man devises his own plans and desperately wants God to approve of them (the man AND his plans).  So men everywhere have either planned, or planned and constructed, temples, mosques, churches and other edifices as an habitation for their particular version of God in cities all over the world, including Jerusalem.  But God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  Isaiah 55:9

          During the centuries which have come and gone since the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, great sums of money have been expended and sincere piety invoked in an effort to sanctify particular structures as the, or a, house of God.  The view that God has chosen to place His name somewhere geographically seems firmly entrenched.  Moreover, the fact that men have done the choosing, and not God, has not deterred construction in the least.

          Even among those who hold to the belief that God is not limited to a single dwelling place, there is yet the more or less explicit belief that one “goes to church” in the “house of God”, referring to a particular structure used as a meeting place.  It seems nearly universally accepted that one must go “somewhere” to worship, or serve, or otherwise commune directly with God or fellowship with others.   Much more could be said about the reasons that churchmen cling to locational worship, but the main point is:  there is another way to worship, and it has been called “the inward way.”

          Consider that God departed from Shiloh (1 Samuel 4:19-22) and from Solomon’s temple (Jeremiah 7:14 and Ezekiel 11:23).  He did not return to either place to dwell.  In fact, Jesus said God would send His armies and that there would not be one stone left upon another in Herod’s temple (Matthew 24:2).  For extra measure, the veil was torn in two.

          By the time of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the locational worship of Judaism had been emphatically extinguished by God.  Seeing into the realm where God the Father is sovereign over not some but all of the affairs of men, it is apparent that the destroying army belonged to God, not Caesar.  And the Lord Jesus said as much in Matthew 22:7:

But the king was enraged, and HE sent HIS armies, and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.  (Emphasis added)

           It was necessary that the temple be removed, to fulfill the parable referred to in the epistle to the Hebrews, so the way of the holy places could be revealed.

…by this the Holy Spirit making it evident that the way of the holy places is not as yet manifest while the front tabernacle still has a standing–which is a parable for the present period…   Hebrews 9:8-9

          In fact, so ingrained was the notion of “place” worship, that the epistle to the Hebrews was written to warn the Jewish believers their rituals put the son of God to open shame, and to re-iterate that the (temple) ground would end up being burned (Hebrews 6:6-8).  Jerusalem was warned three times:  by Father, by Son, and by Holy Spirit, a pattern which recurs often in scripture.

           All the types, all the patterns, all the prophesies point to this fulfillment:  Christ in you, the hope of glory.  In your heart, to be precise. There are too many scriptures that prove this to recite here.  A few will suffice:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own?  1 Corinthians 6:19

However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands,...  Acts 7:48

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!”  For behold, the kingdom of  God is inside of you.  Luke 17:21, Concordant New Testament

…Christ to dwell in your hearts through faith…     Ephesians 3:16

          The place where YHWH chooses to place His name, in specific, and the promised land, in general, refers ultimately to the hearts of all men and their resurrected bodies, respectively.  (We do not intend by this statement to raise the specter of universal salvation, the supposed uncertainty of which is apparently terrifying to some.)  As Dr. Stephen Jones has wonderfully noted, since Adam was made from the dirt, the Hebrew word “eretz” as in “promised land” or “promised eretz” can mean “promised body”, a resurrected one.  We believe this is the word of the Lord, and the fulfillment of His promises.  Much more could be said on this topic.

          Until then, however, the main point is the inward way, by the wicket gate as Bunyan put it, by the way of the heart.  It is neither a new revelation, nor one especially mysterious since so many scriptures point to it quite clearly.  What is perhaps most amazing is the seemingly small number of believers who embrace it, most prefering rather to follow the pattern of other religions in regard to a holy “place”–again, of man’s choosing, not God’s.

          We note, first, in recommending the recognition of the heart as the place of Jesus’ throne, that rather than precluding the assembling together of believers, it is a necessary and wonderful prerequisite for it.

What we have seen and heard (from Christ) we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.  1 John 1:3

          Without prior fellowship with the Father and the Lord Jesus, assembling together tends toward the empty and vain religion of exercising the traditions of men.  The reason some assemblies have moved to larger and larger spectacles and/or performances is to try to avoid what every child knows and will say with little provocation:  church is boring!

          Conversely, imagine a gathering of believers where everyone, or even a few, share with confidence and joy their fellowship with the Almighty God and the resurrected Savior in the preceding days of triumph and tragedy we call everyday life.

          Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of this in his book, “Life Together“.  As one brother or sister begins to relate to the assembly the outworking of his or her inward fellowship with God, he or she becomes the very voice of God by the Holy Spirit in confirmation of the same kind of outworking in another brother or sister.  All of this, however, begins in the heart, not the pew.

          One of the most wonderful discoveries a believer can find is the ease and freedom with which one can enter into this kind of worship.  It is truly free of time and space, or to say it another way, circumstances and location.  It requires no building, no clergy, no choir or too-loud music, and no pre-set times for beginning and ending.  It is most definitely not ego-centric.  Rather, it is Christ-centric.  Search for Him, as we wrote earlier; you will find Him in His garden.  And when you find Him, you will begin to see how shamefully paltry your “quiet time” has been.

          Moving on, you will put away such childish things and begin to desire, to hunger for, to need continuous fellowship as such worship brings.  When we say “continuous”, we mean in your first thoughts as you are awakening each morning, during the day as needs arise, in the evening as you retire, and even during the night.  (See Psalm 134.)

          We mean continuous in the way Moses did when he said, “when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.”  Deuteronomy 6:7b  God’s words shall be on your heart.  His love will fill your heart.  His commandments will not be burdensome.  As you learn to hear His voice, His words will become spirit and life to you, words to live by, from the mouth of God.

          If this notion is even remotely interesting to you, then obtain copies of two books:  “The Spiritual Guide”, by Michael Molinos, and “The Secret To The Christian Life”, by Gene Edwards.  Both are available from SeedSowers. Read these books carefully at least three times.

          Meanwhile, search for Him in order to worship Him.  Forget about His gifts; find Him to thank Him, to laud Him, which just means to brag on Him for everything you can think of, and to love Him.  Find Him because of who He is.  Pray or sing the Psalms to Him.

          Whether you are in a Volkswagen bug, or a 5 by 5 cell in Guantanamo Bay, or anywhere else on this earth, you can worship and fellowship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  No one and no thing else is required; no one and no thing can stop you or separate you from the love which is in Christ Jesus.  Don’t let another day go by.

Now, now is the time to worship.  Now, now is the time to give your heart.  Come, just as you are to worship.  Come, just as you are before your God.

One day every tongue will confess You are God; one day every knee will bow.  But the greatest treasure remains for those, who gladly choose You now.  (by Brian Doerksen, copyright Vineyard Songs)

Blessed are You, O Lord, our wonderful God.  Arise, O Lord, come into Your resting place; Your children sing and worship You, God, our King.

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Notes on the Secret Garden of My Beloved

Filed Under: Worshiping Heart by admin — Comments Off on Notes on the Secret Garden of My Beloved
March 29, 2010

Q:  Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women?  Where has your beloved turned?  Let us seek Him with you.

A:  My Beloved has gone down–descended to His garden. Song of Songs 6:1-2

And you will be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring whose waters will never fail. Isaiah 58:11

          In these verses we see that a simile is intended, and the Bride of the Beloved Christ is taken as a garden.  The very next verse of the Song (v. 3) confirms this conclusion with the following:  “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine”, a well-known wedding vow.

          The Lord Jesus is now, has always been, and will always be the suitor, and everyone else the object of His affections AND advances.  “For God so loved the world…”  But Note:  one happy day in the future, the woman will become a suitor also.  Jeremiah 31:22  And, as prophesied in the Song, the woman searches everywhere for Him, not resting until she finds Him.

          That He has turned to a secret place is apparent from the questions, “Where has He gone?  (To) where has He turned?” What is not apparent is to whom is the location a secret?  To the Bride?  No, for she gives the answer in a mystery: He has descended.  Notice that she has not gone UP to Him, nor need anyone look for Him there.

          How many look for the garden on high, the heavenly garden, in heaven?  How many have set their hopes on going up, or crossing the “River Jordan” in a figure crossing from death into heavenly places?  Do you not know, have you not heard, has it not been explained to you from the beginning:  We have this treasure in earthen vessels?  Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is in your midst.”

          What occurs in the garden between the Beloved and His love is forever sacred, not to be discussed, nor made common.  It is intimacy of the first and highest order.

          If one is to become a garden and the Beloved has descended into His garden, it may easily be seen that the secret place of the heart has become His dwelling place.

The heavens are My throne; the earth is My footstool.  Where is the dwelling you could build for Me?

In My Father’s house are many habitations.  I go to prepare a place, that where I am you may be also.

          And so it may be seen that He no longer dwells in buildings made of stone, steel, bricks and mortar.  But He instead prepares the heart, as a “bed of sweet savor aromatics, to pasture his flock there and to gather anemones”, and then He descends to it.  You will find Him there, in your own heart, waiting for you.  Go to Him quickly!

Blessed are You, O Lord our Wonderful God, King of Forever, for You have given us the Treasure of Yourself in these earthen vessels, and You have turned our hearts into gardens of Your delight!

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