Have you ever considered what really happens at dawn, before the sun rises? Let's go back to the very beginning. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:1-4 This Light that was created in the beginning was not the sun; the sun was created on the 4th day. This Light is none other than the Right Arm of Yahuah who pierced the evil, utter darkness that had befallen the earth after it was created. O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. Psalm 98:1 This "Right Hand" and "Holy Arm" is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. This is the Light of the World, our Savior! As we ponder this, we see how His light broke through the darkness and brought victory; not the sun! Of course, today we have the sun and the moon to give light, but what Light is it truly that pierces the darkness first, before the sun comes up? The time is the dawn, or as many say, the "morning". It is important to know the meaning of this word in Hebrew. "Morning" is the Hebrew word, "boqer", and it means DAWN! This is the time of morning before the sun comes up when the Light first pierces the darkness. This is just like the time in the very beginning, when the Light was spoken into existence by Yahuah, and the darkness was pierced, or defeated! There is something very special about this time. Consider this... It is of the Yahuah’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 Here the word “morning” is the Hebrew word “boqer”, and it means DAWN! It is referring to that exact time before the sun comes up when the Light first breaks through the darkness. His mercies are new every single time this breakthrough takes place! This is so exciting!! For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5 Here we have the same word: "boqer" for morning! Joy comes at dawn when His merices are new! Joy comes at the breakthrough of the Light!! Even further... think of the times in the Word when seeking our Father "early" or "in the morning" is mentioned! Could it be? My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Yahuah; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Psalm 5:3 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is… Psalm 63:1 In this last verse, David is telling Yahuah that He is so thirsty for Him that he will seek Him "early". This phrase "early I will seek thee" means rising up or seeking at DAWN! David is seeking the power available to him at DAWN, at the time of breakthrough, to be filled with the living water - the only thing that can quench his thirst at this very dry time in his life. He knows that breakthrough is available at this time! There is something to this! The Light of the World broke through the darkness in the beginning, and I believe He continues to do this every day of our lives -- thus the reason that His mercies are brand new - sparkling new - every morning (at dawn). Who cannot find complete JOY in this??! Praise be to our Father and Savior, who is always ready, every day, to extend His mercy and give us the breakthrough that we so desperately need and desire! May this feed you and encourage you this very day!
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While causally washing a few dishes this morning, a scenario began playing in my mind. This scenario involved food, and suddenly the phrase "I'm starving" came to mind. This is something I hear often out there, whether it be from friends or family, and it's always spoken when someone is famished! I admit that I used to use this phrase myself, and honestly, I''m sure it was often. Now when I hear these words, my spirit is immediately quickened, and not in a good way. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard. I've had to be corrected from saying this myself, among many other things, and it's been a long process honestly. Most of us have no idea of what we are doing with our words, and it's incredibly important that we gain wisdom about this. (Please know that my sharing this is not to judge anyone, because, I have been guilty of this as well. I am sharing this that we may all think a little more before we speak.)
So, when we say "I'm starving", what are we really saying? Well first, we are not speaking truth, because we are not starving. Bluntly, this means we are speaking falsely. Most of us here in this country are fed in abundance and we rarely miss a meal, unless it is intentional or accidental. We are blessed, but yet we say we are starving, as the lust for food burns in our hearts. The people in some third-world countries, and even today in the hurricane-ravaged Bahamas, are likely starving, wondering where their next meal will come from or if they will get a meal at all in any given day. That is the definition of starving, and most of us don't fit that mold. There's actually more than just being a false witness when we use this phrase. In speaking, "I'm starving", we are pronouncing this thing we speak, poverty, on ourselves. Even though this is not our intention, we are claiming that we are starving, and if we proclaim it, isn't it true that these words will eventually come to pass in our lives? As born-again believers with the power of our risen Savior available to us, do our words also have power? We know they do; because the Word says we do. For by thy words thou shall be justified, and by thy words, thou shall be condemned. Matthew 12:37 When we proclaim this on ourselves, we are also undoing the promises for the righteous that clearly speak that we will NOT be in poverty or "begging bread", even in times of famine! We are literally speaking words from our own mouths that will give way to the enemy to forfeit the promises of the Father in our lives! Look what He promised concerning this very subject (and these are only a few): I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalm 37:25 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Psalm 37:19 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Psalm 33:18-19 Why would we proclaim defeat over ourselves in this way? For one, in our "fatness" or abundance, we can become insensitive to the deep things of our Father as well as those suffering around us. This is exactly what happened to Israel as they became to "lightly esteem" their Rock of salvation. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. Deuteronomy 32;15 We also do this, because our fleshy tongue has great power. Just like the very small rudder of a very large ship, the tongue is a very small part of the body, but can it lead our entire body into one direction or the other. We have to be aware of it's power, and use the fruit of the Spirit, self-control in particular, to overcome this. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. Controlling our tongues is so very hard. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us through prayer -- that is, constant and persistent prayer -- as well as meditation on the Word. We have to ask our Savior to allow our words to be only His words. Obviously, this will take time, but a fully repentant heart, a genuine desire to change, and then our continual seeking strength from the only One who can get us there, WILL get us there eventually. He truly is faithful to work this out in us through His grace and mercy - a mercy that is brand new to us very morning! It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 One final thought about this issue that should cause us to pause and really think before we speak... (you know, the ole truth of being slow to speak and quick to listen): But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36 Idle words are careless words, "useless and barren" as defined in the Hebrew. These can be words of complaining and murmuring, condemnation and curse, and words of ingratitude and entitlement. Words without life bring death and curses. We will be judged and give an account for every word?! That is truly scary! We must be careful; we must take heed and let our fear (reverence and worship) of our holy, perfect Father who means what He says, give us wisdom and patience when we communicate. This overall issue of "playing with words dangerously" has been a constant battle and training for me, and you may struggle with it too. But we must believe that with Him, ALL things are possible, and we must press on and endure in hope! It is a promise that we WILL overcome with our own desire to obey Him and His loving correction and strength! But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10 We all know what a boomerang does, right? We throw something out and it turns around and comes back to us! When we willingly offer praise and we glorify our heavenly Father, the very same thing happens. We receive something wonderful in return.
In reading Psalm 50 in the Septuagint (which is my favorite version since it was even before the KJV), there is a particular verse that brings about contemplation and deep thought. Basically in the beginning of this Psalm, the Father is telling Israel that He does not need their animal sacrifices, as all the animals are His and He can have them at anytime He desires. Then He tells them this in verses 14 - 15: Offer to God the sacrifice of praise; and pay thy vows to the Most High. And call upon me in the day of affliction; and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. So, they praise Him first, pay their vows, call upon Him in the day of affliction, and He will deliver them and then they will glorify Him. The way this verse is written along with the order of the words, , it sparks question, or at least it did for me. Why is glorifying Him so important here? Obviously, we know that glorifying the Heavenly Father is always warranted in all situations. But in this case, glorifying Him seems to be singled out as the very end result, or the pinnacle of His instructions to them. As most of us know, praising is a form of expressing gratitude to our Father for all His wonderful works for us and in His creation. When we stay in a state of gratitude, continually thanking and praising our Father, He is sure to be pleased and will always be there to deliver us from our afflictions. But the key is when He delivers us... His deliverance then causes us to praise Him even further unto glorifying Him. Glorifying Him is exalting Him and worshiping Him for who He is, for His absolute deity and majesty. It is full submission of ourselves into full-blown worship of Him, someone so much greater! So basically praising puts us in His favor for protection and provision, but glorifying Him does even more. This explains why verses 14 - 15 are worded the way they are. As we progress through the rest of the Psalm, we have the full answer and confirmation in the last verse (verse 23): The sacrifice of praise will glorify me: and that is the way wherein I will shew to him the salvation of God. Through glorifying Him (or worshiping Him), we are shown the "salvation of God"!! And what is the salvation of God? The Son of God! Then when we are shown the Son of God, the Holy Spirit is present with us, always exalting the Son (scripture) and working in power unto forgiveness, revelation, healing, deliverance! These are all the works that the Son purchased through His crucifixion and resurrection.. Worshiping the Maker and Creator of all things, our Heaven Father, through the only way available to us, through His Son, will bring us into the presence of His Spirit where all powerful spiritual blessings flow!! Why do we not do this more? Are we too busy, or do we just not realize that we can have this, because we don't fully understand? When we don't do this, we are missing out on His power in our lives! Both praise and worship should be a part of our daily routine, just like praying and reading the Word, and we don't have to be in a congregation or church to do it!. What a gold mine waits for us in our pure and devoted worship of the one true God! He is so very good to us and worthy of all our praise and glory! Just one day after the last post, my precious mother suddenly passed away. Although tragic and terrible, my dad and I have been tangibly comforted by the love of our Father through the prayers of many righteous saints. We are very grateful! Despite the pain and distraction of mourning, my Father has begun doing a new thing. I already have much to share and will begin writing again this week.
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Special NoteThese writings are written in love and a spirit of servitude. They are not designed to judge but make us think. We are all sinners in need of saving, and we all need encouragement and absolute truth to endure on the narrow road to sanctification and ultimately eternal life. Categories
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