dhouston

I have a protector and judge. Someone I can go to in times of need in order to be granted justice. He is a deliverer and Savior. I am co-heir to the throne by my acceptance of His son Jesus. I have all the rights and priveleges of Sonship. The Scriptures say that I can come boldly to the throne and that my Heavenly Father is pleased to give me the Kingdom. It requires obedience and submission. I have to seek His counsel and will through prayer and study of His word. I have to become attuned to His voice and His leading so that I understand the path He is directing me towards. But I also understand that if I fail, and I am quick to confess my sins and honestly repent of them that He forgives me and our relationship is renewed again. When I want to do things my own way without God's direction, approval, or counsel I become arrogant and sinful in believing that my way is best. I reject Him by trying to do things my way without seeking Him first.

As far back as Abraham, tithing was a principle adhered to by Old Testament followers of God. They recognized Him as King and followed His instructions about how to honor Him and make sure that His servants (priests) were cared for. If we truly accept Jesus as our King, then we should have no issue at all with continuing to follow God's direction about tithing. Tithing is as relevant now as it was in Old Testament times. In my own life I have entered a period where financially I have had to make some decisions about where my money goes, and I have to admit, and ask forgiveness for, the fact that I have chosen not to honor God with a tithe as I should have. I recognize now that some issues I have been dealing with lately are no doubt directly related to my disobedience in this area. I have sincerely asked God for forgiveness for this sin, and believe that I will remedy this problem as soon as possible.

"Justice is rendering to every one that which is his due. It has been distinguished from equity in this respect, that while justice means merely the doing what positive law demands, equity means the doing of what is fair and right in every separate case." (Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary) Vengeance is the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done). Mercy is leniency and compassion shown toward offenders. I believe God can and does forgive sins without punishing. I can think of many instances where I willfully disobeyed God and knew when He was allowing me to suffer the results of my disobedience. But there have been other times when I sinned and threw myself on God's mercy, and I really believe that His compassion was great enough that He spared me the result of that sin. The cross represents God's compassion for us. By allowing Jesus to suffer in our place, He ensured that we have a "place" of mercy and forgiveness to turn when we inevitably mess up.

We as Christians probably don't always see ourselves in this role. We don't want to take a stand, or we only take a stand if it's safe and we don't have any fear of ridicule or embarrassment. But Jesus says when we protect, serve and bless even the least of these, we are doing it to Him. Our actions should definitely be guided by Jesus' actions. He never hesitated to help the least who needed it, and we shouldn't either.

God has given us His Word which explains in great detail how we are expected to conduct ourselves. Through careful and prayerful study of His Word, we begin a lifelong journey of understanding God. We will never complete that process here on Earth, but we should at least begin to grasp the concept that God's ways are the ways we should follow. His truth is the only truth.

In the presence of God's holiness, Isaiah realized how unclean and unholy he was. He understood that even the people he surrounded himself with were not worthy to be close to God. He was afraid because his experience was like no other. He was in the presence of the living, holy God and he realized how totally inadequate his attempts to be righteous really were. A heavenly being (seraphim) takes a live coal and touches it to Isaiah's lips. This is symbolic of the holy fire from God which cleanses all it touches. He is told that his sin is now completely atoned for and forgiven. Isaiah's response is to immediately volunteer for whatever God has ready for him to do. He knows he has been made clean and he is ready to serve God.

-Do you not know? Have you not heard? Power and strength. It should be obvious to us as we observe our surroundings that God takes care of His people. He will never let us fall or become weary or faint. By repeating the first 2 phrases, we are being asked, "How could you possibly ignore what is going on around you? Don't you understand that God is in control? Haven't you known this from the beginning?" By repeating the words power and strength, we are reminded that God can sustain us for as long as necessary because of that strength. Even though we may give up, God never will.

-Lord -Rock of our salvation -great God -King above all Gods -maker -former -Lord our maker -our God -our shepherd (implied in v. 7) We are told to sing for joy, shout aloud, come before Him with thanksgiving, extol Him with music and song, bow down in worship and kneel before the Lord our Maker. These acts of worship are an appropriate response to our Creator who loves us and cares for us deeply.

The Creator has every right to shape, form, and fashion his creation as He sees fit. However, our Creator has given us the freedom to choose whether or not we will accept His loving guidance and leading, or whether we will choose our own way and disregard His vision for our life. Knowing that we have been created for a purpose should give our lives meaning. We should know that our Creator has something very specific in mind for us if we will obey Him and trust Him to guide us. Our lives should reflect that knowledge as we try to be obedient and understand that by following the Creator's plan for our life, we will find true contentment and happiness.

Not only is it ridiculous for us to question our Creator, it is sinful. Who are we to dare question our Father about how He made us? He is perfect, all-knowing, and all-seeing. We can barely make it through the day sometimes without major catastrophies, and we dare to whine and complain to God that He didn't do a better job when He created us. No wonder we feel sometimes that God isn't listening to us and that our prayers are going unanswered. When my child whines and complains I turn a deaf ear to the complaint. Whining is ungratefulness, disobedience, and a lack of faith in God. Instead, we should bring praise to God whatever our circumstances. It's OK to ask God about our situation as long as we maintain an attitude of thankfulness. But when we start thinking we know better than God how to fix a situation, we have crossed the line and need the forgiveness that can only come from our Creator.

David understood that the God he served was no dead idol but a living, caring, God who defends His children. Even though it appeared that David was no match physically for Goliath, he knew that his strength came from God and not from his own might. It is dreadful for those who oppose God. The Amplified translation says, "It is a fearful (formidable and terrible) thing to incur the divine penalties and be cast into the hands of the living God!" Those who follow God and His commands have nothing to fear. Because God is everlasting, His is the final judgment. He knows right from wrong even when we may pretend not to. We cannot hide our iniquities from God, as He sees all.

God has no beginning and no end. He has always been and always will be. He is the only true God. The Creator of all things. When all things have passed from Earth, He will still be present. God's revelation to Moses takes on much the same meaning in Revelation 1:8: "I am...He Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty-the Ruler of all." (AMP) He is called in Isaiah 9:6, "Everlasting Father (of Eternity)" (AMP). This is the meaning of His name that He spoke to Moses. From the beginning of the Scriptures to the end, just as in eternity. God has remained the same.

I'm not sure that I can stretch my mind around the concept of eternity. The thought of everlasting life is staggering if you sincerely meditate on it. I can only think of the most pleasurable things here on earth and realize that the comparison is entirely inappropriate. As scripture says: "...No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) I can take heart in the fact that since Jesus has already prepared a place for me, it will be beyond anything my finite, limited mind can imagine.

The name I AM is the most holy name for God. Later Jewish leaders would not even speak the name aloud. This name probably caused the Israelites to be reminded of God's absolute supremacy and their special, unique relationship with Him. Egyptians worshiped many gods. but I AM makes the case that there is only ONE true God that is everlasting and supreme over any other gods. The God of the Israelites is able to perform miracles (witness the plagues, which were God's response to individual Egyptian deities and their supposed power) while the Egyptian gods are simply idols of no power whatsoever.

There should be an unbelievable freedom in our circumstances. God stands up for us against our enemies and all that He requires is that we trust Him and allow Him to take control of the situation. Timidity and brashness are the result of fear and ego, neither of which are of any use to us or God. I think the story of Joshua and Caleb is a perfect example of this. When they and the other 10 spies had returned from 40 days of scouting the Promised Land, they reported that the people who dwelt there were very strong and the cities were large and well fortified. Even though they found the treasures and richness of the land just as God had said it would be, the fear of the unknown was too much for all but Joshua and Caleb. I love how Caleb handles the situation. He basically shuts up the fearful, cowering Israelites and says, "Let us go up at once and possess [the land]; we are well able to conquer it." (Numbers 13:30) A casual reader might see this as brashness or ego, but Caleb is simply remembering God's promise that the land was already theirs, all they had to do was obey God and go in and take possession of it. Instead, the timidity of the other spies outweighed the faith of Joshua and Caleb, and the Israelites would wander the wilderness for 40 years, until only the two men who took God at His Word would enter the Promised Land. The Lord is not under obligation to fight any of our battles. He does so because He loves us and because we have accepted Jesus. I tend to think that when we have ignored His commands and willfully disobeyed Him, He allows us to suffer the consequences of our actions, even when those consequences may be extremely painful. I think that when we sincerely repent and come back to Him, God can "clean up our messes" and take us back into a right relationship with Him.

The rod signified God's presence with the Israelites during battle. This was an inspiration to Joshua and the Israelites to be courageous and look to God for deliverance and victory. We can look to God in any trail or battle we face. The Word of God is our banner and it can help us in any dire situation we find ourselves in.

This must be Jesus' fight and no one else's. If God had sent the Heavenly Host to rescue Him from crucifixion, then there is no Messiah to save us. As terrible as it was, Jesus knew that He must complete this task alone. When the Heavenly Host is revealed He appears on a white horse and his rider is called Faithful and True. He wears many crowns and His name is the Word of God. The armies of Heaven follow Him, also riding on white horses. He will strike down nations and rule them with an iron scepter. His name is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!!! This is the same Heavenly Host we can call on in our time of need.

The servant was afraid both of what he could see and what he could not see. The only thing visible to him was the army that had surrounded the city. As far as he know it was just he and Elisha against an army. What he couldn't see was frightening as well. The Lord's army was preparing for battle. The servant had never experienced anything like this before, but Elisha had. He had witnessed the "...chariots and horsemen of Israel!" take his mentor Elijah up to Heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2: 11-12). He had seen firsthand the power of the Heavenly Host and he knew the battle was already won. In order for our eyes to be opened, we must believe and understand that there are forces that come against us. These are "...powers of this dark world and...spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6: 12) But we have allies in our fight. The Heavenly Host comes to defend us. The writer of Hebrews says that all angels are "...ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation." (Hebrews 1:14) How many dangerous instances in our life can we realize that we came through unscathed because God sent His Heavenly Host to protect us? When we realize that our Father will protect us when we ask Him, our eyes will be opened to the spiritual forces of Heaven. When we realize that the obstacles we see are not obstacles at all to our Father, we should be overjoyed that we don't even have to fight the battle. Jesus has overcome death, so how could any problem we have be too hard for Him? And because He loves us so much, we know that we can bring anything to Him in prayer and He will listen. Jesus is in us, and is greater that anyone or anything the world can throw at us.

He is on neither side because He is a representative of God, or even possibly God Himself. This is similar to God's interaction with Abraham at Mamre when the 3 visitors appeared to tell Abraham that Sarah would have a child and to begin the covenant process that had been promised before. Abraham recognized these visitors as special because he bowed before them and also referred to then as My Lord. In God's call of Moses, he was told to remove His sandals because he was on Holy ground, just as Joshua was. Whenever God speaks to us, we are to assume that He is wanting us to be obedient, not us to be questioning of Him. Also, for God to be on the side of Israel, that would have had to be Holy and blameless. God's judgment was about to fall on Canaan, but that didn't mean that Israel was in the right. God is the only righteous One in this whole equation. Joshua did everything right in this encounter with God. I believe His obedience to God came so easily because He was primarily a soldier. A good soldier is obedient to His commander. He and Caleb had demonstrated extraordinary faith when they scouted the Promised Land and God rewarded them for that faith. As Moses' aide, He had seen how God rewarded faithfulness and punished disobedience, so He was well aware that it would be wise to do whatever this man with the sword told Him. First, he fell to the ground in reverence, then he inquired of the man (God) instead of trying to dominate the conversation. Finally, he obeyed God when He was told to remove his sandals. I wonder if Joshua realized the significance of this request. As Moses' trusted assistant, I wonder if he would have listened to Moses recount his call by God? I like to think that he had heard Moses' story many times , so that when the request was made of him, he recognized that he was being called by God for this task, and that God would be with him every step of the way. Joshua's obedience resulted in Jericho's defeat and "...the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land." (Joshua 6:27)

This glory represents God's strength and power. He is mighty in battle and defends His children. He is the Lord over all creation. When we faithfully seek Him, He rewards us by granting us a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we can know more of Him. This is not just a superficial knowledge. This is a continual, deepening understanding of who God is. He invites us to not only learn about His glory, but also the "mysteries and secrets" of His kingdom. By focusing on His glory, we can begin to understand what a profoundly wondrous God we serve. His glory fills our lives because when we worship Him we are continually transformed into His image and from one degree of glory to another. This reminds us that a walk with God is not something that happens all at once. Our Father takes us little by little, as much as we will allow Him, and begins to remake and remold us. This process often happens at a much slower pace than we would like and usually doesn't occur just exactly how we would like either. But we will never experience the full glory of God until we totally submit ourselves to Him and allow Him to begin His transforming work.

It is comforting to realize that even though God lives in a "high and holy place", the rest of v. 15 assures us that God lives in us as well: "...but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit." I especially like how the Amplified translation expresses it: "...with him also who is of a thoroughly penitent and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the thoroughly penitent." This tells me that one of the most important steps to experiencing the Most High God is to make sure my spirit is in the proper condition to receive Him. Being humble and penitent when I come to Him and when I go about my everyday life should be my first priority.

I think sometimes I may tend to get a little "familiar" with God. I believe God wants us to come to Him as a friend and as a Father, but there are some times that worship simply requires reverence and worshipful awe. I am a child of the Most High, the Exalted, and my worship should reflect that relationship. There are too many times when I find myself giving God a laundry list of things I need and then getting back to my life. I will begin to come to God with more of the respect and adoration He alone deserves.

Both believed in a Supreme Creator, One who was responsible for creating all of Heaven and earth. Both also shared a strong faith in 'El 'Elyon. Melchizedek believed that God could deliver Abram's enemies into his hand and Abram had a faith that simply relied on God's instruction. God spoke with Abram, and he obeyed. They recognized that there was none other higher than God.