FireSpeaks

When David said Asked "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" he was doing a number of things First he was bringing into the awareness of the Israel army that unlike the Philistines they serve a real God one who is able to rescue them from their troubles. Second He was letting them know that this man Goliath,had disgraces the army of Israel, and the Name of God and he was under a curse and subjected the the wrath of God Hebrew 10:30 says "Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord." the Amplified bible says "It is a fearful (formidable and terrible) thing to incur the divine penalties and be cast into the hands of the living God!" and young David knew that the wrath of the living God, the hand of Him whom belongs vengeance, would be recompensed through him concerning Goliath.

The First and the Last relates to the attribute of Eternity, not immortality which has it's origin in living forever, it suggest the futurity of things. but Eternalness which is the expression eluded to in genesis 1:1 that before there was; God was already. and when the end of everything that we can perceive happens, God will still be. It is the very expression which is reveled to us in rev 1 :8 When God said I am Alpha and Omega God is saying "I was there before there was a beginning I was there after there is an end." That the eternity of God is just an single expression of His Omnipotent Self

I my greatest imagination I could not imagine eternity, I could only hope that my life has been such that Christ would intercede to the father for me in the time of judgment. I am not as motivated with being in the presents of Christ which I think it the greatest thing that could happen to us, as I ma afraid of the alternative. I am fearful to be in the present of God, true fear not the reverential fear, but fear from the aw of the terrible power of the all mighty God. But I truth I would rather gravel at the footstep of an almighty God, than look down from the balcony in pride for the evil one.

The Name that God revel to Moses first speaks on the eternity of God, it says that before the beginning , God is and after the end, God is. This is contrast to idol worshiping which were made of wood would decay after a given time and could not be eternal or have any power

When we know ( know) that we have no power over a circumstance we are no longer responsible for the outcome. Our faith is strengthen the more we depend on God. this does not mean we should do nothing but instead we should wait on God to direct and guide us in the direction we should go. be we timid or brash they mean the same that we have no faith in God so we try to do a thing ( win a battle that we are not equipped to fight) the timid has no expectation of success because re thinks he can do it himself: the brash has no expectation of success because he thinks he has power to make God his will. I don't believe there are any instances when God will not fight our battle, I do think that we sometime desire a end result that is not inline with what God has for us and say the battle is lost. The time when god will not fight for us is when we loose contact with him. this is evident in that every time the children of Jacob turn from God they when into bondage or submission to some other kingdom.

During war often one nation would place a flag in the ground to mark new territory that they had taken. This Flag marked this area as belonging to that nation and anyone removing this banner would have to deal with them. The newly captured territory would be known by that banner placed in the ground and told all that came near who had won the battle. In the same way the rod of Moses was that banner for the children of Jacob as they fought the Amalekites when they looked up on the hill and saw Moses hands raised they rested on the promised that God had made. In like manner when we say Yahweh-Nissi we are saying that we are identified already having a victory in Christ Jesus because the promises of God are like the rock which Aaron and Hun sat Moses on, those promises which assure a victory even before the battle has began.

Had our savior called the host of heaven into battle there would have been no salvation. We are saved by the blood of the lamb, and it was this most holy sacrifice that was needed to for our redemption and reconciliation back to the Father. It was not an issue of military might, nor strategic planning, but and issue of obedience to the will of God. The bible tell that Jesus Christ was obedient even unto death. When he does call the host of Heaven we are told that he will in righteousness he will judge the world and wage war.

As with all of us, Elisha's servant was afraid because he could not see a solution to his present condition, he was around a powerful man of God and still was not quite ready to rest his faith in God. Even after Elisha told him don't be afraid those that are with us are greater than those that are with them his belief was still wanting. It was not until Elisha prayed that God would open his (the servant's) eyes that be could actual see God the numbers of the heavenly host and experience God's saving power. 1 John 4:4 is the New Testament scripture equivalent to what Elisha told his servant. it Says to us be not afraid those that are with us are greater than those that are with them.

Its very important to know that God does not pick sides, he does not favor one football team over another or one prize fighter over another, even though we may say it was by God's will that I won this event. God does not care about your event at be you saint of sinner. This is very important in understanding the response of the Commander and more importantly it should be taken as instruction for us. Its not who side God's in on during a competition, rather who in the competition are on the side of God. When Joshua said 'What message does my Lord have for his servant" he began to submit himself to the will of God. I can only imagine that during this period Joshua is was a bit unsure of himself.but after the encounter with the Commander of the Lord of Host, Joshua hears big enough says Be strong and courageous" for I the lord say is with thy Where every step of the way Joshua 1:9 (KJV) Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

In Ps24:7-10 God is expressed and being worthy of worship even in our times of distress, the psalmist seems to be exhorting the reader to receive all the Glory of God. Here he says to lift up your heads ( be confident in God Glory because it is above everything) he uses the gate and the door as a symbol of us opening ourselves up to receive God's Glory. The King to me signifies protection as head of a state. with armies and those able to enforce his will. This is King of Glory In Ephesians 1:17 somewhat the same thing only here Paul is exhorting them to know that because of their belief in Jesus as savior there is a confident that the Father of Glory will express his glory in them through them. One major difference is how God is seen in each verse in the old testament God is seen as a King. But expressions like Abba move the view of God from commander and Chief to the loving father whom will help you in your time of need. This is Father of Glory As we come to recognize God's Glory in our live from prayer, study, and seeking his presence, we come to realize that God is a person; a Person in Spirit whom we can have a personal relationship with. Then we are set free from Laws, rights, and rituals that try to express him, our faces shining with the bright of his glory, ( people will see us and glorify the Father in Heaven) as we become more and more like him.

This When I think of high and lofty my mind project the image of a place where one is up high( physically) looking down on those that are below. If use to work for a lawyer that live on the 5th and 6th floor of this hotel the 6th floor was like a loft with room only around the perimeter. I remember how powerful I felt when I would walk from his computer room on the 6th floor onto the balcony that over look the 5th floor living area. Even though I was the only non-millionaire in the room, everyone that wished to speak with me had to look up tilting their head all the way back to see from that lofty position. I remember how belittling it felt when I had to look up to speak to someone stand high in the rafters. To inhabit eternity to me is as if there is no point in time where an individual can be at any moment found. I would imagine that for God everything that will happen has already,while at the same time everything that is happening has already happened or will happen in the future. God is eternal having no beginning or end yet he know the all things that is that was and what come. As i think of the High and Lofty God who inhabits eternity. i think of the position in that hotel house where I had to tilt my head back to speak to the people. and I contrast this with my position in prayer that even though i bend my knees to pray I still must still tilt my head all the way back to speak with our Most Holy God whose names is the most of holy

As I meditate on the "High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity" I see the supremacy of the status of El Elyon when meditated on Most High I contemplated the thoughts of the things of this world which we put before God. But High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity brings to mind not just that God is above my material things, but a God that is beyond all things that I can even imagine. Even at my greatest I could never fairly contemplate eternity because unlike God I am restricted by the limits of space and time. I can not perceive the future even though I may try to predict, I can not change the past even though I can know all there is to know about it. Only this moment can I have any thought of and in a second it gone. It is as if I am always living perpetually in the very recent past. But El Elyon is not divisible by past present of future he inhabits eternity.

When I consider El Elyon in meditation, I think of all the things that we as people set before ourselves to worship We worship our car, our house, our job, our spouse, our status in the community, all these thing are our gods. I've heard men (not men of the Most High of course) say that they would kill if anyone hit their car, took their money, did something to their property these things they have set above all else in their life. for them these are their god. But the Name El Elyon says whatever you have put your value in, be it your faith, in your hopes, and expectations, be it flesh plant, mineral, or belief, they are all below the Most High God and we exhault Him, we consciencely raise Him above anything else in our lives, we acknowledge that The Most High God is above everything that is is, because everything that is is because He made it so.

My first post did not work! Anyway From the name we can see that both Abraham and Melchizedek both recognized the God of Abraham as being above all other gods. the only real God. We can imagine those polythesis worshipers may have even taken it as an insult when the name El Elyon was used in their present. Abraham goes even further in his description when he said to the king of Sodom "'I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, "I made Abram rich." This set his Abraham's standard above the things that could be obtained from the world. And it also said my God is the creator of all things and he is sufficient for my needs.

I think that they, both Melchizedek and Abraham, agreed that there is one God whose name at this time is Most High, even though we don't get any understanding on who Melchizedek is, we see that Abraham received his blessing. Further we can see agree that either Abraham knew who he was or expected see him because he gave one tenth of all he had to this Priest of the Most High.

I remember my mother always saying to me "Give it to God" What every we have that is weighing us down we have to give it to God. Just as a small child runs to his daddy ofr protection from whatever frightens him we must place at God's feet those things that bigger than us. As I write this I think that we must place all thing is God's very able hands. this is not a sign that we are giving up but rather a sign that we have put our faith completly in God. We still prepare for the battle no matter what it may be but we do it with the confidence that God has heard and knows the problem that is before us. in matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says" all ye that are heaven laden.... for I will give you rest," this I percieve as comfort and tha suurrantly that God is in control of all situation and we do not need to worry about the outcome. This comfort and the guarentee of the assurer (God) makes the battle much greater for them that have Christ.

A broken and contrite heart means to be completed crushed and battered by the realization that your action ar toward God, to be exceedingly sorrowful for an action, or attribute. It is when we are at this point that we can come to God without any hidden agendas, just a reall heart of repentence and a desire for God to forgive us of our actions. In olden times sacrifices where done with action of man not with the heart. so they gave the fatted cow thinking I could get much more. These sacrifices became nothing more a ritual have not real substance toward God, or God's will. When we offer these scrafices we are givein up all these worldly things to so that we can express God with a sorrowful and contrite heart We resist a broken or contrite hart beacause it mean coming before God in full repentence, realizing that we are wrong in our actions, needing God's Salvation for our life, and the mercy of God for forgiveness, a place where a man of pride will find great difficulty in the word of God

I feel that it is possible to have a pure heart, I've meet people that only had good within them, I've meet people from the other end of the spectrum as well. And God brings about that pure heart by bring to our knowledge our shortcominging, and allowing the Holy Spirt to convict us. I have never been as tormented as I was when I was living my life with a heart that was not mindful of the will of God. Now I am not saying that I have a pure heart, but I have a heart that is more aliegned with God's will than I have in the past. I think our part in God purifying our heart is to be receptive to what God has for us, to let go of the things of the world and embrace those things which are Godly. I don't believe that God imposes His will on us, because He has given us free will. But if we have a true desire to change whatever it is that is not makeing us pure, than God can do a work in our lives.

I don't think David is trying to minimize his sin, instead I think he is acknowleding that they are a part of him not something outside hime self but something that has been with him from the beganing. Here he simply recognize where they come from. Not "the devil made me do it" but instead in confessing his sin before God he states this is part of me but according to your loving kindness and tender mercies forgive me. I don't believe there is a writting in the bible that gaves me as much revelation as this Psalm 51. It brings together all the more difficult saying of Jesus Christ for me at least. In Matthew 25:40 Jesus says Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. and in verse 4 David Cries "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." this brought me to a powerful realization that all sin is directed against God. When I realized that I took sin from a different perspecptive, I realized that which I had done to even the least of them I had done against my savior. This is why it is not just the acknowledgement of sin that important but the acknowledgement of whom we sin against that builds in us a broken and contrite heart.

I've seen so many people carry with them their sin for years because they feel they are unworthy of being forgiven or that for some reason God has not forgiven them. But no matter what we must have the faith to know that because of God's attribute of compassion and mercy we can obtain mercy for our sins. We we develop and faithful relationship with God we willbe slowly building a confidence that God Because of our prayer, meditation, and obedence to God we can have faith in the word of God and wht God can do for us

How can prayer change God's mind without conflicting with the doctrine of the Immutability of God? I've wrestled with the concept of changing God's Mind for a while and was some what confused about this until I realized that it is not The FATHER that Changes, After all our FATHER is Immutable and therefor never changing. Malachi 3:6 God Declares

In truth I believe and I actual practice the style of pray that Moses put before God. I read Charles Spurgeon

I not sure what they did is as bad as the mind that they had. Even after seeing all the wonders that God had done for them, the people still wanted to go back to Egypt. I mean this both physically and mentally in tha they never left idol worshiping and false gods but instead thought nothing of creating a god from their own hands? This cause God to which had brought them out of israel to entertain the thought of wiping them out. Was God's sentence to destroy Israel and raise up a new nation through Moses justified?, Funny! Ha Ha! if I say no then I am questing God, if I say yest them I assuming I know God desires. It is what it is.

Spiritually we forgive because god says so, many people can

In truth nothing is earned of ourselves, the Job we go to each day is given to as blessing by God, and each and every day we should thank him. The ability to produce (work) is only a result of where we are. I may be in good physical health able to do work to provide for myself and family but if there is no work I still can not provide my daily needs. So we thank God for putting us in a place where we can provide. Here God is providing us that opportunity to work. There are many impoverished people that would love to work but there is no work to be done, so their families die from hunger or sickness. In our times of distress we call on the Father for everything, and the Father finds pleasure and provides, but soon we develop a storehouse ( a reserves) of things, and we no longer need to ask our Father for our daily bread. We think "I need to ask the Father for greater things" and then we forget that it was the Father that provided for the lesser (lesser is used only as a comparison to our desires) , not us. With time we began to forget to even give thanks to the Father for all he has given us. And soon we began to worship the gifts not the giver assuming in our natural mind that we have done something to sustain ourselves. Now the accolades of man cause us to fail to humble ourselves and we no longer even come to our Father, out things become our god.