An Unusual Food

Recently I was listening to a sermon by Bill Johnson (to listen to the full sermon, see the link at the end of my note) talking about an unusual form of nourishment, that he came across in scripture.  It was a very encouraging message for those dealing with difficulty.  He starts with Numbers 14:9 NKJV: 

[9]  "Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.""

Looking at the subject of bread...and food.  He then tied this verse to the following 2 verses.

Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV:

[9] In this manner, therefore, pray: 

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 

[10] Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 

[11] Give us this day our daily bread. 

[12] And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 

[13] And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

and finally - Psalm 23:1-6 NIV:

[1] "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 

[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 

[3] he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. 

[4] Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

[5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

[6] Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

His message focused on the belief that that there is something we encounter in the Lord when we view it from His perspective that is food to our spirit.  Difficulty viewed rightly can nourish us, and sustain us, in the face of the opposition, in the face of our enemies.  

After listening to this sermon a couple of times, I was reminded of Jesus' comment after interacting with the woman at the well - John 4:31-34 NIV"

[31] "Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 

[32] But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 

[33] Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 

[34] “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."

In a very real sense there is meant to be something absolutely sustaining in experiencing the Lord's will fulfilled through our life, and in our life!  I remember when the Lord had us give away one of our cars, and how in giving it, it became apparent that the Lord had been working on something for years, and meeting heart cries and prayers, and sending a message of absolute love and intimacy to the recipient of the vehicle.  I knew it was a huge confirmation to our firend, and it was so sustaining to us, to know how the Lord worked through us... and gave us a confidence.

I am just thinking about how full one's life would be if they walked in a level of confidence and obedience as they pursued the Lord, stepping out of their own weakness into His strength, and seeing Him step in over and over again, providing what was needed in the time it was needed, providing victories where there shouldn't be victory, etc.

Oh Lord that You might help me to view my life from Your perspective, that I might see difficulties as opportunities for You to express Your provision and blessing!  Help me to stay in lock-step with Your plan and purpose!  Help me to not overstep and enter into presumption, but rather do Your will,a nd finsih the work offered to me!

Amen and Amen!

Link to Bill's sermon.  It is well worth listening to:  https://youtu.be/30VWk28p4WU?si=d77i05Uz82FznF7z

Dreams & Identity

Recently I had an interesting dream that got me thinking about my identity as a son of God.  We had a Men's retreat this past weekend and our speaker did a wonderful job, and the theme for the second day (Sat.) was our identity as sons of God.  Interestingly, I had the dream on Friday night.  I am so encouraged when the Lord does things like that, for it is hard to miss His message when He is providing repetition! 

Sometimes my dreams are epic dreams almost like movies and this was one of them.  My dream seemed to be a remake of a movie from the 1980s, a movie that I haven't seen in probably 20-30 years.  The movie is called Ladyhawk, and the very simple theme is that two individuals who love each other are cursed by an evil priest to never be able to fulfill their love and be together.  In my dream there was a very similar plot, an evil bishop was trying to keep two individuals apart and had cursed them and enlisted multiple demonic beings to help.  There was a group of us who came to understand what was happening and we were working to break the curse and set the two people free.  Just as the action started I woke up.  

I asked the Lord what that all meant, as He often uses dreams to communicate with me (its very common in the Bible).  I felt like He said this dream represents the spirit of religion, which tries to keep us from ever experiencing the true love of God, and establishing a real relationship.  I thought that was quite an interesting word picture and wrote it all down.  I headed to the retreat and had no real idea what the theme was for the second day, and sure enough our speaker starts talking about our identity and the way the religious spirit causes us to miss the relational nature of our identity as sons, and keeps us thinking we are just servants.  

I was reminded of the story of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15.  I am not going to quote all of the story, just a few specific verses.  It is well worth reading and reflection.  In quick summary, a man has two sons, the younger son asks for his inheritance and then leaves and blows all of the money in a sinful lifestyle. The following verses take it from that point - Luke 15:17-19 NIV:

[17] “When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! [18] I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. [19] I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.' 

Too many of us think this is the best we could ever hope for, to be a servant, working and earning what little blessings we can from God (for the Father in the story clearly represents God).  We think that we have sinned too greatly, lived a life chasing our own pleasure, whatever, and that we don't deserve a real relationship with God.  The spirit of religion would absolutely love to keep all of us in such a state, for a servant doesn't have real authority or power, and is task or rule oriented (we could say under the law). In this existence, we depend on our own efforts and the acknowledgment of a good master, but there is no true love.

Jesus in continuing the story shows us how wrong that attitude and thinking is, for the Father will have none of it!  

Luke 15: 20-24 NIV: 

[20] "So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 

[21] “The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' [22] “But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. [23] Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. [24] For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate."

The Father wants us all to recognize our identities as sons and daughters!  IN the story He immediately restores all that the son left, his authority, his identity and favor!  I love this story and the illustration of God the Father's love for all of us, His waiting patiently for us to come to our senses and turn towards Him.  The Father doesn't want servants, He wants sons and daughters!  

Paul writes about how we have in us this yearning for Abba, Father.  (Romans 8:15, Gal. 4:6)  In both of these verses Paul speaks about our adoption as sons and daughters.  To me, the idea of being an adopted son, while great, seemed one step from being a true son.  However, once I did some research into the term used by Paul, I came to realize why He used this Roman term.  Here is a link to my study on the meaning and significance of adoption, as used by Paul: 

https://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2017/06/adoption-as-gods-sons-and-daughters-its.html

To summarize, the significance of this term, is that in this particular Roman institution, the complete previous identity of the adopted son or daughter is completely erased, as if they never existed previously.  In fact, the family relationship in this "adoption" is so strong, that the Father could never disown the adopted child!  In other words, once adopted you are forever the Father's child, son or daughter forever, and your former existence no longer exists!  In other words, you can't actually go back to being who you were before, no matter what You do, that option/identity no longer exists.

I could continue on, but suffice it to say that the Lord is desirous of our stepping into our true identity as sons and daughters!  The world and the spirit of religion, try to keep us from experiencing true relationship, for as sons and daughters we have authority and power, and the ability to walk in intimacy and favor!   The one thing the enemy of our souls fears more than anything is sons and daughters of God who learn to walk in their true identity, for they have the same inheritance as Jesus (Rom 8:17).

Oh Lord, help us to come to our senses and return to You!  Help us to step into our true identity, and live our lives as Your daughters and sons!  Help us to fully experience Your Love and acceptance, Your welcome Home!

Amen and Amen!